Transcript Critical remembrance at a time of a mass literacy campaign

Developing peace
educators at UKZN
Vaughn John
School of Education and Development, UKZN
27 November 2011
5th Annual Teaching and Learning
Conference, University of KwaZulu-Natal,
Durban, 26 - 28 September 2011
Peace education in the context
of a violent world …
 Violent conflict has become a feature of
contemporary society at both global and
local levels.
 Unprecedented levels of violent conflict
since World War II (Firer, 2002).
 Lack of peace cost more than $8 trillion
last year (Shank, 2011)
South African context …
 Violent protests & state responses
 SA’s continual low rank on the Global Peace
Index (2007= 99/121, 2011=118/153)
 Violent crime, including high levels of domestic
violence contribute to low rank.
 Advanced inequality and deprivation
underscores the systemic nature of violence.
 Inequality in SA amongst highest in the world
(Gini coefficient)
What is peace education?
 “Peace education is the pedagogical effort
to create a better world” (Morrison, 2002)
Rests on 2 assumptions:


Conflict is ubiquitous
Conflict can be transformed
Varies in form and foci in different contexts.
In many countries it refers to educating for
peace in the school system.
Peace education theory and
types (Harris, 2004)
 During this past century there has been growth
in social concern about horrific forms of
violence, like ecocide, genocide, modern
warfare, ethnic hatred, racism, sexual abuse
and domestic violence, and a corresponding
growth in the field of peace education
 5 types: international education, human rights
education, development education,
environmental education & conflict resolution
education.
Peace education at UKZN
 Emerged from non-formal community
workshops in response to the political
violence in KZN: 1980s -1990s
 Gradually included in formal
programmes
 Community engagement shaped formal
teaching
Certificate in Education
(Participatory Development)
 An initial qualification for adult educators
and community development
practitioners (NGOs, CBOs)
 2-year, part-time programme
 Modules in Lifelong Learning, Adult Ed.
Development & Project Facilitation
 Specialisation in peace education during
the second year.
Peace education curriculum
within the Certificate
 Peace and development,
 Inner peace,
 Conflict analysis
 Negotiation,
 Mediation
 Educating for peace
Theory, skills, attitudes, values
Participatory pedagogy
Peace education curriculum
within the Certificate
3 aspects of curriculum innovation
 Developing peace educators through AVP
workshops
 Developing peace educators through
service-learning
 Developing peace educators in a community
of practice
Developing peace educators
through AVP workshops
Alternatives to Violence (AVP)
 Powerful experiential learning on nonviolent conflict transformation using
participatory pedagogy
 International programme & community
 3 levels: basic, advanced & T4F
 Mentoring after T4F
 Evidence of transformative learning
Feedback from participants
 New understanding of self and others
 New identities
 Some status in community
 Belonging, relational
 More confident, hopeful
Transformative Learning
Theory
 a learning process in which adults
examine their meaning perspectives, via
a process of critical reflection, resulting
in transformation of such perspectives
 “deals with how individuals may be
empowered to learn to free themselves
from unexamined ways of thinking that
impede effective judgement and action”.
Mezirow [1998]
Developing peace educators
through service-learning
 Credit for planning, implementing and
evaluating a peace event/workshop
 Some students have run AVP workshops
for schools, youth groups, women
groups in their community
 Build skills in conflict transformation and
educator skills/identity
 Deepening and ongoing transformative
learning
Developing peace educators
in a community of practice
 The KZN AVP network
 approx 150 AVP facilitators KZN
 Diverse: staff, local students, foreign
students, community workers etc
 Meets 4 times per year (donor funding)
 Opportunities to facilitate, learn new
skills, build new relationships
 Develops peace educator identity
Important features of
community of practice
 Facilitates opportunity to practice/grow
 Provides a support environment
 Allows identity development - slow process
 Non-hierarchical – old-timers & newcomers
 Power dynamics
 Organic growth – new areas, new leaders
 Voluntary
Scholarship of peace
education
 Longitudinal study of novice educators,
their participation & development in the
network: life-history methodology
 In-depth study of AVP curriculum,
origins, content & pedagogy: case study
 Internationalisation and curriculum recontextualisation of AVP: comparative
studies of different countries
 African peace curriculum.
Conclusion:
Peace education linking 3
pillars of university work
 Teaching, research and community
engagement supporting the development
of educators for a more peaceful and just
world.
Some critique of TL theory
 Newman (1994) asserted that
transformative learning theory had not
provided answers for how transformative
learning could occur in the context of
systemic oppression and for how it could
contribute to political struggle.
 Inglis (1997) raises questions about the
conception of ‘self’ and ‘power’ in
transformative learning theory
Implications for theory building
 Need studies with more diverse contexts and
samples.
 TL theory needs more exploration in contexts of
extreme and repetitive deprivation and
oppression.
 Interrogation of the theory in contexts where
trauma and fear are likely to be prevalent, could
contribute to the ongoing development of TL
theory and practice.
Implications for practice
 Transformative learning (TL) theory has
focussed on the learner in the learning
process.
 Greater attention needs to be paid to the
life, identities and prior experiences of
the educator in the TL process, as
powerful shapers of pedagogical
practices.