Sustaining a Culture of Peace: Assessing a School Ecosystem

• In Event: Publication mentoring workshop session
  In Special Session: Citizenship & Peace Education

Proposal

The right to education for girls is at the core of the mission of the Daraja Academy, a secondary all girls’ school in Kenya. Operating as a non-profit, this scholarship-based school seeks to advance educational opportunities for girls who demonstrate high academic performance and leadership capacity, but lack the means to continue their education. Founded in 2009, many of the students in the inaugural class experienced the 2007-08 post-election violence. In response, the founding administration integrated strategies to support the students and create a positive learning environment. This mixed methods research utilizes the framework of a Culture of Peace to examine the lived experiences of students, teachers, and administrators at the Daraja Academy. Furthermore, strategies employed by the Daraja Academy to create a nurturing ecosystem conducive for learning are identified and explored.

The overarching theoretical framework is based upon Johan Galtung’s positive and negative peace (1964) which encompasses the ideas of both structural (1969) and cultural violence (1990). Drawing on these foundational concepts of peace, this research is situated within the field of critical peace education (Bajaj, 2008) to present empirical research focused on the need for school ecosystems to adopt learning environments aligned with positive peace.

The survey instrument was initially designed to develop indicators to examine a culture of peace within a university (Knox Cubbon, 2010). The conceptual framework included three main models used in the field of peace education to demonstrate a holistic construct of peace. The models include: 1) the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (A/RES/53/243, 1999); 2) the “flower model” that includes education for sustainable development, and 3) the Integral Model of Peace Education that posits that peace is a person-centered concept expressed through one’s “relationship to the self, to others, and to Nature” (Brenes-Castro, 2004, p. 83). The survey questions were separated into 14 sub-themes to assess the campus climate according to the adapted Culture of Peace instrument (CoP survey).

All students enrolled at Daraja were invited to participate in the voluntary CoP survey administered in July 2016 (Grades 9, 10, 11, 12) using the Qualtrics online platform and paper format. Courses at Daraja are offered in English; therefore, the survey, consent forms, and description of the study were administered in English.

Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted from July 2016-November 2017 both in person with students and via WhatsApp with staff members and administrators (n=14; 9 teachers; 4 staff/administrator). Five in-person student focus groups were conducted over a one week period (n=20 students). Upon receiving written consent, all interviews were recorded and detailed notes were taken. In addition to the interviews, data was collected from a document analysis and participant observation. All data from the qualitative process was transcribed and entered into NVIVO QSR International qualitative software to triangulate the information and identify emerging themes.

Responses to the survey questions (n=63) were analyzed using the Qualtrics and Stata platforms. The data is reported using a Likert Scale with a number scale assigned from 1 to 5 for each of the responses (example: Strongly Agree = 5 and “Strongly Disagree” = 1). All negatively worded questions were reverse coded. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores, and mode for each question in a theme. Questions within each theme were combined to calculate the composite score. Next, a Cronbach’s alpha statistical analysis was conducted to measure the internal consistency of the items listed in the categories (Orcher, 2007). The results from the quantitative data were triangulated with the qualitative data collected to report the findings.

Results indicated that the Daraja Academy excels in three distinct ways to offer 1) quality education for girls demonstrated by positive student-teacher relationships, diversified pedagogy, and extra-curricular activities; 2) gender transformative human rights education through leadership opportunities, a life-skills class called Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope, student advocacy and action; and 3) critical peace education as identified by peer-to-peer conflict management, peace club, and community service. Triangulation of the data also revealed that a broader ecosystem exists that enables students to access their education and engage in transformative action as agents of change. This ecosystem ensures students feel safe and secure, diversity and inclusion practices are prioritized, and democratic and citizenship education is both taught and practiced. This paper concludes with a set of recommendations to address some of the areas of growth participants identified including enhancing social cohesion, increasing familial and community involvement, and integrating training on conflict sensitive education.

Author

• Katie Zanoni, University of San Francisco