(2011). Education for Sustainable Development at the University for Peace. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, v5 n2 p245-249 Sep. This article features the University for Peace (UPEACE), an international academic institution that was created as a Treaty Organization within the framework of the United Nations (Resolution 35/55-1980) to support the central peace and security objectives of the United Nations. UPEACE has carried out postgraduate programs since its inception in the early 1980s. In 2000, as part of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's initiative towards reforming the United Nations system, UPEACE entered into a new phase of consolidation and expansion. In the Class of 2010, the university enrolled 198 graduate students from 58 countries. The headquarters of the UPEACE system is in Costa Rica, the country that proposed the creation of the University to the UN General Assembly. The UPEACE system also includes offices in Addis Ababa, Geneva, Manila and New York. UPEACE embraces a comprehensive multi- and inter-disciplinary approach in its focus on peace and conflict transformation. While all… [Direct]
(2010). Peace Keepers: Colleges as Teachers of Peace and Conflict Resolution. Community College Journal, v81 n1 p44, 46 Aug-Sep. Americans increasingly are looking to community colleges to solve some of the most pressing problems facing this country–not necessarily a surprising revelation. Community colleges have long been in the business of making communities stronger and more vibrant, minimizing economic and social inequities, and instilling hope in those who need it most. As a result, individuals, no matter their age, gender, race, or ability, can avail themselves of the benefits of higher education. Community colleges have done much to promote prosperity and security, competitiveness and equity, and cultural and social enrichment. Thus, it should come as no surprise that community colleges are ideally positioned to promote peace and security in an increasingly violent, unstable global society. Community colleges that pursue peace and conflict initiatives generally follow one of four strategies, often in combination with each other. This article discusses the four pillars of peace education…. [Direct]
(2017). Greek-Cypriot Teachers' Perceptions of Religious Education and Its Contribution to Peace: Perspectives of (In)compatibility in a Divided Society. Journal of Peace Education, v14 n2 p176-194. This paper explores the ways in which a group of primary school teachers in Cyprus interprets religious education and its contribution to peace. In particular, this phenomenological exploratory study: first, examines how teachers perceive religious education and whether this conceptualization is considered to be (in)compatible with peace in the context of a conflict-affected society; and, second, shows some of the tensions that exist in the aims of religious education between the desire to encourage mutual understanding and exposure to religious pluralism, on the one hand, and the political demands for entrenching ethnic cleavages, on the other. Although these tensions are largely contextual, they nevertheless raise two important issues that are worthwhile to consider for religious education and peace in conflict-affected societies: first, the "naturalization" of religion and religious instruction, on the one hand, vs. the recognition that some models of religious… [Direct]
(2013). The Peace Corps and Higher Education: Finally the Envisioned Partnership?. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, v17 n2 p137-150. A number of structural and contextual changes underway suggests that now that the Peace Corps has begun its second half-century, it may be the opportune time for a broader and deeper strategic partnership with higher education along the lines that the Peace Corps founders' envisioned. That partnership would involve higher education playing an expanded role in recruiting, training, and evaluating Peace Corps volunteers to supplement the more than 100 existing partnerships between the Peace Corps and higher education in graduate study…. [PDF]
(2018). Mapping the Relationship between Education Reform and Power-Sharing in and after Intrastate Peace Agreements: A Multi-Methods Study. Journal on Education in Emergencies, v4 n1 p74-113 Aug. To what extent does the adoption of consociational power-sharing affect the design and implementation of education reforms? This article maps this territory through rich and detailed interviews collected in Lebanon, Northern Ireland, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2012-2013. Insights from these interviews are corroborated by evidence from the first large-scale dataset of educational provisions in intrastate peace settlements (the Political Agreements in Internal Conflict [PAIC] dataset). There is strong evidence that the values and practices of power-sharing affect the implementation of education reforms: they constrain syncretistic (integrationist or assimilationist) initiatives and enable pluralistic reforms. Analysis of the PAIC dataset also suggests a relationship between the adoption of power-sharing and the inclusion of education reforms in peace agreements: pacts including power-sharing are more likely to also include pluralistic education reforms. Beyond… [Direct]
(2024). Citizenship in the Elementary Classroom through the Lens of Peer Relations. Educational Psychology Review, v36 Article 34. We explored the potential of using a peer relations approach for researching children's citizenship in elementary classrooms. Children express or enact citizenship through their behavior toward classmates and the relationships they engage in (i.e., lived citizenship). These behaviors and relationships can be more or less in line with goals for citizenship education. We propose that, through peer relations methodology, these behaviors and relationships can be assessed systematically. In addition, some of the widely researched behaviors and relationships in peer relations research already closely align with goals for citizenship education. With this theoretical and methodological argument, we consider recent publications on classroom behaviors (i.e., prosocial behavior and aggression) and relationships (i.e., positive and negative affect) and their meaning for exemplary goals for citizenship education (i.e., solidarity, peace, and social cohesion). We show how individual children and… [Direct]
(2011). Storytelling as Loving Praxis in Critical Peace Education: A Grounded Theory Study of Postsecondary Social Justice Educators. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Portland State University. Looking through the philosophical lens of love, this study seeks a deeper understanding and appreciation of how postsecondary social justice educators use storytelling, in the context of critical peace education, to create social change. This research explores the guiding question of how storytelling is used to encourage social change and to inspire action toward the goal of greater social justice. The argument for the importance of this research is located within the crisis of neoliberalism, where the very tenets of democratic education are being challenged by an educational agenda that favors standards-based learning and employment training over the critical and analytical thinking skills required for democracy to flourish. The results of this study identify storytelling as a method of ideology critique, and locate it within a larger process of loving praxis. A theoretical model of loving praxis is offered to explain how postsecondary social justice educators engage story as an… [Direct]
(2022). Higher Education Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Societies: Beyond the Good/Bad Binary. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, v24 n3-4 p160-176. Purpose: This comparative case study looks towards the diverse approaches of higher education to support peacebuilding, from policy and philosophy to pedagogical practices, in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings. The achievement of global development goals is dependent on addressing access to quality education in conflict-affected contexts, including higher education. However, in settings affected by conflict, higher education is often perceived to be a luxury, not a necessity. This study, then, explores whether and how higher education might support peace and development through the unique perspective of the "three faces" of higher education in conflict contexts. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is designed as a qualitative comparative case study. The research examines the work of university educators in two institutions in Afghanistan and Somaliland, highlighting the challenges and opportunities they face working in conflict-affected societies and their… [Direct]
(2006). The Use of Stories as a Tool for Intervention and Research in the Arena of Peace Education in Conflict Areas: The Israeli-Palestinian Story. Journal of Peace Education, v3 n2 p251-271 Sep. The aim of this paper, in the area of peace education, is to demonstrate the feasibility of using stories as part of educational programmes and research. This paper has two sections. In the first, a brief overview of peace education theory and practice in the Israeli context will be presented. The concept of stories and the possibility of using stories in educational programmes and research in peace education will also be discussed. In the second section, two psychological educational projects that use stories in the area of peace education will be demonstrated and the similarities and differences between the two projects will be noted. In conclusion, guidelines will be presented which can be applied in peace education programmes, not only in Israel but in other regions of conflict throughout the world. (Contains 7 notes.)… [Direct]
(2020). Democracy Needs Education: Public Performance, Peace, and Pedagogy, Julia Grace Wales. Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, v56 n4 p503-519. In this article, we explore the academic life of Julia Grace Wales as a public intellectual and peace activist. The study addresses the largely neglected field of female educators and peace activists in the early to mid-twentieth century through a case study of one woman's lifelong popular education campaign to achieve peace and social justice. In these initiatives of lectures, publications, poetry, hymn, memoir, textbook, and correspondence with leaders in religious, academic, and government institutions, Wales took seriously her role as an academic in a democratic society to resolve international conflicts without war. As a public educator, she emerged at a time of growing professionalisation and specialisation among American universities. Although Wales was unique in her position as a woman, academic, and peace activist, we learn how she capitalised upon multiple profiles to advance her point of view. In this article, we assert that it was from her position on the margins that she… [Direct]
(2024). Children's Rights…and Duties! In Pedagogy and Intercultural and Peace Education. Intercultural Education, v35 n5 p558-569. The contribution deals critically with the issue of citizenship and children's rights, identifying a silent void starting from the change we have witnessed with the progressive questioning of the principles, secular, and religious, of adult authority and the sacrosanct affirmation rights of minors and their defence against violence and abuse. This questioning, for example in Italy, took the form of the abolition of the concept of patria potestatis, replaced with that of parental responsibility. However, looking at the juridical, pedagogical, and children's literature, it seems that in the face of numerous publications which speak of children's rights, very few are those that deal with the theme of (any?) the duties of minors…. [Direct]
(2023). Mathematics Teaching in "l√°vvues" from the Perspectives of Indigenous Education and Critical Peace Education. Journal of Peace Education, v20 n2 p176-195. This study focuses on how teaching is affected when two cultures meet: the S√°mi culture, represented by the "l√°vvu," and the culture of teaching mathematics in a school. It describes the use of the "l√°vvu" (a S√°mi temporary dwelling) as a classroom for teaching mathematics. For several years, and in cooperation with researchers, the teachers at the Guovdageaidnu Lower Secondary Schoolg have been developing interdisciplinary teaching content related to S√°mi traditional knowledge. The findings of this study describe how tenth-grade students taught younger students. The empirical data used in this study originated from students' teaching in "l√°vvues" and consisted of audio recordings, field notes, and notes from conversations between the authors. The teaching was carried out at another S√°mi school for students of the same age and younger. The organization of the teaching and the teaching itself can be seen as a hybrid of S√°mi child rearing and the ordinary… [Direct]
(2020). Situated Perspectives on Creating Mathematics Tasks for Peace and Sustainability. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, v20 n2 p218-229 Jun. In this paper, we reflect on our experiences teaching and working with mathematics teachers in Canada, Ghana, India and Swaziland to explore challenges and opportunities for creating mathematics tasks for peace and sustainability. Our exploration of these experiences is oriented around our interest in embedding peace and sustainability into mathematics education following the Sustainable Development Goals identified by the United Nations. We claim that attention to local contexts affords mathematics educators a medium for engaging in authentic, meaningful and context-driven mathematics tasks that address issues of local environmental, cultural and societal concerns. However, we argue that globalisation has already colonised local communities. The associated "technoscientificity", along with the conservative nature of textbooks, time constraints and the dominant force of poverty remain hindrances in creating mathematics tasks that are issue centric and socially relevant to… [Direct]
(2014). Contextual and Pedagogical Considerations in Teaching for Forgiveness in the Arab World. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, v44 n1 p32-52. This study was conducted among Arab teachers in four countries in the Middle East (Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine) to examine their views and methods on teaching for forgiveness in their classrooms. A total of 87 teachers in K-12 classrooms participated in semi-structured interviews as part of a larger study on teaching for forgiveness in the region. Thematic analyses of interviews suggested that teachers created opportunities to model and teach forgiveness as part of their civics education curriculum. They also expressed eagerness for instructional guidance and curriculum materials to systematically teach forgiveness in schools. The strength of religion and historical religious figures as positive sources for teaching forgiveness was also evident. Findings highlight the need to integrate education for peace and forgiveness in the education system, especially as a result of recent political developments in the Middle East, and to provide methods to assist teachers to do so in… [Direct]
(2012). Disarming Hatred: History Education, National Memories, and Franco-German Reconciliation from World War I to the Cold War. History of Education Quarterly, v52 n3 p370-402 Aug. On May 4, 2006, French and German cultural ministers announced the publication of "Histoire/Geschichte", the world's first secondary school history textbook produced jointly by two countries. Authored by a team of French and German historians and published simultaneously in both languages, the book's release drew considerable public attention. French and German heads-of-state readily pointed to the joint history textbook as a shining example of the close and positive relations between their two countries, while their governments heralded the book for "symbolically sealing Franco-German reconciliation." Franco-German textbook reform provides one of the most successful historical models of cultural diplomacy and peace education worldwide; yet, among scholars and education reformers its history is little known and the reasons for its success are even less understood. Historians of education in both countries have highlighted instead the active role that educators… [Direct]