peace education in school

EDUCATION

Youth are the foundation of our future and often can serve as transformed mentors to their

friends, family and society.

INTRODUCTION

The process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behaviour

changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and

structural; to resolve conflict peacefully;

and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether

at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national or international level.

DEFINITION

AIM OF PEACE EDUCATION Investigate the causes of conflicts and violence embedded

within perceptions, values and attitudes of individuals as well

as within social and political structures of society. Encourage

the search for alternatives and possible nonviolent skills. Equip

children and adults with personal conflict resolution skills.

Early decades of the 20th century, “peace education” programs around the world have

represented a spectrum of focal themes, including anti-nuclearism, international

understanding, environmental responsibility, communication skills, nonviolence, conflict resolution techniques, democracy, human rights awareness, tolerance of diversity,

coexistence and gender equality,

HISTORY

Ian Harris and John Synott have described peace education as a series of "teaching encounters" that draw from

people:• their desire for peace,• nonviolent alternatives for managing

conflict, • skills for critical analysis of structural

arrangements that produce and legitimize injustice and inequality

New approaches focuses on peace education as a process of worldview transformation

PEACE EDUCATION AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF

QUALITY BASIC EDUCATIONThe 1990 World Declaration on Education for All (the Jomtien Declaration) clearly states that basic learning needs comprise not only essential tools such as literacy and numeracy, but also the knowledge, skills, attitudes and

values required to live and work in dignity and to participate in development.

Windows of opportunity• There are a number of creative avenues that can

be used to introduce peace education concepts, skills and attitudes, whether in or out of the school .

• Traditional folk stories• Nearly every country in the world has ratified

the Convention on the Rights of the Child, • Proverbs

OUTSIDE OF SCHOOLS• Peace education should not limited to activities that take place

in schools. A number activities can be performed after -school programmes and summer programmes with a peace education focus.

• Workshops, training programmes, and activities for out of school youth can be created, along with initiatives that focus on the media, publications for youth, and community-based arts programmes. Taken together, such approaches demonstrate that learning takes place in many different contexts, all of which can promote messages of peace

? Peace Education Peace education programs centered on conflict

resolution typically focus on the social-behavioural symptoms of conflict, training individuals to resolve inter-personal disputes through techniques of negotiation and (peer) mediation. Learning to manage anger, “fight fair” and improve communication through skills such as listening, turn-taking, identifying needs, and separating facts from emotions, constitute the main elements of these programs

PADAGOGY Three variations of peace education are most common:

At schools levelSchools are our main social avenue of learning. While the primary focus of teaching in schools is predominantly on academic skills, we feel that life skills are equally important

Share Inspiring Words of Peace from Different

Cultures

Develop healthy habits and regular schedules, including enough sleep, daily exercise and relaxation.

Play Grounds: to burn negativity

Donate to people in need

Make Room for Peace/ prayer at Home

Outer peace begins with inner peace. Children and adults need special places that give them a sense of privacy and peace, and that can serve as a quiet refuge for times when hurt or angry feelings might lead to violent words or actions

Find Peace in Nature Take children for a walk or let them explore nature in

their own way. The beauty of nature is a great balm to the soul

Make Time for Creative Play Young children need plenty of time for unstructured, creative

play. Make-believe social play reduces aggression and increases empathy in children. Children use play to work through feelings of fear and sadness, to find comfort, and to explore the world and develop relationships.

Engage Children’s Hands and Hearts Children need a direct experience of giving. They love to

make things, small and large—their own cards, tree ornaments, cookies, or bread—for neighbors, family, friends, or those in need. They can also learn to enjoy sorting through their own things and giving away some treasured possessions to others in need.

Help young people find active ways to collaborate with other children globally, through organizations like

Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots www.janegoodall.org

Craig Kielburger’s Free the Children www.freethechildren.org Peace Jam, in which students work directly with Nobel

Peace Laureates www.peacejam.org