Peace Education
A Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association
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Peace Education A Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association |
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Newsletter June, 2000 Volume 2, Issue 6TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome! We have brief reports on the various presentations from the AERA Conference 2000 in New Orleans. Our Annual Business Meeting was a major event with networking opportunities and informal conversations with colleagues from several nations. Our Interactive Symposium on International Peace Education papers are included.
AERA Conference 2000 I. Paper Presentations - April 22, 2000 Chair/Discussant: Blythe F. Hinitz, College of New Jersey Grace Feuerverger, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, has made frequent trips to Israel to study the impact of experimental schools where Jewish and Palestinian children are educated together. The challenges are immense, she reported, but valuable in providing "an important context for understanding peace education initiatives." There are physical and political difficulties at the school she visited, Hope Flowers School on the West Bank. She conducted interviews at the school where children study a standard K-12 curriculum along with lessons on peace. She reported that the school is unique because it tries to "build a culture of cooperation and peace among . . . students whose lives outside school are anything but cooperative and peaceful." (e-mail: gfeuerverge@oise.utoronto.ca) Olga Jarrett, Gwen Davies, Mary Helen Hunt, Kathryn Rogers, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Their paper, "Fear, Fighting, and Bullying in High Poverty Environments" reported on the results of a survey undertaken in school districts in a Southern city with children considered at "risk of violent behavior and school disengagement." Results showed that the children "were more scared in the neighborhood, less happy at school, and had more violent ways of handling conflict." On a hopeful note, children who participated in a four session bully-proofing program "appeared to have changed behaviors, after learning some of the strategies for bully-proofing." (e-mail: ojarrett@mindspring.com) Claire McGlynn, University of Ulster concentrated on "A Study of the Impact on Past Pupils of Integrated Education in Northern Ireland." For the first time a group of pupils who had attended integrated schools (with both Catholic and Protestant children) were the focus of research to see if formative influences may have contributed to changes in their self-perceptions. As a result, there was a "clear indication that the sample group may have made and sustained mixed friendships" from both religions. Julie McGonigle, University of Oxford, also studied school groups in Northern Ireland. Her paper was titled "Improving Integrating Education in Northern Ireland: Teachers' Experiences of the Process of 'Transformation.' " She studied a group of teachers and principals in schools where integration of both Catholic and Protestant children was taking place with a special focus on "the factors that primarily influence" their feelings about the 'transformation' process. Ruth Zuzovsky, Kibbutzim College of Education presented a paper titled "Water in an Era of Peace: Attitudes of Israeli and Palestinian Youth toward Peaceful Coexistence and Regional Cooperation in Water Management." Using the issues of water as a scarce resource, a study assessed the attitudes of Jews and Arabs living in the region, concerning their attitudes toward the issue. The results were surprising, showing that both groups showed "significant growth in knowledge" as well as a "continuing awareness" of the issue.
II. SIG Peace Education/Business/Membership Meeting Invited Interactive Symposium: Multiple Perspectives of International Peace Education
Edith King, Professor of Education at the University of Denver, is the author of seven books, the most recent Looking into the Lives of Children: A Worldwide View (James Nicholas Publishers, Australia, 1999). As a noted researcher in the sociology of education, her focus has been on children's "peace building and world awareness." She turned her lens of discernment first on the street children of Brazil and then examined the results of the Iraqi Invasion on Kuwaiti children. In the latter case, increased verbal and physical conflicts with teachers and other school staff were reported as a new phenomenon for Kuwaiti children. (e-mail: eking@du.edu) Mary Lee Morrison is completing her doctorate in Educational Studies at the University of Connecticut, where she also teaches. Her dissertation is an educational biography of Elise Boulding, former secretary-general of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) and 1990 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Mary Lee shared a significant development in international peace education, a curriculum project titled "Making Peace Where I Live." This is an oral history project for sixth graders "in every country around the world" who will first study what contributes to peacemaking in their communities and then will interview those who have taken on peacemaking roles. Conceived by Elise Boulding, the curriculum guide and children's reader could be translated "into every language used in UN member states." (e-mail: MaryLee898@aol.com) Hetty Van Gurp has been an elementary school teacher and principal in Nova Scotia, but recently took a leave of absence to serve as Executive Director of the League of Peaceful Schools developed in partnership with the Halifax Regional School Board. She was instrumental in creating this organization to provide a peaceful learning environment for children. In a few short years, the number of united schools has grown to 100. Students and all in the school community engage in conflict resolution, problem solving, and peer mediation, which results in an "increased sense of safety and tolerance." Her personal mission has flowered and spread from the tragedy of losing her own son who was a victim of violence. (e-mail: hvangurp@hrsb.ns.ca) Jan Visser was director of Learning Without Frontiers (LWF) at UNESCO in Paris. Recently, he founded Learning Development Institute (LDI), based on his expertise as a noted researcher in lifelong learning. His presentation included two background papers: (1) War, Peace and the Minds of Men; and (2) Rethinking Learning. Both addressed the questions: "Is a culture of peace possible?" and (2) "Are we biologically condemned to war?" These basic questions pose the dilemma of whether or not a culture of peace and international peace education are theoretically possible. One conclusion was that through "a lifelong learning perspective" with "intergenerational processes, " learning (and education for peace) can take place, with school as just one of many possible components of "the learning ecology." Papers are available online at: www.learndev.org (e-mail: jvisser@learndev.org) III. Roundtables Vanessa Allen-Brown, University of Cincinnati, presented her paper titled "Education Outside the Box: Who is Successfully Modeling Peace and Justice Education and What Can We Learn from Them?" Her focus of research was on a grass roots organization, the United Methodist Women, a policy making body of the General Board of Global Ministries. Her extensive research revealed that a national organization of about "one million women" used approximately ten million dollars to serve the "human needs of women, children and youth" through service projects in economic development and "community justice advocacy," including issues such as child labor, food programs, and workplace safety for food industry workers, vital issues in peace and social justice. Ursula Birthistle, School of Education, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland discussed the topic of "Peace Education: The Importance of Social Engagement Skills and a Human Rights Framework." She concluded that "a culture of human rights is important for all societies" but is of special significance for a society in conflict, such as in Northern Ireland. It is especially the "right of everyone to a holistic education" that promotes tolerance and peacemaking. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child offers special significance for the children of Northern Ireland: "preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance." This "effective and transformative approach" has special significance for Northern Ireland, she affirmed. Candice C. Carter, University of North Florida examined the integration of prosocial music in preschool, elementary, and teacher-education courses. It is described as music that "fosters harmonious interaction between people by recommending in its lyrics positive social relations, self-concept and personal behaviors." In addition, prosocial music can facilitate "learning about a variety of topics" and is an effective learning modality. The topic has become of particular interest to peace educators. Her study concluded that the "social and affective uses and outcomes of prosocial music integration . . . were encouraging." (e-mail: ccarter@unf.edu) Michael Henninger, Heinz Mandl, Maria Linz, Andreas Hoerfurther, University of Munich. Michael Henninger outlined the topic: "To Avoid Conflicts-A Multimedia Training Concept for Reflected Communication." He presented an intriguing concept: that improved clues to conversation and communications, including nonverbal ones, could be a powerful "tool that might help in preventing conflicts at their very roots." He included multimedia examples that could assist students and others in responding to conversations by learning to maximize clues from the auditory and visual information of conflict situations. (e-mail: henninge@edupsy.uni-muenchen.de) Alison Montgomery, School of Education, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland looked at a number of research and development projects that related to the promotion of "values in education in Northern Ireland." Of special interest was one resource, "Primary Values," a pilot project in primary schools which introduced children to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the principles of democratic citizenship. An informal evaluation showed positive results for the "promotion of children's "personal, social and moral development."
Call for Proposals: 2001 Annual Meeting - Seattle, April 10-14, 2001 Deadline: August 1, 2000 The Theme of the 2001 annual meeting will be "What We Know and How We Know It." General Procedures, Descriptions of Sessions, Listings of Divisions, Committees and SIGs, Session Descriptors and Forms for various submissions are all included on the pages of the current issue of Educational Researcher (May 2000) 29 (4), 27-41. In addition, descriptions of the Electronic Submission procedures for proposals and reviews by individual reviewers are also here, p. 28. For the second year, the Peace Education SIG will use this electronic process for proposals and reviews. The May issue of Educational Researcher is now "online in PDF and searchable formats." Check the web site: http://www.aera.net. This is a valuable service for non-AERA members who have joined our SIG. All of the information you need to submit a Proposal is at the web site.
Call for Proposal Reviewers: Please contact our Program Chair - Joanne Curran for information: (e-mail: curranjm@oneonta.edu). She is the SIG contact listed on p. 37 of this May issue. You can also submit your name directly through the electronic system. Enter the AERA program via: http://zhao.educ.msu.edu/aera and complete all information. Check off on Peace Education. Please volunteer to serve as a Proposal Reviewer. We welcome your assistance.
New Officers Elected at Business Meeting Note: Please see "SIG Officers" section for mailing addresses, including e-mail and Fax. The following officers accepted leadership positions for 2000-2002: Chair/Peace Education SIG: Blythe F. Hinitz, College of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, who had served as our Program Chair Program Chair: Joanne Curran, State University of New York-Oneonta, who had served as our Secretary-Treasurer Secretary/Treasurer: Edyth Wheeler, Towson State University, Towson, MD, a SIG member and presenter at our AERA annual meetings. Newsletter Editor: Aline Stomfay-Stitz, University of North Florida, former SIG Chair, who edited our previous Newsletters since 1998. |
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