Les transformacions socials: dones i homes protagonistes de la

The interviewees were asked about the strengths of the Planning stage. In fact, they were expected to show their understanding of a planning stage and how it should be and then evaluate the situation of the Planning stage in the school building delivery process. This question, additionally, was directed to the interviewees to find out the lesson they had learned from the experience of other Western countries and the countries that had experienced the same circumstances i.e. torn by wars and conflict and then they had to rebuild their infrastructure including schools and the educational system in general.

One of the most important strengths of Planning stage is that it gives hope to people that life will be back and their children will start their life as and where it should normally start. It is the first step back to normalcy (Interviewee 3 Educational officer). This meets what Hawrylenko (2010) claims that education is the key in preventing conflict and also in the reconstruction and reconciliation process as well. Education is essential in building social cohesion and supporting economic recovery. It is also the tool to foster peace. Education and schools help to mitigate the negative consequences of conflict in children and to make people feel optimistic and that life has started to be natural.

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Because this stage has an emotional and metaphorical significance, it should start by taking into consideration the urgent needs of the Iraqi society that is torn by war and the catastrophic circumstances. This means planning should be for school buildings that shelter the children and protect them from violence and exploitation. The post-conflict era can be as dangerous as the while-conflict time if not worse. Children and the youths should be protected and educated to be immunised against all the causes that have led to the conflict. At first, the main concern is to plan for a shelter and gradually move towards implementing the international standards of Western countries gradually. The first essential step is to protect the generations from the conflict which can continue till the post-conflict era: the post-conflict period is also dangerous because violence and political instability can persist even after the formal end of the conflict (Langer & Brown, 2016). This is consistent with what Buckland (2005) identifies the role of education as encouraging peace building and settlement. Dupuy & Peters (2010) also argue that education can accelerate the process of peace making. The World Bank (2005) believes that education contributes to peace building. The World Bank (2005) recommends that educational reform should start as early as possible the process of rebuilding, and the focus should be on capacity-building. UNESCO (2011) has also called for an early educational reform and an early integration of education in the process of peace building. Dupuy & Peters (2010) focus on the role of education in restoring the feelings of security that people and the youth in particular need after a long time of wars and conflict which are a real threat of human security. UNESCO (2011) recommends “peace education” in the post-conflict era. “Peace education” supports in mitigating the psychological consequences of the prolonged conflict and enhancing the culture of peace and tolerance. The basic target of “peace education” is the youth who are the most vulnerable group of the Iraqi people negatively affected by the long-term conflict because they are juvenile in a very enthusiastic manner and they are easily abused. Therefore, a great attention should be paid to the Planning stage for what it stands for.

The data demonstrated another role of the Planning stage which is setting plans and achievable objectives. Good planning stage helps in avoiding disappointment at later stages. That necessitates that skilled and experienced people should be appointed at the right places. However, the data show some challenges as far as the Planning stage is concerned. This stage is largely affected by the financial restrictions that are one of the consequences of the long- term conflict (Interviewee 2, Councillor). Interviewee 8, Architect pointed to the contradiction that existed between what an architect thought as appropriate to be included in

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the Planning stage and what the financial situation was for the funds of the school building project. It is the contradiction between what should be and what can be achieved. The main concern has been shifted from how ideal a school is in terms of sport halls, laboratories to build a shelter to contain the children and protect them from the dangers of the street in a post-conflict country like Iraq (Interviewee 12, Finance Officer).

Interviewee 4, Architect, Interviewee 5, Procurement officer, and Interviewee 6, Finance Officer all identified another challenges of the Planning stage in the post-conflict Iraqi school building and delivery. It is about the lack of the culture of dialogue where the interviewee expressed their inability to communicate with other people who were involved in the project either on the site or in ministries. There is no transparency in the way these people deal with each other and it is difficult to obtain reliable information regarding the budget, the payments or anything that is related to the project. This is one of the consequences of the prolonged conflict from the one side, and the Iraqi culture from the other side. This agrees with what the World Bank (2006) has demonstrated that almost all post-conflict countries have demonstrated weak performance in the effectiveness of the government and control of corruption. Government effectiveness is also measured by the extent to which law is enforced in the country away from any other affecting factors. It is also measured by how far people feel secure with the police and the courts and how far rules and laws are enforced. The other criterion for measuring the government effectiveness is the extent to which the citizens are enabled to express themselves freely and have free associations and free media. Controlling corruption is another indicator of the government’s effectiveness. Corruption means exercising public power for personal gains through ‘petty and grand forms of corruption or state capture by elite and private interests’ (DESA, 2007). In the post-conflict countries the political institutions are too vulnerable to afford for the development reformist political system (Practical Action, 2005). The government’s efforts to restore the social and political normal life are hampered by the post-conflict challenges such as competition for power for personal interests and not for using it for the public interests. The other challenges are that political leaders have limited legitimacy, an extremely high level of polarisation, and lack of consensus on the way the country should follow to encounter the challenges and overcome them (Practical Action, 2005). All these challenges have affected the stage of Planning, and in fact, all the school building process.

The culture of the Iraqi society also plays a role in creating obstacles and deepening the post- conflict challenges. Studies have found that Iraq is classified as a collectivist culture. One of

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the prominent features of this culture is the hierarchal pattern that dominates all aspects of social and political life. Power is controlled by a certain person who is situated at the top of the hierarch and who has the authority to give orders and instructions without being discussed by the other members who are sub-ordinate and situated at the lower steps of the hierarch. The subordinate, in this case, do not pay attention to the public interest or what society needs; they rather endeavour to satisfy the main person and obey them without disagreement. According to Kaur & Noman 2015; Jamil et al., 2016, Iraq is a high power distance country which accepts differences and inequalities in power in the country. In countries such as Iraq there is a considerable emotional distance between the superior and subordinate. The subordinate always obey the superior and carry out the orders issued by them and they never contradict the orders or the will of subordinate. The subordinate have to always accept the superior’s point of view because they can never discuss their own views in front of them; and this is an important feature of the collectivist culture. Hence, the challenges of the stage of Planning spring from both the negative outcomes of the long-term conflict and the features of the Iraqi culture. The conflict has indeed has intensified the aspects that the collectivist culture has such as corruption and the hierarchal system which is a threat of creation and innovation (Jamil et al., 2016).

According to Bonner et al. (2011), the main obstacles that may hinder the process of delivery should be discussed through a dialogue between all the parties to reach a mutual vision and understanding about relevant issues. However, this seems difficult in the given circumstances where the culture of dialogue has not been cultivated in a proper way.