Page 1 of 8

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 44

Peace Education and its integration in curriculum: A

need of the hour

Mohan Galgotra, Jyoti Bala

Asst. Prof., Dept. of Education, BGSB.University, J&K

Teacher, Department of School Education, J&K Government

e-mail- mohangalgotra@gmail.com

Abstract

Peace has always been one of the basic

needs of human beings and yet it has been

so elusive. Despite phenomenal progress in

every domain of individual and collective

life, man has not been able to find lasting

peace, with him and with others around the

globe. With the invention of weapons of

mass destruction and relentless arms race

amid hovering conflicts among groups and

states, the need for peace and peace

education has increased manifold. There is

a high level of violence in the world today,

both physical and structural. We thus need

tools and techniques to respond to this

phenomenon. With increasing levels of

violence and conflict there is also an

increasing demand of maintaining peace in

the world and education is the best medium

which can save the humanity from mass

destruction. So, peace education is an

essential component, the process of

promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes

and values needed to bring about behavior

changes that will enable children, youth and

adults to prevent conflict and violence, both

overt and structural; to resolve conflict

peacefully; and to create the conditions

conducive to peace, whether an

intrapersonal, intergroup, national or

international level. Thus, the present paper

discusses some of the issues pertaining to

peace education, importance of peace

education for maintaining world peace,

integration of peace education in the

curriculum.

Key words- Peace Education, Integration,

Curriculum

“An un-conducive environment can never

encourage any worthwhile development.

Wars, riots and all types of violent situations

can cause untold hardship, separation and

death of members of families in many

communities and nations. In this 21st

Century, all round the world people are

seeking for peace. Peace is needed for

development, for better living condition, and

for better lying of foundation of things for

the future generation.” Apebende (2010)

INTRODUCTION

Peace has always been one of the basic

needs of human beings and yet it has been

so elusive. Despite phenomenal progress in

every domain of individual and collective

life, man has not been able to find lasting

peace, with him and with others around the

globe. With the invention of weapons of

mass destruction and relentless arms race

Page 2 of 8

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 45

amid hovering conflicts among groups and

states, the need for peace and peace

education has increased manifold. There is a

high level of violence in the world today,

both physical and structural. We thus need

tools and techniques to respond to this

phenomenon. With increasing levels of

violence and conflict there is also an

increasing demand of maintaining peace in

the world and education is the best medium

which can save the humanity from mass

destruction. So, peace education is an

essential component, the process of

promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes

and values needed to bring about behavior

changes that will enable children, youth and

adults to prevent conflict and violence, both

overt and structural; to resolve conflict

peacefully; and to create the conditions

conducive to peace, whether an

intrapersonal, intergroup, national or

international level.

Peace education encompasses the key

concepts of education and peace. As

education is a process of systematic

institutionalized transmission of knowledge

and skills, as well as of basic values and

norms that are accepted in a certain society

where as Peace is a term that refers to an

absence of hostility, safety in matters of

social or economic welfare, the

acknowledgment of equality and fairness in

political relationships. Peace is a virtue, a

state of mind, a disposition for benevolence,

confidence and justice.

Accordingly peace education could be

defined as an interdisciplinary area of

education whose goal is institutionalized and

non institutionalized teaching about peace

and for peace. Peace education aims to help

student acquire skills for non violent conflict

resolution and to reinforce these skills for

active and responsible action in the society

for the promotion of the values of peace.

IMPORTANCE OF PEACE

EDUCATION

Martin Luther King, Junior had the

perception that one day we must come to see

that peace is not merely a distance goal we

seek, but that is a means by which we arrive

at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends

through peaceful means. True peace is not

merely the absence of tension, but is the

presence of Justice.

Therefore unlike the concept of Conflict

resolution, which can be considered to be

retroactive- trying to solve a conflict after it

has already occurred. Peace education has a

more proactive approach. Its aim is to

prevent a conflict in advance or rather to

educate individuals and a society for

peaceful existence on the basis of

nonviolence, tolerance, equality, respect for

differences and social justice.

The understanding of the concept of peace

has changed throughout history, and so has

its role and importance in the educational

system from the very beginnings of the

institutionalized socialization of the

children, when discussing the evolution of

peace education, however there have been a

few important points in history that defined

its aims and actions. The end of World War

Page 3 of 8

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 46

I brought about powerful support for the

need of International Cooperation and

understanding and helped instill a desire to

include these ideas in educational system.

The League of Nations and a number of

nongovernmental organizations worked

together on the ideas, especially through the

International Institutions of Intellectual

Cooperation, an organization that was the

predecessor of the UNESCO. Moreover the

World War II ended with millions of victims

and the frightening of use of atomic

weapons against Japan, at Hiroshima and

Nagasaki. After the World War II, the cold

war also necessities the importance of peace

and thus arise the need on stopping the

threat of nuclear war, halting the arm race

and encouraging disarmament.

Across the World, Peace education

programs are gaining popularity as States,

International agencies and civil society

Organizations increasingly recognize the

importance of such education.

Learning to make a living is not the sole

reason for getting education there is another,

equally important by product: Learning to

make a life, a life that is beneficial, useful

and peaceful. After all humans are social

animals, their success in life is largely a

matter of successful social relations. Quite

evidently student age is the crucially

important period which enriches one’s

personal life, nurtures social adjustment,

fosters friendship and understanding and

affects one’s whole life pattern. Seen from

this perspective, one could very well

understand the critical necessity of teaching

students, youths and young leaders the art of

living together in mutual respect, justice,

love and peace.

With in the field of Peace education,

therefore, one can find a variety of issues,

ranging from violence in schools to

international security and cooperation, from

the conflict between the developed world

and the question of human rights to the

teaching of sustainable development and

environment protection.

Peace education plays an important role in

conflict resolution by teaching student how

to take creative approaches to the conflict

resolution. Thus, students’ gains knowledge

and skills that encourage personal growth

and development contribute to self esteem

and respect of others and develop

competence for a non violent approach to

future conflict situations.

India is a secular country. This factor has a

lot of implications on the unity of the

country. Moreover the crisis between school

children and school authority is rampant

while political crises disrupt progress in all

ramifications almost at all times. More over

the common occurrences of terrorism,

communism, and regionalism also adds to

the peace of Indians. There is no doubt that

there is a problem of peace in India. The

need for solutions to the numerous problems

that cause disturbances in India is, therefore,

evident. Peace should be conceived as

something common to all. Several efforts

have been made towards making peace a

reality in India. The National Policy on

Education (1986), NCFTE (2005) also