Educating for Peace across the lifespan: Examining the intersections of Peace Education and Adult and Continuing Education

• In Event: Peace Education Across the Lifespan: Identity, Agency, and Belonging in Learning Spaces

Proposal

Introduction
UNESCO (2009) states, “Adult learning and education are a valuable investment which brings social benefits by creating more democratic, peaceful, inclusive, productive, healthy and sustainable societies” (p. 3). According to Neustaeter and Senehi (2020) adult education has long been intertwined with the pursuit of human rights, democracy, and social justice. Throughout history, major movements for democratic change and social activism have drawn upon the principles and practices of adult learning to empower communities, raise critical consciousness, and advocate for equitable societies(Neustaeter and Senehi, 2020)Rooted in progressive and liberal values, adult education has often positioned itself as a transformative force aligned with the ideals promoted by global institutions such as the United Nations.
One significant area where these connections are particularly visible is peace education. In 1981, Helena Kekkonen, a Finnish peace and adult educator argued, “ Peace education should be integral to adult education” (Neustaeter and Senehi, 2020, p.331). Adult education shares the common goals of individual and social transformation for social justice with peace education and adult educators are already doing this work around the globe (Turay & English, 2008; Turay 2005). Larry Fish (2000) identified three strands of peace education applicable to adult education. First, education about peace and teaching peace as a subject matter. Learning about human rights, social issues, and violence and overall increased knowledge and awareness of peace related issues. Second education for peace, which means peace as a learning goal with professional education in conflict resolution and management, negotiation, and mediation. Third, peace through education by focusing on “andragogy informed by dialogue, participation, respect, criticality, democracy, relationship, empathy, and reflecting values of social justice (Neustaeter & Senehi, 2020, p. 332). Neustaeter and Senehi (2020) mentioned community mediation and conflict resolution, social justice awareness, and intergroup dialogues for peacebuilding as different iterations of adult learning and peace education.
As a field concerned with promoting nonviolence, conflict resolution, and a culture of peace, peace education shares a natural affinity with the broader goals of adult education. Yet, despite this alignment, peace education has received uneven attention in adult education scholarship. While individual studies and programs exist, there is a need for a more systematic understanding of how peace education has been conceptualized, theorized, and practiced within adult education literature.
This paper aims to address that gap by reviewing scholarship published in leading adult education journals. We explore how peace education has been framed over time, what theoretical frameworks and research questions have guided this work, and what narratives and findings have emerged. To do this, we first offer a brief overview of peace education as a field, its origins, evolution, and key sites of knowledge production. We then reconnect these insights to adult education and present our literature search methodology, which not only structures our review but also reveals patterns of inclusion and omission. Finally, we share our findings and offer a deeper analysis of the selected studies to better understand the state of peace education in adult learning contexts.
Methodology
We utilized a narrative review approach to understand how adult education scholarships frame peace education in the field (Green et al., 2006). A narrative review demonstrates the summary of findings of the articles to highlight a comprehensive overview of the topic (Green et al., 2006; Sukhera, 2022). Our review is guided by four research questions which help us examine how peace education is conceptualized and implemented in adult education. These four questions are 1). What topics and themes are discussed in relation to peace education? 2). How is peace education conceptualized in adult education literature? What theoretical or conceptual frameworks guide the scholarship on peace education in adult education? 3). What methodological approaches are used in the study of peace education within this field? and 4). Which geographical and sociopolitical contexts are represented, and how are they framed?

Findings and Discussion

In our presentation we plan to share detailed results from our analysis. At this stage our analysis is at preliminary stage. Our preliminary findings highlight that adult education is considered an important tool for peace by several authors and researchers (Fetherston & Kelly, 2007; Johnson, 2018). A wide range of theoretical frameworks are used such as appreciative inquiry, victim and perpetrators, transformative learning, central and peripheral beliefs, and Peace and conflict studies education.
Kester (2016) defines peace education as “it focuses on the transformation of various educational methodologies, structures, content, and pedagogy to combat violence in all its form” (p. 60). Additionally, Turay and English (2008) proposed a transformative model of peace education having five key sensitivities such as diversity, participatory learning, globalized perspectives, indigenous knowing and spiritual underpinnings. The articles represented geographically in Europe and North America mostly while a few are from Africa, Middle East, and Asia.

Authors

• Sara Bano, Michigan State University

• Aik Paung Seinn, Michigan State University