Peace education offers potential for transforming violent conflict into peace between groups in conflict. The research literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education has identified key assumptions for building long-term peace following violent conflict. The extent to which peace education programs have incorporated these theoretical notions, however, is not well known. This thesis explored the extent to which key theoretical insights from the literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education are incorporated in a prominent peace education program, Seeds of Peace. Data collection consisted of interviews with ten program staff members and written documentation produced by Seeds of Peace. Employing the analytical framework developed from a review of the literature, a comparison between theoretical notions and Seeds of Peace programming was done. Findings of this study highlight the extent to which there are gaps between theory and practice, and a case is made for the establishment of a more explicit connection between theory and practice. Furthermore, the thesis highlights the importance of further studies to address the research gap.

Each year the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), operating under the auspices of UNESCO, hosts a peace education training-of-trainer’s program for teacher-educators from across the Asia-Pacific. In this thesis, I examine through a qualitative case study approach the programmatic design and evaluation of the APCEIU training program, seeking to monitor its medium-term impact on educators. The research is framed within a larger study of peace education programs around the world. Frameworks of peace education conceptualized by Betty Reardon and Swee-hin Toh, and critical approaches to peace and development as animated by Paulo Freire and Johan Galtung, provide the theoretical foundations for the study. Research findings are based on consultation records, documentary analysis, observations, and questionnaire responses from evaluations of the 2009 program. In the medium-term impact assessment report, 14 educators offered data pertaining to their post-program implementation of peace education concepts and practices in their work.

Each year the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), operating under the auspices of UNESCO, hosts a peace education training-of-trainer’s program for teacher-educators from across the Asia-Pacific. In this thesis, I examine through a qualitative case study approach the programmatic design and evaluation of the APCEIU training program, seeking to monitor its medium-term impact on educators. The research is framed within a larger study of peace education programs around the world. Frameworks of peace education conceptualized by Betty Reardon and Swee-hin Toh, and critical approaches to peace and development as animated by Paulo Freire and Johan Galtung, provide the theoretical foundations for the study. Research findings are based on consultation records, documentary analysis, observations, and questionnaire responses from evaluations of the 2009 program. In the medium-term impact assessment report, 14 educators offered data pertaining to their post-program implementation of peace education concepts and practices in their work.

The aim of the study is to examine what upper secondary school students think that they themselves and their school can do to create a peaceful society. The study combine qualitative and quantitative methods based on questionnaires distributed among 328 students in three high schools in Sweden. The survey is a combination of multiple choice and open questions. For the analysis of quantitative responses the computer program SPSS was used producing frequency tables and response rate schemes. To analyze the questionnaire's qualitative part a narrative analysis method was used. The central theoretical framework of the study is research on peace, positive peace, peace education and racism. The conclusion of the study is that most students in the survey believe that the school plays an important role in establishing and supporting peaceful values, both with the students and in society at large. Students feel that school should take on more responsibility as a peacemaking force than it does today. They also expressed that the schools need to work more with anti-racism, harassment and bullying and that they think that the teachers ought to get more training in these subjects. According to the students, their most important role as individuals is to act in a way that promotes a peaceful society while also living by what they preach.  They underlined the importance that each individual must take upon themselves to play an active role in promoting a peaceful society and they also stressed the importance of working together to bring these changes.

The recent increase in the number of reported incidents of political, domestic and criminal violence in the media, attests to the escalating violence in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), one of the nine provinces in South Africa. This situation highlights the desperate and urgent need for some sort of peace educational intervention which exposes people to alternative ways and methods of dealing with conflict, in socially acceptable, non-violent ways in an attempt to curb this cycle of violence. The training and development of peace educators is now more critical than ever. However, a review of relevant literature reveals that the field of peace education and peace educator development in the KZN and the broader South African context is marginal and seriously under-researched. This study focuses on the learning and development of peace educators, with a specific interest in how their participation in a network contributes to their learning and development as peace educators. This study is framed by Lave and Wenger's theory of Communities of Practice. It involves different data collection methods, namely document analysis, observation of network activities and in-depth interviews with six facilitators from the Alternatives to Violence Project-KwaZulu-Natal (AVP-KZN). The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) network, which is the unit of analysis for this study, emerged as a space which facilitated opportunities for collaborative social learning where facilitators were able to share information, best practices, experiences, resources as well as the AVP's "organisational culture‟. This research explores the underlying motivations for participation in the AVP-KZN network, experiences encountered through participation in the network and the role of the network in terms of the learning and development of peace educators. In this study, the AVP-KZN network emerges as a rich site for the learning and development of both novice and experienced facilitators and a major contributor to acquisition of effective facilitation skills and techniques. The informal learning in the network appears to have concentrated on the pedagogy (facilitation styles, planning, flexibility, teamwork), self-development and identity development of the peace educator. The findings reveal the network as being a conducive environment for informal, social, experiential and transformative learning which involves the acquisition of increased knowledge and skills, changed practices, opportunities to observe, to be observed, plan, implement, review and write reports. The extent to which the peace educators were actively involved in their learning through their increased participation in a variety of network activities, was also evident in this study. Six distinct components of learning emerged from the analysis of the data: 1) learning from diversity; 2) learning through changes in community; 3) learning through changes in meaning; 4) learning through practice; 5) developing an identity as a peace educator; and 6) learning through the development of self. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the existing knowledge of peace education with a focus on the learning and development of peace educators in a community of practice.

This thesis explores the relationships between pre-service teacher training, peace education, anti-racism education, gender equity education and conflict resolution. Specifically, this study investigates the mandatory School and Society course within the Initial Teacher Education Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, to explore peace education training within the pre-service teacher education program. The methodology employed involves the combination of a curriculum analysis and reflective case study; both are utilized to illustrate the author’s experiences as a pre-service student, and the training received during this program. The findings illustrate that components of a peace education curriculum are observable in the Initial Teacher Education program. There is however, no formal requirement for delivering peace education within the program. As a result, this thesis offers recommendations for the development of formal peace education training in OISE/UT’s pre-service program.

Reforming the education system to reflect a new vision of society is part of many peacebuilding efforts in post-conflict societies. Accordingly, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is currently implementing a wide range of reforms in the education system in Iraqi Kurdistan. This research is a qualitative study of the KRG’s efforts to implement a peace education curriculum. It uses critical discourse analysis to investigate the Human Rights Education (HRE) textbooks content for Grades 5 and 7 (ages 11 and 13) and the History Education (HE) textbooks content for Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 (age 11 to 14). The study also focuses on the policy and strategies of the Ministry of Education (ME) in implementing these subjects; the teaching methods used; and how effectively the knowledge, values and skills involved have been disseminated. The approach adopted by the ME to peace education is top down and experiences significant resistance from teachers and parents. Moreover, the curriculum reforms lacked consideration of the hidden and null curricula. The research highlights how HRE contents are primarily focused on cognitive development of awareness of rights and responsibilities rather than acquiring social skills and a critical approach, and that the content was not contextualised to the reality of Iraqi Kurdistan. Furthermore, the research found that the HE curriculum focuses on the history of Iraq, Kurdistan and Islamic history and presents a message that glorifies war; it is not open to different narratives or interpretations and does not foster critical debate or an enquiry-based approach. The curriculum contents included concepts and statements that appear to instigate violence and build divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims. Despite the achievements of the ME in improving the education system there are many challenges such as weak infrastructure, lack of professional development and resistance through the wider cultural context. The methods of teaching are what Freire terms the ‘banking system’, authoritarian and not learner-centred, which largely reflects the social fabric of Kurdish society. The research identified many challenges facing teachers including the level of their commitment, skills, specialization and capacity-building. However, it also found positive support for HRE among students and teachers.

Peace education offers potential for transforming violent conflict into peace between groups in conflict. The research literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education has identified key assumptions for building long-term peace following violent conflict. The extent to which peace education programs have incorporated these theoretical notions, however, is not well known. This thesis explored the extent to which key theoretical insights from the literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education are incorporated in a prominent peace education program, Seeds of Peace. Data collection consisted of interviews with ten program staff members and written documentation produced by Seeds of Peace. Employing the analytical framework developed from a review of the literature, a comparison between theoretical notions and Seeds of Peace programming was done. Findings of this study highlight the extent to which there are gaps between theory and practice, and a case is made for the establishment of a more explicit connection between theory and practice. Furthermore, the thesis highlights the importance of further studies to address the research gap.

This thesis studies an island of civility embedded in an ethos of conflict, focusing on a shared society peacebuilding initiative between Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel. Undertaken in close partnership with the NGO Hand in Hand: The Centre for Bilingual Jewish-Arab Education in Israel using a semi-participatory approach, this research describes the evolution of Hand in Hand from a small grassroots organization to a multimillion-dollar NGO. Drawing on survey data (n = 107), personal interviews (n = 25), and key insights from a four-month ethnography, this dissertation analyzes the social change function of Hand in Hand, ordinary citizens’ motivations for enrolling their children in bilingual (Hebrew/Arabic) schools, and the drivers and barriers for attending peacebuilding activities for adults.

In conflict-affected and divided societies, citizenship education has gained considerable attention for its potential to promote democratic peace and address issues of identity and societal divisions. This study demonstrates the vital role of gender equality for social cohesion by illustrating how aspects of inclusive democratic citizenship needed for social cohesion are undermined by hierarchical social relations and harmful masculinities fostered through the patriarchal aspects of education and schooling. This inquiry examines if and how policies for social cohesion through education, specifically citizenship education, contribute to peace in conflict-affected Sri Lanka, a county plagued by 30 years of war. Through a document analysis of the grade 6-9 citizenship textbooks, interviews and surveys with teachers and students, and classroom and school observations, this study explores how policies related to education for social cohesion are appropriated and enacted within schools and classrooms and how students consequently understand their role as citizens in a conflict-affected society. The study design is a transformative design mixed methods study of 13 schools across four provinces in post-war Sri Lanka. Using a post-colonial feminist approach, this study draws conclusions on how gender roles and relations intersect with citizenship education and its potential to contribute to gender transformative peacebuilding. Qualitative and quantitative findings reveal that attitudes on gender equality are closely related to attitudes on social cohesion. Many of the factors associated with patriarchy, including harmful masculinities, not only reduced gender equality, but they also undermined the egalitarian foundations of democracy needed for peace and social cohesion. However, when educators were able to engage in practices that fostered the knowledge and skills to empathize across differences (gender, ethnic, and religious) and build egalitarian relationships, they fostered inclusive democratic citizenship among students and contributed to social cohesion. At the same time, results indicate that education’s capacity to promote social cohesion, through the formal and informal curriculum, is limited due to a state-centric belligerent approach to citizenship and citizenship education, which is primarily focused on developing a personally responsible citizen.