(2016). Mindfulness into Action: Transformational Learning through Collaborative Inquiry. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University. This action research exploratory study sought to learn how to better develop my practice by using grounded theory. It explored the apparent cognitive transformational experience of nine participants over a period of four weeks after the implementation of an intervention called Mindfulness into Action. The informal intervention was used with the Kichwa community in the Amazon rainforest and three additional formal interventions were conducted in the United States, Ecuador, and Norway over six years, in each case supported by higher education institutions. Using grounded theory methodology, the researcher found that participants were in the initial "reactive" state in Phase 1, experiencing conflict, resistance, stress, and victim identity. These characteristics were unknown to participants who were just reacting to everyday life experiences. In Phase 2, participants became aware of their behaviors, but could not stop non-beneficial behaviors. In Phase 3, they could observe… [Direct]
(1996). Literacy across the Curriculum: Connecting Literacy in the Schools, Community and Workplace, 1995-1996. Literacy across the Curriculum, v11 n1-4 Spr 1995-Win. This document contains four issues of a journal that aims to connect literacy in the schools, the community, and the workplace. Each issue also contains an insert focusing on media literacy. Some of the topics covered in the spring 1995 issue include the following: positioning literacy–naming literacy; literacy and machines–an overview of the use of technology in adult literacy programs; the United Kingdom experience of workplace literacy; families and literacy; writing and roadkill on the information highway; surfing the net in pursuit of the muse; turned off, tuned out–left out (television); what do employers really want?; and what adults need to know and be able to do. The summer 1995 issue features the following: health and literacy; the United Kingdom experience of investing in people; work-based learning; the new reading disk; computer technology survey of Ontario adult literacy programs; David Buckingham on media literacy; Spain 1995–International Conference on Media… [PDF]
(2007). Rethinking Intergroup Encounters: Rescuing Praxis from Theory, Activity from Education, and Peace/Co-Existence from Identity and Culture. Journal of Peace Education, v4 n1 p21-37 Mar. Focusing on the Palestinian-Israeli case, this article critically reviews some central issues which burden the field of intergroup encounters. More specifically it considers some of their foundational historical and educational roots. I point to the reified concepts of self and identity, the history of schooling and its practices, and the coming into being of the political organization of nation-state which, though hidden from present theorizing, has a profound influence on the educational paradigms and strategies that guide intergroup encounters and their possible outcomes. Last, while considering post-national and post-positivist realist perspectives, I offer alternative educational options to strengthen the potential of intergroup encounters to support co-existence and reconciliation efforts given the critiques and paradigmatic dilemmas discussed…. [Direct]
(2000). Towards Paradigm Peace in Physics Education Research. This paper summarizes two examples in order to predict which of Gage's three scenarios about possible histories of education research will occur. A prediction of educational research for the year 2009 is also made. (KHR)… [PDF]
(2012). Late Registration: May It Rest in Peace. Community College Journal, v83 n1 p26-31 Aug-Sep. Almost every institution of higher education engages in late registration. But evidence is mounting that the practice, originally intended to keep the doors of opportunity open for students as long as possible, wreaks havoc on the ability of colleges to achieve the goals of the emerging completion agenda. Despite best intentions, late registration is an educationally ineffective architecture deeply embedded in the culture of the community college. It is time, once and for all, to end late registration. May it rest in peace. The case for terminating late registration is strong. Colleges that redesign registration and intake procedures to eliminate late registration will: (1) improve persistence and retention rates for their students; (2) send a message to students and faculty that learning and instruction are important every day and every week of the term; (3) establish expectations for students to meet deadlines and live with the consequences of their decisions, which may translate… [Direct]
(2016). Adult Learners' Understanding in Learning Islam Using Andragogy Approach: A Study in Kampung Siglap Mosque and Al-Zuhri Higher Learning Institute. Journal of Education and Practice, v7 n32 p1-10. This study describes adult learners' understanding in learning Islam using andragogy approach in which the study was conducted in Kampung Siglap Mosque and Al-Zuhri Higher Learning Institute. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) educate his companions of who are adults from the shackles of "jahiliyyah," spiritual and intellectual darkness which includes the culture of silence and structural poverty towards Islam. Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammad since he first received the revelation has been through 14 centuries. Learn Islam remains the duty of Muslims. Many Islamic education models focused on the education of children but not for adult learners. Muslim adult learners have become the subject of experimentation using the trial and error method in deciding ideal education model. Singapore is a secular state where freedom of religion is encrypted in the constitution and Malay/Muslim comprises 13.3% of the population. Adults learn Islam to deepen their understanding and to… [PDF]
(2012). Needs and Nonviolent Communication in the Religious Studies Classroom. Teaching Theology & Religion, v15 n3 p210-224 Jul. Religious studies classrooms are microcosms of the public square in bringing together individuals of diverse identities and ideological commitments. As such, these classrooms create the necessity and opportunity to foster effective modes of conversation. In this essay, I argue that communication attuned to shared human needs–among them needs for safety, respect, and belonging–offers a transformative response to the potential self-silencing and peer-conflict to which religious studies classrooms are prone. I develop this claim with reference to the research on teaching religious studies conducted by Barbara Walvoord and the pedagogy of theologian and Swarthmore University President Rebecca Chopp in formulating an \ethics of conversation\ with her students. Building on this foundation, I make a case for developing an \ethos of conversation\ in the religious studies classroom based on psychologist and peace activist Marshall Rosenberg's method of \nonviolent communication.\ While… [Direct]
(2010). Adult Education, Narratives and Cultural Values. International Journal of Learning and Change, v4 n3 p263-268. Nowadays we are experiencing profound economic and social changes, which cause new and different migratory fluxes in the search for better living conditions. In this manner, the human tissue that composes societies is getting diverse. Therefore we can now find new minorities originating from immigration, whose members possess ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic characteristics differing from those of the rest of the population of the host communities, which often foster problems of intolerance, injustice and radicalism. Education, especially adult education, can play a special role in the eradication of those phenomena through the analysis of some contents of narratives or short stories. These contents encourage the dialogue and the interaction, aid the integration, stimulate mutual knowledge and promote peace too…. [Direct]
(2010). CREADS, a Teacher Training Course on ESD in Costa Rica. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, v4 n2 p227-234 Sep. After the Costa Rican government signed a commitment to implement the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), the challenge was how to put the commitment into action. Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself with an initiative called Peace with Nature (Iniciativa Paz con la Naturaleza-IPN), under which a teacher training course called Education for Sustainable Development Regional Course (CREADS) was implemented. A "coalition" of governmental and nongovernmental organisations, coordinated by the Ministry of Education and IPN, was put in place to deliver the course and it was decided to use the Earth Charter as the course framework. This article describes the process of creating this course, its content and methodology, and analyses the course impact, lessons learned and challenges ahead. (Contains 5 tables and 3 notes.)… [Direct]
(2011). The Second Chance School. International Journal of Inclusive Education, v15 n4 p445-459. Loughshore Educational Resource Centre is a religiously integrated, co-educational, special needs and secondary school situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Loughshore works with a wide clientele of pupils across the spectrum of need and ability from the metropolitan area of Belfast. It plays a vital role as an educational base for a multiplicity of out-of-school children. The centre works in the backdrop of an emerging peace in the region as well as the significantly high levels of deprivation experienced across Northern Ireland's capital. With places at the centre at a premium, a strict admission criterion exists. The centre aims to give a "second chance" to its pupils, who are at risk of social exclusion, focusing on academic, personal and social development, providing skills which can be used to gain employment or continue to further education. (Contains 3 tables and 1 note.)… [Direct]
(2017). Saudi Student Integration in Southeastern U.S. Institutions: A Study on the Impact of Academic, Social, and Cultural Adjustments Related to Academic Success. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Auburn University. Saudi student enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions has been increasing due to factors like the rising enrollment of international students in the U.S. Another major reason includes the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, which implemented efforts to promote peace and improve international relations as well as boost the economy of Saudi Arabia (Alqahtani, 2014; Hilal, Scott, & Maadad, 2015; Hilal, Scott, & Maadad, 2015). There is a lack of mixed methods data on Saudi students' social and cultural integration issues and how this impacts academic success. The purpose of this study was to examine these adjustment issues and how they relate to students' abilities to succeed academically in U.S. universities. This study incorporated Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory and Tinto's Student Departure Theory into the theoretical framework. Data was collected using quantitative and qualitative mixed methods, including the Needs Assessment of International Students (NAIS)… [Direct]
(2019). Photo-Monologues and Photo-Dialogues from the Family Album: Arab and Jewish Students Talk about Belonging, Uprooting and Migration. Journal of Peace Education, v16 n2 p175-194. This article analyses two concepts that merge critical educational theory and practice: "photo-monologue" and "photo-dialogue," based on a workshop of Arab and Jewish students in Israel focused on family albums. The photo-monologue consists of a photograph and a quote by or in the name of a person seen in the photograph. The photo-dialogue is a group discussion of photo-monologues. All photo-monologues created by the students and the author, who facilitated the workshop, included the themes of belonging, uprooting and migration shared by both Jews and Arabs in Israel in ways insufficiently addressed in scholarly or daily discourse. The photo-monologues were discussed from a critical pedagogy approach, which stresses acknowledgment of cultural and historical differences and silenced personal-political hi/stories, as well as creating new knowledge through student-student and student-teacher dialogue. This knowledge is both factually and qualitatively different from… [Direct]
(2019). Women's Participation in Peace Processes: A Review of Literature. Journal of Peace Education, v16 n2 p133-154. Women play a prominent role in bringing about peace in post-conflict societies. Several studies have found the systematic and representative inclusion of women in conflict resolution processes to significantly increase the chances of sustainable peace. However, women's contribution to peace processes are often underemphasized or ignored in conflict management research and praxis. It was not until the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and seven other related resolutions that critical attention was given to women's role in the peace process. This article provides an in-depth review of the literature on women's contribution to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The overall aim is to provide researchers and actors in the global peace market with a distillation of the salient studies and findings from research on women's involvement in the peace process. Such an effort is necessary to bring together the sparse literature on women's contribution to peace and to reveal… [Direct]
(2019). Training for Peace, Conscientization through University Simulation. Journal of Peace Education, v16 n2 p195-214. Incomplete and insufficient university programmes in the field of Peace and Conflict Resolution have led to an important gap in knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) among peacebuilders and peacekeepers. In theory, experiential learning through problem-based learning (PBL) and simulations should be able to address this gap. This article explores the opportunities and limits of this pedagogical approach to educating peace actors using the case of the Carana simulation delivered at Linn√© University (LNU), Sweden. Using mixed-methods, this article confirms the added- value of PBL in the development of KSAs but identifies challenges peculiar to the field of Peace and Conflict Studies that limit its effects. PBL has a clear added-value for the development of skills in learners with a consistent development of professional skills. It can be used to foster conscientization as a precursor to transforming societies towards nonviolence and justice…. [Direct]
(2019). Relationships of Control and Relationships of Engagement: How Educator Intentions Intersect with Student Experiences of Restorative Justice. Journal of Peace Education, v16 n1 p49-77. The practice and popularity of restorative justice (RJ) in education has been growing in recent years. RJ can be understood in dramatically different ways by those implementing it. For some, RJ is about creating an environment of and for student engagement that challenges traditional systems of discipline and facilitates learning. For others, RJ is simply another tool for solidifying compliance and meting out punishment, albeit in a kinder, gentler way. This comparative case study focused on the use of RJ in one school in Scotland and one in Canada, exploring the intersection between educator intentions and student experiences. I determined that the key element is not the implementation of RJ, but the school's predominant relational objectives. In a school where relational objectives are of social control, RJ is utilized to strengthen that control. Where the relational objectives are of social engagement, RJ is utilized to strengthen that engagement. RJ in schools is a window into… [Direct]