what is peace education essay

What is peace education exactly and why do we need it?

When I started my peace education journey, I barely knew what this syntagma meant. I was very versed and knowledgeable about the education part and the nuances of teaching, but the peace part, and especially the combination of peace and education was quite new to me. So, I was learning while working and immersing myself into peacebuilding in my postwar, still very conflicted country of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

In the process I discovered something called facilitation and being a facilitator, being someone who eases the process of learning and who facilitates learning space, instead of “instilling the knowledge into the heads of my participants”. I grew up and I was educated in a very traditional teacher-oriented system, where the teachers are the sole authority who possess all the knowledge. Of course there were some quite bright, but rare examples of the teachers and professors who were actually facilitators, who were leading us through the process of learning and working “out of the box”.

Over time peace education became my passion, and I even enrolled in another MA (Interreligious Studies and Peacebuilding) to enhance my knowledge on the peace and interfaith part of this equation. Now that I have more than 7 years of experience in my head, heart and hands I cannot but notice that peace education is still a very contested notion. Many things are being put under this umbrella term, people who work in the field are not always taken seriously as they should be, peace in general is taken for granted and all the efforts of countless people who work in the field are not emphasized and appreciated enough.

This article aims to bring a bit more clarity to this term, through a small desk research on the existing bibliography on peace education. Also, as someone who has been working for 7 years in the peace education sector, I want us to be clear that we know what we are talking about when we say that we are peace educators, since this discipline deserves more attention and much more credibility than it has been given to it. Let us begin with how and when peace education efforts started and later on we will focus on a description of peace education and contents of it, which will help us to understand branches of this type of education.

The term peace education can be traced back to the 17th century and Czech educator (pedagogue) named Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius), but the term and movement of peace education got its prominence and flourished with famous Italian educator Maria Montessori at the beginning of the 20th century. It is worth mentioning that way before the two of them, forms of peace education existed within different communities. According to Harris (2008) peace education has been practiced informally by generations of humans who wanted to resolve conflicts in ways that do not use deadly force. Indigenous peoples have conflict resolution traditions that have been passed down through millennia that help promote peace within their communities. Also, we should not forget to mention religious teachings that promote peace and uphold the peace education efforts for thousands of years. Religious and spiritual figures such as Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Moses, Lao Tse or Baha’u’llah are often considered peace educators. Even though we should be aware that many religious teachings have been instrumentalized for the opposite as well, for wars and violence.

While reading different articles on peace education, I found the way that Kester (2010) describes peace education to be very clear and encompassing. He stresses that “in practice, peace education is problem-posing education that attempts to build in every person the universal values and behaviors on which a culture of peace is predicated, including the development of non-violent conflict resolution skills and a commitment to working together to realize a shared and preferred future”. He also adds that “peace education includes the cultivation of peacebuilding skills (e.g., dialogue, mediation, artistic endeavors). Peace educators, then, teach the values of respect, understanding, and nonviolence, present skills for analyzing international conflict, educate for alternative security systems, and use a pedagogy that is democratic and participatory. Thus, peace education as a practice and philosophy refers to matching complementary elements between education and society, where the social purposes (i.e., why teach), content (i.e., what to teach), and pedagogy (i.e., how to teach) of the educative process are conducive to fostering peace” (Kester, 2010: 2).

To help us better understand peace education (PE) it is useful to mention 5 principles of this education. According to Harris (2004) these 5 principles are the following:

• PE explains the roots of violence
• PE teaches alternatives to violence
• PE adjusts to cover different forms of violence
• Peace itself is a process that varies according to context
• Conflict is omnipresent

Now that we know what peace education is about, we could ask ourselves about the content and branches. Different authors propose diverse approaches to this question, but here I would like to emphasize the one from Ian Harris (2004) and Navarro-Castro and Nario-Galace (2010). Harris divides peace education into 5 categories: international education, development education, environmental education, human rights education, and conflict resolution education. On the other side Navarro-Castro and Nario-Galace propose a 10-fold model that besides the above mentioned 5 categories includes: disarmament education, global education, multicultural education, interfaith education, and gender-fair/non-sexist education.

To make peace education closer to us, I also would like to mention two models of peace education: Learning to Abolish War Model (Reardon and Cabezudo 2002)and Flower-Petal Model of Peace Education (Toh 2004).

As already noted, we need to be aware that it’s not just what we teach, but how we teach as well, i.e., how we facilitate the process of learning. It’s hard to imagine peace education programs and values, implemented through traditional authoritarian models of education that most of us grew up with. How can we practice nonviolent methods of resolving conflicts, when we impose on learners our own way of thinking, when we ask them to learn things through rote learning, instead using meaningful or active learning through which they can develop critical thinking skills.

Ian Harris (1988) , one of the leading authors in the field of peace education, stresses a holistic approach to peace education that could apply to community education, elementary and secondary schools, as well as college classrooms. According to him, peaceful pedagogy must be integral to any attempt to teach about peace and key ingredients of such pedagogy are cooperative learning, democratic community, moral sensitivity, and critical thinking. Duckworth (2008) emphasizes that for peace education to be effective, the methods teachers and administrators use must be consistent with the values purportedly being taught to students. They must be modeled as well. The implicit curriculum must harmonize with the explicit curriculum.

In the words of Kester (2010) “an education for peace program, thus, pedagogically emphasizes values (tolerance, respect, equality, empathy, compassion), capacities (cultural proficiency, sensitivity), skills (nonviolent communication, active listening, competence in a foreign language, gender-inclusive language), and knowledge (of history and cultures, peace movements) for peace. The pedagogy includes cooperative learning activities, gender perspectives, creative reflection and journaling, theatre games, role-plays, empathy-building activities, and alternative futures exercises” (Kester, 2010: 5).

One very important thing we need to mention and know about peace education, is that this education depends on the context. Peace educators around the world practice different approaches and different types of peace education depending on what is a burning issue in their communities. For example, somewhere conflict resolution education is more needed than global education or environmental education, due to ongoing religious, ethnic, or national hostilities. This doesn’t mean that other types of peace education are not important or needed, but one type is more urgent than the other. And of course, the content facilitated, relies heavily on the context.

Now that we know all this about peace education, we can ask a question where to teach peace education and in which manner. Should it be in formal or non-formal contexts, should it be taught as a single subject, or should it be holistic and transdisciplinary? I think a very good answer could be found in the Declaration and Integrated Framework of Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (1995) which suggests that education for peace must be trans-disciplinary and included in all learning spaces. It should not be limited to a single classroom or subject. The institution or space in which education for peace operates should be in harmony with the goals and lessons of peace education and peace education should be integrated into all learning spaces.

And last but not the least, comes the question, why do we need peace education?

Like many other things, I believe that education can be used for both: as a space for nurturing and developing cultures of peace or cultures of war. This solely depends on us, i.e., if we want to see our youth militarized, afraid of the other ethnic and religious groups, afraid of their neighbors, ready to obey and listen to calls for violence in order to protect their land, culture, religion etc. (for the gains of the elites who profit from the war) or if we want our youth to think critically, know their neighbors, be culturally sensitive, ready to speak to and understand those who belong to other groups, who are often portrayed as enemies. It also depends on us if we will employ education as a way to protect our environment or if we will teach our children to exploit the planet and its resources for their own gain (including waging wars that could destroy our habitat).  The future is blurry and unknown, but it is up to all of us to shape it and give our best to actually leave a planet where our children and grandchildren can live (in peace).

Featured Regions:

Featured Action Areas:

• Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation

Featured Cooperation Circle(s):

Peace education

Peace education promotes the knowledge, skills and attitudes to help people prevent conflict occurring, resolve conflicts peacefully, or create conditions for peace.

Peace education activities promote the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help people either to prevent the occurrence of conflict, resolve conflicts peacefully, or create social conditions conducive to peace.

Core values of nonviolence and social justice are central to peace education. Nonviolence is manifested through values such as respect for human rights, freedom and trust. Social justice is realised by principles of equality, responsibility, and solidarity.

In order to achieve these ideals, peace education programmes across the world address a wide range of themes.  These include nonviolence, conflict resolution techniques, democracy, disarmament, gender equality, human rights, environmental responsibility, history, communication skills, coexistence, and international understanding and tolerance of diversity.

Peace education can be delivered to people of all ages, in both formal and informal settings. Programmes exist at local, national, and international levels, and in times of peace, conflict, and post-conflict.

To create public dialogue different factions of society are often brought together in peace education programmes – these typically include civil society groups, schools, tribal leaders and the media. Yet due to the many areas covered by peace education, initiatives are primarily determined by culture and context, as well as by the projects’ scopes and objectives.

Peace education and peacebuilding are therefore intrinsically linked. The UN’s actions for peacebuilding include education as one of its principle components. For peacebuilding initiatives to remain sustainable it is vital that attitudes towards war and violence are transformed and translated into long-term behavioural change which seek alternative solutions to armed conflict.

We hope you're finding Peace Insight valuable

Transcending Memory and History: A Temple Pilgrimage Across a Border

Peace Bridges by Letters – Letters for Peace Program (Armenia and Azerbaijan)

Forging Paths of Peace: Mindanao Peace Summit 2023

Explore related peacebuilding organisations.

Submit an organisation: Is Peace Insight missing a peacebuilding organisation or initiative? Click here to tell us .

Making Peace

• Posted December 23, 2015
• By Leah Shafer

As 2015 draws to a close, we hope for a new year where cooperation and empathy supersede violence and suspicion. For our final article this year, Usable Knowledge asks: Can education foster a more peaceful world?

According to Silvia Diazgranados Ferráns , an instructor and doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education , it can. Her research on peace education reveals a complex field that seeks to help schools build communities that foster peacemaking and citizenship — to encourage students to become empathetic, inclusive, critical thinkers who have the skills to live peaceful lives.

The Goals of Peace Education

The goals of peace education vary widely across the world. In developing countries, where there is no specific enemy or conflict but a general lack of human rights, peace education seeks to elucidate sources of inequality to promote a more equitable, stable future. In areas of intractable conflict between specific groups, as in Israel and the Palestinian territories, peace education seeks to promote alternate narratives of the conflict to encourage mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration.

In areas where there is no active conflict or violation of human rights, peace education seeks to promote individual skills that reject the use violence and create stronger communities.

Peace Education in Action

For U.S. educators, a successful peace education program focuses on helping children develop the skills they’ll need to get along with others, solve conflicts in nonviolent ways, contribute positively to their communities, respect intergroup differences, and value diversity. Young children need to learn and practice these skills in relationship to their peers, teachers, and family members, Diazgranados Ferráns says. As they grow older, children need opportunities to practice these skills in the context of their broader community and to reflect on their potential global impact.

Diazgranados Ferráns notes that peace education lessons will only take root if peace education is a schoolwide effort that goes beyond a particular subject, embodied by every adult in the building and demonstrated throughout the school day. She outlines several ways that teachers and school leaders can incorporate peace education into their work, teaching students how to be empathetic, responsible, and active learners and leaders:

Model kindness and empathy Teachers, principals, and staff throughout the building can model how to love and care for others through their interactions among each other and with students. Adults should get to know students individually, appreciating the unique strengths and needs of each student and member of the school community.

Repair, don’t punish When students commit an offense, use models of restorative justice to help them understand the effects of their actions and how they can repair any damage done. Instead of punishing or excluding offenders, facilitate conversations on what would need to happen to restore balance in the community. The end goal is for children to understand the impact of their actions and to learn to take responsibility for them.

Create a democratic space Involve student voices in establishing and revising school and class norms. Create classrooms where children are encouraged to share their ideas. Share power with students and give them the space to question authority. Great injustices, inequalities, and atrocities take place when people either are uncritical of authority or aren’t given the appropriate space and courage to question and resist it, says Diazgranados Ferráns.

Give a voice to the excluded On a micro level, this means encouraging students who are commonly excluded to speak up in class. On a macro level, this means incorporating into lessons the narratives of people who have been historically discriminated against or excluded. Have students think critically about why the knowledge and experiences of some groups of people are privileged over the knowledge and experiences of others.

Encourage collaboration in diverse groups Emphasize collaboration and teamwork and deemphasize competition and self-interests. Structure long-term projects that allow children from different social or ethnic groups to work together toward a common goal. Opportunities in which children get to know one another as individuals, says Diazgranados Ferráns, “may help break prejudices and establish caring relationships among members of different groups.”

Discuss controversial issues Facilitate discussions about divisive civic and ethical issues for children of all ages. These debates teach students not only about viewpoints different from their own, but also that it’s okay to disagree with authority figures and peers as long as it’s done respectfully and in a safe environment.

Integrate service learning With younger students, this can mean identifying and solving problems within their classroom. With older students, it can mean creating service projects that help their school, community, or people across world. “Children need to practice, from very, very early on, how to take action, to solve the problems in their community, to have a positive effect,” says Diazgranados Ferráns. “They don’t need to wait until they grow up to change the world.”

Additional Resources

• Read more about Diazgranados Ferráns’ research .

Get Usable Knowledge — Delivered Our free monthly newsletter sends you tips, tools, and ideas from research and practice leaders at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sign up now .

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Related Articles

Cultivating Empathy in the Coronavirus Crisis

Making Space for Difficult Discussions

Following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, suggestions for educators and parents on how to support productive conversations around traumatic events

Combatting Anti-Asian Racism

Equipping educators with restorative justice techniques to upend discrimination and stereotype

Pacifist feminism

Reflections on Peace Education

Alicia Cabezudo International Association of Educators for Peace

Education for peace and respect for human rights is particularly important in this period, if we compare the values this education promotes with the daily violence, the horrors of war and the gradual destruction of values such as solidarity, cooperation and respect for others: all of them problems that assault us every day.

Indiscriminate persecution, massacres and ethnic cleansing are difficult to explain when our shocked and surprised students ask us about them; perhaps they are even incomprehensible in the context of education. It is harder still to clarify these processes when the possible solution for acts such as these is, in fact, the continued bombing of cities and of a desperate civilian population.

We also come across extreme everyday situations when we analyse the inequality and injustice of our socio-economic surroundings and the brutal violence of our “ideal” modern societies… in which it is the state itself that attacks the population, where individualism and self interest are promoted and where whatever is considered “different” becomes “dangerous”. These are all wars, of a different type, but with the same ingredients of injustice, violence and destruction.

Here the responses of educators become drained of content and their explanations no longer work. The practice of building knowledge through research, reading, the analysis of information, interviews, genesis of conflicts, systematisation of what has been learnt, the development of critical thinking, etc, should lead us to rethink the educational model applied until now. This model is perhaps slightly naive, despite its apparent progressive pedagogical nature, and it is one with which educators ourselves have come to be unhappy.

I believe that Peace Education, although considered a transversal element in many educational curriculum models around the world, has in fact been conceived as a secondary matter. Something necessary but accidental, important but not essential, present but “absent”. A view of the curriculum which dignifies it without modifying it, without designing new alternatives for a humanitarian, ethical, civic education — something increasingly necessary in the world we live in.

Because Peace Education means developing a critical, serious and profound approach to the current situation of which we form a part and the historical epoch in which we find ourselves, an undeniable reality that does not always appear in the plans of the Ministries, of educational institutions nor of many principals and teachers.

Peace Education has been conceived as a secondary matter; something necessary but accidental, important but not essential, present but “absent”

“Peace is not defined only by the absence of war and conflict, it is also a dynamic concept that needs to be grasped in positive terms, such as the presence of social justice and harmony, the possibility for human beings to fully realise their potential and respect for their right to live with dignity throughout their lives. Sustainable human development is not possible without peace. And without just, equitable, ongoing planning, peace cannot be maintained.” 1

These concepts, particularly relevant in the context of the analysis we are currently trying to develop, should influence all imaginable pedagogical proposals for Peace Education, giving it a multidimensional character, able to reach into different areas.

We are witnessing today a reworking of our models and our vocabularies and we understand that there are major changes in the concept of peace, above all as it relates to the opposite term, “war”. This conceptual modification should be integrated, along with the methodology for teaching it, into the learning of teachers and students.

Indeed, after many years the idea of peace has evolved and a broader and more complex understanding of it now relates it to the concepts of fairness, justice, respect for human rights, the rights of peoples and tolerance. Alongside this process, teaching practices in Peace Education have also been modified, taking on a clear commitment to the principles of democratic participation along with the implementation of educational activities which include issues of nonviolence and conflict transformation by peaceful means, with a view to building a more compassionate, juster and fairer society.

Peace, as an individual, social, national and international value must be analysed in depth from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective

Armed conflicts in other parts of the world now make us more open to a cognitive, systematic and up to date treatment of the miseries and cruelties of war and also to the analysis of its terrible consequences, using the multiple resources that the media allow us, bringing it closer to us. Peace, as an individual, social, national and international value must be tested and analysed in depth from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective.

The geographical and historical treatment of the subject is necessary but not sufficient. Concepts and issues such as nationalism, sovereignty and the state; the role of the UN in the world of today; the reality of different ethnicities and their complicated coexistence; intercultural dialogue; solutions and disagreements within conflicts; the situation of refugees and their terrible defencelessness before the attacks of “friends” and enemies; crime related to drugs and prostitution; the dangers of nuclear war; the arms race and the arms trade as a profitable global business are urgent and important issues.

All of these issues desperately need to be the subject of reflection, debate, research and criticism by both teachers and students in an ongoing exercise of deepening knowledge, developed both individually and collectively on the basis of obtaining information from many sources, promoting the exchange of different opinions, developing critical judgment and the respect for diversity 2 .

But even this is not enough if we isolate the international problems that distress us so much from the everyday “wars” of the society in which we live. Marginalisation, social exclusion, violence and persecution are not things that we can only find in news reports about Mexico, Colombia, Syria, Crimea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan…

An obligatory task of education is to link direct open conflicts with those “wars” which have other features

There are other “wars” much closer to home, right next to us. Social inequality, lack of vital resources for much of the population, unemployment and poverty create hopelessness and distrust of democratically elected governments. Authoritarian mechanisms, the control of information, crimes, delinquency and impunity are part of our political life.

In this sense, war is not so far away… and not only because of the globalisation of the arms trade or the information that we receive from the transnational media. It is a daily war to survive in terrible conditions of housing and health, of education and employment, of the insufficiency of essential public services and insecurity, with basic inherent principles of human dignity being trampled on every day in many countries and continents.

It is an obligatory task of education to link these two aspects: the direct open conflicts with those “wars” which have other features but are no less intense. Only through a comprehensive analysis of the roots of violence, its characteristics, forms and consequences can we make it possible to achieve a critical reflection, at the levels of both the individual and society, so as to generate possible changes that may lead towards a lasting peace in today’s world.

This is the great educational challenge for the coming years and for our pedagogical work in the field of Peace Education.Let us dare to face up to it.

1. Iglesias Díaz, Calo (2007). Educar pacificando: Una pedagogia de los conflictos , 1ª edición, Madrid, Fundación Cultura de Paz Editorial.

2 Bazán Campos, Domigo (2008). El oficio de pedagogo. Aportes para la construcción de una pràctica reflexiva en la escuela , Rosario, Argentina, Ed. Homo Sapiens.

Photography : United Nations Development Programme in Europe and CIS / CC BY / Desaturada. – Kids celebrate peace, friendship and tolerance on United Nations day –

© Generalitat de Catalunya

Other articles in this magazine

The role of women in peace research, transversal politics: a practice of peace, always disobedient, neither a destructive war nor an oppressive peace, first international congress of women, la haya, 1915, materials and resources recommended by the icip, islamic state and the kurds, new heavyweight players in the middle east, news, activities and publications about the icip, interview with adilia caravaca, president of wilpf.

International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa

How Do Education for Peace and Transformative Pedagogy Actually Work?

Suchith Abeyewickreme, Eyerusalem Azmeraw, Kasumi Moritani, and Eleonora Mura January 24, 2024

Suchith Abeyewickreme and Eleonora Mura are with Arigatou International; Eyerusalem Azmeraw and Kasumi Moritani are with UNESCO IICBA

Today is the International Day of Education with a focus this year on  learning from peace . From 2017 to 2022, UNESCO IICBA led a series of projects for peacebuilding and the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) through education with support from the Government of Japan. The projects applied a transformative pedagogy approach, embodying the principles of teaching methods that encourage action-oriented, experiential, learner-centred, problem-based, and collaborative learning processes. In celebration of the International Day of Education, IICBA published a study with key  lessons from the projects . We produced  data briefs on perceptions of violence in Africa. And We also conducted a series of  interviews with peace educators , of which an excerpt is provided below:

[W]e gathered in a circle for a reflective discussion on the insights gained from the activity. One student shared, “I learned that we all have conflicts, and they are not always about ethnicity or religion. Sometimes they are about family, friends, schools, or sports. I also learned that we could solve our conflicts peacefully, by listening to each other, understanding each other, and respecting each other. I realized that we are not so different after all, and that we can live together in harmony.” In appreciation of this insightful comment, I expressed gratitude and then asked the entire group if they concurred. They all nodded in agreement. 

– Dr. Mary Mugwe Chui, Senior Lecture at Mount Kenya University

The interview  series was conducted with the African Union ESTI Department. The concept of peace education is frequently acknowledged in academic and educational circles, yet it seems to be less prioritized and sometimes overlooked in practical application. This may be especially the case in African countries where basic literacy and numeracy skills are still issues to be grappled with. But what if education for peace were to increase the motivation and performance of learners? This seems likely, even if robust evidence may be lacking to prove it.

A key milestone in IICBA’s multi-year effort was the development of regional teacher training guides. Activities in these guides may help understand how transformative pedagogy works. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development emphasizes the role of active engagement and hands-on experience in learning. Studies show that children learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process, through exploration, experimentation, and conversation. This is at the heart of the pedagogical approaches to peace education. Peace education is often defined as an approach that promotes the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to bring about behavior changes that will enable learners to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner and to create the conditions conducive to peace at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national, or international level. To cultivate competencies such as critical thinking, empathy, and the ability to understand different perspectives, learning must reflect on both global and local realities, actively engage learners in the sense-making process, and make education a mutual exchange rather than a one-way transmission of knowledge – making it profoundly engaging and experiential. To create a culture of peace and respect, education for peacebuilding and transformation needs to i) Be inclusive, ii) Provide a (physically, culturally, and psychosocially) safe learning environment, and iii) Address inequalities. Again, note that learning activities are most impactful when customized to the specific context and the group of learners you will work with. Therefore, you are encouraged to adapt these to best meet the learning needs of your group. Below are three examples of activities that can be undertaken in the classroom. 

= =  =  = =  =  = =  =  =

Activity Idea 1 – What I Stand For 

This is an activity that aims to let learners discover how their beliefs and opinions differ from those of others and thereby reflect on what it means to respect different beliefs.

• In whatever space you are, explain to the students that one end of the room means ‘agree’ and the opposite side of the room is ‘disagree’. Ask the learners to line up along the line or in the centre of the space facing you. Instruct them to respond to a series of statements by moving toward the side of the room to either ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ with the given statement.
• All children should be able to go to school.
• Killing someone for any reason is wrong.
• People have the right to fight for what they believe in.
• Everyone has the right to live in peace.
• Pollution is only the responsibility of governments.
• Religions are a major cause of conflict in the world.

You are encouraged to identify your own statements that are sensitive to the context before the lesson.

• After finishing your statements, get the learners to sit in a circle and ask some of them to talk about their answers. Discuss some of the issues that they confronted and how this made them feel. If learners experienced difficulties in responding to the questions, ask them why they think this was so. A major point to come out of the discussion is that the world is not simple and that it is not always easy to decide what to believe and when to take a stand. Ask the learners about how they felt when others were standing on the other side of the line.
• Conclude the exercise by emphasizing how people’s beliefs and opinions differ and how that at times can lead to conflict. Discuss the importance of respecting those who may not have the same beliefs as us.

Activity Idea 2 – The Aardvark and the Elephant

The second activity intends to let learners reflect on the importance of listening. 

• Begin this activity by asking everyone to take out a piece of paper. Tell them that you are going to read the description of a real animal and that they are to draw the animal.
• An animal found largely in Africa
• Long tubular snout (clarify- the nose is shaped like a tube)
• Legs that are thin, in comparison with the size of its body
• Grey-brown hide
• Thick claws that can be used as digging tools
• Ask learners to hold up their pictures so that others may see what they have drawn. Ask them to reflect on the lesson from the activity, whether it was easy for them to draw what you were describing, and what made them draw it in the way they did.
• Listening : We tend to hear some basic pieces of information, and then jump to conclusions. Generally, we listen to the first part of what people say and then fill in the blanks.
• Internal Voice : When we listen, we generally have a voice inside of our head that comments on what the other person is saying and fills in with additional information. 
• Ask learners to reflect on how we can listen better. If they don’t come up with it themselves, ask them what would be visible signs that show someone is likely listening well to them. At the end, ask learners to form pairs to practice active listening. If time is available, you can ask how it was to practice active listening and discuss.
• Most learners will draw an elephant. They will then hear the last clue and be VERY confused. Some will draw long claws on the elephant, while others may cross out their picture and start over. For your reference, here is a picture of the animal, which is an Aardvark (a type of anteater):   

Activity Idea 3 – My Life Tree

This last activity aims to let learners reflect on their own identity and what contributed to shaping their identity.

• Ask learners to take out a piece of paper and outline a large tree that fills up the paper. The tree should be only an outline that includes, roots, trunk, branches, leaves, fruits, and flowers.
• Roots – Important beliefs that shape their life
• Trunk – Important people in their life
• Branches – Their strengths
• Leaves – Challenging experiences they have had in their life
• Flowers – What makes them happy
• Fruits – Some of the most important achievements
• Tell students to write their responses to each part of the tree and take time to reflect on their answers.
• Ask learners to pair up and share the story of their life tree with their partner. After a while ask them to interchange their sharing roles. Invite participants to move around the room while holding their tree in front of their chest.
• Invite them to come together in a circle, and share similarities, differences, and anything else they found during the sharing with one another. Let them reflect on takeaways from the activity.

These activity ideas are sourced from  A Practical Guide and  Youth Guide on Education for Peacebuilding and the Prevention of Violence .  You can find more activity ideas and information on  UNESCO IICBA’s website . The activity chapter is also available in the French version:  Autonomisation des jeunes pour la construction de la paix et de la résilience et pour la prévention de l’extrémisme violent au Sahel et dans les pays environnants: guide de l’enseignant . We hope those examples help explain how education for peace and transformative pedagogy may work.

• Reference Manager
• Simple TEXT file

People also looked at

Perspective article, building a culture of peace in everyday life with inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives.

• Facultad de Comercio, Administración y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

In this article, peace is emphasized as a vital condition for all aspects of our existence, as individuals, as a society, and in our planet. The importance of inter- and transdisciplinarity in promoting a culture of peace and peace education is presented. Some examples of initiatives aimed at cultivating a culture of peace from diverse areas of knowledge are also provided. The paper presents a current and interconnected viewpoint on peace study, as well as some ideas for combining peace with education in the everyday routine of teaching and research work, regardless of discipline.

Introduction

Peace is a global concept that is more relevant than ever in today’s society. It is not simply a concern for countries and governments; it is also a concern for individuals in their relationships with others and with the planet. According to Capistrano (2020) , peace is linked to the harmonious coexistence of individuals in their environment, which depends on principles such as social justice, sustainability, democracy and tolerance. A culture of peace can be fostered and promoted via education not only in large projects but also in everyday life. As stated by Cuéllar (2009) , ordinary life is a key object of philosophical reflection from which “a humanism up to the mark of our time” can be derived, and everyday life is “where we begin to forge ourselves as people, where we can completely fulfill ourselves, in terms of work, production and rest, in married and family life, in the experience of love, freedom and recognition of the other.”

This article highlights the importance of promoting peace education and a culture of peace through inter- and transdisciplinarity. The paper also provides examples of initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of peace from diverse areas of knowledge. Additionally, various concepts for integrating peace with education in everyday life are given, regardless of discipline.

An Imperfect and Everyday Peace

When asked “what is peace?” we tend to define it in terms of the absence of war, warlike conflicts, or discord. Known as a negative conception of peace, this perspective has persisted since ancient times. Conversely, positive peace emphasizes the promotion of values, respect, justice, equity, communication, collaboration, empathy, collaboration, and non-violence. Positive peace desires peace and wellbeing and avoids conflict at all costs. However, this concept appears perfect, utopian, or unattainable. As a result, a new approach termed “imperfect peace” has been developed ( Comins-Mingol, 2002 ). The reason it is imperfect is that we are perpetually reconstructing it; it is a dynamic, continuous, and multifaceted concept. Imperfect peace admits that peace and conflicts coexist. Acosta Oidor et al. (2021) explain that peace and violence are both present in every aspect of daily life and not only in a single field such as politics. Furthermore, they quote that peace is a road and not a state. Imperfect peace alludes to the imperfect nature of every human. The concept of imperfect peace is a productive field on which we can produce from our regular work routine.

Culture of Peace

Culture of peace refers to “lifestyles, belief patterns, values, behaviors, (…) wellbeing, equality, equitable administration of resources, security for individuals and families, (…) non-violence, and harmony” ( Cabello et al., 2016 ). Culture of peace is inclusive and complex because it incorporates knowledge, values, and communication. It also integrates physical, biological, and social aspects. Culture of peace is all-encompassing. Page (2008) defines peace education as “the process of acquiring values, knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself, others, and the natural environment.” Peace education encompasses personal, social, and planetary dimensions. Thus, can we integrate peace into every facet of our lives? Is it possible to improve coexistence between people to foster a culture of peace? Personally, I believe we may achieve both goals through our daily life activities.

Rationale for Inter- and Transdisciplinarity

Should we continue to foster a culture of peace by focusing on a single discipline or collaborating on several? According to Edgar Morin’s complex thinking ( Morin, 1994 ), our contemporary reality, phenomena, and problems are complex by nature. Complexity entails more than just difficulty; it also signifies that the problems are interconnected in a framework spanning several knowledge domains. Accordingly, to address problems and better comprehend our reality, they must be regarded as interconnected and inseparable in a feedback loop, that is, from a holistic and collaborative perspective of multiple disciplines. For this reason, reductionist perspectives are no longer enough for a pertinent understanding of our reality. In this context, two key elements emerge, namely the integration of diverse specialties and collaborative work, which facilitate inter and transdisciplinary work.

According to the literature, the concept of inter- and transdisciplinarity derives from an advanced and mature level of collaboration between multiple disciplines ( Escobar, 2010 ). First, disciplinarity occurs from specialization in a single area of knowledge. Then, multidisciplinarity emerges when several fields study the same object without interacting with one another. Pluridisciplinarity is the result of uncoordinated collaboration between different areas of knowledge. Finally, inter- and transdisciplinarity are achieved when some methodologies are transferred between disciplines (the former) and when a comprehensive and holistic perspective supports collaborations between disciplines, through them, and beyond them (the latter) ( Klein, 2010 ). In transdisciplinarity, cognitive schemes intersect disciplines. As a result of this advanced level of collaboration, disciplines often face problems, difficulties, or challenges. Transdisciplinarity itself is not an exception; the different approaches to its conceptualization have led to contradictory points of view. For Rigolot (2020) , these contradictions can be surpassed, by considering transdisciplinarity both as a discipline by itself and as a way of being. As a way of being, transdisciplinarity is fully incorporated into the human life and cannot be reduced to professional activities. This vision is compatible with that of Edgar Morin, who fully integrated transdisciplinary work with his personal life experiences ( Rigolot, 2020 ).

Inter- and Transdisciplinary Peace Education

Considering the aforementioned perspectives, effective peace education should be inter- and transdisciplinary. But how can we develop peace education through these approaches? First, embracing a complex conception of reality. In other words, reality should be viewed and understood from a broad perspective to avoid self-serving simplifications that prevent us from collaborating across disciplines. Second, our education should connect key issues such as life, humanity, culture, the planet, complexity, literature, art, philosophy, sustainability, and values regardless of field of knowledge. Third, teaching-learning processes should be adaptable, allowing teachers and students to see each subject as part of a complex whole interconnected through various mediations.

Accordingly, Lappin (2009) explains that it has been well acknowledged that peacebuilding is complex; however, there is a long-standing tendency to address peacebuilding from the point of view of a single discipline. Nicolescu (2012) adds that there is a direct and inexorable link between peace and transdisciplinarity and that any fragmented way of thinking is incompatible with peace research. Hence, education and the university must evolve to welcome a new humanism and adopt transdisciplinarity in their organization and conceptions. Along the same vein, Galtung (2010) asserts that true transdisciplinarity must be present in all aspects of the human condition, as multiple restricted or skewed perspectives will not provide a clear overview or an encompassing understanding of the whole.

Cabello et al. (2016) advocate that peace should be built on “education for justice and freedom; for reconciliation and brotherhood; for critical conscience and solidarity; for integral development and democracy; for the common good and participation; for human rights, and all the values that support and enable a culture of peace.” Acevedo Suárez and Báez Pimiento (2018) explain that educating for peace is inviting to act in the school microcosm and at the macro level of social structures. They conclude that peace education is a necessity that every educational institution must assume. París Albert (2019) exposes that peace education is also a primary tool to achieve the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda; this tool consists of creativity to imagine careful alternatives to face daily situations, as well as situations of injustice, social inequalities, environmental crises, and sustainable development.

Now comes the question of how we can educate for peace in our daily teaching and research work. Some guidelines ( Zurbano Díaz de Cerio, 1999 ) include cultivating values, learning to live with others, facilitating positive experiences, educating in conflict resolution, developing critical thinking, combating violence, educating in tolerance to diversity of dialogue, and rational argumentation. Furthermore, as educators, we must remember that our example is a powerful ally in all educational processes. We can deliver beautiful and eloquent speeches, but it is our everyday example that sows the most seeds of peace in others. We are also educating for peace via our own actions. We, as teachers, may encourage active listening, empathy, depersonalization of conflicts, and respect for limitations and opinions. In this approach, we may take small steps toward strengthening our coexistence and promoting a culture of peace.

Peace education must also be established at all levels, for all ages, and for all people. However, peace education has a significant impact on youth. Peace education is crucial during childhood and youth because the seeds we sow in them when they are young will flourish henceforth and bear fruit in the future for the benefit of our society. For this reason, youth represents both present and future peace and play a key role in peace education.

Currently, several discourses, initiatives, and indicators from different disciplines describe peace education. Many of them, though, remain limited to inert speeches. Peace, on the contrary, requires action ( Jordan et al., 2021 ). We can make peace education a reality in our teaching activities through inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. Teachers can have influence in everyday life by building meaningful relationships between education and research, as well as by consistently implementing curricular and extracurricular activities that foster a culture of peace through formal and non-formal training.

Examples of Peace-Building Initiatives From Institutions, Research, Teaching and Personal Experience

Initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of peace are commonly promoted by institutions, researchers or teachers. For example, the study by Jordan et al. (2021) highlights an institutional peacebuilding initiative at the University of New Mexico School of Engineering and Health Sciences Center, where summit of the World Engineering Education Forum and Global Engineering Deans Council were hosted. The theme was “Peace Engineering” with the focal point of science and engineering-based solutions to the world’s transcendent challenges. The event responded to the urgent need for engineers to reflect, understand, measure, and anticipate the intended and unforeseen implications of their work in a global context. The results of these events comprised establishing academic programs, starting new areas of education, research, and innovation relating to climate change, water, healthcare, food security, ethics, transparency, resilience, sustainability, social equity and diversity, as well as face-to-face and virtual academic events addressing peace, and engineering concerns.

In the research context, the project by Del Río Fernández et al. (2019) attempts to promote peace via the use of plastic and visual languages. The researchers gained this interdisciplinary experience with early childhood education student teachers through photographic exhibitions and mural workshops. They focused on developing respect for the ideas and beliefs of others, improving peaceful community life, and fostering pacific conflict resolution. This project is a clear illustration of how peace can be promoted from a variety of perspectives, such as the plastic arts.

In the teaching field, Miralay (2020) found that according to teachers’ perceptions, the awareness of the culture of peace by students through arts education would promote individual and social peace. They also found that families, school administrators and governmental institutions have an essential role in promoting peace. Also, it was evident that there are deficiencies in the institutions while performing this process. On the other hand, the work of Domínguez and Ordinas (2019) describes the application of a novel methodology to promote socially equitable education in university teaching in courses involving the past and present of relations between human societies and cultures on a global scale. The aim of their work is to use ludic methods instead of traditional methods of study. Their students were encouraged to have a critical, pluralistic, cooperative outlook on the meaning of peace. This pedagogical approach has enriched the way of teaching and generating historical knowledge by using cooperative games in the classroom.

I can present my personal experience with teaching software development. In the classroom I have incorporated agile approaches which recognize that software development has a strong human dimension. Thus, people take precedence over tools ( Beck et al., 2021 ). When these approaches are used in the classroom, students not only learn to program but also to collaborate while also learning to be tolerant. The principles of Egoless Programming ( Waychal and Capretz, 2018 ) are also addressed during the practical lessons to help students understand the importance of good interpersonal relationships when collaborating. These approaches have been incredibly helpful in software development teaching because they strengthen understanding, respect, empathy, tolerance, and collaboration among students. In addition, I have found through quantitative and mixed research approaches that collaborative programming can produce software with better attributes than those of individually developed programs. For example, pair programming has produced elevated levels of acceptance and well-structured programs in our sessions.

Peace and peace research are pertinent needs in our society. As teachers, we must promote peace education and a culture of peace from various angles. However, this is not an exclusive duty of teachers, but also requires the enthusiastic collaboration of institutions, students, parents, families, and communities. In this process, it is important to reflect on the contributions to peace that we can make in our everyday practice. Then, let us promote collaboration, dialogue, respect, active listening, and inclusion, using a cultural vision and living example of our behavior, thereby creating a culture of peace based on values and love in our daily lives as teachers or researchers.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Author Contributions

RR-H: conception, research, writing, editing, revising, and final draft.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We thank everyone who contributed to my encounter with the ideas presented in this manuscript. We thank Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas for the support provided to carry out this work.

Acevedo Suárez, A., and Báez Pimiento, A. (2018). La educación en cultura de paz. Herramienta de construcción de paz en el posconflicto. Ref. Política 20, 68–80. doi: 10.29375/01240781.3455

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Acosta Oidor, C., Tabares Rojas, L. A., Castillo Acosta, P. N., López Andrade, M. C., Ramírez Luque, L. F., Ortiz Arévalo, A. M., et al. (2021). Estrategias y mecanismos para la construcción de una cultura de paz en la educación secundaria en Bogotá, Colombia. Rev. Int. Educ. para Justicia Soc. 10, 245–258. doi: 10.15366/RIEJS2021.10.1.015

Beck, K., Beedle, M., Bennekum, A., van Cockburn, A., Cunningham, W., Fowler, M., et al. (2021). Agile ManifestoManifesto for Agile Software Development. https://agilemanifesto.org/ (accessed December 31, 2021).

Google Scholar

Cabello, P., Gorjón, C. C., Sáenz Vázquez, I., Sáenz, I., Gorjón, C., and At, E. (2016). Cultura de paz (1st ed.). Mexico City: Grupo Editorial Patria.

Capistrano, D. (2020). Education and support for a culture of peace: a critical comparative analysis using survey data. Glob. Change Peace Secur. 32, 39–55. doi: 10.1080/14781158.2020.1707790

Comins-Mingol, I. (2002). Reseña: “Construyendo la Paz, una Perspectiva Interdisciplinar y Transdisciplinar. Convergencia Rev. Cienc. Soc. 9, 321–336.

Cuéllar, H. (2009). Hacia un nuevo humanismo: filosofía de la vida cotidiana. Claves Pensam. 3, 11–34.

Del Río Fernández, P., Texeira Jiménez, R., and Ramos Delgado, S. (2019). “Educación para la paz a través de lenguajes actuales plásticos visuales: Una experiencia interdisciplinar en el grado de maestros de educación infantil,” in Proceedings of the VII Congreso de Educación Infantil y Formación Infantil y Formación de Educadores. Prácticas Emergentes En Educación Infantil , (Málaga: Universidad de Málaga), 1–9.

Domínguez, F. P., and Ordinas, E. B. (2019). Games for peace. Design of historical cooperative games in the classroom. Rev. Int. Educ. para Justicia Soc. 8, 163–180. doi: 10.15366/RIEJS2019.8.1.010

Escobar, Y. C. (2010). Interdisciplinariedad: Desafío Para La Educación Superior Y La Investigación. Luna Azul 31, 156–169. doi: 10.17151/luaz.2010.31.12

Galtung, J. (2010). Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution: The Need for Transdisciplinarity. Transcult. Psychiatry 47, 20–32. doi: 10.1177/1363461510362041

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Jordan, R., Agi, K., Arora, S., Christodoulou, C. G., Schamiloglu, E., Koechner, D., et al. (2021). Peace engineering in practice: A case study at the University of New Mexico. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 173:121113. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121113

Klein, J. T. (2010). A Taxonomy of Interdisciplinarity. in The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity , eds R. Frodeman, J. T. Klein, and C. Mitcham (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 15–30.

Lappin, R. (2009). Peacebuilding and the Promise of transdisciplinarity. Int. J. World Peace 26, 69–76.

Miralay, F. (2020). Peacebuilding Strategies in Conflict Societies Through Art Education?: Cyprus. Propósitos y Representaciones 8, 1–15. doi: 10.20511/pyr2020.v8nSPE2.795

Morin, E. (1994). Introducción al Pensamiento Complejo. Barcelona: Gedisa.

Nicolescu, B. (2012). The Need for Transdisciplinarity in Higher Education in a Globalized World. Transdiscipl. J. Eng. Sci. 3, 11–18. doi: 10.22545/2012/00031

Page, J. (2008). Peace Education: Exploring Ethical and Philosophical Foundations. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

París Albert, S. (2019). Educación para la Paz, Creatividad Atenta y Desarrollo Sostenible. Rev. Int. Educ. para Justicia Soc. 8:27. doi: 10.15366/riejs2019.8.1.002

Rigolot, C. (2020). Transdisciplinarity as a discipline and a way of being: complementarities and creative tensions. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun. 7:100. doi: 10.1057/s41599-020-00598-5

Waychal, P., and Capretz, L. F. (2018). Universality of egoless behavior of software engineering students. Int. J. Technol. Hum. Interact. 14, 99–112. doi: 10.4018/IJTHI.2018010106

Zurbano Díaz de Cerio, J. L. (1999). Educación Para la paz. Bases de una Educación para la paz y la Convivencia. Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra.

Keywords : culture of peace, peace, peace education, higher education, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinary education

Citation: Roque-Hernández RV (2022) Building a Culture of Peace in Everyday Life With Inter- and Transdisciplinary Perspectives. Front. Educ. 7:847968. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.847968

Received: 03 January 2022; Accepted: 06 June 2022; Published: 23 June 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Roque-Hernández. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Ramón Ventura Roque-Hernández, [email protected]

This article is part of the Research Topic

Education and Society: New Approaches for New Challenges

Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field: A Joint BI/CRQ Discussion BI and the Conflict Resolution Quarterly invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

Follow BI and the Hyper-Polarization Discussion on BI's New Substack Newsletter .

Hyper-Polarization, COVID, Racism, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative Read about (and contribute to) the  Constructive Conflict Initiative  and its associated Blog —our effort to assemble what we collectively know about how to move beyond our hyperpolarized politics and start solving society's problems. 

By Eric Brahm

July 2006  

Peace education (also called co-existence education) involves the use of teaching tools designed to bring about a more peaceful society. Topics addressed may include philosophical and practical issues such as human rights , conflict management, international relations, development , and the environment . Peace education has also been used in order to facilitate gender equality. These programs focus on income, health, and power disparities between men and women as well as examining the traditions and structures that have led to the disadvantaged position of women. At its core, peace education emphasizes empowerment and nonviolence and involves building a democratic community, teaching cooperation, developing moral sensitivity, promoting self-esteem, and stimulating critical thinking.[1]

A number of key components of an effective peace education program have been identified. [2]

• First, programs should be compulsory and integrated to facilitate interaction with those from other groups in order to build positive relationships. Examples from Northern Ireland suggest that intra-community interventions, or single identity work , are important precursors to initiating encounters between opposing communities. [3]
• Second, there needs to be a recognition that opponents will come to the program with incompatible agendas and perceptions, but this may be turned into an opportunity. For example, coexistence education may have different meanings for each side because of the likely power disparity between them. [4] Whereas low-power groups often have greater awareness of high-power groups, [5] these programs can generate mutual awareness.
• A third emphasis is on fostering civic values . It appears that generating scenarios in which different groups come into contact in a safe setting can be beneficial in developing more cooperative relations. Following Allport's contact hypothesis, [6] if conditions are optimal, namely working collaboratively to achieve common goals, intergroup contact may promote altered intergroup attitudes. Trust and cooperative relations may be built amongst opponents through such things a dialogue , sharing personal experiences, and collaborating on projects for mutual benefit. [7] Competitive situations should be avoided and interaction needs to go beyond superficial exchanges.
• Fourth, a sense of shared goals and common fate needs to be established as well as an acceptance that the fruits will be justly distributed in order to ultimately build a common identity . Developing strong and empathic interpersonal relationships appears to be important in appreciating the viewpoint of the other.
• Fifth, many advocate the constructive controversy procedure, which helps develop skills to make difficult decisions and to engage in political discourse. However, forcing program participants to adopt their opponent's viewpoint, particularly while the conflict is ongoing, will likely be viewed as threatening. Drawing lessons from other conflicts, however, appears to be more effective. [8]
• A sixth key component is teaching integrative negotiation and peer mediation as a means of constructively resolving conflicts.
• Seventh, peace education requires continued reinforcement to withstand the forces of division and time. This supports research that suggests while workshops are effective in changing hearts and minds, they typically provide meager support for changing behavior particularly once one is back in one's own group. [9] For example, it is unclear whether information about out-group participants will generate changed beliefs about the group in general. Furthermore, these new beliefs may not change attitudes. What is more, changed attitudes may not in fact change behavior due to other pressures. Peace education programs also need to be cognizant of local conflict conditions to make them relevant. [10]

Peace education is relevant for a range of conflict stages from latent hostility to the height of violent conflict to peacebuilding efforts. For those in danger of falling into conflict, dialogue may generate intergroup understanding in order to hinder conflict escalation . It may also help expose the use of education, particularly of history, in fomenting instability and distrust . For those in the midst of conflict, peace education may sow the seeds of understanding and provide nonviolent tools where violence is the accepted norm. For those who are emerging from conflict, peace education presents an opportunity to confront the historical myths that often contribute to conflict. Transitional periods often also present opportunities to reform education.

The international role in peace education is also expanding. There is a recognition that education has been used politically and, unless challenged, the persistence of divergent views of history can be a source of latent conflict. Aid agencies are interested in providing peace education to school-aged refugees who may be displaced by conflict or natural disaster which may itself sow the seeds of conflict. Much attention has also focused on civic education on the assumption that buying into democratic values will reduce destructive conflict.

A collaborative project involving the Teachers College of Columbia University, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the Afghanistan Ministry of Education will publish textbook in four local languages and introduce participatory, active, experiential to promote peace. [11]

In PRIME's Writing the Shared History project, Jewish and Palestinian teachers and historians collaboratively developed a text to transform the history education in the region.[12] In the book, one column describes the Palestinian perspective in Arabic; another column describes the Jewish perspective in Hebrew; the third is blank in order to encourage students to write about their personal experience. [13]

In Northern Ireland, the "Review of the School Community Relations Programme" [14] found that cross-community programs in Northern Ireland schools did not pay enough attention to the importance of the environment in which contact was initiated and teachers would sometimes shy away from controversial issues. [15] In addition, the report attests to the importance of support from administration and management [16] as well as adequate teacher training. [17]

National Board for Human Rights Education in Croatia introduced a peace education component in 1999 into curriculum from preschool through high school. [18]

Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva (JACP) uses instruction, education, research, and community involvement with diverse populations. [19]

One innovative program saw Israeli-Jewish high school students study the Northern Ireland conflict for a few weeks.[20] Although the instruction did not mention the Israeli--Palestinian conflict, after the Northern Ireland unit they were asked to write about the Israeli--Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian point of view. Most students participating in the program were able to write thoughtful, impartial essays while the vast majority of non-participants were unable to write anything. In short, program participants appeared able to walk in Palestinian shoes.

Updated Additional Resources

[1] Harris, Ian M. and Mary Lee Morrison Peace Education , 2nd ed. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2003).

[2] See for example Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2000). Does intergroup contact reduce prejudice?: Recent meta-analytic findings. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Reducing prejudice and discrimination. "The Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology" (pp. 93--114). Mahwah,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.; UlrikeNiens and EdCairns. 2005. Conflict, Contact, and Education in Northern Ireland. Theory Into Practice , Vol. 44, No. 4: 341-2.; David W.Johnson and Roger T.Johnson. 2005. Essential Components of Peace Education. Theory Into Practice , Vol. 44, No. 4: pages 280-292.; HaggaiKupermintz and GavrielSalomon. 2005. Lessons to Be Learned From Research on Peace Education in the Context of Intractable Conflict. Theory Into Practice , Vol. 44, No. 4. 300.

[3] Joined in Equity, Diversity and Interdependence. (JEDI). (2002). Community relations and education for citizenship with the Northern Ireland youth service. Belfast, Northern Ireland: Author.; Kilpatrick, R., & Leitch, R. (2004). Teachers' and pupils' educational experiences and school-based responses to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Journal of Social Issues , 54, 563--586.

[4] Gerson, J., & Opotow, S. (2004). Deadly conflict and the challenge of coexistence. Book review of G. Salomon & B. Nevo (Eds.). (2002). Peace education: The concept, principles, and practices around the world . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. In Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 4 , 265--268.

[5] Kidder, L. H. (2000). Dependents in the master's house: When rock dulls scissors. In S. Dickey & K. M. Adams (Eds.), Home and hegemony: Domestic service and identity politics in South and Southeast Asia (pp. 207--220). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

[6] Allport, G.W. (1954). The nature of prejudice . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

[7] Maoz, I. (2005). Evaluating the communication between groups in dispute: Equality in contact interventions between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Negotiation Journal , 21, 131--146.

[8] Lustig, I. (2002). The effects of studying distal conflicts on the perception of a proximal one. Unpublished masters thesis, University of Haifa (Hebrew).; HaggaiKupermintz and GavrielSalomon. 2005. Lessons to Be Learned From Research on Peace Education in the Context of Intractable Conflict. Theory Into Practice , Vol. 44, No. 4: 294.

[9] Clark McCauley "Head-first versus Feet-first in Peace Education" in Peace Education: The Concept, Principles, and Practices Around the world Gavriel Salomon and Baruch Nevo, eds. (Mahwah , NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002) 247-258.

[10] Alan Tidwell. 2004. Conflict, Peace, and Education: A Tangled Web. Conflict Resolution Quarterly , vol. 21, no. 4, Summer. 463-470.

[11] Gall, C. (2004, December 27). Afghan students are back, but not the old textbooks. The New York Times , A11.

[12] http://vispo.com/PRIME/leohn.htm

[13] http://www.beyondintractability.org/audiodisplay/chaitin-j

[14] O'Connor, U., Hartop, B., & McCully, A. (2002). A review of the School Community Relations Programme 2002 . Retrieved November 19, 2004, from http://www.deni.gov.uk/20review_of_schools_cr_prog.pdf

[15] Kilpatrick, R., & Leitch, R. (2004). Teachers' and pupils' educational experiences and school-based responses to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Journal of Social Issues , 54, 563--586.

[16] Osler, A., & Starkey, H. (1998). Children's rights and citizenship: Some implications for the management of schools. The International Journal of Children's Rights , 6, 313--333.

[17] Kilpatrick, R., & Leitch, R. (2004). Teachers' and pupils' educational experiences and school-based responses to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Journal of Social Issues , 54, 563--586.; Ross, A. (1999). Some reflections on citizenship in the national curriculum. Primary Teaching Studies, 11 , 20--23.

[18] Dinka Corkalo "Croatia: For Peace Education in New Democracies" in Peace Education: The Concept, Principles, and Practices Around the world Gavriel Salomon and Baruch Nevo, eds. (Mahwah , NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002) 177-186.

[19] Sarah Ozacky-Lazar "Israel: An Integrative Peace Education in an NGO-The Case of the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva in Peace Education , pp. 187-192.

[20] Lustig, I. (2002). The effects of studying distal conflicts on the perception of a proximal one. Unpublished masters thesis, University of Haifa (Hebrew).

Use the following to cite this article: Brahm, Eric. "Peace Education." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2006 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/peace-education >.

Additional Resources

The intractable conflict challenge.

Our inability to constructively handle intractable conflict is the most serious, and the most neglected, problem facing humanity. Solving today's tough problems depends upon finding better ways of dealing with these conflicts.   More...

Selected Recent BI Posts Including Hyper-Polarization Posts

• Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Roles - Part 2 -- The first of two posts explaining the actor roles needed for a massively parallel peacebuilding/democracy building effort to work, which combined with an earlier post on strategy roles, makes up the current MPP role list.
• Lorelei Kelly on Strengthening Democracy at the Top and the Bottom -- Lorelei Kelly describes the work of the bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress which passed 202 recommendations, many unanimously. Over 1/2 have been implemented and most others are in progress.
• Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of March 24, 2024 -- A rename of our regular "colleague and context links" to highlight how these readings and the activities they describe all fit within our "massively parallel" peace and democracy building framework--or show why it is needed.

Get the Newsletter Check Out Our Quick Start Guide

Educators Consider a low-cost BI-based custom text .

Constructive Conflict Initiative

Join Us in calling for a dramatic expansion of efforts to limit the destructiveness of intractable conflict.

Things You Can Do to Help Ideas

Practical things we can all do to limit the destructive conflicts threatening our future.

Conflict Frontiers

A free, open, online seminar exploring new approaches for addressing difficult and intractable conflicts. Major topic areas include:

Scale, Complexity, & Intractability

Massively Parallel Peacebuilding

Authoritarian Populism

Constructive Confrontation

Conflict Fundamentals

An look at to the fundamental building blocks of the peace and conflict field covering both “tractable” and intractable conflict.

Beyond Intractability / CRInfo Knowledge Base

Home / Browse | Essays | Search | About

BI in Context

Links to thought-provoking articles exploring the larger, societal dimension of intractability.

Colleague Activities

Information about interesting conflict and peacebuilding efforts.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Beyond Intractability or the Conflict Information Consortium.

Beyond Intractability 

Unless otherwise noted on individual pages, all content is... Copyright © 2003-2022 The Beyond Intractability Project c/o the Conflict Information Consortium All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced without prior written permission.

Guidelines for Using Beyond Intractability resources.

Citing Beyond Intractability resources.

Photo Credits for Homepage, Sidebars, and Landing Pages

Contact Beyond Intractability    Privacy Policy The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project  Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess , Co-Directors and Editors  c/o  Conflict Information Consortium Mailing Address: Beyond Intractability, #1188, 1601 29th St. Suite 1292, Boulder CO 80301, USA Contact Form

Powered by  Drupal

production_1

What is Peace Education?

Key concepts & characteristics.

Peace education is education both about and for peace . 

Th e above, very simplified and succinct conceptualization of peace education is a good starting point for exploring a field of learning, knowledge, and practice that is complex and nuanced. (For additional perspectives, see “ Quotes: Defining and Conceptualizing Peace Education ” below.)

Education “about” peace captures much of the substance of the learning.  It invites reflection and analysis on the conditions of sustainable peace and how to achieve them.  It also involves understanding and critically examining violence in all of its multiple forms and manifestations.

Education “for” peace orients peace education towards preparing and cultivating learners with knowledge, skills and capacities to pursue peace and to nonviolently respond to conflict.  It is also concerned with nurturing inner moral and ethical resources that are essential to external peace action. In other words, peace education seeks to nurture dispositions and attitudes that are necessary for engaging in transformative action for peaceful change.  Peace education is particularly futures oriented, preparing students to envision and build more preferred realities. 

Pedagogy is another important dimension of education “for” peace.  How we teach has a significant impact on learning outcomes and shapes how students will apply what they learn.  As such, peace education seeks to model a pedagogy that is consistent with the values and principles of peace (Jenkins, 2019). In the tradition of American philosopher John Dewey (Dewey, 1916) and Brazilian popular educator Paulo Freire (Freire, 2017), peace education pedagogy is typically  learner-centered,  seeking to draw forth knowledge from the learner’s reflection on experience rather than impose knowledge through a process of indoctrination.  Learning and development occur, not from experience as such, but from reflective experience. Transformative peace pedagogy is holistic, incorporating cognitive, reflective, affective, and active dimensions into the learning.

Peace education takes place in many contexts and settings , both inside and outside of schools.  Considered most broadly, education can be understood as the intentional and organized process of learning.  Integrating peace education into schools is a strategic goal of the Global Campaign for Peace Education, as formal education plays a fundamental role in producing and reproducing knowledge and values in societies and cultures.  Non-formal peace education, taking place in conflict settings, communities, and in homes, is a critical complement to formal endeavors.  Peace education is an essential component of peacebuilding, supporting conflict transformation, community development, and community and individual empowerment. 

Peace education, as it has emerged for those engaged in the international network of the GCPE, is global in scope yet culturally specific .  It seeks to holistically identify and acknowledge the intersections and interdependencies between global phenomena (war, patriarchy, colonialism, economic violence, climate change, pandemics) and local manifestations of violence and injustice.  While a holistic, comprehensive approach is most ideal, we also acknowledge that peace education must be contextually relevant.  It should be cultural contextualized and emerge from the concerns, motivations, and experiences of a given population.  “ While we argue for the universal need for peace education, we do not advocate the universalization and standardization of approach and content ” (Reardon & Cabezudo, 2002, p. 17 ).  People, communities, and cultures are not standardized, as such, nor should their learning be.  Betty Reardon and Alicia Cabezudo observe that “peacemaking is the continuous task of humanity, a dynamic process, not a static state. It requires a dynamic, continually renewed process of education” ( 2002 , p . 20 ).

It therefore goes hand-in-hand that the approach utilized, and themes emphasized, reflect a particular historical, social, or political context.  A variety of significant approaches have emerged over the past 50+ years, including conflict resolution education, democracy education, development education, education for sustainable development, disarmament education, racial justice education, restorative justice education and social emotional learning.  Mapping Peace Education identifies several overarching approaches and sub-themes ( see a complete categorization here ).  Country profiles are classified according to significant approaches and themes to aid researchers in comparing and learning from different contexts.  Many of these approaches are not explicitly identified as “peace education.” Nonetheless they are included in our list of approaches as their implicit social purposes and learning goals contribute directly to the development of cultures of peace.   

We hope this brief introduction provides a modest orientation to some of the key concepts and characteristics of peace education, an often misunderstood, complex, dynamic, and ever-changing field.  We encourage readers to dive deeper into the field by exploring additional resources, conceptions, and definitions.  Below you will find several quotes defining peace education from slightly different perspectives.  At the bottom of the page you will also find a short list of what we believe to be accessible and historical resources for a more thorough introduction to peace education. 

-Tony Jenkins (August 2020)

• Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education . The Macmillan company.
• Freire, P. (2017). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). Bloomsbury. 
• Jenkins T. (2019) Comprehensive peace education. In: Peters M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Teacher Education . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_319-1 . 
• Reardon, B. & Cabezudo, A. (2002). Learning to abolish war: Teaching toward a culture of peace. Hague Appeal for Peace. 

Quotes: Defining and Conceptualizing Peace Education

“Peace education is education both about and for peace. It is an academic field of inquiry, and the practice(s) of teaching and learning, oriented toward and for the elimination of all forms of violence, and the establishment of a culture of peace. Peace education has its origins in responses to evolving social, political, and ecological crises and concerns of violence and injustice.”  – Tony Jenkins .  [Jenkins T. (2019) Comprehensive peace education . In: Peters M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Teacher Education . Springer, Singapore.  (p. 1)]

“Peace education, or an education that promotes a culture of peace, is essentially transformative. It cultivates the knowledge base, skills, attitudes and values that seek to transform people’s mindsets, attitudes and behaviors that, in the first place, have either created or exacerbated violent conflicts. It seeks this transformation by building awareness and understanding, developing concern and challenging personal and social action that will enable people to live, relate and create conditions and systems that actualize nonviolence, justice, environmental care and other peace values.”   – Loreta Navarro-Castro & Jasmin Nario-Galace . [Navarro-Castro, L. & Nario-Galace, J. (2019). Peace education: A pathway to a culture of peace, (3rd Edition) , Center for Peace Education, Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines. (p. 25) ]

“Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.”   – Universal Declaration of Human Rights . [The United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (p. 6)]

“Peace education in UNICEF refers to the process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behaviour changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national or international level.” – Susan Fountain / UNICEF. [Fountain, S. (1999). Peace education in UNICEF . UNICEF. (p. 1)]

“Peace education can be defined as: the transmission of knowledge about requirements of, the obstacles to, and possibilities for achieving and maintaining peace; training in skills for interpreting the knowledge; and the development of reflective and participatory capacities for applying the knowledge to overcome problems and achieve possibilities.” – Betty Reardon .  [Reardon, B. (2000). Peace education: A review and a projection. In B. Moon, M. Ben-Peretz & S. Brown (Eds.), Routledge international companion to education . Taylor & Francis. (p. 399)]

“The general purpose of peace education, as I understand it, is to promote the development of an authentic planetary consciousness that will enable us to function as global citizens and to transform the present human condition by changing the social structures and the patterns of thought that have created it. This transformational imperative must, in my view, be at the center of peace education.” – Betty Reardon . [ Reardon, B. (1988). Comprehensive peace education: Educating for global responsibility . Teachers College Press.   

“Peace education is multidimensional and holistic in its content and process. We can imagine it as a tree with many robust branches…. Among the various forms or facets of peace education practice are: Disarmament Education, Human Rights Education, Global Education, Conflict Resolution Education, Multicultural Education, Education for International Understanding, Interfaith Education, Gender-fair/Nonsexist Education, Development Education and Environmental Education. Each of these focuses on a problem of direct or indirect violence. Each form of peace education practice also includes a particular knowledge base as well as a normative set of skills and value-orientations that it wants to develop. ” – Loreta Navarro-Castro & Jasmin Nario-Galace . [Navarro-Castro, L. & Nario-Galace, J. (2019). Peace education: A pathway to a culture of peace, (3rd Edition) , Center for Peace Education, Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines. (p. 35) ]

“Peace education in the context of conflict and tension can be characterized as follows: 1) It is edu-psychologically rather than politically oriented. 2) It addresses primarily ways of relating to a threatening adversary.  3) It focuses on intergroup more than interpersonal relations.  4) It aims at changing hearts and minds with respect to an adversary involved in a particular context.”   – Gavriel Salomon and Ed Cairns . [Salomon, G. & Cairns, E. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook on peace education . Psychology Press. (p. 5)]

“Peace education… is especially concerned with the role of education (formal, non-formal, informal) in contributing to a culture of peace and emphasizes methodological and pedagogical processes and modes of learning that are essential for transformative learning and nurturing attitudes and capacities for pursuing peace personally, interpersonally, socially and politically.  In this regard, peace education is intentionally transformative and politically and action oriented.” -Tony Jenkins .  [Jenkins, T. (2015).  Theoretical Analysis and Practical Possibilities for Transformative, Comprehensive Peace Education. Thesis for the degree of Philosphiae Doctor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. (p. 18)]

“An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to understand the times in which they live.” – Maria Montessori

General Resources on Peace Education for Further Study

Please see the Global Campaign for Peace Education for an overview of peace education news, activities, and research conducted around the world.  

• Reardon, B. & Cabezudo, A. (2002). Learning to abolish war: Teaching toward a culture of peace . Hague Appeal for Peace. 
• Navarro-Castro, L. & Nario-Galace, J. (2019). Peace education: A pathway to a culture of peace, (3rd Edition) . Center for Peace Education, Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines.
• Reardon, B. (1988). Comprehensive peace education: Educating for global responsibility . Teachers College Press.  [Currently out of print.  A new edition will be published in 2020 by Peace Knowledge Press .]
• Reardon, B. (2000). Peace education: A review and projection . In Moon, B., Brown, S.  & Peretz, M.B. (Eds.). Routledge international companion to education . Routledge.
• UNESCO. (1974). Recommendation concerning education for international understanding, co-operation and peace and education relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms . UNESCO.
• UNESCO. (1995). Declaration and integrated framework of action on education for peace, human rights and democracy . UNESCO.
• Harris, I. & Morrison, M. L. (2013).   Peace education: 3 rd edition .   McFarland.
• Jenkins, T. (2004). Comprehensive programme and course planning frameworks for the University for Peace Masters Degree Programme in Peace Education: Guidelines for course developers and instructors . DEP/CPF/1.1. University for Peace.
• Salomon, G., & Nevo, B. (2002). Peace education: The concept, principles, and practices around the world . Lawrence Earlbaum.
• Bajaj, M. (Ed.). (2008). Encyclopedia of Peace Education . Information Age Publishing.
• Danesh, H. B. (Ed.). (2011). Education for Peace Reader . EFP Press.
• Page, James S. (2008)  Peace Education: Exploring Ethical and Philosophical Foundations . Information Age Publishing.
• Reardon, B. A., & Snauwaert, D. T. (Eds.). (2015). Betty A. Reardon:  A pioneer in education for peace and human rights . Springer.
• Snauwaert, D. T. (Ed.). (2019). Exploring Betty A. Reardon’s perspective on peace education – Looking back, looking forward . Springer.

SPREAD PEACE-ED

• Current Edition
• About Kosmos
• Submit a Work
• Join | Donate
• Full Archive
• Your cart is currently empty.
• Journal Articles

Reflections on Transformative Education: Toward Peace Learning Systems

Global transformation through peace learning systems.

Over the past 15 years, I have worked on peace education programs in communities in the US and abroad and have personally seen community members, teachers, and students from a diverse array of social backgrounds engage in the work of transformative education. Peace education strives to empower future generations to use “the capacity and inclination to make peace, to bring about a nonviolent and just social order” with an overt normative understanding that the manifestation of these changes will be “the primary indicator of a maturing of our species” (Reardon, 1993, p. 56). 1

Peace education trains and supports students in exploring how to more effectively analyze and respond to conflict and social inequality. It aims to develop tools for building a more sustainable and just world for all.

On numerous occasions, I have had the honor to witness young women and men that have experienced lives filled with violence step more deeply into leadership roles in order to bring about nonviolent change in their communities and schools. I have seen young people that lost friends to violence transform the desire for revenge into a passion for teaching their peers about nonviolence and encouraging them to fight for economic and racial justice in their communities. I have seen adults that carry the pain of having lost a close loved one to gang violence regain a sense of hope by teaching younger children how to constructively engage with conflict. I have watched as high school students in a wealthy suburb initiate difficult conversations about racial and religious discrimination in their homes and communities, while challenging the unspoken benefits they received as a result of these discriminatory systems. These are the kinds of moments in workshops and community-based education that provide inspiration for peace educators.

Often transformative education is framed in terms of ‘deep change’ at the individual level, with the focus mainly on moments where large shifts in personal understanding, purpose, and sense of possibility seem to occur. While these moments of change are important, these shifts occur within a larger context, often through sustained engagement within and across various educational communities and through a series of encounters supportive of such change.

A focus on only specific moments in which a shift occurs can be misleading because it misses the larger processes of transformation. Our challenge then is to more deeply understand these snapshots of change (a powerful moment resulting from a single workshop or training) by widening our view to see these changes as part of the broader educational system of which they are a part. This wider view helps us understand the complex dynamics at play in transformative education.

In this article, I will highlight the presence of peace learning systems that integrate formal and informal education efforts at the community level. My hope is that this article will spark a conversation about the most effective ways to understand and support the growth of these peace learning systems and trace the linkages between local, regional, and transnational peace education efforts. I believe these peace learning systems are necessary to transform the dynamics of violence and injustice.

Transformative Education—A Systemic View

Education and individual transformation always take place in a larger systemic context. This is especially significant for those of us who are interested in preventing violence and playing a role in transforming oppressive social conditions that give rise to violence because it places the educator in a position that demands social action in addition to and as a part of the teaching role. In other words, as the social conditions change, so do the educational possibilities; likewise, as individuals engage in transformative learning, their ideas of what kinds of education and community are possible also shift. If a student goes to a school where there are frequent rocket blasts and where their school could potentially be targeted, this impacts their learning, worldview, sense of hope, and ability to act as peacebuilders. If we stop the immediate violence, new fields of possibilities can emerge for that person.

If we are focused on shifting violence, one of the primary challenges is that violence is an effect of complex systemic dynamics, and therefore, disrupting or transforming those dynamics requires complex multi-level intervention. If we take urban youth gun violence in the US as an example, the need for thinking in more complex terms about the problems of violence is evident. Those dynamics of violence are often fueled by economic inequality and lack of opportunity, by underfunded schools, by the presence of gangs and the underground economy, and by high levels of police surveillance, frequent harassment, and disproportionately high levels of police violence toward youth of color (disproportionate minority contact). These dynamics take place as a result of the historical and continuing practice of racial and economic discrimination not only by individuals but also through institutional practices and policies. We might argue then that to

transform these dynamics, we need systemic solutions (e.g., ways of generating meaningful work that pays a living wage; a movement toward educational change that allows communities to participate in making their schools stronger and to develop education that is responsive and relevant to student needs; creating greater police accountability through community policing and civilian oversight; etc.).

One challenge for individuals and organizations interested in transforming violence is how to develop and sustain multi-level interventions. In all likelihood, no single individual or organization is in a position to respond to all these issues, nor would such a response be advisable given the huge array of knowledge and skills needed to engage in these activities. Widespread community ownership of these processes is necessary for the change to be sustainable over time.

Education plays a potentially important role in addressing this challenge. It can provide spaces and support for those impacted most directly by these dynamics to find solutions to their own problems and connect with allies in the change process. It can also assist with institutionalization of peace processes: generating training for police about nonviolent intervention, offering classes in schools about strategies for peacemaking, and providing spaces for people to think through how best to organize themselves to advocate for their needs. Ideally, peace education can unlock the creative potential of a community to disrupt the cycles of violence.

Emergent Peace Learning Systems

We are often taught to think of education primarily in terms of the classroom environment within a school, a setting where learning is largely set apart from many of the other spaces we occupy in our daily lives. Large-scale education systems in the West initially sought to respond to the need to ‘efficiently’ educate large numbers of people for the routine work that dominated much of production during the industrial revolution. In this model, teachers worked in isolated classroom spaces that were easy to regulate and control; this is what many have referred to as the factory model of education.

Current practices in peace education have moved away from that traditional factory model of education. If we think about all the places where people develop their understanding of any specific topic or even sense of what is possible related to human behavior, it is difficult to pinpoint any social location in which learning does not take place. We learn in our homes, on the street (sometimes with strangers), when we travel, and through a host of institutions we engage with and are embedded within. Even if we just narrow our view to formal and informal education there are a wide range of spaces that are dedicated primarily to education. We can think of pre-schools, public schools, and higher education as examples of formal education, as well as community programs, museums, and community organizations that frequently use democratic and participatory processes of organizing and learning as examples of informal education. Recognizing the breadth of locales where learning occurs and the variety of forms it takes, peace educators continue to develop new approaches to education.

In terms of formal education, schools are at the center of a growing movement for peace education. There are numerous programs with proven results in reducing violence in schools and inspiring young people to lead change in their communities. Programs offering restorative justice 2 create opportunities for students, teachers, and administrators to develop their conflict resolution skills and provide alternative approaches to punitive discipline. There are also highly successful peer mediation 3 programs where young people take the lead in helping other students to talk before interpersonal conflicts spiral out of control. These programs 4 have already resulted in high levels of student engagement and a reduction in the number of fights in schools. 5

What I have found in my work is that peace educators and others engaged in education with a focus on violence prevention operate in a highly varied array of environments that include but are not limited to schools. Many people know that the problems of violence require broad, collaborative responses across multiple levels of systems. It is the rule, not the exception, that people engaged in peace education collaborate in networks that weave together formal and informal educators in dynamic and complex ways.

There are hundreds of examples of these forms of emergent and novel collaborations amongst peace educators. For example, while working in Japan, I learned that in the decades following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, peace educators there committed to develop and share nuclear disarmament education globally—to be a center for understanding the risks of nuclear war and the strategies for disarmament. In recognizing a need to learn from other peace educators, Japanese practitioners saw the need to engage other educators outside of their immediate locale; they engaged with educators from China, Korea, Singapore, and India to learn alternative educational practices. In the process, some of these educators were then challenged to more deeply recognize the negative impact of Japan’s imperial past on their neighbors and were moved to engage more deeply with other educators in the region to address these injustices. Their curriculum shifted as a result of these encounters, as did some of their priorities and sense of possibility for the field.

As result of local, regional, and international collaboration, peace education has moved toward more integrated interdisciplinary approaches and amassed an eclectic body of pedagogical work and curricula. Increasingly, peace educators have sought to understand “the relational processes impacting on conflicts, poverty and wealth, human exploitation, destruction of ecosystems, weapons proliferation, terrorism, and so on.” 6 These collaborations on such a wide variety of concerns continue to spur growing numbers of peace educators to build alternative visions of education that address the complex, fluid, and interrelated nature of local and global problems.

Planetary Education and Action

In developing methods to support the cultivation of ethical, analytical, and creative approaches for addressing violence and building a more sustainable world, peace educators continue to develop new forms of collaboration and educational innovation. The interrelated nature of the social and environmental problems peace educators work on demand systemic and multi-level responses, especially as linkages between the local and global become more clear. This development of networks of affinity and interest is also facilitated by technological advances that allow for greater contact between people via high-speed travel, increased sharing of cultural symbols and values circulated via global media, and the ability to have real-time conversations across great distances via the Internet.

I contend in this article that systemic problems need systemic responses and peace education networks may already provide some of the social infrastructure for those responses. This diversification of collaboration and communication that is happening within the field carries with it increased possibilities for transformative action within complex systems. In particular, peace education networks increasingly have the capacity for more complex social organizing, and they demonstrate in their daily practices that alternative forms of education that are critical of systems of violence and proactive in their responses to that violence are not only possible but are already present globally.

These networks have the ability to generate multiple spaces for the convergence of people from very different backgrounds, to expand the points of intervention within systems, to multiply the diversity of responses and, when necessary, the power to disrupt and challenge institutions where power is consolidated. Perhaps peace educators are playing their role in the development of what Graeme Chesters and Ian Welsh have termed planetary action systems7 that are developing within larger global social movements.

While a focus on supporting a single intervention or organization in response to violence is unlikely to be effective in the long run, it is not enough to point out these shortcomings. We need to develop more comprehensive approaches for supporting peace education. Numerous researchers of social movements have deepened our understanding of how nonviolent social change occurs. However, more systematic thinking and theorizing about the role of peace education within larger movements for change is necessary to advance this effort, especially when based upon experiences of people engaged in the work of peace education and their allies.

The task is to better understand how people involved in peace learning systems are collaborating and learning together, where the spaces for convergence and collaboration are, what processes are being used to build understanding across lines of difference, and when and how people within peace learning systems mobilize to take action. While the challenges that peace educators seek to respond to are great, so is the opportunity. The growth of these systems will be fueled by the creativity of an increasingly diverse and connected community of people around the world.

If you would like to share your experiences and knowledge on this topic, visit www.peacelearner.org and join to contribute to this user-populated site that I host along with international peace educator Daryn Cambridge (www.daryncambridge.com).

1 Reardon, B. (1988). Comprehensive Peace Education: Educating for Global Responsibility, New York: Teachers College Press. 2 ryoyoakland.oega/restorative- justice 3 bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/what- makes-a-good-peer-mediator/719.html 4 ctnonviolence.org 5 rethinkingschools.org//cmshandler.asp?archive/26_02/26_02_haga.shtml 6 Synott,J. (2005) Peace education as an educational paradigm; Review of a changing field using an old measure. Journal of Peace Education, 2(l):3-16. 7 Chesters, G., & Welsh, 1. (2005). Complexity and social movement(s): Process, 211.

Add comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

CAPTCHA Code *

Yes, I’d like to join for free to receive the new  Kosmos Journal  and access to the full archive.

Staff and Advisors

The Four Freedoms  

Introduction, the four freedoms and artificial intelligence, the rights of all beings, conversations, ‘the grab’ | conspiring to control the world’s food and water, with four freedoms, four responsibilities, the promise of liberty and the pain of separation, philanthropy as a territory of transition, fear, freedom and the queer world of quantum mechanics, a participant critique of the french mutual aid network, solaris, spotlight on hanne strong, origin | from “the story of gaia”, why beauty matters, mixed media, deep adaptation | a quartet of videos, this feature is self-generated, searching for a more beautiful world, with charles eisenstein, navigating the storm of global change, the sanctity of food, mugwort | plants rule the world, eleanor on 72nd street, exactly this spot | how air is, graffiti on the lee monument | gray, listening to the intelligence of your body, blessed community   the families we make, becoming ‘blessed community’, love, care and community, find the others | start a conscious change collective, are transition towns our key to a more beautiful future, mindful living at morningsun, prisons as monasteries, unitive narrative | a new lens for approaching the sustainable development goals, the art of life | a documentary, what i learned visiting intentional communities, crone wisdom | the soul of community, way of council | speaking and listening from the heart, desert blues | the music moves in circles, return to fixing things | the artist’s posthumous garage sale, sibling beit midrash | jacob’s gift, the rope bridge | monument, the way out | end of the egoic era, envisioning the beloved community, the eco-institute at pickards mountain | my experience as a black participant-turned-leader, a us department of peacebuilding, how to have a community conversation, chinese brush painting: a lesson | conflagration, the bridge to tomorrow is a work-in-progress, the sacred masculine  , masculine/feminine | a non-binary view, in search of the sacred masculine, the great simplification, erasure of indigenous identity, finding ben | mental health, justice, and healing, gender and peace | thoughts on the russian war in ukraine, blueprints for men, climate crisis | a problem of myth, ritual fire and sacred masculinity, trauma and healing for boys and men of color, adrift in the world, lessons from the ancient samurai, a cloud never dies | a film about the life of thích nhất hạnh, baptism of fire, the butterfly man in the house of pain, dusty and me, reflections on outliving my son, awakened life, a contemplation on resilience in ukraine, in the dream, my father reprimanded me for wearing earmuffs indoors | for my son, texas buddha | horse talk, taimu shakuhachi flute | art of emptiness, one final inning in st. louis, our spiritual commons   the inner resources we share, synthesis and the intuitive mind, our spiritual commons, waters of spirit, the soul of nations, global citizenship and universal values, honoring commons-based circuits of value, the value-renewed society, transformative social and emotional learning (sel) as a catalyst for climate action, embodied thinking and embodied feeling, autobiography of a yogi | 75 years on, the atlas of disappearing places, the world of itō jakuchū, the hermetic revival, the moment | alan watts and the eternal now, message from haiti | inspiration between two, lord of the forest | good fences, bum’ma (because i couldn’t say grandma), text | along the willamette, calendula seed | spirit rise, the holomovement, all things are a commons, the indwelling spirit, toward a global wellbeing mindset, the potential of grassroots environmental stewardship, meeting mugwort, joanna macy | climate crisis as spiritual path, seeking “ssshhh”, humble like the earth, are you sure   the cultivation of belief, are you sure, marching orders | covid’s attention war, post-truth politics and collective gaslighting, perceptual intelligence, seeing truth in van gogh, healing wetiko, the mind-virus that plagues our world, red brain, green brain, a quest for truth as a continuous motion to reconsider, the noosphere is here, ‘great turning’ visionaries | part 1, ‘great turning’ visionaries | part 2, earthjustice | working at the brink, deep winter, watching river otters, being brave, searching for what we already know, truth that affirms and regenerates all life, the industry of us | all you cannot see, truth is an orange canary from lisbon, garbage | pedaling my bike past jefferson davis place, let’s see what happens next | mid-20th century salvation, the juniper tree, composer, david crowe, 23 million trees planted, realigning withearth wisdom    , indigenous to life, the wisdom of our ancestors, the big ocean cantata, how to be a soil keeper, to reason with a madman, how not to lose the elephant for all its parts, our animal bodies and the unitive state, the web of meaning, trauma and regeneration, emerging renaissance | the art and wisdom of leigh j mccloskey, hermetic wisdom and the attributes of our time, glacier, elder, teacher, realigning with earth wisdom, the wonder of it all, practicing the art of wonder through radical presence, between prayer mat and smoke hole, reconnecting our children to nature, seeking the honey of life, slant | vernacular, signposts and hedges | visiting my brother’s nebraska farmstead on august 30th at dusk, into the riptide | the best we can imagine together, today you are a river in my hands | once trees grew inside me, inhale exhale, the century of awakening  , century of awakening, awakening to life, global challenges are directing us toward a unity of purpose, vow of 120,000 actions, the descent to soul, gravity and allurement, the two faces of digital spirituality, sacramental conversation, the ecozoans, can we measure culture and consciousness, dismantling the patriarchy within, living communally, reclaiming spiritual wholeness, the unchaining and the unveiling, scaffolding for a thrivable planet, cultivating spiritual intelligence, the age of freedom, the joy of living and learning interconnectedly, remembering nature, prayers in the dark, ‘uncomfortable’, poems for the solar age, butterfly effect, topophilia | thicket, master sha | tao calligraphy, how quickly the light changes | before you set your table, unexpected grace | love poem with accolades, visionary spirit   transition and transformation, the role of the visionary, unlocking a fresh vision for the world, dying into the creative, a global governance paradigm shift | first principles first, what is global education and why does it matter  , vision and change | fermentation as metaphor, thoughtforms | the materialization of sustained ideas, across the creek, looking back | the visionary spirit of resilience, deschooling dialogues: on initiation, trauma and ritual with francis weller, choosing earth | with duane and coleen elgin, reilly dow | art of the scribe, new visions give hope in dire times, rough initiations, “dear darkening ground”, david berkeley | oh quiet world, death and rebirth, birdsong as a compass, the power of pausing, we are all radical, dismantling solid bricks, cinderella story, kitchened | postcard from the mother ghost, it couldn’t be clearer, a poem for my students, ocean breeze, into the morphic | reality ritual, rapids of change   our collective journey, our collective journey, what is solidarity, the tree saviors of chipko andolan | a woman-led movement in india, making the case for a small farm future, what would hagia sophia say, an evolutionary transition is coming—are you ready, what indigenous wisdom can teach us about economics, somatics, healing, and social justice, recovering the divine feminine, oppression, interconnection, and healing, humanity and the microbe: a soul agreement, crazywise | shamanic mysticism and mental wellness, venerating the sacred | art as cultural therapy, we the “peoples” | the un at 75, the sustainable development goals begin with mindset, decolonization matters, five centuries of self-quarantine, living radical impermanence, turning our crises around from the inside out, a universal congress, horizontal governance, salmon migration as earth expression, epiphany | in the know | mapping, power colours memories identity fighting, true wealth  , the evolutionary potential of wealth, true health | what if the virus is the medicine, the treasure of our living, relational commons, soil wealth and a regenerative green new deal, the power of allurement, how we win | divestment and nonviolent direct action, advertising and trading | the markets’ problem twins, vision for a city of hope near auschwitz, bioregions and regeneration | honoring the places where we live, mystical anarchism, a spiritual biography, economic justice and ecological regeneration, wrestling with wealth and class, joy and value of connection to place and community, breakfast table revelation, safe houses | giving refuge, good fortune, two poems by joy mcdowell, two poems by diane kendig, two poems by ellen waterson, love letters from seaweed, in the hands of alchemy, greenplanet-blueplanet | sacred economy and caring, fragile gold, in the labyrinth   pathways to healing, walking the labyrinth, the labyrinth and the black madonna, rebuilding earth’s forest corridors, civility and its discontents, freedom and energy from healing white racism, howling in place, wall street to main street to world street, the science of oneness, covid-19 is a symbol of a much deeper infection, our finest hour, if we choose, hitching for hope, with ruairí mckiernan, gazing into the heart of perfection, shelterless in the time of covid-19, taking turns, weeding the labyrinth, in the garden, biracial identity | seeking to be unconditioned, a letter to herman creek canyon, mind matters most, becoming medicine, the vitality of paradox, ordinary grace, john fullerton on the qualities of a regenerative economy, leading in unknown terrain, wisdom from the flood.

Already have an account? Log in here .

Create a free account and we will share the world of Kosmos.

• Early, priority access to the freshest Quarterly
• Kosmos Newsletter, with briefings, podcasts and short videos delivered to your inbox
• Opportunities to engage online with thought leaders and affinity groups
• Invitations to our yearly retreats and other Kosmos gatherings

Create a Free Account

Possible Futures   Regeneration, Connection and Values

A story still unfolding, thomas berry and the rights of nature, ten economic insights of rudolf steiner, holding a seed for the future, from what is to what if, the unexpected journey of caring, re-imagining america, the alchemy of power, the next civilization, with jeremy lent, collective trauma and our emerging future , sacred season gathering of songs, freedom to make music, global social witnessing, a cry for help, active hope | time with joanna macy, healing the wounded mind, art in a time of catastrophe, hopeful essay penned by firelight, our scarlet blue wounds, kito mbiango | the power of art to drive action, closer looking | microscopy and aboriginal art, three poems, new spirit, wise action  , new spirit, wise action, beyond ‘sacred activism’, fourteen recommendations when facing climate tragedy, restoring the housatonic river walk, shut it down: stories from a fierce, loving resistance, thich nhat hanh’s code of global ethics, every act a ceremony, inner work makes our outer work massively more effective, the sun of darkness, white men and native america, burning man | what we’ve learned, kathy thaden | an inner fire, big lazy | music for unsettling times, kendra smith | the disappearing art of living, holacracy | an emergent order system, the practice of liminal dreaming, god becomes a hairdresser, men at the end of their strings, what you cross the street to avoid, a long convalescence, decoding the trump virus, seven practices of ‘holistic activism’, memes, mantras, and modern illusions of the eternal, including the earth in our prayers, the paradox of wise activism, living in flow, fluency in the language of stillness, values as a means to invite greater depth, summer 2019  , resonance and relationship, to all my relations, the holy grail of restoration, freeing the dragon, developing a mindful approach to earth justice work, rhino conservation, bringing reefs back to life, farming while black, selfcare freedom, the stones will cry out, sacred headwaters of the amazon, eating as if life and the planet mattered, sam lee | birdsong hits the charts, among the nightingales in berlin, reforestation in portugal, dancing with animals, cooperation with wild boars in palestine, killing us softly, where are we in the story of the universe, borders of our perception, the gift of tears, a song of pause, captives of our desire, documenting land trauma, spring 2019  , the earth is doing her best, dancing with gaia, the community awaiting us, turtles among us, resilience, the global challenge, and the human predicament, book | trees of power, paradise lost | the sequel, cultivating right livelihood, quiet places initiative, rising earth consciousness, consciousness and the combustion engine, the lie of the land | conversation and essay, rejoining the great conversation, physics and spirituality, a vision for the world, chama river revelations, rights of nature, council of the wild gods, the power of community, gallery 1 | in the realm of the world’s heart, gallery 2 | flower flourescence, gallery 3 | guardians of the sacred in tibet, emergent universe oratorio, a conversation with alanis obomsawin, three poems from reverberations from fukushima, dear reed canyon, winter 2018   global citizen, global spirit, the practice of global citizenship, we are all global citizens | seeing ourselves in the advancement of all, breaking out of the domination trance, evolving toward cooperation, on edge work, migration flows, and glocalization, returning to indigenous worldview, liquid democracy and the future of governance, book | farming for the long haul, delivering the un global goals | the consciousness perspective, the insurgent power of the commons in the war against the imagination, on elevating the human narrative, film | lifeboat, refugees adrift at sea, for love of place | reflections of an agrarian sage, sacred diplomacy in the emerging ecozoic era, globalism-nationalism, the new left-right, the economics of solidarity, spirit, and soul, global citizenship | an emerging agenda in education, caring for the soul of humanity, a pocket full of stones, the most important thing, being and becoming in a field of resonance, an overcast morning, i sit down to write, almost bethlehem, the rebel’s silhouette, xiuhtezcatl martinez | break free, playing for change, the universal declaration of human rights, toward a global ethic, statement on the unique challenge of nuclear weapons, the earth charter, fall 2018   all consuming, the four nutriments, un-pick-apart-able, tending the wild, making politics sacred again, from the unreal to the real, the problem with “more”, the galileo project, eager: the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter, do we really want to be happy, the deschooling dialogues | plant medicine and the coming transition, eldering in the age of consumption, water and the rising feminine , a tale of two pipelines, unity and the power of love, between the inner and outer worlds, wind | a letter to my daughters, healing the hunger, the selling of the soul, nourishment, are we addicted to fear, what the wind taught, the prophecy, green medicine, the fairy begs for bacon, finals time, how love builds a home, may everything flower, healing sound with jesse paris smith, consumption as the path, books in brief, climate news.

Contributors

KOSMOS Summer Quarterly, 2018

Unlearning together, awake, awakened, woke, change the worldview, change the world, presence at the edge of our practice, dynamic governance, roots and evolution of mindfulness, indigenous worldview is a source we now urgently need, the wanderer’s preparation in the death lodge, the deschooling dialogues: grief, collapse, and mysticism, social breakdown and initiation, forgive: the new practice and mantra for black men, the migrant quilt, the connection, healing into consciousness, wealth and abundance, confessions of a recovering catholic, the habits of schooling, an uncommon song, purposeful memoir as a path to alignment, being human, the night i didn’t stand up, absence presence, yorkston/thorne/khan.

Peace Education in the Philippines: My Journey as a Peace Educator and Some Lessons Learned

(Reposted from: The Journal of Social Encounters. 2020 )

By Loreta Navarro-Castro

In this essay, Loreta Navarro-Castro discusses the development of Peace Education in the Philippines. She also discusses her journey as a peace educator and organizer of peace education. She concludes with lessons that she learned in her work that may be useful for others interested in Peace Education and Advocacy.

Loreta Navarro-Castro is the founding director of the Center for Peace Education of Miriam College, Philippines. She also teaches in the International Studies and Education departments of the College. She is currently involved in the work of the Global Campaign for Peace Education; the GPPAC Peace Education Working Group; the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; and the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative of Pax Christi International.

Navarro-Castro, Loreta (2020) “Peace Education in the Philippines: My Journey as a Peace Educator and Some Lessons Learned,” The Journal of Social Encounters: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, 90-95.

Join the Campaign & help us #SpreadPeaceEd!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Related Posts

Building a culture of peace (Trinidad & Tobago)

Faculty equipped with knowledge and skills to teach peace effectively (Pakistan)

UNESCO trains teachers in Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (EPSD) in Myanmar

Stories of Nonviolence from the Peripheries: The Experience of the Philippines (video)

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 Yes, add me to your mailing list!

Advertisement

Peace Education: Exploring Some Philosophical Foundations

• Published: January 2004
• Volume 50 , pages 3–15, ( 2004 )

Cite this article

• James S. Page 1  

785 Accesses

28 Citations

6 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Peace education has been recognized as an important aspect of social education for the past three decades. The critical literature as well as official documents, however, have given little attention to its philosophical foundations. This essay explores these foundations in the ethics of (1) virtue, (2) consequentialism, (3) aesthetics, (4) conservative politics and (5) care. Each of these alone composes a significant element of peace education, although ultimately its solid basis can only be established through an integrative approach encouraging a culture of peace. The more complete development and articulation of the philosophical rationale of peace education is yet to be accomplished and remains a task for the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Interreligious Education and Peace

Transrational Education: Exploring Possibilities for Learning About Peace, Harmony, Justice and Truth in the Twenty First Century

Critical Comprehensive Peace Education: Finding a Pedagogical Nexus for Personal, Structural, and Cultural Change

Adelson, Anne. 2000. Globalization and University Peace Education. Peace Review 12(1): 117–122.

Article   Google Scholar  

Bai, Heesoon. 1997. Ethics and Aesthetics are One: The Case of Zen Aesthetics. Canadian Review of Art Education 24(2): 36–51.

Google Scholar  

Bai, Heesoon. 2001. Challenge for Education: Learning to Value the World Intrinsically. Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice 14(1): 4–16.

Brock-Utne, Birgit. 1985. Education for Peace: A Feminist Perspective . New York: Pergamon Press.

Brock-Utne, Birgit. 1989. Feminist Perspectives on Peace and Peace Education . New York: Pergamon Press.

Burns, Robin J., and Robert Aspelagh. 1983. Concepts of Peace Education: A View of Western Experience. International Review of Education 29(3): 311–330.

Burns, Robin J., and Robert Aspelagh. 1996. Three Decades of Peace Education Around the World . New York: Garland Publishing.

Carr, David. 1991. Educating the Virtues: An Essay on the Philosophical Psychology of Moral Development and Education . London, New York: Routledge.

Carr, David, and Jan Steutel. 1999. Virtue Ethics and Moral Education . London: Routledge.

Cellitti, Anarella. 1998. Teaching Peace Concepts to Children. Dimensions of Early Childhood 26(2): 20–22.

Davenport, Manuel M. 1974. The Aesthetic Foundation of Schweitzer's Ethics. The Southwestern Journal of Philosophy 5(1): 39–47.

Düwell, Marcus. 1999. Ästhetische Erfahrung und Moral: zur Bedeutung des Ästhetischen für die Handelspielräume des Menschen . Freiburg, München: Alber Verlag.

Eaton, Marcia Muelder. 1992. Integrating the Aesthetic and the Moral. Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 67(1): 219–240.

Eaton, Marcia Muelder. 1989. Aesthetics and the Good Life . Cranbury: Associated University Press.

Eaton, Marcia Muelder. 2001. Merit, Aesthetic and Ethical . New York: Oxford University Press.

Früchtl, Josef. 1996. Ästhetische Erfahrung und moralisches Urteil: eine Rehabilitation . Frankfuhrt a. M.: Suhrkamp.

Galtung, Johan. 1975. Peace: Research, Education, Action: Essays in Peace Research I . Copenhagen: Ejlers.

Galtung, Johan. 1983. Peace Education: Learning to Hate War, Love Peace, and to Do Something About It. International Review of Education 29(3): 281–287.

Galtung, Johan. 1997. Cultural Peace: Some Characteristics. In: A Culture of Peace and Democracy. Part I: A Culture of Peace: A Handbook , ed. by Alexander Chubarian, 259–278. Paris: UNESCO; Moscow: International Institute for a Culture of Peace and Democracy.

Gilligan, Carol. 1982. In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development . Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Gilligan, Carol. 1995. Hearing the Difference: Theorizing the Connection. Hypatia 10(2): 120–127.

Gordon, Haim, and Leonard Grob. 1987. Education for Peace: Testimonies from World Religions . Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

Gur-Ze'ev, Ilan. 2001. Philosophy of Peace Education in a Postmodern Era. Educational Theory 51(3): 315–336.

Haavelsrud, Magnus. 1975. Principles of Peace Education . Oslo: University of Oslo.

Haavelsrud, Magnus. 1981. Approaching Disarmament Education . Guildford: Westbury House.

Hague Appeal for Peace Conference. 1999. Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century . The Hague: Hague Appeal for Peace.

Harris, Ian. 1988. Peace Education . Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company.

Harris, Ian. 1996a. Editor's Introduction: Peace Education in a Postmodern World. Peabody Journal of Education 71(3): 7–11.

Harris, Ian. 1996b. From World Peace to Peace in the 'Hood: Peace Education in a Postmodern World. Journal for a Just and Caring World 2(4): 378–395.

Harris, Ian, and Linda R. Forcey. 1999. Peacebuilding for Adolescents: Strategies for Educators and Community Leaders . New York: Peter Lang.

Henderson, George. 1973. Education for Peace: Focus on Mankind . Alexander: ASCD Press.

Hicks, David. 1988. Education for Peace — Issues, Principles and Practice in the Classroom . New York: Routledge.

Hursthouse, Rosalind. 1999. On Virtue Ethics . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hutchinson, Francis P. 1996. Educating Beyond Violent Futures . London, New York: Routledge.

Jackson, Owen R. 1992. Dignity and Solidarity: An Introduction to Peace and Justice Education . Chicago: Loyola Press.

Kaman, Julienne, and Geoff Harris. 2000. Does Studying Peace Make a Difference? An Experiment at the University of Papua New Guinea. Australian Journal of Adult Learning 40(21): 83–93.

Leverkühn, André. 2000. Das Ethische und das Ästhetische als Kategorien des Handelns: Selbstwerdung bei Søren Aabye Kierkegaard . Frankfurt a. M.: Peter Lang.

Mack, John E. 1984. Resistance to Knowing in the Nuclear Age. Harvard Educational Review 54(3): 260–270.

Marks, Stephen. 1983. Peace, Development, Disarmament and Human Rights Education: The Dilemma Between the Status Quo and Curriculum Overload. International Review of Education 29(3): 289–310.

Markusen, Eric, and John B. Harris. 1984. The Role of Education in Preventing Nuclear War. Harvard Educational Review 54(3): 282–303.

McCarthy, Coleman. 2002. I'd Rather Teach Peace . Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

McIntyre, Alasdair. 1985. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory . 2nd ed. London: Duckworth.

Noddings, Nel. 1984. Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education . Berkley: University of California Press.

Noddings, Nel. 1992. The Challenge to Care in Schools: An Alternative Approach to Education . New York: Teachers College Press.

Noddings, Nel. 1995. Philosophy of Education . Boulder: Westview Press.

Oakeshott, Michael K. 1962. Rationalism in Politics: And Other Essays . London: Methuen.

Okamoto, Mitsuo. 1984. Peace Research and Peace Education: What is Peace Education in the New Light of Peace Research?. Ghandi Marg 6(4/5): 217–228.

O'Reilly, Mary Rose. 1993. The Peaceable Classroom . Portsmouth: Boynton Cook Publishers.

Page, James S. 2000. Can History Teach Us Peace? Peace Review 12(3): 441–448.

Page, James S. 2001. The International Year for the Culture of Peace — Was It Worthwhile? International Journal of Cultural Studies 4(3): 348–351.

Peters, Richard Stanley. 1964. Education as Initiation . London: George Harrap and the London Institute of Education.

Peters, Richard Stanley. 1966. Ethics and Education . London: Allen and Unwin.

Quinton, Anthony. 1978. The Politics of Imperfection . London, Boston: Faber and Faber.

Raviv, Amiram, Louis Oppenheimer, and Daniel Bar-Tal. 1999. How Children Understand War and Peace: A Call for International Peace Education . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publications.

Ray, Douglas. 1988. Peace Education — Canadian and International Perspectives . London: Third Eye.

Reardon, Betty A. 1989. Comprehensive Peace Education . New York: Teachers College Press.

Reardon, Betty A. 1997. Human Rights as Education for Peace. In: Human Rights Education for the Twenty-First Century , ed. by George J. Andreopoulos and Richard Pierre Claude, 21–34. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Rees, Linda W. 2000. A Thousand Cranes: A Curriculum of Peace. English Journal 89(5): 95–99.

Rivage-Seul, Marguerite Kaye. 1987. Peace Education: Moral Imagination and the Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harvard Educational Review 57(2): 153–169.

Roumanes, Jacques-Bernard. 1993. Le paradigme esthétique. Horizons philosophiques 40: 53–76.

Ruddick, Sara. 1989. Maternal Thinking: Towards a Politics of Peace . London: Women's Press.

Salomon, Gavriel, and Baruch Nevo. 2002. Peace Education: The Concept, Principles, and Practices around the World . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Seel, Martin. 1996. Ethisch-ästhetische Studien . Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp.

Thomas, Daniel, and Michael Klare. 1989. Peace and World Order Studies: A Curriculum Guide . 5th ed Boulder: Westview Press.

Toh, Swee-Hin, and Virginia Floresca-Cawagas. 1990. Peaceful Theory and Practice in Values Education . Quezon City: Phoenix.

UNESCO. 1945. Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization . London: UNESCO.

UNESCO. 1974. Recommendation Concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms . Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO. 1980. World Congress on Disarmament Education: Final Document and Report . Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO. 1994/95. Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy . Declaration of the International Conference on Education, Geneva, 1994, endorsed by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1995. Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO. 1995. Declaration of Principles on Tolerance . Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO. 2000. World Directory of Peace Research and Training Institutions . Paris: UNESCO.

UNICEF. 1996. State of the World's Children . New York: Oxford University Press.

UNICEF. 1999. Peace Education in UNICEF . Staff Working Paper Series. Prepared by Susan Fountain. New York: UNICEF.

United Nations. 1945. Charter of the United Nations . San Francisco: United Nations Conference on International Organization.

United Nations General Assembly. 1949. Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Final authorized text. Resolution 217 A (III), 1948. New York: United Nations Department of Public Information.

United Nations General Assembly. 1978. Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (SSODI-Special Session on Disarmament I) . A/S-10/4. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

United Nations General Assembly. 1995. International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001–2010) . Resolution 53/25. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

United Nations General Assembly. 1996. Final Report on the United Nations Year for Tolerance . Resolution A/51/201. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

United Nations General Assembly. 1999. Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace . Resolution A/53/243. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

United Nations General Assembly. 2002. United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education . Resolution A/57/124. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

Wils, Jean-Pierre. 1990. Ästhetische Güte: philosophisch-theologische Studien zu Mythos und Leiblichkeit in Verhältnis von Ethik und Ästhetik . München: Wilhelm Fink.

Zars, Belle, Beth Wilson, and Ariel Phillips (eds.). 1985. Education and the Threat of Nuclear War . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Social Sciences, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, 2480, Australia

James S. Page

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Page, J.S. Peace Education: Exploring Some Philosophical Foundations. International Review of Education 50 , 3–15 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:REVI.0000018226.19305.6c

Download citation

Issue Date : January 2004

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1023/B:REVI.0000018226.19305.6c

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Integrative Approach
• Significant Element
• Solid Basis
• Critical Literature
• Official Document
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Why Peace Education is Important for Youth

In a world where acts of violence fill our newsfeeds and there is a prevalence of pain and hurt around us, peace takes root in the form of education. Peace education is important for people of all ages, but when is the most effective time to engage in peace education by learning about transformative conflict resolution? As children grow, they form their own unique worldview and they learn how to interact with the people around them. Learning about peace is a wonderful opportunity for children to build peaceful perspectives of the world around them. If we can equip kids with the skills that they need to be human beings who build healthy relationships and solve problems in ways that value the inherent dignity of others, our world will benefit now and in the future.

I believe it is important to normalize healthy conflict resolution and integrate it into mainstream learning. In my work with TREE, I have observed firsthand that peace education can be an essential part of education because of the immense impact it has on students in their classroom and in the communities around them. When we teach youth the value of peace along with the skills they need to be healthy conflict resolvers, we equip the next generation with the tools they need to be a society that values relationship over competition and well-being over accomplishment . When these values are shared, some voice concern that society is becoming soft and unmotivated to succeed, but when we work with those around us to collaborate, we can achieve greater things while still maintaining our individual and collective health. Peace education can give youth concrete skills to use in group work and in conversation with those around them so that they are collaborators instead of competitors in school and beyond.

Peace education is important for everyone, but particularly for children who are still building their identity and the values they hold. When we teach children to be peaceful, we allowing them to be a positive role model for adults around them. When this happens, the impact creates a ripple effect in their communities , and the beauty of the relational nature of peace education is exposed. For me, the idea of a ripple effect is what drives the passion behind teaching conflict resolution skills to youth through peace education.

Working for The Ripple Effect Education as a facilitator has encouraged me in my passion for teaching peace to youth. Let’s work towards a more peaceful world by educating our kids in the ways of peace and creating a world where violence is not the automatic reaction to conflict. There is hope for conflict to be transformative in the future, and the future starts with the youth of today. Peace education for youth is a key to a brighter future for all.

Interested in bringing peace education to your classroom or community? Check out our peace programs !

• character education , conflict resolution , peace education , social-emotional learning

The Ripple Effect Education, 2024

Charitable Registration: 789221736 RR0001

• Our Programs
• Get Involved
• Mailing List
• Privacy Policy
• [email protected]

Copyright 2018 © All rights Reserved. Design by Ram Digital Marketing

Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

• Vision, Mission, Goals
• Social impact
• Our Values, the SDGs, our history
• Approach and Expertise
• Organization and Governance
• Downloadable documents
• Full Quality Education - What it is
• Research & Development
• Educational Resources
• Educational Programs for Governments
• Our Education services
• Our Partners
• Switzerland
• Ivory Coast
• Education - at the heart of peace
• Bank instructions
• Jobs, internships, volunteering
• Latest news
• In the news
• Peace concepts
• Quality Education Dictionary
• Be inspired
• Topics (culture, education, peace...)
• Peace education

Peace education is an essential component of quality basic education.

(It is) the process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behaviour changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national or international level.

Source: UNICEF, Peace Education in UNICEF, Working Paper. Education Section, Programme Division, UNICEF New York, June 1999.

Support education solutions

• Quality Education (UNICEF, 2002)
• Socioemotional learning
• Human security
• Intercultural competencies
• Experiential learning (UNESCO)
• Citizenship
• Culture of peace (4)
• Culture of peace education
• Delinquency
• Human Values
• Peace Reflex
• Reconciliation
• Togetherness / Societal togetherness
• Human Rights
• Human Right to Education
• Peace education (UNICEF, Susan Fountain et al, 1999)
• Radicalization
• Mindfulness
• Just actions
• Global citizenry
• Emotional Intelligence
• Positive masculinity
• School Bullying - New UNESCO Definition 2023
• Basic concepts
• Definitions
• Peace Dictionary
• Quality Education
• Child Rights
• Peace within Constitutions
• Tales and stories
• Peace heroes
• Life-stories
• Peace competencies
• Education competencies
• Conflict resolution
• Games  and activities
• Mottos and slogans

Graines de Paix Rue Cornavin 11 CH-1201 Genève Suisse Tél : +41 22 700 9414 All our addresses (french)

• Accessibility
• Legal notice
• Privacy policy
• Manage cookies

Word of thanks

Essay on Peace

500 words essay peace.

Peace is the path we take for bringing growth and prosperity to society. If we do not have peace and harmony, achieving political strength, economic stability and cultural growth will be impossible. Moreover, before we transmit the notion of peace to others, it is vital for us to possess peace within. It is not a certain individual’s responsibility to maintain peace but everyone’s duty. Thus, an essay on peace will throw some light on the same topic.

Importance of Peace

History has been proof of the thousands of war which have taken place in all periods at different levels between nations. Thus, we learned that peace played an important role in ending these wars or even preventing some of them.

In fact, if you take a look at all religious scriptures and ceremonies, you will realize that all of them teach peace. They mostly advocate eliminating war and maintaining harmony. In other words, all of them hold out a sacred commitment to peace.

It is after the thousands of destructive wars that humans realized the importance of peace. Earth needs peace in order to survive. This applies to every angle including wars, pollution , natural disasters and more.

When peace and harmony are maintained, things will continue to run smoothly without any delay. Moreover, it can be a saviour for many who do not wish to engage in any disrupting activities or more.

In other words, while war destroys and disrupts, peace builds and strengthens as well as restores. Moreover, peace is personal which helps us achieve security and tranquillity and avoid anxiety and chaos to make our lives better.

How to Maintain Peace

There are many ways in which we can maintain peace at different levels. To begin with humankind, it is essential to maintain equality, security and justice to maintain the political order of any nation.

Further, we must promote the advancement of technology and science which will ultimately benefit all of humankind and maintain the welfare of people. In addition, introducing a global economic system will help eliminate divergence, mistrust and regional imbalance.

It is also essential to encourage ethics that promote ecological prosperity and incorporate solutions to resolve the environmental crisis. This will in turn share success and fulfil the responsibility of individuals to end historical prejudices.

Similarly, we must also adopt a mental and spiritual ideology that embodies a helpful attitude to spread harmony. We must also recognize diversity and integration for expressing emotion to enhance our friendship with everyone from different cultures.

Finally, it must be everyone’s noble mission to promote peace by expressing its contribution to the long-lasting well-being factor of everyone’s lives. Thus, we must all try our level best to maintain peace and harmony.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Peace

To sum it up, peace is essential to control the evils which damage our society. It is obvious that we will keep facing crises on many levels but we can manage them better with the help of peace. Moreover, peace is vital for humankind to survive and strive for a better future.

FAQ of Essay on Peace

Question 1: What is the importance of peace?

Answer 1: Peace is the way that helps us prevent inequity and violence. It is no less than a golden ticket to enter a new and bright future for mankind. Moreover, everyone plays an essential role in this so that everybody can get a more equal and peaceful world.

Question 2: What exactly is peace?

Answer 2: Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in which there is no hostility and violence. In social terms, we use it commonly to refer to a lack of conflict, such as war. Thus, it is freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App