The importance of promoting critical thinking or critical consciousness has been emphasised by many peace educators (e.g. Haavelsrud, 1981; Hicks, 1988; Vriens, 1990; Reardon, 1996;
Harris and Morrison, 2003; Ben-Porath, 2006). As discussed above, important concepts of peace education include raising people’s awareness of structural violence, such as inequality and injustice in society, while at the same time empowering people to transform a society (Haavelsrud, 1981; Vriens, 1990). Furthermore, in the context of schooling in England, some (e.g. Griffith, 2000) consider that didactic methods used to teach the current
‘knowledge-based, assessment-driven curriculum’ suppress the development of critical thinking, and propose the need for promoting critical and reflective thinking. Hicks (1988a:
12-14) regards the development of critical thinking skills as one of the important objectives of peace education, so that students can approach issues with open and critical attitudes and
‘weigh up various arguments in order to make informed choices’ while being able to recognise and challenge indoctrination, propaganda from a government or a pressure group, and hidden bias (e.g. racism, sexism, militarism) in the media or in teaching materials.
As regards the significant influence of militarism on US formal education in terms of perceptions and values, such as discipline, physical strength, respect for authority and patriotism, as well as imposed authoritarianism, reinforcement of competition and differences among people, and a lack of emphasis on self-reliance and creativity, Reardon (1996: 147) argues that ‘peace education has a very special responsibility to emphasize the development of the reflective and analytical capacities which will be required to bring about changes in these belief systems and the institutions which they perpetuate’.
Peace education has been criticised for its uncritical approach, relying on ‘making people be nicer to each other’ (Fisher et al., 2000: 146), and thus for its apolitical approach, focusing on practical skills and personal relations with a reluctance to treat peace and war as political issues (Ben-Porath, 2006: 63-4). The response to this criticism of peace education can be seen
in a greater emphasis on ‘building a “culture of resistance” – against negative propaganda from the media and governments, against the overt presence of violence in society, and against being manipulated by more powerful groups’ (Fisher et al., 2000: 146). It means that peace education needs to pay more attention to civic and political aspects of peace and conflicts, in relation to moral realities and problems in society (Ben-Porath, 2006: 63-4).
From this viewpoint, it is important to raise people’s consciousness of reality and nurture critical and reflective thinking through appropriate methods of peace education. This is particularly so, considering that ‘indoctrination’ of knowledge in educational contexts is criticised by many, including Galtung (1975: 112), who regards it as psychological violence.
To develop critical and reflective thinking, interactive learning methods based on dialogical communication should be adopted, rather than mere acceptance of knowledge without questioning, as suggested by Freire (1972). Freire (1972) realises that ignorance of the oppressed is created by a situation of economic, social and political domination which is intended to sustain ‘the submersion of consciousness’ (ibid: 54 original italics), so that their critical awareness is reduced. As a result, their humanity would be stolen and their potential for becoming fully human would be distorted (‘dehumanised’) through injustice, exploitation, oppression, and violence of the oppressors (ibid: 20-21). The viewpoint of Freire supports the idea of peace being needed to promote the full development of potential, as opposed to any conditions which limit the realisation of potential (Galtung, 1975; Curle, 1984; Fisher et al., 2000). Freire’s (1972: 80-81) pedagogy aims to enhance people’s ability to perceive reality critically and to change the power relationship, based on a belief that if education can develop an individual’s potential by eliminating obstacles to limit their potential, their collective power can transform reality through reflection and action. Therefore, Freire’s pedagogy, as well as his idea of education and its role in transforming society, can contribute to raising critical consciousness in the context of peace education.
In practice, the promotion of critical thinking in peace education should use a dialectical approach to encourage students to share ideas, and explore different viewpoints, by taking account of ambiguity existing within the real world and problems arising from ‘opposing points of view, contradictory lines of reasoning, the realities of power, and value-laden assumptions,’ as suggested by Harris and Morrison (2003: 221). An example of promoting critical and reflective thinking through exploring and investigating relevant ideas and experiences can be seen in the programmed teaching proposed by Galtung (1975: 320-1): In the process, learners discuss and write about concepts relating to peace, and then the concepts are applied to empirical examples (from family conflicts to the problems in the world), in order to practise the theory, diagnose a concrete situation and propose action. To exclude structural violence within peace education, learners are encouraged to criticise the content of the programme with a view to improving it and are given plenty of opportunity for horizontal learning, collective feedback and general participation, based on dialogue through asking questions and promoting discussions to explore various alternatives, rather than ‘correct’
answers (Galtung, 1975: 320-1). Overall, the programme reflects the elements of inquiry, dialogue, discussion, critique, horizontal relationships, reflection and participation, which are important for empowering individuals towards the full development of their potential.
On the other hand, one weakness of this approach is that these tools, which give individuals power, might be used ‘to reinforce existing social structures by confirming the range of choices and freedoms of the elite, both within and between schools, while reminding the others of their limited potential effectiveness,’ according to Williamson (1988: 150). A further criticism might be that there is a predetermined outcome, that is, students might become critical of existing power structures, rather than supportive of them. This would be another form of indoctrination. However, peace education actually aims to raise issues and perspectives not normally encountered in formal education and thus to provide learners with genuine choice amongst a range of possibilities, which is not necessarily the current situation.
As this approach to peace education relies on a collective awareness of the injustice of certain individuals as a vehicle for social transformation, raising the level of moral consciousness would be an essential element of peace education. For this reason, critical thinking should be applied, utilising a high level of ‘moral consciousness,’ enabling children to question indoctrination by using their own judgement rather than by accepting the majority consensus uncritically. The next section will therefore discuss moral principles and possible methods to develop moral consciousness in the context of peace education.