(2014). Peace and Environmental Education for Climate Change: Challenges and Practices in Lebanon. Journal of Peace Education, v11 n3 p279-296. As noted in the literature reporting on the impact of climate change, it does not only bring about environmental degradation, i.e. ecological violence, but it may also provoke increased intercommunity and interstate violence. This article examines the implications of this relationship between climate change and increased violence for environmental education and peace education. First, it presents existing and potential consequences of climate change on local and regional stability, underlining the need to incorporate climate change into environmental and peace education. Second, it examines how and why the incorporation of climate change into education has been met with difficulty. Third, this article illustrates how climate change can be included into environmental education reporting on research of the educational practices of IndyACT, a Lebanese non-governmental organization which works on climate change issues at national, regional, and global levels. The article explores the… [Direct]
(2019). Process over Product: How Creative Youth Development Can Lead to Peace. Afterschool Matters, n29 p1-8 Spr. Kids Creative is a New York City nonprofit that runs afterschool and summer programs with over 1,000 youth each year. The programs they run use this creativity-oriented process to produce original musicals, works of art, videos, dances, and more. When Kids Creative received grant funding, they were able to include more youth and add homework help, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) activities, and sports to their arts offerings. Throughout this expansion, they have maintained their process-oriented educational structures. Whether they are creating a musical play or a Lego robot, playing chess or learning a martial art, all participants have a voice as contributors and collaborators. At Kids Creative, the arts, science, and sports are vehicles for individual and community growth. Kids Creative see themselves as a creative youth development (CYD) program engaged in peace education. Their vision is that "a better, more peaceful future is achievable by teaching… [PDF]
(2015). Betty Reardon's Philosophy of Peace Education and the Centrality of Justice. Journal of Peace Education, v12 n1 p37-55. There is no clear description of an approach to justice that is related to peace education. Betty Reardon's writing holistically connects peace and justice. While there are various traditions of justice, such as utilitarianism and contractarianism (social contract), the breadth of Reardon's writing suggests that justice, in terms of its relationship with peace, is most consistent with the capabilities or human development approach to justice. Popularized by Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen and University of Chicago philosopher Martha Nussbaum, capabilities are substantive opportunities and freedoms, consistent with human dignity, that enable persons to choose their own life path. Articulating Reardon's conception of justice might provide peace educators, researchers, and activists with more clarity about the nature of justice in relation to peace, places to begin inquiry, and critical and conceptual understanding about the meaning of "NO JUSTICE, NO… [Direct]
(2016). Tabletops for Peace: Technology Enhanced Peacemaking in School Contexts. Educational Technology & Society, v19 n2 p164-176. This article describes an empirical investigation of technology-enhanced peacemaking in a conflict-stressed school environment. The peacemaking intervention required students in conflict-laden groups to collaborate on various game-like learning activities on a multitouch interactive tabletop, over the span of three weeks. Student interviews and video observations provided evidence that tabletops can become a means for communication and collaboration giving the chance for students in conflict to share a common space, shifting attitudes and improving their relationships. The study elaborates on the affordances of tabletops as they become apparent in the context of peacemaking, unpacking the still widely unexplored potential of multitouch interactive technology in peace education…. [PDF]
(2011). Building a Peaceful Society: Creative Integration of Peace Education. Peace Education. IAP – Information Age Publishing, Inc. To truly move toward a more peaceful society, it is imperative that peace education better address structural and institutional violence. This requires that it be integrated into institutions outside of schools and universities. Doing so will be challenging, as many of these institutions are structured on domination and control, not on partnership and shared power. In particular, U.S. criminal justice, social services and prevention programs, and sport have tended to be dominator-modeled. This book offers analysis and suggestions for overcoming these challenges and for integrating peace education into important social institutions. Creativity will be one of the most useful assets in moving peace education from schools to other institutions. This book argues that with creative visioning, collaboration, and implementation, peace education can be integrated into the most challenging situations and provide hope for holistic changes in our society…. [Direct]
(2012). Empathy for Interpersonal Peace: Effects of Peace Education on Empathy Skills. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, v12 n2 p1454-1460 Spr. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of Peace Education Program on the sixth grade elementary students' empathy levels. The research was carried out using pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design. While Peace Education Program was applied on experiment group; control group has not been provided any treatment. The study group included 281 students; 158 (56.23%; girls n= 84, 53.17%; boys n= 74, 46.83%) in the experiment and 123 (43.77%; girls n= 57, 46.35%; boys n= 66, 53.65%) in the control group. In the research, Index of Empathy for Children and Personal Information Form were used as measuring instruments. Research was conducted on sixth grade classes of two different elementary schools which are located in Menemen town of Izmir in 2010-2011 academic year. Research results indicated that Peace Education Program implemented on experiment group was effective in increasing students' empathy levels. Compared to experiment and control groups in terms of… [PDF]
(2016). Music in Peacebuilding: A Critical Literature Review. Journal of Peace Education, v13 n3 p200-217. The critical literature review summarizes and appraises studies that have been pursued by music scholars examining the contributions of music to peacebuilding as well as the role of music in violence. These two bodies of literature are rarely brought into dialogue, but I juxtapose them in order to confront the idea of music's exceptionalism as inherently good or neutral. I further highlight the specific issues and questions that arise from considering the findings on music's role in peace and violence together. The goal of this piece is to help situate the other "Journal of Peace Education" special issue articles within the existing efforts in music and peacebuilding, to indicate fruitful areas for future research, and to raise ideas and concerns for praxial interventions that might be developed to use music in peacebuilding…. [Direct]
(2011). Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Peace Education: Solomon Islands. Journal of Peace Education, v8 n2 p157-176. Technical and vocational education and training programs as a form of peace education are examined in this paper. It explores the notion of educating for a culture of peace through refocusing technical and vocational education and training programs on sustainable community development in the Solomon Islands. It further highlights the policy and practice mechanisms that contribute to advancing technical and vocational education and training as a peace education initiative. As a model of the applicability of the program as a form of peace education, the discussion describes a technical and vocational education and training centre in the Solomon Islands that has engaged in post-conflict livelihood projects–bringing about healing and restoration and creating the culture of peace. This is a practical and comprehensive model to peace education that extends beyond the centre and embraces the culture of peace in the community as a whole. The implications point to technical and vocational… [Direct]
(2017). "The World Would Just Fall Apart if There's No Respect at All": Children's Understandings of Respect for Diversity in a Post-Conflict Society. Journal of Peace Education, v14 n1 p15-31. The term "respect for diversity" has gained prominence in many policy and curricular developments aimed at promoting reconciliation and pluralism. To explore the understandings of "respect for diversity" held by children in a society that has both emerged from conflict and is increasingly multicultural, 15 group interviews were conducted with 7-11-year-old children in Northern Ireland. The behavioural aspects of respect for diversity articulated by the children were identified as: attention; offering time; equality of treatment; and acts of solidarity. Affective motivations for these actions were empathy and the pursuit of friendship; cognitive motivations were: a moral norm of inclusion; curiosity; internalised human rights principles; and egalitarianism (a belief that all persons are equal in fundamental worth or value). Findings are discussed in relation to theories of children's prejudice development and moral development, and implications for the teaching and… [Direct]
(2012). The Affective (Re)Production of Refugee Representations through Educational Policies and Practices: Reconceptualising the Role of Emotion for Peace Education in a Divided Country. International Review of Education, v58 n4 p465-480 Aug. Drawing into a discussion of the politicisation of emotion, this paper develops a framework to analyse some of the processes and strategies by which educational policies and pedagogical practices "emotionalise" the representation of refugees in conflict-ridden societies such as Cyprus and explores the implications for peace education. In particular, this paper aims to refine our understanding of how emotions affect the ways in which educational policies and practices reproduce self-other dichotomies through certain representations of the refugee experience. It is argued that these dichotomies are relevant to the emotional reactions against peace education initiatives. Second, this paper examines alternative possibilities of promoting peaceful coexistence, while taking into consideration the affective (re)production of refugee representations yet without undermining the refugee experience. Better understanding of how emotion is involved will help educational policymakers and… [Direct]
(2011). Durability of Peace Education Effects in the Shadow of Conflict. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, v14 n1 p135-147 Mar. Value-oriented instructional programs, such as anti-racism, may often face societal barriers. A case in point are peace education programs in conflictual contexts. Close analysis of peace education programs in regions of conflict and tension suggest that they face formidable barriers that would appear to prevent the attainment of their goals of mutual legitimization, changed attitudes and empathy. However, positive research findings suggest otherwise. A possible solution of this contradiction is the distinction between strongly held and not easily changeable attitudes and beliefs, called "convictions" (Abelson, "American Psychologist" 43: 267-275 1988) and more regular attitudes. Possibly, the barriers facing peace education may pertain to convictions while the positive impact of peace education may pertain to less strongly held attitudes and beliefs. The present study examined the possible differential changes in more or less central beliefs when Israeli Jewish… [Direct]
(2012). Conflict Resolution and Peace Education: Transformations across Disciplines. Palgrave Macmillan Peace education includes lessons about conflict sources, transformation and resolution. While featuring field-based examples in multiple disciplines, including political science, anthropology, communication, psychology, sociology, counseling, law and teacher training, this book presents real cases of conflict work. Explained are concepts underlying conflict transformation and strategies that have been adapted for use in professional practice. The contributors describe formal peace education with university students in different fields of study and informal learning of adults in community settings. Comprehensively, this book supports professionals who specialize in conflict work as well as instructors and learners in several disciplines which all respond to conflict. This book contains the following: (1) Introduction (Candice C. Carter); (2) Multiculturalism and Conflict Transformation: Counselor and Client Working Together (Richmond Wynn, Sharon Wilburn, and Cirecie West-Olantunji);… [Direct]
(2017). De-Radicalizing Pakistani Society: The Receptivity of Youth to a Liberal Religious Worldview. Journal of Peace Education, v14 n2 p195-214. The reported rise in radicalism among youth in Pakistan since 9/11/2001 has been attributed to religious education in "madrasas" and schools. However, education in Pakistan is only part of the historical and contemporary forces that contribute to the prevailing exclusivist religio-political discourse. Although most policy papers have recommended a secularization of public education, such efforts by the Pakistani Government have been counterproductive. These efforts by the Pakistani Government to reshape education, with massive funding from international donors, have faced strong opposition and there are signs of psychological reactance as evidenced by even greater levels of religious radicalism among Pakistani youth. The current study suggests a viable alternative for reshaping education in Pakistan. A nationwide survey of educated urban youth (N = 386) conducted by the first author, revealed that when considering radical religious, Western secular and liberal religious… [Direct]
(2011). Social Justice and the Philosophical Foundations of Critical Peace Education: Exploring Nussbaum, Sen, and Freire. Journal of Peace Education, v8 n3 p315-331. The purpose of this paper is to philosophically explore a \realization-focused\ capabilities theory of social justice, as articulated by AmartyaSen and Martha Nussbaum, as foundational to a theory of critical peace education. Paulo Freire's philosophy of critical pedagogy has had and continues to have a profound influence on the theory and practice of peace education. It is argued that the basic premises of Freire's philosophy point to a realization-focused theory of justice and can serve as a robust organizing foundation for critical peace education theory and practice. This conclusion constitutes a hypothesis that calls for further research…. [Direct]
(2017). Studying How to Build Peace and Deal with Stereotypes and Discrimination in a Period of Terror and Despair: A Case Study from Israel. Research in Comparative and International Education, v12 n1 p64-75 Mar. This paper aims to explore how Palestinian Arab and Jewish university students in Israel, attending a course on conflict resolution, deal with their stereotypical views of the Other and their prejudices, as well as their complex emotions of fear, hate, anxiety, and love during a period of tension and violence. On the one hand, they have a natural desire for professional partnership and friendship with their fellow students. On the other hand, they are attending this class in a Jewish university, in the heart of the Middle East, where acts of terrorism occur almost daily. This violence changes the power structure and the dynamics of their mutual relationships. Through an analysis of a specific case study the paper aims to shed light on how bridging theory and practice can generate a better understanding of complex situations, enabling reflection and developing signposts to improve coping mechanisms within peace education frameworks in times of terror…. [Direct]