What is Peace Education? 

In 1992 I experienced what it is like to live in a conflict-ridden society while I was living in Israel. Sadly, I also became aware of the mutual prejudice, delegitimization and dehumanization between Jews and Arabs. This experience influenced my lifelong personal values and beliefs, and since starting the M.Ed. program, I have become curious about Peace Education. I now incorporate Peace Education into most of my instructional designs or lesson plans. The main idea of Peace Education is “to negate violence and conflict and to promote a culture of peace to counter a culture of war.”(Salomon & Cairns, 2009, p. 5). In my opinion, Betty Reardon, a world-renowned leader in the fields of peace education and human rights, gives the best definition of Peace Education:

“[Peace education is a] planned and guided learning that attempts to comprehend and reduce the multiple forms of violence (physical, structural, institutional and cultural) used as instruments for the advancement or maintenance of cultural, social or religious beliefs and practices or of political, economic or ideological institutions or practices” (2000, p. 401)

Peace Education is especially admirable because “it places recognition of the ‘Other’ at the heart of its work.” (Cremin, 2018). As might be expected, I have become a promoter of transformative pedagogies, that are built on the principles of Global Citizenship Education , Peace Education, and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Education. Furthermore, great education philosophers such as Dewey, Montessori and Freire also believed in the importance of Peace Education for a better world.  Click here to read how their philosophies influenced  Peace Education. In the final months of my M.Ed. journey, I concluded  that my educational ideology is aligned with this framework.  

NOTE- Peace Education, Global Citizenship Education (GCE), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and 21st Century Skills are often used synonymously. 

My first experience with ( a type of ) Peace Education was with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2007 while working on a Community-Based Tourism Training project in Paraguay. The goal of the 4-year project was to improve human rights, while reducing poverty in the rural communities of Misiones and Neembucú. This goal was to be achieved by enhancing their capacity to develop sustainable tourism services. As might be expected, this was a great challenge in a country with vast social and economic inequity, as well as political instability. Although not explicitly presented as Peace Education, the project took a participatory action research approach with the communities, the Universidad Columbia del Paraguay and Universidad Americana.  Indeed, the CIDA philosophy supported collaboration, problem-solving and hands-on learning. The overall message was that "peace and democracy are the main requirements for poverty alleviation, economic stabilization and eventual economic development."

Read more about my experience here.

I was a facilitator for the Witness to History Series, which employed a book called, The Red Scarf Girl, to create a dialogue about human rights during the Chinese cultural revolution. While reading this book, students wrestled with the moral issues raised by this important history, and they developed their skills in ethical reasoning, critical thinking, empathy, and civic engagement, all of which are critical for sustaining democracy. (Teaching Red Scarf Girl, 2020). Transformative Peace Education curricula (namely the Witness to History Series)  are usually free for any educator that wants to introduce this important pedagogy into their classroom. (UNICEF Canada: Helping to Make Your Classroom a Global Schoolhouse! n.d.). Furthermore, the British Columbia ministry of education also has its own transformative curriculum available to teachers, its called Making Space, which focuses on teaching diversity and social justice. (British Columbia & Ministry of Education, 2008). 

It's hardly surprising that as an Instructional Designer, I fully support Global and Peace Education to be infused into the designs.

My presentation suggests creating an educator workshop to promote the integration of Peace Education into the institute's curriculum. 

youtu.be/RgjF-hzZKIQ 

In the following section I will provide an overview of  UNESCO’s Peace Education curriculum at the associated school's program network (ASPnet). ASPnet began in 1953 to promote UNESCO’s humanistic, ethical and cultural vision of education. There are now over 10,000 ASPnet member schools throughout the world that integrate UNESCO’s principles into their curriculum. ASPnet (2020)  Education.  The common goal and vision for the ASPnet is  “to build peaceful and sustainable societies in the minds of children and young people” (UNESCO Associated Schools Network / Réseau Des Écoles Associées de l’UNESCO, n.d.) To be part of the ASPnet schools must support UNESCO’s advancement of four major pillars for education in the 21st century - learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together. (BCTF > UNESCO Associated Schools (ASPnet), n.d., p. 5) 

Students

The UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) is the largest network of schools in the world and student’s age can range from elementary to vocational schools.  A study of ASPnet schools claims that ASPnet students have a surprisingly high (50%) participation rate for extracurricular and volunteer activities. (Schweisfurth, 2005). Schweinfurt’s survey also shows that both teachers and students have a great appreciation for the UNESCO values such as the environment, human rights, and intercultural learning. (Schweisfurth, 2005). Click here to see members fo the ASPnet

Teachers

Teachers at ASP net are obliged to have a deep understanding of peace and should be role models of peace and human rights; they must promote UNESCO’s ideals of intercultural understanding, democracy, and protection of the environment.  Schweinfurt (2005) claims  that 40% of teachers in her study take active roles with extra curriculum activities. These activities are based on the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and they are also enthusiastically involved in UN-designated dates such as International Woman Day(Schweisfurth, 2005). 

Joseph supports Schweinfurt’s view stating claiming that “peace pedagogy requires teachers to establish a continuous process of questioning, challenging, acting, and reflecting on behaviours conducive to peace”. (Joseph, 2010b, p. 258). Schweisfurth’s survey also found that teachers used more interactive and progressive teaching methods due to the ASPnet teacher community support.  This curriculum culture requires skilled teachers to have academic breadth in subject areas that support the study of human rights, peacemaking and environmental sustainability. (Joseph, 2010b, p. 258) For instance, the UNESCO guidelines for Intercultural Education suggest teachers employ teaching methods such as storytelling, drama, site visits to monuments and collaborations with cultural institutes. (Intercultural Learning | Education | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, n.d.) 

Content

ASPnet and UNESCO lesson plans demonstrate how UNESCO principles can easily be integrated into history, science and humanities content. For example history or social studies can be used to understand how slavery was abolished or how anti colonization movements came about.(Joseph, 2010b, p. 50)  Math could be a  good knowledge base for studies in politics, the environment and human rights; for example statistics could used to study the amount of discrimination in certain countries.  (Joseph, 2010b, p. 259) This philosophy and process does not need to be complicated, and I have provided some examples of ways to insert Peace and Justice within existing curriculum.

Context

According to the ASPnet web site, UNESCOS values and human rights education is not an “add on” to the regular curriculum. The site also mentions that the ASPnet learning environment provides a safe and peaceful school life for all students where cultural diversity is respected.  For instance; the UNESCO guidelines on Intercultural Education suggests being aware  of student dietary requirements; respect for dress codes; and having designated areas for prayer or meditation.(Intercultural Learning | Education | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, n.d.) Student participation in the UNESCO pilot projects is one example of adult-led, problem-solving, hands-on learning. Students are also involved in monthly UNESCO community “challenges” such as recycling to raise community awareness. (UNESCO Associated Schools Network / Réseau Des Écoles Associées de l’UNESCO, n.d.)

Planning

UNESCO provides the framework for this peace education curriculum and they make changes as they see fit. UNESCO’s head office in Paris oversees the entire network; they also provide national coordinators for each country to liaise with the ASPnet schools. UNESCO does allow teachers to adapt the material to the specific realities of each region or country.  For example, the UNESCO kit about desertification suggests that teachers could integrate the material into lessons  about socio-economic problems, land exploitation and crop varieties.(Education Kit on Combating Desertification - UNESCO Digital Library, n.d.)  

Peace and Peace Education is a large and complex topic (beyond the scope of this document) and it can be heavily scrutinized and debated.

1.  Evaluation: According to Galtung “there should be no exams of any kind in connection to peace education as the idea of peace itself is opposing to vertical social relations and hierarchies of any form” (2008, p. 52). Peace must be seen as achieving a higher level of mindfulness, not as a way of social classification. (Galtung, 2008, p. 52) . What would peace education mean for externally mandated outcomes-based pedagogies such as the "trades"? What would it look like? How can Peace Education be combined with authentic assessments?

2. In regards to "externally mandated outcomes-based pedagogies." What is left of peace educations once it is squeezed through a "machinery of bureaucracy" (2008, p. 53) 

3. Peace Education curricula do not support the “sorting device approach” of many traditional schools. Some governments, administrators (and possibly teachers) may think that Peace Education is a "utopian dream" that cannot be achieved. Is standardization appropriate for the Peace Education curriculum? 

4. It could be debated that democracy and western values such as equality may not be wanted or appreciated in some countries. Read more about resisting colonization and Western ideology.

5. Some scholars argue that a preschool child is too young to understand abstract ideas such as peace and global citizenship and that a child needs to develop before this learning can take place.  I agree with Dewey, Montessori, Freire and also Betty Reardon, founder of the Peace Education Center that Peace Education curriculum should be infused into the curriculum of all grade levels, in all subjects regardless of developmental stage. (Ben-Peretz et al., 2000, p. 399). To what extent are Peace Education programs informed by development theory and research?

6. What are the limitations (if any) of using intergroup contact theory in the promotion of peace in a Peace Education pedagogy? What is missing in Peace Education?

Peace curriculum is not commonly found in universities, colleges or research facilities. In my opinion, the reason for this is because peace includes topics such as equality which (at times) challenges the elite and privileged. Hence, according to Hägglund "Peace Education and research has  been neglected and we lack data on whether Peace Education is effective". I concur with Hägglund that there is a lack of tools when it comes to describing and evaluating Peace Education (1996). With this in mind, I intend to conduct further research using action research (AR), and participatory action research (PAR), to support and improve peace education. 

Possible Action Research Topics

1. "Implementing a tool kit for educators to infuse Peace Education into existing adult education programs"

2. "Developing an implementation guide for Peace Education Microcredentials to be offered in the post-secondary milieu"

3. "Creating a workshop  to teach educators the importance of Peace Education in schools"

This rumination has introduced Peace Education, has given an example of how it is used at ASPnet, it has also suggested some easy ways to infuse it into existing curriculum, and has pondered some future research questions. ut

“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” (UNESCO Constitution, n.d.)

Click here to see the references 

• I have not received financial support from any book publishing company.

• I did not participate in any of the trials, studies, or research conducted by any of these organizations.

• I have no real or potential financial gain from the success of the products, books, or services presented on this site.