Counting Iraq, Syria and Israel amongst their neighbours, schoolchildren and students in Jordan have very different experiences of peace compared to their UK counterparts. Over the past 50 years, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Palestine and Iraq have sought shelter in the country. And it is exceptional among Middle Eastern countries in that, together with Egypt, it has signed a peace treaty with Israel.
Now a pilot research project at the UNESCO Centre for Comparative Education Research in the School of Education, University of Nottingham will study how teachers in the UK and Jordan introduce and teach the concept of peace studies to their pupils. Dr Mohammed Al-Zyoud of the University of Jordan has been awarded a visiting fellowship by the British Academy and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). This will allow him to carry out a comparative pilot study of peace education in Jordanian and British schools.
The study will look at a range of schools — primary and secondary, state and private. Dr Al-Zyoud will interview teachers of all subjects and age groups to find out how the concepts including peace and war, human rights, care of the environment and conflict resolution are discussed and dealt with in the classroom.
Dr Al-Zyoud said: “Peace education is not a stand-alone subject, in the way that maths, history or languages are taught in schools. It’s something that comes through many subjects.
“For example, we’ve spoken to a geography teacher who looks at conflict through the relationships between two different countries. But an English teacher will look at the emotional impact of conflict through war poetry. By exposing students to these different perspectives of conflict, not just the political elements but the economic, historical and social elements, we can encourage a sense of citizenship which is global as well as local.”
By looking at the ways in which these concepts are taught to children from the earliest days of their education, Dr Al-Zyoud hopes to identify the strengths and weaknesses in teaching methods both at home and abroad. He believes that by promoting peace education internationally, teachers can give students an awareness of how their actions impact on others.
His work is already bearing fruit. Two years ago Dr Al-Zyoud instigated a compulsory peace education module to be completed by all students taking PhDs in education at the University of Jordan.
“Human rights, tolerance, the Islamic point of view and multiculturalism all form part of the module,” he said. “We are hoping to construct peace through the educators. That is what the pilot project will build on.”
Researcher Eleanor Brown is also working on the project, interviewing teachers in Nottinghamshire schools. She said: “It’s important for children to have the knowledge that what they do affects other people, whether that’s someone who lives in their local community or someone who lives thousands of miles away. Peace education doesn’t just teach people about the fact of war, it teaches them about conflict of all kinds —large and small scale — and how to resolve them satisfactorily. It fosters a sense of global citizenship which is incredibly valuable”
Dr Al-Zyoud will work in the UK for three months, before returning to Jordan in September to interview teachers there. He has already noticed differences in the way peace education is addressed in the UK and Jordan.
“There is less ethnic diversity in Jordanian schools — the vast majority of the population is Arab,” he said. “But in UK schools, like in Nottingham city, you have a large range of pupils from different ethnic backgrounds. You can be in a classroom talking about difference and tolerance and use examples from the different groups you have in front of you.
“There are also many refugees from Iraq and Palestine, including children coming into the education system. There is an immense value in exposing these pupils to peace education before they return to their homes.
“But there are also similarities. Primary education is taught in a very similar way — with one teacher covering all subjects. This gives us a similar starting point to work from both in the UK and Jordan.”
Though the initial pilot project will last just six months, it is hoped that the research project will be extended to different countries, including Egypt, Israel, Germany, South Africa and Russia. Interviews could also be broadened out to encompass a non-formal element of education, with researchers going into churches, mosques and synagogues to add a religious perspective to the research. Dr Al-Zyoud has already visited the Beth Shalom Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre in Nottinghamshire, and he hopes to meet the Right Reverend Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of Nottingham and President of Catholic peace organisation Pax Christi UK.
Professor W John Morgan, UNESCO Chair-holder and Director of the University’s UNESCO Centre for Comparative Education Research, is mentoring Dr Al-Zyoud.
“This research could lead to changes in teaching and in teachers’ education,” he said. “From the way text books used in classrooms all over the world refer to people of different cultures and backgrounds, to how the teachers themselves are taught. This projects starts with the basics — what people think and do in the classroom — and working from there.”
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is Britain's University of the Year (The Times Higher Awards 2006). It undertakes world-changing research, provides innovative teaching and a student experience of the highest quality. Ranked by Newsweek in the world's Top 75 universities, its academics have won two Nobel Prizes since 2003. The University is an international institution with campuses in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and China.
More information is available from Professor W John Morgan on +44 (0)115 951 4393, john.morgan@nottingham.ac.uk or Tara de Cozar, Internal Communications Manager in the Media and PR Office at The University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 846 8545, tara.decozar@nottingham.ac.uk