IMPUESTO SOBRE VEHICULOS DE TRACCCION MECANICA.

Aims of teaching peace education vary depending on the different educational systems and different countries (Bar-Tal, 2002). Many organisations and scholars promulgated these various objectives as follows. UNESCO, a large organisation working to build peace through education with numerous countries of the United Nations system, endorsed the aims of education for peace, human rights and democracy as follows:

 “Predicate the development in every individual of a sense of universal values

and types of behaviour on which a culture of peace.

 Develop the ability to value freedom and the skills to meet its challenges.

This means preparing citizens to cope with difficult and uncertain situations and fitting them for personal autonomy and responsibility.

 Develop the ability to recognize and accept the values which exist in the

diversity of individuals, genders, peoples and cultures and develop the ability to communicate, share, and co-operate with others.

 Develop the ability of non-violent conflict-resolution and promote also the

development of inner peace in the minds of students so that they can establish more firmly the qualities of tolerance, compassion, sharing and caring.

 Cultivate in citizens the ability to make informed choices, basing their

judgments and actions not only on the analysis of present situations but also on the vision of a preferred future.

 Teach citizens to respect the cultural heritage, protect the environment, and

adopt methods of production and patterns of consumption which lead to sustainable development.

 Cultivate feelings of solidarity and equity at the national and international

levels in the perspective of a balanced and long-term development.”

(UNESCO, 1995)

These aims have been widely recognised in many countries around the world which prepared citizens to cope with difficult situations and recognise diversity, as well as make future-choices. The later work of UNESCO focused on the theme of “learning to live together” which emphasises skills, values, attitudes and concepts for learning to live

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together (Sinclair, 2004; Sinclair et al., 2008). This theme aims to educate people from different cultures and ethnicities to live together peacefully in the twenty-first century. However, the success of implementation depends on each nation’s policy. UNESCO does not have authority to impose changes (Schweisfurth, 2005). The aims of peace education in UNESCO were used for many levels instead of being specific for young children. Unlike UNESCO, UNICEF has developed peace education programmes in many countries and focused more on children at younger ages in order to promote children’s educational experiences with a commitment to principles of peace and social justice (Fountain, 1999). The aims of peace education in UNICEF have been commonly expressed as enhancing students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes toward peace. Another organisation supporting peace education in the early years is the Peace Pledge Union Project (PPUP), the oldest secular pacifist organisation in Britain, providing educational resources for studying and teaching peace. However, the PPUP defined the aims of peace education differently from UNICEF, which was concerned with a wider context and seems to fit to broader participants rather than specific to children. The aims are addressed as follows:

 “to understand the nature and origins of violence and its effects on both

victim and perpetrator

 to create frameworks for achieving peaceful, creative societies

 to sharpen awareness about the existence of un-peaceful relationships

between people and within and between nations

 to 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

 to encourage the search for alternative or possible nonviolent skills  to equip children and adults with personal conflict resolution skills”

(PPUP, 2008)

With regard to the scholars’ views in the field of peace education, the aims of peace education presented by each scholar represent their characteristics, interests, and specific situation. Harris (2002b:20) identified ten goals for effective peace education as follows:

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 to appreciate the richness of the concept of peace;  to address fears;

 to provide information about security systems;  to understand violent behaviour;

 to develop intercultural understanding;  to provide for a future orientation;  to teach peace as a process;

 to promote a concept of peace accompanied by social justice;  to stimulate a respect for life;

 to end violence.

These goals seem to be based on the tasks of teaching and providing information concerning peace. In detail, the goals address security systems, intercultural understanding, and future orientation. Compared to another opinion of an expert in peace education, Reardon (1995:4) defines the purpose of peace education in the way of developing consciousness and transforming condition as follows:

“The general purpose of peace education, as I understand it, is to promote the development of authentic planetary consciousness that will enable us to function as global citizens and to transform the present human condition by changing social structures and the patterns of thought that have created it.”

Reardon’s definition works at the conscious level to change the patterns of thought and social structure. However, these two opinions have some similarity in that there is a concern for the future. Both Harris and Reardon are a worldwide influence in the field of peace education.

In the area of religion, Buddhism and Islam are two main religions influencing people of Thailand. The aim of peace education in Buddhism is to reach Nibbana – ultimate

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happiness or freedom (Sivaraksa, 1994:103; Brantmeier, 2007:120-157). It concerns the inner side of individuals. The aim of peace education in Islam is to raise the consciousness of Muslim people to solve their basic human problems and to achieve true peace – peace and justice (Koylu, 2004:59-76). It tends to be concerned primarily social structure. The aims of peace education in the religions were considered as a spiritual dimension and as relevant to Thai contexts.

The aims of peace education depend on different programmes, missions of organisational agencies, the background of scholars who define it, or cultural contexts, such as religion. However, common general objectives can be found within the wide range of different peace education programmes that are to educate students to realise the values of peace and to foster changes toward making the world better and more humane place (Bar-Tal, 2002). These common general objectives are relevant to the Thai context in the areas of conflict resolution, religious and intercultural coexistence, and the preferred future-choice. Due to the conflicts and violent struggles, Thailand needs a body of knowledge about peace education which may be acceptable by all sides to educate citizens and to transform the nation toward a culture of peace (ICG, 2010). There is no specific peace education in the curriculum of basic education in Thailand. However, the curriculum for basic education in Thailand (i.e. state education at primary and secondary levels) can be seen to contain a number of aspects of peace education. For example, the study of Pitiyanuwat and Sujiva (2001) on civic education in Thailand revealed that the national policy was aimed to develop students’ good citizenship and living in society with peace and harmony. The schools emphasised order, discipline, social development and religious conduct. Furthermore, basic education in Thailand spent about eighty percent of primary school’s time in teaching morals, religion, and civics (Pitiyanuwat and Sujiva, 2005). Basic education at primary and secondary state schools follows the same pattern and concerns the “three pillars” of nation, religion and monarchy. Commonly, students have to sing the national anthem, pray, and express their loyalty to the king every morning before starting school. This aims to build unity and “Thainess” in the country. However, some scholars criticised that this emphasis on “Thainess” and Buddhist practice seems to raise some conflicts amongst different ethnic

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groups and religions, especially in the southern provinces (McCargo, 2009). Higher education in Thailand offers the opportunity to study peace in degree programmes, and to research the concept of peace. For instance, the Prince of Songkla University, located at the southern unrest provinces, established the Peace Studies Centre in 2004 and provided peace studies degree courses. Due to concern with conflicts and violence, this center has a mission to:

- to build up a body of knowledge and develop academic skills in order to create

intellectual capital for the Institute,

- to integrate the body of knowledge using peace studies approach, and to develop

the potential of mankind for peaceful existent in the multi-culture society,

- to stimulate and drive for equality in the society using the peace studies

approach. (IPS-PSU, 2009)

Similarly, Mahidol University, although located in central Thailand, founded the Research Center on Peace-building in 2004 with the aim to be part of the peaceful solution to conflicts in Thailand, especially the conflict in three southernmost provinces (RCP-MU, 2009). These two universities share the aims of promoting and building peace in the southern regions of Thailand which are experiencing conflict. It can be seen that the aims of peace education in higher education have more academic concern than those in basic education. The universities have within them a range of individuals from different backgrounds, such as religions, ethnicities and educational fields. Therefore, Thai education at the university level has less resistance from ethnicities and religions.