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In the
following excerpt, Günther Gugel and Uli Jäger from the Institute
for Peace Education Tübingen
formulate
several fundamental principles of peace education work.
Since
peace education is continually accused of promoting a naive and glorified
view of the world and/or one-sidedness, both authors have drawn up a list
of 'peace education basics' which is presented on a separate
page. |
"Peace
education does not take place in a social no-man's land, but is always concerned
with openly expressed or hidden conflicts. It makes an attempt to manifest and
visualize
matters of conflict and provide potential for confrontation. Dealing with
conflict is occasionally even classified as the central object of peace
education. Sometimes peace education is capable of contributing to positively
influencing the course of conflicts, in the most positive cases it can even
provide solutions to conflicts. In all cases, its aim is to contribute to making
conflicts less violent.
However, it should never contribute to accustomisation to conflict potential for
reasons of false harmony. For this reason, peace education always exists in
contrast to a reality void of peace and cannot debilitate itself in 'bearing
out' the conflict at the personal and social level born out of social reality,
but must have as its aim an encounter with the interests that rest at its
foundation (principle of the capacity for conflict). This understanding has
often led to the criticism of peace education, in that it is accused of breaking
the taboo of social conflicts and turning them into a problem hence encouraging
and inciting them.
As has already been mentioned, peace education deals with initiating social and
political learning processes in the sense of developing
favorable
social
behavior
and the ability to participate in politics. Although peace education is
understood as being value-related, it would be incompatible with its principles
to indoctrinate fixed values and standards. For this reason, the starting point
for the learning process initiated is open in principle (principle of openness)
The principle of correspondence also applies: the aims, educational content and
learning methods must correspond to each another. This means among other things
that force may not be used or instigated during the educational process, whether
in a concrete situation or for the the purpose of
organizing
the learning process, so as not to come into conflict with the aim of the
non-violent accomplishment of personal, social or international conflicts being
strived for (principle of non-violence).
Over and above this, peace education must orient itself towards the needs and
problems of its respective audience (orientation to principles or needs) and
connect with the respective state of (peace) research without becoming its
intermediary (principle of verifiability).
Like every other pedagogic effort, peace education is oriented towards
long-term
educational processes and change and is only a limitedly suitable means of
crisis intervention in the sense of a 'pedagogical fire brigade'. What must
clearly be seen here is the danger of political instrumentalisation, since it
can never be the aim of peace education to communicate specific moral values or
even political convictions in crisis situations, or in the face of growing
pressure relating to a problem.
Peace education must retain its independence at all times in the face of all
authorities and figures of responsibility (principle of independence). Against
the background of party-political interests and ideological differences, a
danger of instrumentalisation always exists for peace education, if terms, aims
and content are not clarified. Ultimately, peace education must unquestionably
advocate consideration of the interests of the victims of war and violence
(principle of partiality)."
[Günther
Gugel / Uli Jäger: Gewalt muss nicht sein. Eine Einführung in friedenspädagogisches
Denken und Handeln. 3. Aufl., Tübingen 1997; Internetversion: http://www.friedenspaedagogik.de/themen/f_erzieh/fe3.htm]
"If
peace is both the destination and the journey then what we teach and how
we teach it must not be separated in our preparations for working with
pupils." - Patrick Whitaker, Curriculum Considerations; in David
Hicks, Ed., Education for Peace |
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