Pedagogical Approaches to Peace Education
Students absorb the spirit of violence from their atmosphere and become the next generation of perpetrators of violence. Therefore, the need to nurture peace in the hearts of children has arisen as an urgent issue to be addressed by all educational institutions, especially the schools. Peace Education is the process of acquiring the values, knowledge and developing positive attitudes, skills, and behaviours to live in harmony with oneself, with others, and with the natural environment. The basic concept of Peace Education is to provide measures to protect the children from falling into the ways of violent society. It attempts to consciously integrate values in all the subjects taught and the entire curriculum through different pedagogical approaches (such as dialogue, silent-sitting/meditation, artistic and literary endeavours, and co-curricular activities) necessary for peaceful living and peace-building from which the whole of humanity will benefit.
The present exploratory multiple case study was done on students of class IX and X, teachers, parents and alumni from the schools of four philanthropic organisations in South India. A mixed approach adopting both qualitative and quantitative methods involving observation, focussed group discussions, questionnaires, documentary analysis, etc. is used in the study.
The main objective is to find the different peace components in the curriculum and the methodology by which it is inculcated in the students. Students’ attitude towards peace and the perception of stakeholders on the various methods used to teach peace is also assessed with the help of three questionnaires standardised by the researcher. The data collected is being analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively.