ANGELA YOUNGMAN reports on a new initiative between the Quakers in Britain and Open University…
Norwich, UK
A unique collaboration between the Quakers in Britain and Open University has resulted in the launch of a new Peace Education course.
Part of the promotional material for the new course. PICTURE: Courtesy of Quakers in Britain.
Isabel Cartwright, peace education manager for Quakers in Britain, told Sight the project had been years in gestation.
“There are concerns that loom large for many people: armed conflict in Sudan, the Middle East, Ukraine; racism and identity-based violence; children’s mental health and wellbeing.”
“There are concerns that loom large for many people: armed conflict in Sudan, the Middle East, Ukraine; racism and identity-based violence; children’s mental health and wellbeing.”
– Isabel Cartwright, peace education manager for Quakers in Britain
“Since the publication of our report ‘Peace at the Heart: A relational approach to education in British schools’ we’ve had more requests for peace education training and are beginning to work more closely with education unions, such as the Education Institute Scotland.
“There’s a lot of concern amongst teachers about the impact of COVID, as well as structural issues such as poverty, and recognition of the need to help children relate well to themselves and each other amidst a whole range of challenges.”
Recognising the need for such education, the Quakers initially trialled an online course with the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. Ongoing research indicated that teachers were seeking help in knowing how to help children develop positive relationships and have the language to explore global issues, conflict and wellbeing.
There was a belief that schools needed to address subjects like nuclear weapons and climate justice, and to encourage learning around empathy, critical thinking, communication and collaboration.
This led the Quakers to work with the Open University to create a course that would have widespread appeal and which drew on work undertaken by a Quaker, Dr Lucy Henning, of Open University, and Professor Hilary Cremin, head of the Faculty of Education at Cambridge University and author of Positive Peace in Schools.
Lucy Henning, of Open University, and Isabel Cartwright, peace education manager for Quakers in Britain, during filming. PICTURE: Courtesy of Quakers in Britain.
Henning said her own teaching experience was a motivating factor.
“Some of my impetus came from teaching a class of six-year-olds who were very clear about racial injustice and its consequences. When I encountered peace education, I realised that children could not only learn about these issues but engage with them in positive ways that would help build peace.”
The result is a free, 12 hour self-study course entitled ‘Principles and Practices of Peace Education’ which is hosted on the Open University’s OpenLearn online learning platform.
The six sessions cover different aspects of peace including how to manage in difficult situations, recognising needs, using empathy as a curriculum tool, approaches to conflict, developing empathy, and teaching controversial issues.
Materials for the new course. PICTURE: Courtesy of Quakers in Britain.
The course also includes videos and interactive elements and is open to anyone, including teacher trainees as well as experienced teachers and staff working with young people within the community. Participants can work through the course at their own pace, and receive a certificate of participation at the end.
“The Open University have been very supportive, receptive and enthusiastic and helped make the course content work online,” Cartwright said.
Henning added: “Peace education can be embedded in day-to-day practices of teaching. This course shows what can be built by people working with children and young people in any capacity.”
The course goes live this month together with a special interactive online workshop enabling people to dip into the course, and an online discussion event involving Professor Hilary Cremin which involved 100 people from around the world.
Both OU and the Quakers believe that the course will open up the potential of peace education to countless children.
“We hope it provides an accessible way for far more teachers, and anyone working with children or young people, to begin a peace education journey,” said Cartwright. It’s aimed to equip them to foster more peaceful classrooms and schools, helping young people become the peacemakers and peace builders we know they can be. There are already over 200 people taking the course and 66 have completed it.”
