A Holistic Understanding of Peace and Violence

❖ Towards a Holistic Approach to Peace Education: Philippine Perspective

Preliminary remarks
Educating for a culture of peace is a huge challenge, but it is also a cause that is very
important and one that needs to be pursued with commitment. This writer is convinced that
peace education is a crucial key towards opening up possibilities for a positively transformed
future, for both humanity and our planet.
Th e greatest resource for building a culture of peace are the people themselves, for it
is through them that peaceful relationships and structures are created. Hence, educating
people toward becoming peace agents is central to the task of peacebuilding. Peacebuilding
refers generally to the long-term project of building peaceful communities. One can readily
see how peace education is therefore both a significant peacebuilding strategy (as in the
case of a post-conflict situation) and an effective way of preventing violent conflict.
In a peacebuilding framework developed in the Philippines, peace
constituency-building is indicated as an important element (cf. Ferrer 2005, p. 15). The latter
includes education aimed at promoting a peace culture and agenda.
What Is Peace Education?
Peace education is essentially transformative. It cultivates the knowledge base, skills,
attitudes and values that seek to transform people’ s mindsets, attitudes and behaviors
that, in the first place, have either created or exacerbated violent conflicts. It seeks this
transformation by building awareness and understanding, developing concern and
challenging personal and social action that will enable people to create conditions and
systems that actualize nonviolence, justice, environmental care and other peace values.
Sadly, social injustice, war and other forms of violence have long been features of
our human condition. They have caused death, destruction and horrific suffering but
humanity has not yet been able to wage a successful collective eff ort to transform this
condition. With universal peace education there is some hope that we may be able to
move toward having a critical mass that will demand and work for the needed changes.
As Cora Weiss, president and initiator of the Hague Appeal for Peace, has aptly said:
There are many campaigns that are working on a variety of issues which must be
addressed if this new century is not to carry forward the legacy of the twentieth century,
the most violent and war-filled in history. All these campaigns are needed if we are to sow
seeds for peace and the abolition of war, but none can succeed without education… The
Hague Appeal for Peace has decided that to sustain a long-term change in the thought
and action of future generations… our best contribution would be to work on peace
education (cf. Weiss, in Cabezudo and Reardon 2002, p. 4).
In the Philippines, the Center for Peace Education in Miriam College and other
groups have expressed that educating for peace is both a practical alternative and an
ethical imperative.
 Peace Education as Practical Alternative
Educating for peace will give us in the long run the practical benefits that we seek. As
stated earlier it is expected to build a critical mass of people who will demand for and
address the needed personal and structural changes that will transform the many
problems that relate to peace into nonviolent, humane and ecological alternatives and
solutions.
To illustrate, we know that war has been a core institution of the global security
system then and now. It has adversely affected countless generations, considering its
human costs as well as its material and environmental costs. It has also led to the
rationalization of violence in so many aspects of life. It has given birth to horrendous
phenomena such as war-time rape and sex-slavery, ethnic cleansing and genocide. And
yet,
there is widespread belief that war is inevitable. War is accepted as a legitimate means to
pursue the so-called national interests. War carries with it a host of other elements:
amassing armaments, increasing military forces, inventing more and more sophisticated and
destructive weapons, developing espionage skills and technology, and subordinating human
rights and the use of torture on enemies, etc.
Peace education challenges the long- held belief that wars cannot be avoided. Often
this belief is based on an underlying view that violence is inherent in human nature. Peace
education challenges this view and encourages people to seek alternatives to violence and
seek ways by which violent conflict can be prevented. Political advocacy of nonviolent
resolution of conflict is a key element of peace education and you can just imagine the
benefits that will be reaped when this becomes the dominant mindset and value in our
country and in the world! The Philippines still suffer from armed conflicts and this makes
peace all the more important in our context.
On the micro-level, education on nonviolent conflict resolution approaches (an
important aspect of peace education), such as collaborative problem solving and mediation,
can improve the quality of human relationships and bring about solutions that are
constructive, fair and helpful to all parties concerned.

Peace Education is an Ethical Imperative Educating for peace is an ethical imperative

considering the negation of life and well-being caused by all forms of violence. Th e ethical
systems of the major world faith traditions, humanitarian ethics and even primal and
indigenous spirituality have articulated principles that inspire the striving for peace. These
ethical principles include the unity and value of life, not only of human life but also of other
life forms in nature; respect for human dignity; nonviolence; justice; and love as a social
ethic. They are principles that are highly encouraged for actualization because they are
expected to bring us to the common good.
It is for this reason that peace education includes the study of the shared values of
diverse faiths and spiritual traditions, to show that despite our diversity, we share the same
humanity and the same fundamental aspirations for respect and acceptance, and for fair
treatment.

Schema of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes/Values

 The following schema is an attempt to list the key knowledge areas, skills, attitudes
and values that are integral to peace education. The list is based on a survey of peace
education literature and of key informants/peace educators that was done by the Center for
Peace Education of Miriam College. The list is not exhaustive and is expected to evolve, as
peace education practice and experiences as well as corresponding reflections and insights
on these experiences increase.
Education for Peace: List of Knowledge
Areas, Skills and Attitudes/Values, Knowledge/Content Areas in the Peace Education
Scheme
Some of the knowledge or content areas that are integral to peace education are:
1. A Holistic Concept of Peace: It is important that students understand that peace is not
just the absence of direct/physical violence but also the presence of conditions of
wellbeing, cooperation and just relationships in the human and ecological spheres.
This is perspective will help them analyze peace issues in an integrated way.
2. Conflict and Violence: Conflicts are a natural part of person’s social life, but they
become problems of violence depending on the methods of conflict resolution used.
Students can study the problems of violence in various levels from the personal to the
global and including direct, structural, socio-cultural and ecological violence. They can
also examine the roots and consequences of violence.

3.Some Peaceful Alternatives:

a. Disarmament – Learners can be introduced to the goal of abolishing war and reducing
global armed forces and armaments. It is good for them to see the folly of excessive
arms and military expenditures and the logic of re-allocating resources toward the fulfi
llment of people’s basic needs (e.g. food, housing, health care and education). This a
springboard for the exploration of the meaning of true human security which springs from
the fulfillment of both basic needs and higher needs of humans (e.g., the exercise of
fundamental freedoms).
b. Nonviolence – Learners can study the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings of
nonviolence as well as its efficacy as a method to effect change. Cases of individuals
and groups who have advocated nonviolence as a philosophy and method can be
examined. Some of these are Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aung San Suu
Kyi, Thich Nhat Hanh, Desmond Tutu and Wangari Maathai.
c. Conflict Resolution, Transformation and Prevention – Students can study effective ways
of resolving conflicts nonviolently (e.g., collaborative problem-solving) and how these can
be applied into their lives. They can move on to examine how a conflict that has been
resolved can be transformed into a situation that is more desirable. Ways to prevent
confl ict can also be explored because as Johan Galtung has said, like in the medical
field it is better to prevent than “remedy a situation that has gone wrong.”
d. Human Rights – It is important for learners to have an integral understanding of human
rights and to reject all forms of repression and discrimination based on beliefs, race,
ethnicity, gender and social class. They should be encouraged to respect the dignity of
all especially the weak and powerless.
e. Human Solidarity – Many commonalities bind together divergent religious, cultural, local
and national groups. All humans have common basic needs and aspirations and a
 shared membership in an interdependent human/ global community. We have only one
home (planet earth) and a common future. The major world religions also have shared
values and principles. Students can look at how to increase inter-religious, inter-cultural
and inter-group trust, empathy, respect and cooperation, as well as discourage
stereotyping and prejudice.
f. Development Based on Justice – Learners can be made critically aware of the realities
and tragic consequences of structural violence and how a philosophy of development
based on justice is a preferred alternative. They need to understand that development is
not economic growth alone but also the equitable sharing of its fruits.
g. Democratization – It is important for learners to understand that democracy provides the
environment in which people’s fundamental rights and interests are respected.
h. Sustainable Development – Learners need to understand the interdependent
relationship between humans and the natural environment and understand the changes
that are necessary to ensure the well-being of the earth’s ecosystems such that it can
continue to meet future and present needs. They need to rediscover the wisdom of our
indigenous peoples who have always respected nature.
Attitudes/Values in the Peace Education Scheme It is suggested that the
following attitudes and values be cultivated:
1. Self-respect: Having a sense of their own worth and a sense of pride in their own
particular social and cultural background as well as a sense of their own power and
goodness which will enable them to contribute to positive change.
2. Respect for Others: Having a sense of the worth and inhe-rent dignity of other people,
including those with social, religious, cultural and family backgrounds different from
their own.
3. Respect for Life/Nonviolence: Valuing of human life and refusal to respond to an
adversary or conflict situation with violence; preference for nonviolent processes such
as collaborative problem-solving and other positive techniques as against the use of
physical force and weapons.
4. Gender Equality: Valuing the rights of women to enjoy equal opportunities with men
and to be free from abuse, exploitation and violence.
5. Compassion: Sensitivity to the difficult conditions and suffering of other people and
acting with deep empathy and kindness toward those who are marginalized/excluded.
6. Global Concern: Caring for the whole human community transcending or going
beyond the concern which they have for their nation or local/ethnic community.
7. Ecological Concern: Caring for the natural environment, preference for sustainable
living and a simple lifestyle.
8. Cooperation: Valuing of cooperative processes toward the pursuit of common goals.
9. Openness/Tolerance: Openness to the processes of growth and change as well as
willingness to approach and receive other people’s ideas, beliefs and experiences with
a critical but open mind; respecting the rich diversity of our world’s spiritual traditions,
cultures and forms of expression.
10. Justice: Acting with a sense of fairness towards others, upholding the principle of
equality (in dignity and rights) and rejection of all forms of exploitation and oppression.
11. Social Responsibility: Willingness to take action to contribute to the shaping of a
society characterized by justice, nonviolence and well-being; sense of responsibility
toward present and future generations.
12. Positive Vision: Imaging the kind of future they prefer with a sense of hope and
pursuing its realization.

Skills in the Peace Education Scheme Some of the skills that need to be
developed are:
1. Reflection: The use of reflective thinking or reasoning, through which they deepen
their understanding of themselves and their connectedness to others and to the living
earth.
2. Critical Thinking and Analysis: Ability to approach issues with an open but critical
mind; knowing how to research, question, evaluate and interpret evidence; ability to
recognize and challenge prejudices and unwarranted claims as well as change
opinions in the face of evidence and rational arguments.
3. Decision-making: Ability to analyze problems, develop alternative solutions, analyze
alternative solutions considering advantages and disadvantages, and having arrived
at the preferred decision, ability to prepare a plan for implementation of the decision.
4. Imagination: Creating and imagining new paradigms and new preferred ways of living
and relating.
5. Communication: Listening attentively and with empathy, as well as the ability to
express ideas and needs clearly and in a non-aggressive way.
6. Conflict Resolution: Ability to analyze conflicts in an objective and systematic way and
to suggest a range of nonviolent solutions. Conflict resolution skills include
appropriate assertiveness, dialogue, active listening and collaborative
problem-solving. Communication skills are important foundational skills in conflict
resolution.
7. Empathy: The ability to see the perspective of another person/group and to feel what
that person/group feels. It is a skill that helps broadening the learners’ own
perspectives especially in searching fair and constructive alternatives.
8. Grouping: Working cooperatively with one another in order to achieve common goals.
Cooperation and group-building are facilitated by mutual affirmation and
encouragement by the members. The assumption is that everyone has something to
contribute and is part of the solution.

The Peace Educator

The phrase, “the medium is the message”, used in a school setting, suggests to us that
teachers have the power to affect the lives of children and youth. Students often
remember the informal and “hidden” lessons, not from the overt or stated curriculum, but
from the attitudes, values and actions of the teachers themselves within and outside of
the classroom. We now know that to be more effective, the medium must match the
message.
Indeed, peace educators must serve as models for the qualities and skills they are
helping young people to develop in the peaceable classroom and school. This means,
first and foremost, that there is a need for teachers to take the challenge of personal
transformation so that they can be credible agents of the peace message. Indeed, we
have to transform ourselves before we can expect the learners to make those changes.
For instance, in order to help young people confront their prejudices, we have to confront
our own and commit to changing our negative attitudes.
 What attributes, capacities and skills must a teacher of peace develop to enable
her/him to be an effective medium of the peace message? The following attributes are
culled and summarized from the work of Betty Reardon (2001, pp. 137-148), a globally
renowned peace educator:
– The teacher of peace is a responsible global citizen, an intentional agent of a culture
of peace, a person of vision, capable of hope and the imaging of positive change.
S/he understands that education should be a means toward constructive change.
– S/he is motivated by service and is actively involved in the community. A teacher of
peace sees himself/herself as a person responsible to society.
– S/he is a lifelong learner, one who continues to improve one’s own learning abilities
and to keep abreast of the field.
– S/he is both a transmitter and transformer of cultures. While transmitting one’s
traditional culture, the teacher
also has to be critical and reflective so s/he can also be an effective agent of social
and cultural transformation.
– S/he is a seeker of mutually enhancing relationships that nurture peace and a sense
of community. For example, respect for human dignity and human rights should guide
teacher-student relationships and the learning processes.
– S/he is gender sensitive and alert to any possibility of gender bias in self or students.
S/he helps both male and female learners to form positive identification for
themselves and to develop gender sensitivity and gender responsibility toward others.
– A teacher of peace is constructively critical. S/he offers criticism not to wound or
harm, but to elicit constructive change.
– A teacher of peace intentionally develops the capacity to care by knowing the
learners in their charge as individuals. This enables the teacher to respond to the
differences in students’ learning styles as positively as s/he is expected to respond to
other human differences. The skill of caring is integral to the peace education
process. Caring and supportive behavior from teachers lets the students know they
are valued.
– S/he is an inquirer. S/he poses instructive questions into the conditions that impede
and those that enhance possibilities for achieving a culture of peace. To be able to
conduct an inquiry into the many issues and goals of peace education, a teacher of
peace needs the skills of elicitation to draw from the students their own visions and
ideas, to make them delve deeper into their own knowledge and imagination, and to
seek new knowledge. The teacher then is more a raiser of questions than a giver of
answers.
– S/he has the skills of reflective learning through which s/he applies what is learned
from teaching to deepen his/her own understanding of the students and the learning
processes. This includes reflection on or assessment of one’s own abilities by posing
some fundamental questions such as: How effective are our teaching-learning
interactions in achieving our goals? What indicators do I have that students are
finding satisfaction and meaning in their learning?
– A teacher of peace has the skills of communication and conflict resolution. These are
essential skills for building community and peace-making. (These skills are explained
in an earlier chapter.)
 – S/he practices cooperative learning by encouraging cooperative learning tasks and
discouraging negative competition or in-group-out-group behavior (exclusion) among
students.
– A teacher of peace inspires understanding of alternative possibilities for the future
and for a culture of peace. S/he helps students to plan and act to achieve such a
culture. The core questions s/he asks are: What kind of world do we want? What
changes need to be made to achieve it? What are our special responsibilities to carry
out the transformational process?

In the teacher-training workshops that the Center for Peace Education has conducted
over the last several years in the Philippines, the teacher-participants were asked to
identify the attributes of someone they have considered as a teacher of peace. Th e
qualities that were most frequently mentioned are

– Passionate for peace

– Compassionate, concerned, kind
– Caring, encouraging, understanding
– Respects other people
– Gentle and non-threatening
– Fair, impartial
– Has faith in God, inspired by his/her spirituality
– Facilitators of learning, rather than sources of authority
– Tolerant, open, respectful of the ideas of others
– Sensitive to diversity in the classroom, accepts learners as they are
– Open to sharing relevant personal stories
– Skilled in eliciting thoughts and posing reflective questions
– Motivated, enthusiastic, inspiring
– Joyful, not wanting in humor
– Bearers of hope rather than despair
– Models of behavior and attitudes that they teach

From the foregoing discussion on the attributes of a peace teacher, we can glean many
similarities between those that are given by Betty Reardon, an expert and experienced
peace educator, and Filipino teachers who are just beginning in their peace education
journey. It indicates that although we may have different backgrounds, there are principles
and values that we hold in common when conceptualizing the attributes of a peace teacher.
It is notable how Filipino teachers have often referred to someone “who has faith in
God” or “who is inspired by her/his spiritual tradition” as an attribute of a peace teacher.
There is also a preponderance of personal qualities listed by Filipino teachers. These
features are indicative of the culture within which the Filipino teachers live. Despite many
difficulties and challenges, Filipinos generally keep a hopeful disposition anchored in their
trust in God. They also highly value interpersonal relationships.
The attributes that we have included in this essay are neither exhaustive nor definitive.
The list can and will grow as other groups delve deeper into their own concepts of peace,
peace education and a peace teacher. The important thing for us to remember is that it is
best that we begin our journey as a peace educator with our own personal or inner
transformation. As we manifest the attributes, capacities and skills that mark a teacher of
peace, we will find that the young people in our care will also learn the skills and behaviors
modeled by us. Surely, there are other influences in their lives and there are times when
perhaps we feel that teacher-modeling does not work, but the prospect of not doing what we
preach is definitely not a better option. Young people are particularly in search of teachers
who have integrity and credibility. On this we can only agree with Mahatma Gandhi when he
said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”.

A Whole School Approach

To be more effective in infusing peace ideas, perspectives and values into the life of the
whole school and even beyond, it is suggested that a whole school approach be adopted. In
a whole school approach, we try to engage all the learning areas, all the members of the
school community (students, faculty, staff ) and the wider community. The approach also
includes other aspects of school life such as teaching practices and methods, student
activities, administrative policies, school structures and relationships, as well as social action
for and with the larger community.
A whole school approach is important because the consistent peace messages and
values found in the various aspects of the school and community will facilitate and
reinforce the intended learnings. The social, political and economic context within which
the school finds itself may not be conducive and supportive of the school’s vision-mission
but it is precisely the challenge that a peaceable school must address. The peaceable
school must be prepared to be a “counterculture” to the dominant paradigm and be an
initiator and facilitator of needed transformation. Surely this is a long-term and arduous
process but it is a challenge that needs to be pursued.

A Vision for the Future

Our vision is a more peaceful 21st century, a century that is good for all humans, Mother
Earth and the whole cosmos. Although the challenges that we face our enormous, we
have to learn to read the signs of the times correctly. We cannot read only the negative
signs because that might lead us to despair. It is important that we also see the signs of
hope such as the growth of social movements that work for the promotion of peace and
justice in various ways and levels. This should increase our confidence and resolve to
make our own contribution towards our positive vision. We need more purposive focusing
on the goals that count, and invest in these goals our renewed energy and commitment.
We submit that building a culture of peace is among the essential goals for today
and tomorrow. Human and ecological survival and well-being, now and in the future,
depend on this. Therefore, it makes good sense for governments, regional and
international institutions, and all people to work together towards this vision. In turn, one of
the necessary steps to build a culture of peace is to mobilize education which is at the
heart of personal and social development of a people. We need to introduce peace
education in a more intentional and systematic way in the formal education system and
other learning environments. Let us meet the future with hope, imagination and the
willingness to forego our old thinking and ways which hinder the blossoming of a new
culture that is more peaceable. Let us educate and act for peace so that our future will
hold the promises that we seek.
 References

Cabezudo, A./Reardon, B. (2002): Learning to abolish war: Teaching toward a culture of

peace. New York.
Coronel-Ferrer, M. (2005): Framework and synthesis of lessons learned in civil society
peacebuilding. Quezon City.
Reardon, B. (2001): Education for a culture of peace in gender perspective. Paris.

Loreta Navarro-Castro
born in 1948, is Executive Director of the Center for Peace Education and a Professor at
Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines. She coordinates a local Peace Education
Network. Her work includes training formal and community educators as well as the youth
towards peace and interfaith understanding. She cooperates with government and other
civil society organizations in support of local peace processes and mainstreaming of
peace education nationally and globally. She serves as a member in the following: the
Advisory Committee of the Global Campaign for Peace Education and Pax Christi
International and the Peace Education Working Group of the Global Partnership for the
Prevention of Armed Conflict.