In conflict-affected societies, peacebuilding often begins long before formal negotiations, public agreements, or national reconciliation programmes. It can begin in a classroom, with a child reading a story.
My recent research article, published in The Social Studies, examined stories in the Kurdish Studies textbooks used in the first three years of schooling in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The study asked a simple but important question: what do young children learn about themselves, their society, and the communities around them through the stories they read at school?
The findings suggest that textbooks can play a powerful role in shaping peaceful coexistence. They can teach children that society is diverse, that different communities belong together, and that peace is not only the absence of violence but also the presence of recognition, fairness and inclusion.
1. Stories can teach children who belongs
Children do not only learn letters, grammar or vocabulary from schoolbooks. They also learn social messages. They learn who is visible, who is important, and who is considered part of the wider community.
In the Kurdish Studies textbooks I analysed, 45 character names appeared 245 times across stories and exercises. These names were all Kurdish. Names commonly associated with other communities in the Kurdistan Region, such as Turkmen, Assyrian, Chaldean, or other minority groups, were absent.
This does not mean the textbooks intentionally exclude others. Kurdish Studies is naturally expected to teach Kurdish language and culture. However, when children repeatedly encounter only one group in their stories, they may unconsciously learn that this group represents the whole society.
For peacebuilding, this matters. In a diverse region, children need to learn from an early age that people with different names, languages, religions and cultural practices are not outsiders. They are neighbours, classmates and citizens.
A simple step could make a difference: include characters from different communities in ordinary stories. A Turkmen child, an Assyrian teacher, a Kurdish doctor, a Chaldean neighbour, or an Arab friend could appear naturally in classroom narratives. Their presence does not need to be political. It can simply reflect real life.
2. Images can support coexistence
Textbook images are also important. Young children often understand pictures before they fully understand written messages.
In the textbooks studied, many illustrations reflected Kurdish cultural identity, including traditional clothing and visual symbols. Other images showed more general global clothing, such as children or professionals in ordinary modern dress. However, there was little or no clear visual representation of minority communities.
This is a missed peacebuilding opportunity. Visual inclusion can help children recognise diversity as normal. When children see different forms of dress, cultural symbols and community life in their textbooks, they become more familiar with difference. Familiarity can reduce fear and distance.
This does not mean replacing Kurdish identity. Rather, it means expanding the picture. A textbook can celebrate Kurdish culture while also showing that the Kurdistan Region is home to many communities. Inclusive images can quietly teach children that diversity is part of shared life.
3. Curriculum reform can build positive peace
Peacebuilding is not only about stopping direct violence. Scholars such as Johan Galtung have argued that violence can also be structural or cultural. In education, this can appear through silence, invisibility or unequal representation.
The 4Rs framework — redistribution, recognition, representation and reconciliation — is useful here. Inclusive textbooks can support recognition by valuing different communities. They can support representation by showing that all groups have a place in public life. They can support reconciliation by helping children understand shared histories and live together after conflict.
The Kurdistan Region has already made important progress in developing its education system. Textbooks exist in different languages, including Kurdish, Turkmen and Syriac, depending on context and availability. This is important. But language access alone is not enough. Inclusion also requires content that reflects the diversity of society.
The solution is not to politicise children’s textbooks. In fact, the opposite is needed. Early education should avoid divisive or victory-based narratives. It should focus on ordinary people, shared values, friendship, cooperation and mutual respect.
A story about children from different backgrounds planting trees together, helping an elderly neighbour, visiting each other’s cultural celebrations, or solving a classroom problem can teach peace more effectively than abstract slogans.
A peaceful society starts with small stories
The stories children read in their first school years can shape how they imagine society. If they learn that only one identity matters, coexistence becomes harder. If they learn that many communities belong together, peace becomes more possible.
Textbooks cannot solve every social or political problem. They cannot replace fair institutions, community dialogue or economic opportunity. But they can prepare children to see one another with dignity.
Peacebuilding begins with recognition. Sometimes, recognition begins with a name in a story.
Mustafa Wshyar
Mustafa Wshyar is a polyglot with over fifteen years of experience in teaching, research, educational consultation, translation, administration, and management. He holds a PhD in Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Szeged in Hungary and an MA in English Language and Literature from the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Currently, Mustafa is a Research Associate at Ulster University and Senior Lecturer at Koya University.
