Stephanie Knox
Peace Education: Theory and Practice
Assignment #3: Conceptual Synthesis
September 25, 2009
Peace Education: Common Goals, Values, Methods and Challenges Across the Spectrum
Peace education is a multidisciplinary field encompassing many subject areas, including but not limited to disarmament education, development education, global education, environmental education, anti-racist education, and futures education. Within the field, different perspectives exist, such as the indigenous, Islamic, African, Japanese, and British perspectives. Amidst these different strands, there are connecting threads, such as overlapping goals, values, methods, and issues, which link them together. While each field is specific in nature, there are unifying aspects within the different strands which link them together under the umbrella of peace education.
Goals
While each branch of peace education has a field-specific goal, for example, total global disarmament for disarmament education, many goals overlap between the different fields. One common goal among the different strands and perspectives in peace education is taking action. Peace education inspires learners not only to expand their field of knowledge, but also to take that knowledge and apply it in the outside world. With respect to global education, the purpose, according to Pike, is "not simply to acquire knowledge about the world, but to be effective and responsible in applying that knowledge for the benefit of themselves and others" (2000: 223). In regards to environmental education, the Department of the Environment and Heritage asserts that one of the main components is taking action (1999). Anti-racism education is defined by Sefa Dei as "an action-oriented strategy for institutional, systemic change to address racisma dn the interlocking systems of social oppression" (1997: 1). According to indigenous writer Linda R. Bull from Canada, peace education "struck a chord" with her because of the emphasis on the need for action based on the understanding one develops through peace education (2000: 66). Thus throughout the field of peace education, the objective of "action inspired by learning" persists.
Another common goal is to inspire critical thinking in learners, which is included in disarmament education, development education, environmental education, anti-racist education, and futures education. Reardon emphasizes the importance of critical thinking skills in disarmament education, saying that critical assessment is one of the most important capacities of democratic citizenship (2001: 22). According to Murakami, the British approach to peace education advocates for teachers to present their students with balanced views and to help them think objectively about the problems for themselves (1993: 84). Environmental education also emphasizes the need to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills so that learners can address the complexity of environmental problems (Department of the Environment and Heritage: 73). Cawagas asserts that critical empowerment, which goes a step beyond critical thinking, engages learners in a personal struggle to develop a critical consciousness that actively seeks to transform the realities of a culture of war to a culture of peace (2007: 135). Paolo Freire coined the word "conscientization" to refer to critical self-awareness, which he deems the primary goal of education (ref). Developing critical thinking, conciousness and empowerment is one of the main goals of peace education across the various disciplines and perspectives.
Another common goal within the different strands and perspectives is inspiring hope for the future. Pike states that global education "should empower learners to be more active in shaping their own futures" (2000: 223). David Hicks writes that the field of futures education encourages learners to creatively imagine positive images of the future (2004). Hope for the future is also important for disarmament education, as Reardon writes that "positive visions of a transformed 'world order of planned unarmed peace'" are helpful for teachers and learners in motivation to learn about disarmament (2001: 21). Encouraging students to envision a positive future is a goal across different peace education disciplines, so that learners can feel that there is a possibility for a different future. An exception to this is peace education in Japan, which tends to be past-oriented (Murakami, 1993: 87).
Values
Throughout the different fields of peace education, the underlying values for a culture of peace include compassion, justice, equity, gender-fairness, caring for life, sharing, reconciliation, integrity, hope and non-violence (Cawagas, 2007: 133). Values that are emphasized repeatedly throughout different disciplines are holism, empathy, and justice.
Many fields within peace education emphasize the importance of holism in addressing their respective disciplines. Cawagas writes that as educating for a culture of peace encompasses many issues, one must view the multiple dimensions with a holistic vision (2007: 132-3). Environmental education applies a holistic approach, which addresses the interconnectedness of life (Department of the Environment and Heritage: 65). Anti-racism education also values holism. As peace education spans many disciplines, it is necessary to approach it holistically in order to address the interconnectedness inherent to the field.
Empathy and caring for life are other values that are found throughout peace education. In disarmament education, valuing the security of others is a key component of the learners' perception of why we should disarm (Reardon: 2001). Global education engages the heart and mind, and encourages respect and empathy for all people and a strong sense of caring (Pike: 2000). Living in peace and harmony with all beings is an integral part of the indigenous tradition (Bull: 2000). The Islamic perspective also values the dignity of all human beings, regardless of religion (Koylu: 2004). Compassion and empathy are critical to fostering a culture of peace, and should be cultivated throughout the various fields.
Justice is a value which is found throughout the disciplines, especially in regards to economic justice. Economic justice is a key component of development education, which seeks to inspire learners to learn about injustices and take action (Cronkhite, 2000). Global education also insists that justice is an important value, and that everyone bears responsibility for poverty and injustice (Pike, 2000). Anti-racism education is very specific about bringing economic issues to the debate (Sefa Dei, 1997). A peace cannot exist in a world with injustice, and it is important for peace education to foster the value of justice in learners.
Methods
Peace education uses a wide variety of teaching methods, adapting methods based on the concept, learners, culture and setting. Peace education can be formal or non-formal, to children or adults, and methods must be chosen appropriately. However, there are some underlying methods and principles which can be applied throughout all peace education programs.
Participatory dialogue is a fundamentally important part of peace education pedagogy. Cawagas asserts that the dialogic approach criticizes the "elitist arrogance practiced by technocrats, and experts" (2007: 135). Betty Reardon, primarly focusing on peace education in primary and secondary schools, emphasizes a participatory approach (Reardon, 2001). Teachers of development education, according to Cronkhite, should include cooperative learning, role playing, and games in the participatory approach (2000). Global education "addresses how we learn, not just what we learn," and advocates stuedent-centered, participatory learning (Pike: 2000). The indigenous perspective in Canada also advocates for participatory dialoguge (Bull, 2000). Intercultural dialogue is also critical to the African approach described by Neza Boneza (2006). Paolo Feire writes that an "openness to dialogue" is an essential part of teaching (1998: 120). Across the spectrum of diverse fields, participatory dialogue is the keystone of peace education.
Workshops have been used in many instances to bring people together in participatory dialogue for a common purpose. Linda Bull developed indigenous healing workshops that focused on individuals, families and children (2000: 73). In the Great-lakes region of Africa, "Baraza" or round-table gatherings were initiated to solve conflicts in the region non-violently (Neza Boneza: 2006). Workshops were also used in futures education, especially by Elise Boulding, who developed futures workshops in order to facilitate images for a positive future (Hicks, 2004). Workshops are effective venues for facilitation of peace education through participatory dialogue.
Another theme in peace education fields is that they should be applied across the curriculum, and not strictly isolated into separate subject matter. Cronkhite demonstrates how development education can be applied across the scholastic spectrum, from mathematics to English, science, industrial arts and social studies (2000: 161-2). In all subjects, there is a future, which means there is room for futures education with respect to every subject across the curriculum. The British example illustrates how peace education can be incorporated throughout the curriculum (Murakami: 1993). Betty Reardon also advocates a comprehensive, curriculm-wide teaching of disarmament education (2001).
Creativity in teaching is also very important in peace education. Creative thinking is a goal of disarmament and futures educations (Reardon, 2001; Hicks, 2004). Not only should teachers encourage creativity and creative thinking in learners, but teachers must also be creative themselves as to how they present the material. By demonstrating creativity, teachers will further inspire creative thinking in learners.
Issues and Challenges
While different strands of peace education have common goals, values, and methods, they also have common issues and challenges. One such issue is that of teacher education. It is important that teachers receive adequate training in peace education and continue learning throughout their lives. For example, in development education, teachers need to "keep up to date on global issues and to continue to analyze global economic, political and social trends" (Cronkhite, 2000: 160). Harris asserts that in Britain, many teachers are wary of peace education, feeling that they have tried it in the past and it didn't work (2007). One of the greatest challenges to disarmament education is that it remains largely untouched, even by peace educators (Reardon, 2001). Regardless of the field, teachers need to be well-informed about peace education, be willing participants in the peace education dialogue, and engage in continuous learning.
Gender equality was mentioned as a value across peace education fields; it also remains a challenge, as inequality is still prevalent in many areas. Futures education is criticized for being a white, western, masculine discourse (Hicks, 2004: 168). In disarmament education, Reardon discusses the gender gap between the female-majority education field and the male-majority security field, and the need to bridge this gap through communication (2001). Although not mentioned by Koylu, the gender dimension of the Islam perspective is a challenge in promoting equality through peace education. Finally, gender is an issue in the African perspective, which seeks to empower women through peace education (Neza Boneza, 2006). Promoting gender equality remains and issue throughout peace education fields, and is something that peace educators must strive to improve.
Another challenge to peace education branches is the lack of institutional support and funding. Development education in Canada has significantly lost funding, and this is a major challenge to implementing development education programs. Pike lists lack of funding and institutionalization of global education as key challenges to the field (2000: 232). Especially in countries where funding for all education programs is being cut, the need for funding and institutional support for peace education is critical. In order for peace education to thrive as a field, greater institutional support and funding are needed.
Finally, a challenge to all areas of peace education is the pessimism about the future. The goal of instilling hope in learners is directly related to the fact that many people are pessimistic of about the future and have a hard time imagining a peaceful world. Hicks notes that pessimism generally increases with age (2004). This is all the more reason that futures education should be included in peace education from a young age. Envisioning the possibility for a peaceful world is integral to developing a culture of peace.
Personal reflections
I feel that peace education was largely absent from my primary and secondary educations, and it was not until I reached university studies in Canada that I became familiar with some of the peace education approaches. As a child growing up in the 1980s in the United States, disarmament education was nonexistant, as the US was engaged in nuclear arms race of the Cold War. Environmental education was introduced in elementary school, but it was still in the "receptive" stage and lacked a sense of holism (Department of the Environment and Heritage, 1999). At that time, "the environment" seemed like something I was separate from, rather than a part of. It was not until I reached university, where I went on to major in Environment and Development, that I encountered a more holistic, systems-based approach to environmental studies. With respect to anti-racism education, I feel it was also missing, although just to notice the difference in racism between my parents' generation and mine leads me to believe that somehow, whether through formal or informal education, I encountered anti-racism education. Growing up in a very homogenous middle-class suburban school provided little opportunity to encounter diversity or other ethnicities and cultures.
I first encountered disarmament education in a first-year university development economics class, in which the professor made a line graph on the chalkboard indicating global spending patterns, from health and education to military. I remember the shock I felt to realize the injustice, that so many basic needs weren't being met, and billions of dollars were being wasted on war. I feel that this class was a pivotal part of my education, and led me down the path of development studies and peace studies.
No comments:
Post a Comment