PEACE EDUCATION: A Transformative Response to Major Societal Challenges. Dr. Diosdado P. Estimada Faculty, CAS Dept

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1 PEACE EDUCATION: A Transformative Response to Major Societal Challenges Dr. Diosdado P. Estimada Faculty, CAS Dept 1

2 Topic Outline What is Peace Education? Holistic Understanding Levels of Peace Types of Violence 2

3 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter you should be able to: 1.Define the concept of peace in a holistic way; 2.Explain the contribution or importance of peace education in the quest for positive social changes or transformation; 3.Identify and explain the key themes of peace education. 3

4 INTRODUCTION Peace education is the process of acquiring the values, the knowledge and developing the attitudes, skills, and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself, with others, and with the natural environment. The greatest resource for building a culture of peace are the people themselves, for it is through them that peaceful relationships are created. Thus, educating people toward becoming peace agents is central to the task of peace building. 4

5 A Holistic Understanding of Peace Traditional Point of View The simplest and most widespread understanding of peace was that of absence of death and destruction as a result of war and physical/direct violence 5

6 A Holistic Understanding of Peace Modern Point of View It was realized that it was not only war and direct violence that caused the death and disfigurement. Structural violence also led to death and suffering because of the conditions that resulted from it: extreme poverty, starvation, avoidable diseases, discrimination against minority groups and denial of human rights. 6

7 A Holistic Understanding of Peace Peace is both the absence of personal/direct violence, and the presence of social justice. The meaning of peace can be captured by the idea of a negative peace and the idea of a positive peace. 7

8 A Holistic Understanding of Peace Negative peace refers to the absence of war or physical/direct violence, while positive peace refers to the presence of just and nonexploitative relationships, as well as human and ecological well-being, such that the root causes of conflict are diminished. 8

9 The non-exploitative relationships mentioned above refer not only to relationships between humans but also those between human and nature. Peace with nature is considered the foundation of positive peace (Mische, 1987). It is because the earth is ultimately the source of our survival, physical sustenance, health and wealth; it is not possible to provide for human survival if nature s capacity to renew itself is seriously impaired. I t must also be remembered that human behavior is intimately related to the availability of basic resources (Barnaby, 1989). 9 A Holistic Understanding of Peace

10 Frameworks of Peace NEGATIVE PEACE PEACE POSITIVE PEACE DIRECT VIOLENCE STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE SOCIO- CULTURAL VIOLENCE VIOLENCE ECOLOGICAL VIOLENCE 10

11 PEA CE BET LEVELS OF PEACE WE EN Harm ony with the Sacre d Sourc e HU MA NS AN D THE GLOBAL PEACE EAR Respect for other TH nations, Justice, Tolerance, AN Cooperation D BEY INTERGROUP/SOCIAL PEACE ON Respect for other D groups within nation, Justice, Tolerance, Cooperation INTERPERSONAL PEACE Respect for other persons, Justice, Tolerance, Cooperation Harmony with Nature Harmony with Others Harmony with the Self 11 PERSONAL PEACE Self-respect, Inner resources: love, hope

12 Types of Violence Betty Reardon, a peace educator who has made significant contributions to the field, defines violence as humanly inflicted harm (Reardon, n.d.). 12

13 Types of Violence Conceptual map of Violence done by Toh Swee-Hin and Virginia Cawagas (1987). It is a typology that indicates the various types/ forms of violence and some examples/illustrations of each type in the personal, interpersonal, social and global levels. 13

14 Types of Violence Level Type(s ) Direct/Physical Personal Suicide, drug abuse Interpersonal/ community Domestic violence, violent crimes National Civil war, violent crimes, human rights abuses Global Conventional war, nuclear war, human rights abuses Structural Powerlessness, alienation, low self-esteem, anxiety Local inequalities, poverty, hunger, prejudice, cultural domination, racism, sexism, religious intolerance National inequalities, poverty, hunger, prejudice, cultural domination, racism, sexism, religious intolerance Global inequalities, poverty, hunger, prejudice, cultural domination, racism, sexism, religious intolerance 14

15 Types of Violence Level Type(s ) Ecological Personal Interpersonal/ community Overconsumption Overconsumption, pollution National Overconsumption, pollution, chemical and biological warfare Global Overconsumption, pollution, chemical and biological warfare 15

16 Peace education or an education that promotes a culture of peace, is essentially transformative, because: It cultivates the knowledge base, skills, attitudes and values that seek to transform people s behaviors. This means that the learning process utilized in peace education is holistic and it tries to address the cognitive, affective and active dimensions of the learner. The action towards transformation may include action against prejudice and the war system, or action for social and economic justice. Paying attention to all these levelsthe cognitive, affective and active- increases the possibility that the peace perspective or value that is being cultivated would be internalized. 16 Peace Education as Transformative Education

17 DISCUSSION THE PEACEABLE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS COGNITIVE PHASE (Being aware, Understanding) ACTIVE PHASE (Taking practical action) AFFECTIVE PHASE (Being concerned, Responding, Valuing) 17

18 REFLECTION A holistic understanding of peace is needed for the youth to be educated on the different facets of peace for them to be able to live and apply what they have learned in order to be able to have peaceful relationships with themselves, with others, with other nations and with the world as a whole to prevent increasing the number of victims affected by violence of various kinds. 18

19 LEARNING TASK 1. In your opinion, why is peace education important in our present time? 2. The list of Peace Education s schema of knowledge, skills and attitudes and values is exhaustive. What else can you add to each (knowledge, skills and attitudes)? Explain. 19