INTRODUCCIÓN SOBRE LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DE LA MATERIA

Learning about peace-related issues is the main aspect of ‘education about peace’ (gaining knowledge), along with ‘education for peace’ (nurturing skills, attitudes, behaviour and values) (e.g. Bjerstedt, 1990; Hicks, 1996). As for the kinds of knowledge which can be included in peace education, the following topics are relevant, as suggested by Hicks (1988a):

 Conflict: a variety of conflict situations from personal to global levels, and possible ways of resolving conflicts non-violently.

 Peace: different concepts of peace, both as a state and as a process, from personal to global levels; examples of the work of individuals and groups who actively work for peace.

 War: the key issues and ethical dilemmas involved in war, and the effects of militarism on both individuals and groups, from local to global levels.

 Nuclear issues: a range of nuclear issues, the key viewpoints on defence and disarmament, the effects of nuclear war, the efforts of individuals, groups and governments to work towards a nuclear-free world.

 Justice: a range of situations regarding injustice, from personal to global levels, and the work of individuals and groups involved in the struggle for justice.

 Power: issues regarding power and ways in which its unequal distribution affects people’s life chances; ways in which people and groups have regained power over their own lives.

 Gender: issues regarding discrimination based on gender, the historical background of sexism and the ways in which sexism operates to the advantage of men and the disadvantage of women.

 Race: issues regarding discrimination based on race, as well as the historical background of racism and the ways in which racism operates to the advantage of white and the disadvantage of black people.

 Environment: concerns for the environmental welfare and the natural systems on which people depend; the ability to make rational judgements concerning environmental issues and to participate effectively in environmental politics.

 Future: a range of alternative futures both probable and preferable, which would lead to a more just and less violent world and the necessary changes to bring this about.

(Hicks, 1988a: 15-7)

Moreover, as argued at page 59, we would now have to add religion and ethnicity (in relation to potential conflict and concerns about extremism) to the above list, as topics relevant to the contemporary context of peace education.

While these issues above are not often taught in the British school timetable, they can be incorporated into subjects such as Humanities, Geography, History, English or Religious Education, or into the whole curriculum (Hicks, 1988c: 174). More recently, Citizenship Education aims to prepare children to deal with these kinds of controversial issues: war and peace, human relationships, oppression and justice (Citizenship Advisory Group, 1998: 57).

As far as learning about these peace-related issues is concerned, the crucial point is that the form of peace education should be ‘compatible with the idea of peace’ (Galtung, 1975: 318-9), as emphasised above. Therefore, the learning process should avoid one-way communication or mere transmission of knowledge, but should involve interactive methods with open and critical attitudes, to encourage students to make their own judgement about indoctrination, propaganda and hidden bias, as noted by Hicks (1988a: 12-14) previously.

In practice, the interactive learning of peace-related knowledge can be promoted through discussion in groups. Johnson and Johnson (1992 in Deutsch, 1993: 515-6) perceive the use of constructive controversy in teaching subject matter as one of the key components of education for peace and conflict resolution, and suggest group discussions about peace-related issues from various perspectives and positions, with the search for consensus on a certain position as a whole group. Thus, the discussion promotes both critical thinking and interaction based on co-operation. In the process of discussing issues from different points of view, it is also important to consider the issues at different levels, since peace education involves peace at all levels from personal to global and the connection between these different levels of peace, as emphasised above (e.g. Hicks, 1988b; Bjerstedt, 1990; Johnson and Johnson, 2005).

Moreover, learning issues from different viewpoints also means embracing perspectives of minority but more peaceful people, compared to powerful people who are often highlighted in

mainstream history (Boulding, 2002: 13, 24).

An example of how peace-related issues can be learned through discussion is found in Galtung’s (1975: 329-31) suggestion on the content of peace education, which includes analysis of the present world with its facts and theories relevant to peace problems (such as war and preparation for it, and a lack of equality and freedom); discussions on the ideas and goals of peace; criticism of the present world based on the data and values, while defining a preferred world based on certain values, such as degree of absence of direct and structural violence; proposal-making to explore ways to transform the real world into the preferred world. Most importantly, as Galtung (1975: 331) points out, ‘Any successful peace education program would be one where the participants really would feel the tension between the preferred and the real world.’ Thus, learning about peace-related issues means not only finding and examining facts and theories, but also imagining an ideal society and proposing actions towards its realisation based on certain values underpinned by the ideas of peace.

On the other hand, there are potential problems when practising these approaches in the classroom for the learning of peace-related issues, from different perspectives based on discussion and interaction. These problems are partly related to educational practices in schools in general, particularly in Western cultures, which seem to be dominated by the transmission of ‘fixed knowledge or skills,’ determined by ‘standards of cultural correctness’

(Kohlberg, 1981: 53), based on empiricist philosophy and a value-neutral view of knowledge (DeVries and Kohlberg, 1987: 5). As recent research suggests, there are difficulties facing teachers in handling controversial issues, since some teachers who are used to prescriptive teaching methods are not comfortable with the ‘free-floating or unpredictable nature’ of this type of learning, and others are constrained by a fear of indoctrinating their students (Davies, Harber and Yamashita, 2005: 144). Furthermore, teachers are often reluctant to get involved in teaching controversial issues and lack confidence, since such issues often require great sensitivity in relation to the context of the school or community and the ability to deal with

various emotions, questions and challenges from students (ibid: 145). For this reason, there is a need for teacher training in knowledge, skills and confidence in handling controversial issues (ibid: 147).

Considering the important role of teachers in facilitating the process of learning about peace-related issues interactively in the classroom, further discussion of teacher training in peace education will be presented later in this thesis.