Enhancing U.S. teachers' conceptualizations of peace education for the digital age through an international learning experience in Northern Ireland

• In Event: Cultural Connections and Global Perspectives in Teacher Training

Proposal

Rationale/Relevance

Challenges to peace have intensified globally—encompassing wars in Israel-Palestine and Ukraine, nuclear threats, gender and racial violence, and rising inequalities—while in the digital age, misinformation and polarization further stifle dialogue (UNESCO, 2024). These realities highlight peace education’s urgency (Hymel & Darwich, 2018). Despite peace education’s rich history in the U.S. (Stomfay-Stitz, 2008), it is marginalized due to underfunding, governmental criticism, and conflation with global education (Cook, 2008). This contrasts with its recognition in other countries (UNESCO, 2024).

International learning experiences (ILE) have transformative potential for in-service teachers (Cushner, 2018), yet research on their engagement is lacking (Patterson, 2015). This qualitative interpretivist case study examines five U.S. elementary teachers’ participation in an ILE to Northern Ireland focused on peace education initiatives post-Troubles, a period of ethno-political violence. The research question is: How does an ILE influence in-service teachers’ conceptualizations of peace education?

Theoretical Framework

This study uses Bickmore’s (2011) typology to analyze teachers’ evolving peace education conceptualizations before, during, and after the ILE. Bickmore categorizes peace approaches in schools into three levels: peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. Peacekeeping involves authoritarian measures to maintain the status quo, such as discipline, surveillance, and avoiding conflictual dialogue. Peacemaking addresses conflict, fostering empathy, and shared responsibility through discussion, negotiation, and deliberation. Peacebuilding proactively transforms social inequalities, promotes equity, addresses national and global conflicts, and shifts from teacher-centered to student-centered pedagogy, empowering students democratically.

Methodology

Setting/Participants

Participants include five U.S. elementary teachers from a rural Midwest school district: three women and two men with 2 to 21 years of teaching experience, holding degrees from bachelor’s to Ph.D. They occupy diverse positions, including inclusion teacher, ELL specialist, and various grade-level teachers. They all are White and from the state where they teach.
The ILE included lectures by historians, education professors, community members, and government officials; tours of Belfast and Londonderry/Derry; visits to schools and museums; and time for discussion, reflection, and cultural activities.

Data Collection/Analysis

This study involves interviews, observations, and document analysis. Semi-structured interviews included two individual interviews with elicitation tasks focused on life histories and post-trip impressions, and two group interviews debriefing the integration of peace lessons into curriculum. Observations occurred before, during, and after the ILE, including pre- and post-classroom observations, on-site participation notes, and post-trip meetings. Field notes protocols ensured comparable data. Documents included application essays, program evaluations, and post-trip lesson plans. Data were triangulated for cross-teacher comparisons (Small & Calarco, 2022) and inductively coded to identify emerging themes and connections to Bickmore’s (2011) typology (Braun & Clarke, 2012).

Findings

Overcoming fear of conflictual issues

The ILE significantly transformed the teachers' willingness to address conflictual topics in their classrooms. Pre-trip, many were apprehensive to challenge the status quo, even though they recognized the importance of presenting multiple perspectives. For instance, after a lecture on shared education initiatives in Northern Ireland, Pete remarked, “It is scary in the U.S. to address our issues due to book bans,” a sentiment met with nods of agreement by other teachers (Observation, 6/6/23). Ted admitted, “I want to [teach multiple perspectives], but I don’t know how” (Observation, 6/8/23). Samantha shared about being reprimanded for teaching world religions due to parent complaints and was told by administration to provide alternative activities for Holocaust deniers and Islamophobic people (Observation, 6/6/23). Erin highlighted her community’s “us versus them mindset” deeming other perspectives as liberal from the nearby university (Observation, 6/9/23). Post-ILE, the teachers expressed a newfound commitment to allowing students to engage with conflictual issues. Pete concluded, “We can’t continue whitewashing history. We can’t ignore the ugly” (Observation, 6/9/23). Ted emphasized the importance for students to grapple with complexities, noting, “Things aren’t always a fairy tale with a good and bad guy… Let students come to their own decisions” (Ted Interview 2).

Strengthening global awareness

Teachers' commitment to broadening students' global awareness was reinforced through the ILE. Pre-trip, teachers were motivated to help students realize there was a world beyond their community. Erin mentioned, “I’m already brainstorming lessons on forgiveness and conflict resolution with case studies from Northern Ireland” (Erin Interview 1). Similarly, Ted aimed to challenge his students' monocultural perspectives, stating, “I want them to see there is a world outside of our county” (Ted Application). Darcey, with no prior international travel, recognized the need to broaden her worldview to open students’ perspectives (Darcey Application). Post-trip, the teachers remained motivated to incorporate global topics into their curricula. Erin shared a lesson introducing Middle Eastern culture to her students through the book The Sandwich Swap, which stories a U.S. and Jordanian student not getting along due to their food differences. After reading, Erin’s students researched Jordan’s history, culture, and location, and made pita sandwiches to share with school administrators, fostering appreciation of differences rather than conflict (Observation 11/7/23).

Creating peacebuilding spaces

The ILE inspired teachers to expand their focus from individual classrooms to broader partnerships, aiming to build peace and community locally and globally. Samantha noted the ILE prompted her to consider “changing the status quo in the community” (Observation, 6/8/23). Following a lecture on shared education, teachers brainstormed collaborative school partnership ideas, inspired by initiatives between a Maintained Catholic and a Controlled Protestant primary school (Observation, 6/7/23). Samantha suggested facilitating student interactions across elementary schools in the district to foster positive interactions between peers of different socioeconomic backgrounds (Observation, 6/6/23). Ted expressed, “We need to invest in the community; there is more than school that impacts students’ identity.” Darcey shared desires to initiate after-school opportunities and brainstorm collaborative opportunities with the nearby university (Observation, 6/9/23). Additionally, Darcey and Ted later contacted Northern Ireland teachers to explore transnational classroom collaborations (Observation, 11/7/23).

Contributions

This study addresses gaps in U.S. in-service teachers’ understandings of peace education and their takeaways from ILEs. It demonstrates how ILEs can enhance teachers’ conceptualizations of peace education and influence their classroom practices. This is significant as teachers navigate the complexities of the digital age and teach lessons of peace with respectful dialogue and critical analysis of conflicts to transform our world.

Author

• Mariah Pol, Indiana University Bloomington