Jennifer Chinenye Emelife
Jennifer Chinenye Emelife is a PhD candidate and Research Assistant at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, focusing on critical literacy education for youth in violent and displaced contexts. She has contributed to OISE's Addressing Injustices and Constructive Conflict Pedagogies projects and has over six years of experience teaching literacy. Through Teach for Change Nigeria, her education resource website, Jennifer has developed curriculum materials for West African secondary schools and is a finalist for the British Council ELTons Award for Innovation in English Language Teaching. As an Associate Researcher with the UNESCO Centre, she has worked on peacebuilding projects and contributed to a synopsis report on case studies commissioned by INEE, UNESCO, and IFRC. Jennifer is a recipient of the UK government Chevening Scholarship, DKG World Fellowship, PEO International Peace Scholarship, and African Women Development Fund. In 2024, she received the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Academic Enrichment Grant for her project "Literacy amidst Violent Conflict," which equips Nigerian students and teachers with critical literacy tools to address injustices in their communities.
Confronting Extremism Through Constructive Conflict Education: A Northwest Nigerian Classroom Literacy Experience
Constructive conflict education helps students examine the root causes of violence, analyze its consequences, and explore the perspectives of both perpetrators and victims. While valuable, conflict education can also be challenging, especially for young...
Processing Conflicts Through Literacy: Lessons from a Northwest Nigerian Classroom
Recent herdsmen and farmer conflicts in various Nigerian communities have brought violence, loss, and fear, complex realities that many students carry with them into the classroom. These issues are difficult to discuss, especially when...
Students Drawing Together Toward Peace: A Creative Approach to Conflict Education
In our Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict (LAVC) program, we recently tried an activity that allowed students to explore the differences in their communities and imagine ways to live together in harmony. It was an...
International Women’s Day with COEC Model Schools, Samaru Kataf Kaduna
Happy International Women’s Day! Today, we’re excited to highlight the incredible work of our students at COEC Model Schools in Samaru Kataf, Kaduna. Recently, our students created inspiring posters advocating for girls' education, drawing...
Helping Students Dream Big: Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict in Action
At COEC Model Schools, we’re doing something different. Teachers and students are asking tough questions and reimagining what learning means for children in rural communities that often get left behind. In northwest Nigeria, where...
Teaching Tough Topics: How Literature Can Help Students Navigate Social Realities
Let’s face it—talking to students about social realities can feel daunting. Many schools and educators shy away from these conversations, fearing they might be seen as “too political.” But the truth is, our lives...
Kicking Off Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict (LAVC) with Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree
Download Pre-Reading Actitvities for LAVC's teaching of Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree
Hello educators! Last week, we had the exciting opportunity to launch the Literacy Amidst Violent Conflicts (LAVC) program with students at COEC Model...
Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict: A Pedagogy of Hope and Peace
Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict is a critical literacy-peacebuilding pedagogy that recognizes and resists the kinds of direct and systemic violence endured by young people facing terrorism and ethnoreligious violence in Nigeria and other conflict-affected...
Dear teachers, it is time to teach differently
We have just witnessed a tumultuous and important moment in Nigeria. For the first time in a long time, youth all over the nation kept aside religious and tribal differences and were united in...
Announcing Winners of 2019 TFCN Teacher Prize for Literature
We are delighted to announce the winners of 2019 TFCN Prize for Literature. We received a large number of entries from across the country compared to 2018 and were able to make a shortlist...