Unraveling the Future of Peace Education

• Published in: PsycCritiques Vol. 56; no. 26; p. No Pagination Specified
• Main Author: Woolf, Linda M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Psychological Association 29.06.2011
• Subjects: Education; Human; Peace
• ISSN: 1554-0138; 1554-0138
• DOI: 10.1037/a0024205

Reviews the book, Handbook on peace education by Gavriel Salomon and Edward Cairns (see record 2010-00471-000). War, ethnopolitical conflict, and other forms of violence defined much of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the advent of the 21st century did not usher in a century of peace. If there were to be a time for the development and promotion of peace education, it would seem to be now. Peace education is not a new endeavor, but only in more recent years has it begun to be formally debated, defined, researched, and disseminated in a systematic fashion. As such, Gavriel Salomon and Edward Cairns meet an important need with the publication of the Handbook on Peace Education. In this Handbook, over 35 scholars within the field of peace studies discuss the latest theory, practice, and research in the field of peace education and outline thoughts for the future. Salomon and Cairns divide the book into three sections. The first chapters examine the context of peace education. The second section of the text includes essays from a range of disciplines such as psychology, media, political science, and philosophy. The final section of the text takes a more pragmatic tone as authors discuss specific approaches aimed at peace education around the globe. Although the quality of the text is uniformly high, there are a few noticeable shortcomings. These shortcomings reflect, in part, biases currently inherent within much of peace studies but also the newness of the field as a distinct area of study and research. Although the text is billed as an education handbook, it often reads as a treatise on the value of peace education, and its scope extends well beyond the classroom. As such, it is an important text not only for educators but also for clinicians, humanitarian aid workers, activists within the community, policy makers, and anyone interested in building more peaceful communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)