Looking for peace in the national curriculum of Mexico

Abstract

Schools are places where we can learn ways of being, seeing and living. They are transmission belts – social institutions that can engender values and attitudes from both how we learn and what we learn. Using content analysis, this mixed methods study assesses the national curriculum of Mexico – the Plan de Estudios Educación Básica, 2011 – for three components found in peace education programmes: recognizing violence (direct, structural or cultural); addressing conflict nonviolently; and creating the conditions of positive peace. These three components contribute to the analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): quality education (SDG 4); gender equality (SDG 5); reduced inequalities (SDG 10); responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). This component of the Peace Education Curriculum Analysis (PECA) Project finds that the Plan de Estudios contains limited content that recognizes violence, some evidence of techniques used in transforming conflict nonviolently and only select content that is concerned with contributing to positive peace.

Peace Education in the Absence of Violence as a Foundation of Learning: The Case of Cameroon

“…Such violent forms are verbalised and include shouting, yelling, screaming, and insulting the children by parents and teachers, which are common in schools and at home without an explicit explanation. The situation in Cameroon aligns with the American conservative parents who view this as the acceptable way of child upbringing (Ellison & Sherkat 1993;Straus & Paschall, 2009), a position that rubbishes schools as transmission belts of values of peace and tolerance (Kertyzia & Standish, 2019: Cohan & Howlett, 2017. Unfortunately, this accepts Bufacchi's (2005) position on the state of nature with the eternal quest to destroy or subdue one another.…”

“…The value of peace is dependent on the merit in securing justice that lies in providing a procedure to expose the truth on a consensual and mutual basis, thereby enabling humanity to remain progressive. The precarious situation of violence in Cameroon is exacerbated by structural violence which is a conspicuous form of injustice seen in poverty, environmental degradation, discrimination, exploitation, and cultural tenets (Porter, 2015;Kertyzia & Standish, 2019).…”

“…The curriculum should guide the learners to see schools as sites that do not transmit violence and inequality but rather as a very determined arena that monitor and undo patriarchal and cultural dominance. It should strengthen their awareness and preservation of core values of love, respect, tolerance, environmental consciousness, and the pursuit of social justice (Kertyzia & Standish, 2019). Porter (2015) factors in seeing it as processes for the learners that build positive relationships, reconcile antagonistic differences, restore esteem, respect rights, meet basic needs, enhance differences, and are democratic, inclusive, and just.…”

“…Schools are learning environments that bring about new values and attitudes for the well-being of humanity (Kertyzia & Standish, 2019). Bashir and Akbar (2015, p. 48) posit that "education is a powerful strategy that can help usher in sustainable peace by educating and training citizens for matters to achieve peace."…”

“…Schools must therefore ensure peace. Hence, schools should desist from a violent posture that can lead to poor learning outcomes by students, increasing discomfort in the learning process and reducing the ratio of school attendance (Kertyzia & Standish, 2019). It requires school educators to develop instruction, curriculum, and school life as the basis for teaching peace education (Cohan & Howlett, 2017).…”