Educating Children in Crisis: Adaptive Islamic Curricula as Drivers of Transitional Justice in Nigeria, Somalia, and the Sahel

Abstract

Prolonged conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa has disrupted formal schooling for millions of children aged 6–18 years, threatening educational continuity and their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Despite their continued presence in conflict-affected communities, local Islamic educational institutions remain insufficiently examined within Education in Emergencies and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. This study aims to examine how adaptive Islamic curricula support conflict-affected children and contribute to transitional justice in Nigeria, Somalia, and the Sahel. Using Qualitative Document Analysis, 42 strategically selected documents published between 2015 and 2025, comprising humanitarian reports from UNICEF, UNESCO, and the World Bank and peer-reviewed academic case studies, were triangulated and analysed through deductive thematic coding using a standardized 4R Framework codebook encompassing Redistribution, Recognition, Representation, and Reconciliation. The findings identify three context-specific mechanisms. In Nigeria, hybrid Tsangaya curricula promote Redistribution by integrating basic literacy into traditional learning and expanding access to education for disadvantaged, conflict-affected children. In Somalia, adaptations of Aqidah and Akhlaq pedagogy foster Reconciliation through prophetic narratives that support trauma healing and cognitive-emotional stability. In the Sahel, religious educators strengthen Representation by translating universal human rights concepts into vernacular Fiqh frameworks for community dispute mediation. These findings demonstrate that adaptive Islamic curricula function not merely as alternative schooling but as grassroots educational “survival infrastructure” linking learning continuity, psychosocial recovery, and locally grounded justice practices. The study therefore proposes Faith-Based Transitional Justice as a context-sensitive framework for strengthening post-conflict child education policy and practice.