Promoting peace and stability in schools: Positive peace education in Kazakhstan

• In Event: Reimagining Positive Peace

Proposal

This paper aims to examine ways in which schools, as key actors in civil society, can promote peace and stability in their communities and beyond. The presentation is part of an ongoing large-scale research project on Positive Peace Education in Kazakhstan, which is being conducted by a team of researchers, policymakers and school teachers, using action research projects in schools to inform curriculum development at the national level.

Over its 33 years of Independence, Kazakhstan has followed a multivector policy of peaceful relations with its powerful neighbours (Vanderhill et al., 2020). This trajectory has been shaped by the state's geographical position as well as the nation’s cultural and historical traditions, and educational legacies (Silova & Niyozov, 2020; Silova, 2005), which emphasise ethnic diversity, tolerance, and the significance of communication (McLaughlin et al., 2021). These values help create a basis for bringing positive peace principles into school practices.

This paper draws primarily on data from 20 action research projects designed and implemented by 50 teachers in 10 schools across Kazakhstan, supplemented by observations from school visits by the research team members, teacher reflection notes, and post-project interviews with teachers. Teachers’ projects were designed using Galtung's (1969) concept of Positive Peace and Cremin and Bevington’s (2017) Positive Peace Matrix. Focusing on different elements of peace - from inner to ecological peace, the action research projects, the action research projects covered topics ranging from inner peace to ecological peace, with most projects focusing on ways of enhancing students’ capabilities to form positive relations and create communities where everyone is included, respected, and heard.

The outcomes of teachers’ projects demonstrate how schools as hubs of civil society can serve as sites for constructively promoting peace and stability, integrating culturally relevant positive peace education within and beyond their specific institutional contexts. Teachers reported that integrating peace education in everyday classrooms not only encouraged more inclusive learning environments but also motivated students to see themselves as active agents of the school community.

References

Cremin, H., & Bevington, T. (2017). Positive peace in schools : tackling conflict and creating a culture of peace in the classroom. Routledge.

McLaughlin, C., Winter, L., Fimyar, O., & Yakavets, N. (2021). Reforming a whole school
system: The case of Kazakhstan. In C. McLaughlin & A. Ruby (Eds.), Implementing
educational reform: Cases and challenges (pp. 67–90). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108864800.005

Silova, I. (2005b). Traveling Policies: Hijacked in Central Asia. European Educational Research Journal, 4(1), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2005.4.1.5

Silova, I., & Niyozov, S. (2020). Globalization on the Margins (2nd Edition). IAP.

Vanderhill R., Joireman, S., & Tulepbayeva, R. (2020). Between the bear and the dragon:
Multivectorism in Kazakhstan as a model strategy for secondary powers. International Affairs, 96(4), 975-993. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaa061

Authors

• Lynne Parmenter, University of Canterbury

• Assylzhan Ospanbek, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

• Assemgul Bukutova

• Aizat Arystanbek

• Nuraiym Seitova, Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan

• Gulbagira Toleu, Nazarbayev University; Nazarbayev Intellectual schools