Fragility, conflict, and violence

Education is central to improving human welfare both inherently and instrumentally, and yet there has never been a World Development Report (WDR) on education. The WDR 2018 represents an opportunity to take stock of what we know and to provide guidance on how to expand the scope and quality of education around the world. It aims to lay the foundations for a sustained policy focus on learning outcomes and skills for life and work, and to provide guidance on how education systems can be reformed to deliver them. This paper sets out to explore Fragility, Conflict, and Violence as barriers to educational attainment that are related but also have distinctions that are important for addressing obstacles to learning. This paper argues that a combination of factors in different contexts, termed everyday fragility, severely inhibit learning opportunities and outcomes for millions of children in both non fragile and fragile states. Furthermore, lack of trust in formal political structures can lead to support for xenophobic and identity-based movements, acceptance of criminal networks, the use of violence to resolve local conflicts, and undermine the legitimacy of local and state institutions. The paper summarizes some of the main negative impacts on education regarding fragility, conflict, and violence, including identifying pertinent literature and resources, particularly in the less explored areas of violence as an interpersonal factor in relation to education.