A Framework for Research and Teaching Forgiveness in Arab Schools: Iraqi Teachers’ Perceptions of Forgiveness

• In Event: International Peace Perspectives

Abstract

This study contributes to understanding forgiveness education and highlights the importance of including teachers’ views on forgiveness as part of a global peace education agenda. It suggests further direction for research and practice on the topic in the Middle East. A part of a larger study in the region, views about forgiveness in hypothetical situations are examined among 56 teachers in K-12 schools from different regions in Iraq. Consistent with a number of countries in study, initial data analysis suggests less willingness to forgive when situation is related to close family relationships and religion. Comparisons with other Arab teachers in addition to a consideration of sociocultural and political factors at play in region and ways they affect schools are discussed.

Authors

• Ilham Nasser, George Mason University

• Mohammed Abunimer, American University