The authors of Education, War & Peace travelled to Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Sudan to conduct research on education in these conflict-affected countries. They uncovered an inspiring story of entrepreneurs stepping into the breach and providing low-cost private schooling to large numbers of children in areas where government was not working well and basic infrastructure had been destroyed. For-profit schools also expanded quickly to soak up educational demand once the conflicts were over. The fees were affordable to families on the poverty line and the children did better academically than those in government schools. Yet international agencies continue to promote government-run schools, even though state education has been a major source of both conflict and corruption in these countries. This groundbreaking study advocates a different approach. Low-cost private schools should be welcomed by policymakers as a means of providing high quality educational opportunities for all.

This volume brings together a number of papers presented at the international conference on "Specific Methodologies in Educational Alternatives" held in June 2016, at the Bistrita University Extension of the Educational Sciences Department of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The event served to promote the most recent theoretical and practical findings related to educational alternatives, and attracted the attendance of over 250 theorists and experts in the field. The conference represented a significant opportunity to know and develop this field of study, based on research and examples of good practice. The contributions here specifically explore the six educational alternatives that exist in Romania, namely Step by Step, Waldorf, Freinet, Curative Pedagogy, Montessori and the Jenaplan.