A Blogpost outlining Kenya’s Vision 2030 peace education program, which is intended to encourage school age children to solve conflicts in a constructive manner and without resorting to violence. It was created to respond to the violence in Kenya after the 2007-2008 elections. The program aims to help build cultures of peace within these schools and to then have these students take these peaceful attitudes and build a peaceful society
1. Creating awareness about the sources of conflict and how to deal with them in our daily lives
2. Classroom as the main arena where the values of “positive interdependence, social justice and participation in decision making are learned and practiced”
3. Creating respect for cultural diversity and fostering peaceful, diverse communities by encouraging positive images
Resource is located on DevEd website, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of those in developing countries through education that is tailored to their needs and local culture and practices
-Depending on how the resource is utilized, it can be used for a variety of age levels in formal educational settings.
-The objectives encourage global values that many aspire to and seek to promote
-The sooner in life we begin promoting peaceful ideals, the more likely they are to stick with a child and help mold them into a peace-building adult.
-It’s integrated into the standard/required courses (History, Social Studies, Religious Education, etc.), but is also encouraged in co-curricular activities like Drama, Music, art, etc.
-The values promoted by the program are universal and can be adapted for any environment, so long as its goal is to create a peaceful, safe space
-In order to incorporate this resource and the values it promotes, educators would need to actively reconsider and restructure their current curriculum. They would need to actively encourage the promotion of peace education in both the formal school setting and the informal “after school” setting where students participate in elective activities
-Logistics and materials: this program would require teachers be trained and educated on the subject of peace education, they might require sample curriculums in which peace education has already been integrated, access to peace education materials, and some training/education in conflict resolution/mediation.
-Because it would require some major changes, the implementation of this curriculum would require a large amount of time and might even need to be implemented gradually (perhaps first in the afterschool extra curricular activities and then spreading to the main curriculum)
-At the end, challenges faced by the program are outlined and educators and school administrators should take these into consideration
-Curriculum encourages and focuses on the importance of music and drama as vehicles for students to create peaceful school environments and communities.
-Kids develop cultural awareness, patience, and a strong sense of responsibility.
-They are active participants in their own education and are able to implement their own ideas and decisions they believe will be imperative for them to grasp certain subjects.
-The banking method is completely ruled out and replaced with active discussions and participation that includes everyone, along with the teacher to facilitate.
-Fairfax County teachers would definitely benefit from this program. I feel it would be especially beneficial for educators teaching in elementary schools as students are young and can be taught these lessons early on. Teaching children tolerance, acceptance, and understanding from a young age can shape them into well-adjusted adults who can better manage conflicts.
– An after school program educator in a diverse community can also gain from the program. Many after school programs have kids from various backgrounds come together which can lead to conflicts of race and culture. If those in charge of after school programs can implement the concepts from this program, kids can learn to better understand each other and navigate their conflicts.