Peace Education

Because the purpose of peace education is to bring an end to violence in the schools, in 1969 Johan Galtung suggested a definition of peace as the dearth of violence. Although this appears to be simplistic, in moving toward true peace education he rejects the traditional notion of violence that only considers intentional physical or psychological harm. Instead, Galtung includes circumstances of violence that include when human beings are being influenced physically and psychologically to not be able to realize their potential. Thus, even poverty because of its deprivation is a form of violence.

Peace education has become an especially important topic for schools, because everywhere we look, in the media—newspapers, magazines, television, movies—in our homes and in our schools we are reminded that we live in a violent world. Research indicates that peer violence is stable through development. In fact, children who display violent behaviors in the early grades are more likely to be involved in criminal behavior as they become older. Therefore, it is clearly important for educators to be aware of these direct and indirect kinds of violence that begin in the elementary schools and often escalate into even more severe violence in high schools.

Most of the efforts to create safe schools are focused on peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding [Page 735]strategies. In fact, it is estimated that 10% of U.S. schools have programs that emphasize peaceful solutions to disputes. Peacekeeping violence prevention efforts attempt to avoid violent behavior from occurring, terminate involvement in violence, and reduce the occurrence of violent behaviors in school. The most common strategy for safety at school is the designing of a school-based violence prevention plan.

Peacemaking approaches to school violence train children to resolve conflicts constructively through the use of conflict resolution programs, teaching mediation, empathy, and alternative dispute resolution methods. Adults who emphasize peacemaking approaches emphasize communication, negotiation, and mediation skills. They work at promoting resiliency in youth.

Peacebuilding approaches to lessening school violence recognize that children must be taught to become more peaceful. As noted by Ian Harris in 2000, there are four components in a peacebuilding approach to preventing school violence:

• 1.
  Addressing the sources of violence
• 2.
  Filling young people's heads with images of peace to make peace attractive to them
• 3.
  Helping young people recover from violence
• 4.
  Constructing a peaceable school climate

Peace educators teach cultural diversity, with a goal of creating the conditions of positive peace in children's minds. They draw upon the critical theory and liberation theologies of bell hooks, Paulo Friere, and Henry Giroux.

An example of a peace program is the Peace Education Foundation (PEF), which is a nonprofit organization established in 1980. Its mission is to educate children and adults in the dynamics of conflict and to promote peacemaking skills in homes, schools, and communities throughout the world. PEF provides educational materials, training, and programming that encourages making nonviolent conflict resolution a lifestyle. C. Diekmann wrote in 2004 that significant research themes on which PEF is based include

• Violence prevention
• Multicomponent approach (multimodal, structured social skills training programs)
• Social development (focuses on what can be done to facilitate healthy social development)
• Resiliency (the ability to bounce back from life's stresses)
• Teaching methodology (based on social learning theory as developed by Bandura)
• Process goals and progress feedback
• Developmentally appropriate approach, multilesson and multiyear model (begin young and continue over many years)
• School climate
• Effective schools and student achievement

The PEF model integrates a wide range of social competency concepts that include community building, developmentally appropriate rules, understanding conflict, perception and diversity, anger management and other emotions, and effective communication.

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