Education for Peace in Northern Ireland and the USA

Overview & Synopsis

Reviewed here are approaches to peacebuilding citizenship education in Northern Ireland and the USA, where social education has been responding to intergroup and structural violence. Strategies for peacebuilding have been developed and implemented in response to societal conflicts, government mandates, and available funding. Government support for peace initiatives in Northern Ireland is greater than in the USA, although they both are emphasizing the importance of citizenship education. In recognition of the pivotal position they have as model peacebuilders while educating children, this paper considers teachers' own citizenship training and experiences. Recommendations for teacher preparation and instructional guidelines follow the review of peace-oriented social education, as well as research on training educators and their students for proactive citizenship and democracy in contexts of multifaceted violence.