Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Education)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10566/15753

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Browsing by Subject "Institutional documents"

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    The role of the university in building peace in society: a case study of the University of Zambia.
    (Univeristy of the Western Cape, 2024) Sompa, Maureen; Thaver, Beverly
    Universities serve as key institutions for generating and transmitting knowledge through teaching, research, and community engagement. This study examines how these functions are applied to peacebuilding, using the University of Zambia as a case study. The research tracks the university's historical development, employing institutional theory and discourse analysis to explore its role in shaping peacebuilding strategies. By analysing documents such as strategic plans, reports, and curricular frameworks, the study investigates how the university’s initiatives and institutional documents articulate goals, strategies, and values related to peacebuilding. This approach draws on Michel Foucault’s theory of discourse to connect language practices with notions of power, aiming to uncover the narratives that guide the university’s engagement with societal peace dynamics. The findings reveal that the Zambian state regards education, and specifically the University of Zambia, as critical to peacebuilding and nation-building. The university supports the state’s peacebuilding objectives by establishing the Institute on Human Relations to produce and disseminate knowledge on peace and conflict. Peacebuilding language is integrated into the university’s mission and vision statements, and faculty members design curricula to foster students' understanding of and commitment to peace. The study concludes that the University of Zambia's initiatives represent strategic responses to the state's peacebuilding discourse, and it highlights the significant role of higher education in promoting peace within society.