|
| |
This online teaching course on Peace Education has been divided into five basic course sequences:
| Basic Course 1: |
What is peace education?
Here the subject is introduced and defined. |
|
| Basic Course 2: |
What is meant by peace?
The second basic course addresses the core issues of peace, war, violence and conflict and investigates the findings of peace and conflict research. |
| Basic Course 3: |
Why is peace education needed?
The third basic course investigates the tasks and objectives of peace education and teaching. |
| Basic Course 4: |
What do peace teachers do?
Basic course 4 takes a look at teaching in practice. Drawing on concrete examples, we will be presenting how to deal with conflict in a constructive way as a core part of teaching peace. |
| Basic Course 5: |
Peace education and fair play
Peace education is by no means limited to teaching politics. As an example of this we will be dealing with the issue of fair play and preventing conflict in sport. |
Basic Course 1: 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 now stand
side-by-side: 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 text passages in the
report.
[... to the UNESCO 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
|
That 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 |
[Author: Ragnar Müller]
[Back to top of page]
|
