Do we make a difference? Teaching and researching peace at tertiary level

Eleven articles on peace education published in the first volume of the Journal of Peace Education are analyzed. This selection comprises peace education programs that have been planned or carried out in different contexts. In analyzing peace pedagogies as proposed in the 11 contributions, we have chosen network analysis as our method -enabling the categorization and visualization of qualitative data on differing content and forms preferences. In the analysis, our purpose is to visualize how the authors relate their arguments for specific content and form preferences to peace education. Before and after the empirical analysis of content and form preferences in the 11 peace education programs, a theoretical model is briefly introduced in which the interrelations not only between contents and forms are highlighted but also the interrelations between contents, forms and contextual conditions.In the field of peace education, there have been a great variety of different approaches over the years. Both discourses and practices conclude in divergent views over which contents and methods to prioritize. It is our motivation in the following analysis to diagnose parts of this variation and to critically discuss the merits and possible weaknesses of proposals included in the analysis. We shall depart from a model, focussing on the interrelations between three vital components in any educational activity, namely content, form and contextual conditions. In a broad conception of the substance of peace education, considerations of these interrelations are of central concern to both theory and practice in the field. The interrelations between the three components are visualized in Figure 1. We shall use this model in searching for variations in contents and methods in 11 selected peace education programs and discuss the extent to which -and how -these proposals also relate to the contextual conditions in which the peace education program takes place. Based on our findings, we have selected four areas which we believe may be at the base of the varied perspectives in the field and leading to divergent contents and forms for deeper discussion: (1) What are the different perspectives on what is regarded as the problem of peace, (2) What may be the differing views on how future studies should find their place in the content and methods of peace education,(3) What is the strength of control over student participation and (4) How are contents and forms in peace education grounded in specific theories of learning?The number 1 in the figure above shows that the methods or communication forms preferred will influence the selection of content. Vice versa, the definition of what constitutes valid content will influence the selection of communication forms. Recognizing this interrelationship between content and form requires that they cannot be viewed in isolation from each other but need to be developed in mutual support.Just like the interrelation between content and form, there is an interrelation between form and contextual conditions (c...

Section: Discussion and Analysismentioning

confidence: 95%

Analyzing peace pedagogies

Haavelsrud

Stenberg²

2012

“…The teaching methodologies for this course mirror the approach outlined by Spence and Makuwira (2005) that emphasize experience and problem-based learning. Spence and Makuwira (2005) recognize the value of theory-based learning, but acknowledge that peace education should equip students for action by providing them with the skills necessary in the workplace.…”

Section: Teaching Methodologiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Developing a peace course in police studies: how a culture of peace can enhance police legitimacy in a democratic society

McDonald

2014

This paper reflects my experiences developing a course within the Criminal Justice Technology Associates of Science degree program at Valencia College that fuses topics unique to peace and police studies. The key challenge in developing this course was in confronting the paradox of the police as instruments of both peace and conflict. In dealing with this paradox, students examine the role of the police in a democratic society and the authority of the police to use coercive force. Key topics covered in this course include defining peace, the police role in peace movements, the history, structure and strategies affecting the police, causes of violence, conflict analysis and conflict intervention, and ethical foundations for peace. In addition, this course examines occupational, organizational, institutional factors that contribute to the development of a unique police subculture that values crime fighting as its core responsibility and the impact of that orientation on police attitudes and behaviors toward the public. Throughout the course, students are challenged to envision a new paradigm for policing that emphasizes a culture of peace rather than a culture of conflict.

“…According to Spence and Makuwira (2005), these methods are commensurate with an ideological and practical commitment to peace because they are process-oriented and distinctively consider the beliefs of the researcher, as well as impacts that this research may have upon the research community. The study promotes the idea of partnership between researchers and participants in order to ensure that activities contribute to constructive social transformation.…”

Section: Research On Education For Peacementioning

confidence: 98%

Exploratory study of changing ethnic stereotypes of the Ukrainian teacher candidates towards peaceful attitudes

Koshmanova

Hapon

2007

The study focuses on exploring the method of changing pre-service teachers' stereotypes about different ethnicities. The purpose of the study is to test, or try out, an approach for changing beliefs and attitudes of teacher candidates towards peacebuilding, democracy, humanism, and accepting others. The procedure for this study involved investigating teacher candidates' attitudes or ethnic stereotypes about different nations bordering Ukraine and about themselves as well, conducting attitudes/stereotypes' intervention towards the formation of teachers' peaceful attitudes, and analyzing the consequences of this intervention. The article specifically analyses the research experience for teacher candidates as they reflected on their multi-ethic practices. It also utilizes the research findings to inform the field of teacher education for peace.