Peace Education Program Adaptation: A Sustainable Way for Harmony

• In Event: Rooted in Care: Imagining Inclusive and Sustainable Educational Futures for Refugees

Abstract

This presentation aims to explore the needs and issues of refugee-receiving schools in Türkiye for the adaptation of UNESCO’s “Learning to Live Together” peace education program for fourth-grade students. The objective of the study is to translate and adapt an existing peace education program to align with the specific needs of a refugee-receiving school, with the aim of fostering conflict resolution skills among both local and refugee students. This adaptation seeks to address the psychosocial, cultural, and institutional challenges in the educational environment through a contextually responsive and culturally sensitive pedagogical framework.
Theoretical Framework
The study is grounded in Johan Galtung’s (1969) theory of direct and structural violence, which differentiates between overt violence and systemic inequities embedded in social structures. Peace education is positioned as a proactive tool to dismantle structural violence by cultivating empathy, conflict resolution, and civic responsibility among students. This theoretical lens guided both the needs analysis and the program design to ensure alignment with systemic peacebuilding objectives.
Methods
A phenomenological approach was employed to explore the lived experiences of various school stakeholders, including refugee and local students and parents, teachers, school counselors, and administrators. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a highly refugee-receiving public school in Sakarya, Türkiye. This design facilitated an in-depth understanding of the educational and psychosocial dynamics influencing student adaptation and interaction.
Data Sources and Analysis
The study utilized convenience sampling to select participants who could provide rich insights, with a specific focus on fourth-grade students due to their developmental readiness for the adapted peace education program. Participants included two school counselors, two teachers (3rd and 4th grades), a vice principal, ten students (both local and refugee), and four mothers (two local, two refugee). Separate interview protocols were designed for each participant group. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. The findings were triangulated with input from two practitioners and five academics to inform the adaptation of the program. This inclusive approach ensured the program was both developmentally and culturally responsive.
Results
The needs analysis revealed three core themes: (1) Aggravating Factors for Unity (including environmental factors and individual factors), (2) Institutional Needs and Issues (including issues related to school, training needs, and policy issues), and (3) Facilitators of Unity (including parent characteristics and peaceful school environment). The adapted program was systematically designed with these themes as unfamiliarity with the culture of the other group, behavioral issues, and experiences of exclusion. The activities were designed to promote key peace-building competencies including cultural recognition, education for mutual understanding, conflict resolution, empathy, and inter-group relations to foster a peaceful and inclusive school environment.

Authors

• Dilara Özel, University of Glasgow

• Zeynep Hatipoglu Sumer, Middle East Technical University