Today in the world there are many ongoing battles and challenges along with conflicts of all kinds, which have an overwhelming impact on people’s lives and mental health. However, education is seen as one of the main instruments to achieve a ‘culture of peace’ through processes of peace building in (post-) conflict societies. Considering the presence of numerous conflict and post-conflict situations in developing countries, one would assume that post-conflict approaches and development strategies are combined. However, there is no consensus on how to accomplish this other than Sri Lanka with its present and past initiatives to promote peace.
In Sri Lanka there are many actors involved in the creation and the implementation of peace education initiatives this will include three main actors in the field of peace education in Sri Lanka: peace educators (including principals, teachers and zonal education officers), programme-makers (including NGOs) and policy-makers (including the government and (international) donors). On the other hand, civil society (including NGOs, unions, religious institutions and other grassroots civil organizations) develops peace education programmes as well actively in Sri Lanka to This can be in co-operation with a government and (international) donors, or without. In my view, including the views of peace educators in this research is essential.4 Policies and programmes can set the rules and approaches, nevertheless educators are the ones who ‘decide’ what is offered to students or participants, and how.
The word ‘PEACE’ is mostly used in a narrow sense to mean absence of war. Surely it is more than that. It should mean not only absence of war, but violence in forms such as conflict, threat to life, social degradation, discrimination, oppression, exploitation, poverty, injustice and so on. Peace cannot be built as long as violent social structures exist in society. Naturally such structures will lead people to act violently. Education is a powerful means to shape the people’s minds and hearts towards peace. Peace is important because it precisely means human life. Among the basic rights of mankind the first one is protecting life. The most important factor that reflects the importance of peace is psychological comfort. If you don’t have psychological comfort at first you are stressed then depressed Anyway, but if peace is permanent like all other goods, the services of healthcare and education work continually. By this way people gather around a specific aim. Humans learn to have respect for others’ ideas, religions, point of views and most importantly learn to have respect for others’ freedom. This policy document on social cohesion and peace education has been formed for the purpose of streamlining the system towards peace. This document was developed based on the issues identified by the SCOPE Unit of MOE. It suggests innovative strategies, provides coherence and coverage and also it tries to avoid unnecessary duplication. I appreciate this collective effort made by the Social Cohesion and Peace Education Unit of the Ministry with the cooperation of representatives of all educational institutions for fulfilling this national effort. I hope that all officers in the system may extend their contribution for the successful implementation of the ‘Peace Policy’
There is historical evidence to show that Sri Lanka was a country well known for its peace loving people. However, Sri Lanka is facing many challenges today in the nation-building task. Two such areas are ethnic disharmony and national disintegration which have caused innumerable barriers for the nation’s development. Although education has a key role to play in nation-building, it has not always actively engaged itself in laying the foundations for the elimination of prejudice and stereotypes, especially after Independence. Communities have been disturbed by conflict, and schools not only prepare future citizens but can work immediately in and across these communities to promote cohesion and understanding. Educational institutions cannot single-handedly achieve social harmony, but they have long term effects in building and sustaining a culture of peace and non-violence. A national policy specifically on social cohesion and peace education is a vital strategy in Sri Lanka’s development. The overall education policy of Sri Lanka is geared to meeting nine national goals, of which three are particularly relevant to social cohesion and peace. These are: The achievement of national cohesion, national integration and national unity The establishment of a pervasive system for social justice The active partnership in nation-building activities to ensure the continuous nurturing of a deep and abiding concern for one another
Children from 12 to 15 years old are in the following stage of ‘formal operations’. Piaget states that in this stage the abstract reasoning begins and children can begin to think reflectively (Ansell 2005: 16). Children in this stage can even benefit more from peace education, since they will be able to critically reflect upon concepts like violence, war and peace. Concerning Sri Lanka, children in this age group could develop their own perceptions on the societal situation, the ongoing violence, collective and historical narratives and their perception of their own group and ‘the other’. Furthermore, peace education programmes should also focus on young adolescents10 (LowickiZucca 2005: 4). As stated before, young people in this age-group are often at risk (Finn in Ansell 2005: 18; Nicolai & Triplehorn in Sommers 2004: 56). Young adolescents living in emergency situations, like Sri 10 According to the definition of Lowicki-Zucca, young adolescents are in the age group from 18-24 years old. – 12 – Lanka, frequently have to take on enormous responsibilities. Extended social, political and economic unrest affects the social fabric and culture of families, households and communities, all of which are important for young peoples’ development. During emergency situations in or right after a conflict, a lack of livelihood opportunities forces many young people into a culture of violence, and sometimes even a life of crime. ‘Their unaddressed needs and squandered potential seriously undermines their abilities to contribute positively to stability and state reconstruction’ (UNICEF 2001). It can be concluded that peace education in this age-group can have an important impact, and therefore should also be prioritized. Especially when taking into account the recent lack of attention to youngsters, since only primary education is prioritized at the global and most national levels.
