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What is peace education?
The following text summarizes the most important aspects; these will be gone into in more detail later by the basic courses:
"As a mediator between theory (peace and conflict research) and recipient-related practice (teaching peace), peace education makes a contribution to analyzing and dealing with conflict and violence on an individual, group-specific, national/community and international level by creating independent theories and developing learning models (...)."
[The Norwegian peace and conflict researcher Johan Galtung is regarded as one of the most pre-eminent people in this field]
As far as its development is concerned, peace education experienced a number of overlapping phases following the end of the Second World War; some of these phases are now occurring all at the same time: The first phase, 'individualistic idealistic peace education,' was characterized by its individualistic approach to explanation: 'War begins in people's minds.' The second phase, an approach based on political science, understood war as a political problem caused by the international system. The third phase was influenced by the conflict between East and West, which has since been resolved (...). Both the negative and positive understandings of peace, as well as the direct, structural and cultural understanding of violence by Johan Galtung were a part of its substance (...). Environmental problems with regard to reducing comprehensively violence against the natural environment were also taken up as important objectives for peace and environmental campaigners (...).
Peace education is understood as social and political education: Social learning as the implementation of the 'teaching principle' to dismantle 'power structures' and to develop participation and involvement of all those involved in schools. Political (peace) learning should be structured around "key issues."
[Taken from: Susanne Lin, Stichwort "Friedenserziehung" (Peace Education); in: Handwörterbuch Umweltbildung, published by v. Oskar Brilling/Eduard W. Kleber, Baltmannsweiler: Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren 1999, 68-70]
UNESCO - the international organization for education, science, culture and communication - is regarded as one of the most important organisations for peace education. Under the title of "Learning: The Treasure Within," UNESCO published a report on education for the 21st century. Peace education plays an important role in the teaching concept drawn up by the report. We have created a special page that documents the most important passages in the report.
The following quote on "Education for a Culture of Peace" underlines the UNESCO's commitment to peace education: "The development of a holistic approach, based on participatory methods and taking into account the various dimensions of education for a culture of peace (peace and non-violence, human rights, democracy, tolerance, international and intercultural understanding, cultural and linguistic diversity) is its main objective." You will find further information about UNESCO's activities at the following address:
http://www.unesco.org/education/ecp/index.htm
Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed - Preamble of the UNESCO Constitution 1945
... on to Basic Course 2: What does peace mean?
[Author: Ragnar Müller]