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Education

Developing Frameworks for Global Peace Education

Education shapes how future generations understand and pursue peace. Yet peace education remains fragmented—lacking the conceptual foundations that could unite diverse approaches into coherent curricula. The Institute for Global Peacecraft is developing frameworks to address this foundational gap.

Our Educational Vision

We're working toward comprehensive curriculum frameworks that could provide the conceptual architecture for peace education globally. These frameworks aim to:

  • Establish clear learning progressions based on our developing sentience-based ontology

  • Create assessment criteria aligned with genuine peace competencies

  • Provide guidance for adapting content to diverse cultural and educational contexts

  • Support educator development through theoretical grounding

This work positions IGP to contribute to international educational initiatives, offering the theoretical foundations that major educational bodies need when designing peace education programs.

Group of graduates celebrating outdoors at sunset, tossing caps into the air.

Field Testing

A bulletin board with artwork and drawings surrounding the message 'NO VIOLENCIA' written in large green letters.

In Fracción Milpillas, Mexico, we conducted an initial pilot program to explore how theoretical frameworks translate into educational practice. This community—where families depend on waste-picking and children face significant educational challenges—provided crucial insights into peace education in marginalized contexts.

Working with local partner Ensamblando Vidas A.C., we implemented workshop sessions with children aged 7-13, introducing concepts from our developing framework including:

  • Recognition of sentience and subjective experience

  • Understanding rights and mutual respect

  • Communication as conflict prevention

  • Non-violent approaches to disagreement

 
A group of children and an adult sitting on the floor in a classroom, working on papers and colored pencils, with chairs, boxes, and a green wall with a question mark poster in the background.
Children and adults participating in a classroom activity, holding large cardboard signs with handwritten messages in Spanish. The classroom has colorful decorations and a wall mural with a tree and posters.
Handwritten list on grid paper titled 'ACUERDOS de convivencia' with eight rules for behavior, written in pink and purple ink.
Children working together on assembling a puzzle on the floor in a classroom setting.
School bulletin board decorated with paper castle drawings, sticky notes, and handwritten messages about experiences and feelings, mounted on a wall painted with a large apple design.
Group of children and a woman sitting on the floor, working on a puzzle together indoors with bookshelves and chairs in the background.
Children watching a cartoon projected on a wall in a room with an open door revealing parked cars outside.
A hand-drawn diagram with five orange speech bubbles on a piece of paper attached to a wall. Each speech bubble contains handwritten words in Spanish: 'Eres super,' 'Eres inteligente,' 'Eres graciosa,' 'Eres cool,' and 'Eres creativo.' A pink sticky
Children and an adult sitting and drawing at a table, with various colored pencils and paper, in a room with light-colored tile floor and a bright green wall with black apple-shaped design.
Two children are sitting on the floor working on coloring and drawing. One girl with a pink sweatshirt and black hair tied back is coloring a picture of a castle and a dome. Various colored markers are scattered around them, and there are posters wit
Young woman giving presentation to a group of students in a classroom with a whiteboard and laptops.
A handwritten poster on a wall titled "Acuerdos de Convivencia" with a list of rules including respecting teachers and classmates, being punctual, completing tasks, and speaking truthfully, decorated with small star stickers.

Field Observations:

The pilot revealed both the potential and challenges of peace education in communities where violence is normalized. Children demonstrated capacity to engage with peace concepts while showing how deeply violent patterns are embedded in daily interactions. These insights inform our ongoing framework development, particularly regarding:

  • The need for sustained engagement beyond isolated interventions

  • The importance of addressing family and community contexts

  • The challenge of moving from conceptual understanding to behavioral change

  • The critical gap between knowing "violence is wrong" and having practical alternatives

Field Research Report

  • Poster titled 'The PACS Institute Approach' showing various group activities and a display board with drawings opposing violence, promoting a strategy to prevent school violence in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

    Lessons from Fracción Milpillas: Peace Education Pilot Program

    Pilot completed February 2018

    Our pilot program in Mexico provided crucial insights into how theory translates into practice. This technical report examines: how children in violence-affected communities engage with peace concepts; the gap between conceptual understanding and behavioral change; and implications for curriculum development.

    Request Technical Report

Educational Framework Development

Our current work focuses on translating theoretical foundations into educational architecture.

  • A technical drawing illustrating a geometric projection with interconnected lines, points, and labeled components, featuring a 3D rectangular prism at the center.

    Curriculum Design Research

    Examining how sentience-based concepts can structure learning progressions across different educational levels and cultural contexts.

  • Computer screen displaying analytics dashboards with bar graphs, line charts, and data metrics about user engagement, page load, bounce rate, sessions, and session length.

    Assessment Methodology

    Developing approaches to evaluate genuine peace competencies rather than just knowledge retention.

  • A man in a suit is talking on a cellphone in front of a wall decorated with a large circular display of numerous small international flags.

    Educator Preparation

    Identifying the theoretical grounding and practical skills educators need to facilitate transformative peace learning.

  • View of Earth from space at night, showing city lights across continents, with a green aurora near the horizon and stars in the background.

    Cultural Adaptation

    Understanding how universal principles can be expressed through locally relevant pedagogies and content.

Positioning for Global Impact

IGP's educational work aims to provide what the field currently lacks: coherent theoretical foundations that could inform peace education at scale.

By developing these frameworks now, we're preparing to contribute meaningfully when international bodies seek to strengthen peace education globally.

Multiple colorful flags from different countries hanging on strings above a street, with a blue sky background.

Future Directions

As we continue developing our educational frameworks, we seek engagement with:

  • Educational researchers studying peace pedagogy

  • Organizations implementing peace education programs

  • Policymakers shaping educational priorities

  • International bodies coordinating global educational initiatives

Connect With Our Education Initiative

For those interested in the intersection of peace theory and educational practice, we welcome dialogue about framework development and potential collaboration.

Contact: education@globalpeacecraft.org

A group of people attending an art discussion or presentation in a gallery with colorful abstract artwork on the walls.