Give Peace a Chance - The Diminution of Peace in Global Education in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada

Oct 15, 2026

A literature survey examines the place of peace education within global education for secondary schools across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom (Britain), using professional and peer-reviewed periodicals, edited collections, monographs, and classroom textbooks. Over time, peace education occupies progressively less space in curricula, and the nature of both peace and global education shifts within school programs. The narrowing focus yields negative consequences for those committed to global and peace education principles, with tensions between peace education and peace research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose and Method

Literature surveyed and database creation

Findings on curriculum change

Implications for peace and global education

Give Peace a Chance: The Diminution of Peace in Global Education in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada Sharon Anne Cook University of Ottawa This study surveyed the literature on peace and global education in secondary schools to explore the position of peace education within the global education field. To create a database from Canada, the United States, and Britian, this article includes secondary studies from professional and peer-reviewed periodicals, articles in published collections, monographs, and textbooks. The results demonstrate that peace education over time has occupied progressively less space. The nature of both peace and global education in the school curriculum has changed. The reduction of peace education within the global education rubric has negative consequences for everyone committed to the principles of global and peace education. Key words: peace education, global education; school peace curriculum Cette étude fait le point sur la littérature à propos de l’éducation à la paix et del’éducation planétaire dans les écoles secondaires en vue de cerner la place occupée par l’éducation à la paix dans le domaine de l’éducation planétaire. Voulant créer une base de données issues du Canada, des États-Unis et de la Grande-Bretagne, l’auteureinclut des études secondaires provenant de périodiques professionnels et avec comité de lecture, des articles dans des collections, des monographies et des manuels. Les résultats démontrent que l’éducation à la paix occupe de moins en moins de place. La nature de l’éducation à la paix et de l’éducation planétaire dans les programmes scolaires a changé . La diminution de la place accordée à l’éducation à la paix au sein dela rubrique éducation planétaire a des conséquences négatives pour toutes les personnes attachées aux principes de l’éducation à la paix et de l’éducation planétaire. Mots clés : éducation à la paix, éducation planétaire, notion de paix dans les programmes scolaires. _____________________________ CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 31, 4 (2008): 889-914 Peace education is currently considered to be both a philosophy and a process involving skills, including listening, reflection, problem-solving, cooperation and conflict resolution. The process involves empowering with the skills, attitudesand knowledge to create a safe world and build a sustainable environment. The philosophy teaches nonviolence, love, compassion and reverence for all life. Peace education confronts indirectly the forms of violence that dominate society by teaching about its causes and providing knowledge of alternatives. (Harris & Morrison, 2003, p. 9) This definition of peace education by one of the field’s leading author teams provides evidence of the close alignment of principles behind peace and global education, as it is termed in North America. Other popular sources on global education at the school level also emphasize the importance of peace education (Goldstein & Selby, 2000) . Both collections define peacemaking as mainly an interpersonal experience, resulting in personal conflict, racism, gender and sexual exclusions, and environmental degradation. The focus is placed on the local and the personal, rather than the international, despite ongoing concern with what Galtung (1975) called structural violence. This waning of interest in the school curriculum in the international and structural dimensions of peace studies rather than the personal uses of peace-making has clear instrumental value for the classroom and schoolyard. However, the general effect of narrowing peace education’s focus to the local has been to further marginalize it. In fact, it has been persuasively argued that school-based peace education struggles for legitimacy even within its own field: peace education vs. peace research; knowledge vs. praxis of peace education (Burns, 1996) . Aspeslagh (1996) notes that peace education is “condemned to the waiting room of society,” where the only thin

FAQs

What does the study investigate about peace education?

It surveys literature on peace and global education in secondary schools to determine peace education’s position within the global education field.

How is the literature database for Canada, the United States, and Britain created?

The article compiles secondary studies from professional and peer-reviewed periodicals, published collections, monographs, and textbooks intended for classroom use.

What are the main findings regarding peace education over time?

Peace education occupies progressively less space, and the school-curriculum nature of both peace and global education changes, leading to negative consequences for proponents of both fields.

Oct 15, 2026

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