GENERAL ARTICLES

 

Towards a model for incorporating peace education in South African Higher Education

 

 

N. D. Ndwandwe

Department Of Educational Foundation University of South Africa Pretoria, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7149-2397

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Peace education is the basis for global peace and a prerequisite for attaining sustainable development and global goals. Considering the widespread physical and structural violence and destructive protests across South African higher education, it is crucial to embrace peace education to deal with violence in all its forms. This article explores the need for peace education in the South African higher education curriculum. A qualitative critical review of the literature reveals widespread gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, destructive student protests at and the militarisation of universities through military force to quell violent student protests nationwide in South Africa. Lack of peace skills indicates that both lecturers, university management and students are in need peace education. Peace education must be incorporated in South African higher education. As part of a model for it, this article recommends the establishment of peace as a stand-alone subject, extra-curricular activities for peace and storytelling to deliver peace education and inculcate a culture of peace in both educators and students. More so, there is a need to embrace the pedagogy of peace education and establish institutes for peace and conflict resolution at every higher education institution in South Africa.

Keywords: peace, violence, peace education, needs assessment, higher education

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Violence is one of the most noticeable challenges in the world today (Wenzel, Kienzler, and Wollmann 2015). Violence manifests in wars, organised crime, terrorism, oppression and exploitation (Fraga 2016; Khokhar 2017). Violence has not spared institutions of higher education worldwide where acts of violence are attributed to poverty, inequality, increased tuition fees, injustice, and sexual exploitation (Fomunyam 2017).

In Africa, student violence and protests during the 1940s concurred with the rise of nationalism (Fomunyam 2017). Students challenged the racism, imperialism, and social injustice of colonialism and insisted on the decolonisation of African education. Fomunyam (2017) argues that colonialism instilled a culture of violence amongst students who, in the post-independence period, were both the perpetrators and victims of violence. In South Africa, violence recently erupted at several universities, including the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Cape Town (Malabela 2017). Badat (2016) opines that the violent student protests, which were characterised by not only the burning of buildings and destruction of property, but also the killing of foreign nationals, reflected a xenophobic South African society. Another cause for student protests was demands for the scrapping of tuition fees (Fomunyam 2017) and the transformation of South African education (Tj0nneland 2017); Reinders (2019) holds that during the massive nationwide student protests between 2015 and 2017, the managements of several universities called in military and security forces. Gukurume (2017) contends that the deployment of armed forces transformed campuses into police camps, state camps, and surveillance sites. The use of the military in reaction to student demands revealed that higher education institutions had no culture of peaceful conflict resolution and grievance management. According to Chinyere (2013), such arrogant military attitudes and behaviours resulted in the use of guns at higher learning institutions.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is also a significant challenge at many institutions of higher learning in South Africa (Boonzaier 2017). According to Mutinta (2022), the violent campus protests in 2016, 2019 and 2020 were, in fact, fanned by gender-based violence. Nkosi (2018) and Mutinta (2022) refer to high numbers of sexual-violence and rape cases at 15 South African universities between 2011 and 2014 in addition to the cases of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation which remain under- or unreported (Phipps et al. 2018; Beyene et al. 2019). All the above signals the urgent need for gender equality, peace, and justice in higher education.

To address these issues the transformational power of peace education should not be underestimated (Nkang and Uwah 2021). Peace entails social stability and security, as well as the ability to anticipate, manage and resolve conflict without resorting to violence (Beyene et al. 2019). Peace is the absence of direct and structural violence. Thus, John (2018a) advocates peace education to promote a culture of peace, equality and justice in post-apartheid South Africa. Peace education communicates the knowledge and develops the skills to bring about the transformation of higher education (Chinyere 2013). However, Oyeshola, Lawal, and Adedoyin (2022) affirm that undergraduate and post-graduate courses on peace education and pedagogical approaches to peace education are a rare phenomenon. According to (John 2018b) this remains a cause of concern in South Africa higher education. Research has focused on the role of primary and secondary schools in implementing peace education (Kester et al. 2022). Scant attention has been paid to the introduction of peace education at universities, particularly South African universities.

This article seeks to address the gap in knowledge by assessing the need for peace education at South African universities. It provides a critical analysis of the literature on peace education and illustrates how it can be incorporated into the curriculum of South African universities to address campus violence. It finally proposes a model or strategy for incorporating peace education in South African higher education. In view of this, this article does a needs assessment for incorporating peace education in the South African higher education curriculum.

 

METHODOLOGY

A qualitative research design was adopted for the needs assessment. This research design enabled the researcher to conduct a document analysis of existing literature regarding the concept of peace education. A document analysis refers to the evaluation of research data in secondary sources such as textbooks, magazines, and internet documents (Mey 2022). Adom et al. (2016) submit that a document analysis involves the extensive reading of available documents to get a better understanding of a particular field. An interpretive document analysis involved a review of written materials on constructivism to establish the relevance of peace education research. According to Adom et al. (2016), constructivism describes the uniqueness of features while providing a critical discussion of how philosophical approaches gain popularity in the field of research. It is a particularly suitable research design for a document analysis and literature review on the need assessment of peace education. It helped to assess the need for incorporating peace education in higher education in South Africa. The next section discusses the integrative theory of peace as an anchor to the study.

 

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: THE INTEGRATIVE THEORY OF PEACE

The integrative theory of peace is based on the concept of peace. This theory entails that any state of being such as peace, is the outcome of human cognitive, emotive, and conative capacities that shape worldviews (Danesh 2006). In accordance with a peace-based worldview, elements of the culture of peace such as freedom and human rights, assume a unique character. The theory comprises four sub-theories: 1) peace as a psycho-social, moral, spiritual, and political condition; 2) peace as the primary expression of a unity-based worldview; 3) a unity-based worldview as a prerequisite for a culture of peace and healing; and 4) peace as comprehensive lifelong education. The significance of this theory is that it contributes to the formulation of people's world views, especially through the education function, which provides the necessary framework for life processes (Danesh 2006). It is imperative to note that human consciousness is shaped by a certain worldview. A worldview, therefore, is an essential aspect of individual and social development. The theory also holds that, in all societies, worldviews are influenced by education. Ghanta (2021) holds that higher education is an advanced belt of education through which peace education can be dispensed to people around the globe. Higher education institutions such a university can teach individuals not only non-violent methods to resolve conflict, but also strategies for peaceful living (Pherali 2022). Therefore, the incorporation of peace education in higher education to equip society with the basic skills, knowledge, and attitudes conducive to peace, forms the basis of this article.

 

GLOBAL FRAMEWORKS FOR PEACE AND PEACE EDUCATION

The United Nations and its sister organisation UNESCO were established to promote peace and harmonious co-existence, along with justice and equity for all (Amin, Kamran, and Altaf 2020; Oueijan 2018). However, war, terrorism and violent conflict continue to undermine socioeconomic freedom and fundamental human rights (Khokhar 2017). Consequently, peace education is crucial for restoring national, regional, and global peace.

The United Nations has issued numerous declarations on the need for peace education (Page 2008; Brigg 2020). These include the Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy, and the Framework for Teacher Education. UNESCO declared 21 September as the International Day of Peace Since the start of the 20^th century, peace education programmes across the world have centered on international understanding; nuclearism; environmental responsibility; non-violence; communication skills; democracy; human rights; diversity; tolerance; gender equality; and co-existence (Smoker and Groff 1996; McLeod and O'Reilly 2019). Such programmes have been implemented in various countries at different educational levels in line with the above international frameworks for the promotion of peace and an abundance of literature on peace education has been published. Various kinds of research are conducted on a global scale to promote peace studies and ensure the implementation of peace education in schools, but scant attention has been given to peace education in institutions of higher learning.

 

THE CONCEPTS OF PEACE AND PEACE EDUCATION

There is no universal definition of the concept of peace. Peace has been defined in both positive and negative terms: negative peace refers to the absence of war and positive peace involves a tranquil state of mind marked by harmony, unity, justice and equality (Mukerji 2021). Olivius and Akebo (2021) define peace as stability and security, as well as the ability of society to anticipate, manage and resolve conflicts without violence. Davenport, Melander, and Regan (2018) finds the general definition of peace as the absence of war unsatisfactory. Jarstad et al. (2019) state that the meaning of peace is rarely analytically clear. Nevertheless, in this study, peace is understood as the absence of direct or physical and structural violence or conflict amongst social groups at higher education institutions in particular.

Peace education is multidimensional and is comprised of various themes, which its forms has evolved in different part of the world. Among the various facet are disarmament education, human rights, global citizenship education, conflict resolution, environmental education, and multicultural education. Each of this facet focuses on a problem of direct or indirect violence as well as normative set of skills and value-orientation that its aims to develop (Navarro-Castro and Nario-Galace 2010). In general, Peace education is the transmission of knowledge about peace, the requirements for peace, the obstacles to peace, and the possibility of concluding and maintaining peace (Biswas 2018). Ojha (2018) defines peace education from a behavioural perspective and highlights that peace involves the absence of brutality and the nurturing of the values of impartiality, non-violence, respect for and devotion to mankind, which usually leads to peaceful socialisation. Nkang and Uwah (2021) define peace education as acquiring the values, knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, and skills to co-habit in harmony with oneself, with others, and with the environment. It is a social science that identifies and analyses violent and non-violent behaviours to realise some desirable human condition (Jeong 2017). From the above definitions, it is evident that peace education is about the transfer of knowledge and skills to promote peace and harmony in oneself and in society. These definitions help to understand the concepts of peace and peace education.

The history of peace education can be traced back to the 1970s. Since then, it has spread to various countries all over the world (Pineda, Celis, and Rangel 2019). Peace education has helped to identify the causes and nature of violent conflict and behaviour (Harber 2018). Nkang and Uwah (2021) remind us that many empirical studies on peace education and conflict resolution have been conducted worldwide. Bajaj and Hantzopulos (2016) maintain that peace education reduces school violence and promotes justice, democracy, citizenship, and patriotism.

Countless studies about the concept of peace and peace education have been conducted. For example, McLeod and O'Reilly (2019) explored the criticality of peace studies from a feminist perspective and demonstrate ways in which the study of peace benefits women. Ashraf and Huma (2019) assessed the professional development requirements for teachers in elementary schools and their readiness to teach peace. Zainal, Yunus, and Jalil (2020) explored peace education in Islamic religions.

All the studies mentioned above focused on peace education in elementary and secondary education only. No study has determined the needs of higher learning institutions to promote peace education, especially in South Africa.

 

ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN PEACE BUILDING

Mishra (2021) suggests that schools and universities present an opportune starting point to educate society about peace. It means that higher education can play a pivotal role in peace building. According to Alemu (2018), higher education refers to organised learning and training activities in specialised tertiary institutions, including conventional universities. Assie-Lumumba (2005) affirms that higher education covers all sorts of professional education, but not all possible forms of higher education.

It is crucial to acknowledge that conflict is bound to occur in higher education institutions because organisational conflict is common (Arop, Owan, and Akan 2018). If conflict is inevitable, peace education, as a means to manage it, is sorely needed. Higher education can play a significant role in peace building (Alemu 2018). Universities can be a place where peace is taught in words and in practice. Jeong (2017) submits that universities prepare students for life and for the professional world. What is taught at university should be translated into practice to be meaningful. Peace education will enable university students to evaluate the causes and nature of violence; discrimination; social oppression; and marginalisation and will help them to be better leaders (Alemu 2018; Brigg 2020).

Chinyere (2013) argues that, globally, education is considered life-transforming because it empowers recipients to contribute to society. Higher education aims to inculcate the proper values, attitudes, behaviours, and knowledge so that individuals become self-reliant and useful to society. It also refines individuals' intellectual capacity to appreciate their internal and external environments (Chinyere 2013). In addition, higher education institutions not only broaden the individual's physical and intellectual capacities, but also encourage community service and national and cross-national interaction for sustainable development.

Mukerji (2021) posits that peace education entails education for peace capacity. Peace education enables students in higher education to acquire knowledge about peace-making strategies to defuse conflict and transform society. Institutions of higher education are not only the providers of peace knowledge and skills, but also agents of peace socialisation (Alemu 2018). It is crucial to acknowledge the role of higher education institutions in promoting and upholding peace education and the practice of peace in society. Considering the scourge of violence in all its forms in South Africa and particularly in higher educational institutions, peace education can have a positive effect. Higher education can significantly promote peace skills, knowledge and attitude, which are crucial for national development.

Nkang and Uwah (2021) submit that many universities and other higher learning institutions worldwide have shown interest in peace education. Scholars in various disciplines campaign for the inclusion of peace education and conflict resolution in higher education (Nwaubani and Okafor 2015; Sulaiman 2016; Akande, Kate, and Rukuni 2021). Thus, incorporating peace education in higher learning and educators' training is crucial for promoting peace in society.

The next section is a discussion of the basic knowledge, attitude and skills that are acquired through peace education.

 

BASIC KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND SKILLS FOR PEACE EDUCATION

Studies show that the attitudes and behaviours displayed in higher education have perpetuated violence in many ways. According to Agekameh (2001), a great deal of intimidation, cultism, harassment, violent fights, and destruction occurs in higher learning institutions across Africa. Chinyere (2013) opines that students brandishing guns in an orgy of violence against fellow students have turned higher educational institutions into theatres of war. Such attitudes and behaviour also manifest in the form of armed robberies, arson, killing, cultism, prostitution, and vandalism (Okeke and Emenalo 2008).

Nevertheless, higher education institutions are responsible for teaching attitudes of tolerance; social cohesion; cultural understanding; inclusion; and diversity. It illustrates the need for peace education to propagate and inculcate societal values of peace in higher education by teaching students about peace building inside and outside classrooms (Wells 2003). If global peace is to be accomplished, peace education has to be integrated into higher education. Peace education should be implemented through mechanisms compatible with national societal values and norms to be effective and acceptable. Mechanisms to promote peace building should involve classroom teaching and extra-curricular activities to restore peace at higher educational institutions.

Figure 1 shows the basic skills, knowledge and attitudes fostering peace in higher education as themes in the curriculum.

The basic skills, knowledge and attitudes in the table should be embraced by university lecturers and students to foster positive peace in higher education. According to Chinyere (2013), the basic skills, attitudes and knowledge of peace can empower people to embrace peace everywhere. Nkang and Uwah (2021) argue that through peace education, individuals can learn peace-making strategies to defuse conflict and contribute towards social transformation. Consequently, the incorporation of peace in higher education curricula is a prerequisite for peace and peace education.

 

STRATEGIES OF INCORPORATING PEACE EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

According to Bretherton, Western and Zbar (2002), educators and researchers all over the world differ about whether peace education should be a stand-alone subject or merged in the existing curriculum. Zainal et al. (2020) assert that the educational system should be transformed to incorporate peace education. Empirical studies propose various methods of incorporating peace education into the higher education curriculum.

Enaigbe and Igbinoghene (2016) suggest that collaborative and interactive learning amongst teachers could be a strategy to incorporate peace education in schools. The significance of this strategy is that it enables teachers to include their personalities in applying and teaching peace. This means that peace education should start with educators to be effective. The fact that the management of many universities, particularly in South Africa, had called in military and security forces to respond to student protests (Gukurume 2017), demonstrates that peace education should start with management and lecturers, and trickle down to students. University management and lecturers should change their behaviour before they apply collaborative and interactive learning as a strategy to deliver peaceful education to students.

Other scholars have proposed various methods to incorporate peace education, including establishing a new curriculum, rewriting school textbooks, developing structural learning materials, and training teachers in a peace education capacity (Zainal et al. 2020). This implies that the whole educational curriculum be reviewed in consultation with students, educators, and local communities. Bretherton et al. (2002) suggest either a review of the curriculum to incorporate peace education in all educational programmes or the introduction of peace as an examinable subject. This emphasises the significance of peace education as a cornerstone of global peace. Students need to receive peace education so that they can serve as peace champions when they enter the corporate world. Falade, Akinola and Adejubee (2009) advocate the conventional teaching methods of memorisation, indoctrination and rote learning to incorporate peace education in higher education. This can go a long way to incorporate peace in higher education.

Whatever the method, the views of various stakeholders should be considered. These include students who called for the decolonisation of the curriculum. Their input is of the utmost importance. To ensure the successful integration of peace in any higher education curriculum, the circumstances and context into which peace education is to be incorporated, should be considered.

Scholars agree that there is no one-size-fits-all model (Alemu 2018). This means that for a model to work effectively, it should consider the local context. Moreover, incorporating peace education in the curriculum should also include a plan to capacitate teachers and equip them with skills and knowledge to deliver peace education. This is crucial considering the fact that university management called in the military to quell student protests on campus (Gillespie 2017; Reinders 2019). Many educational institutions have adopted either the stand-alone module approach or the integrative approach to incorporate peace education (Oueijan 2018). Each approach has its strength and weaknesses.

Peace education as a stand-alone module

Peace education is a stand-alone subject or independent module and can be mandatory for all students regardless of their discipline (Bretherton et al. 2002; Harris and Morrison 2013). Although it cannot be classified as a social science discipline, it can be a requirement for the partial fulfilment of any programme at South African universities. This means that bachelor, master's and doctoral students may be required to pass the peace subject as part of their academic programme.

Integration of peace education in all modules

Peace education can also be incorporated according to the integrated approach. According to Bretherton et al. (2002, 2), this could be achieved by spreading peace education themes and principles across the curriculum. Oueijan (2018) also believes that peace education should be incorporated in the curricula of all subjects. Harris and Morrison (2013) agree that the integration of peace education in the curriculum of subjects or modules is a simple and easy way to promote peace in schools, colleges and universities. This will achieve peace outcomes and will turn students into ambassadors of peace when they graduate and enter the corporate world. Moreover, learners who have not been introduced to peace education at school, would be exposed to it at university (Oueijan 2018). Through the integration approach, creative lecturers can infuse peace education in their daily lessons with the approval of their heads of department or university authority (Harris and Morrison 2013). Furthermore, Rasool and Yousuf (2014) affirm that the university has the responsibility to develop teachers' abilities, knowledge, and skills so that they can integrate peace education into lesson plans.

Through extra-curricular activities for peace

The curriculum needs to include extra-curricular activities for peace. According to Das and Das (2014, 332), co-scholastic activities can play a significant role in peace education by cultivating peace values in students. Extra-curricular activities can include sport for peace, public events for peace, mass public lectures, and festivals and multi-cultural dances for peace (Morogo 2022). Such events can unite South Africans and inculcate a culture of peace. In the case of sport events, it should not be about winning, but about tolerance and embracing diversity. Educators should also participate in such extra-curricular activities.

Pedagogy for peace / Methodological aspects

The pedagogical issues of peace education should also be addressed because how we teach peace education is more important than what we teach (Millican et al. 2021). Falade, Adeyemi and Olowo (2011) caution that the pedagogical methods commonly used in secondary schools these days are inappropriate for inculcating a culture of peace in leaners. Peace education should be exciting. Therefore, it is imperative that the teaching methods support the learning aims of peace education. The latest learning tools should be employed to deliver the subject of peace in higher education. This can include short videos showing the impact of conflict in various countries or sharing the inspirational stories of champions of peace such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. Information and communication technologies tools can also help students to understand the subject of peace.

Sampere (2011) and Sridevi (2021) suggest several participatory peace education methods such as:

• Cooperative learning · Inquiry-based learning and

• Group discussion teaching

• Peer teaching · Songs

• Role-play • Poetry

• Storytelling • Case studies

• Dialogues • Drama

• Service learning • Seminars, workshops, and debate

• Experiential teaching

The establishment of peace-and-conflict resolution centres

Institutes or centres of peace and conflict resolution have to be established at universities. For example, a Sri Lankan higher education commission established a peace education institute to train teachers in peace building (Amin et al. 2020). Students who need to pursue further peace studies can also be accommodated here. Peace education should also be considered as a profession. Establishing such centres can promote peace in South African higher education.

Peace education in teacher training in higher education.

Peace education should be integrated into pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes to build peace capacity (Sufi, Kamaran, and Altaf 2020). Countless scholars have advocated peace education in schools to promote conflict resolution (Ubogu 2016; Akande et al. 2021). Teachers' capacity has to be developed if they are to be effective vehicles of peace education in higher education. Mishra (2011) finds that teachers' behaviour and attitude are essential for peaceful classroom education. Peace should also be incorporated into educators' training and capacity development so that they can deliver peace education effectively to learners in higher learning institutions.

Alemu (2018) submits that many institutions of higher education worldwide have developed a strong interest in peace education as a mechanism for conflict resolution. Brock-Utne claims that peace education is a controversial concept that cannot be addressed in a scholarly manner without political interpretations. Alemu (2018) asserts that scholars from various disciplines and many influential politicians the world over agree on the significance of peace education. Peace education helps to identify and analyse violent and non-violent behaviour and offers the mechanisms to address conflict for a desirable human condition (Jeong 2017).

Integrating peace education into teacher training is a prerequisite for teacher efficacy in delivering peace education (Msila 2011; Okeke 2018). Alemu (2018) affirms that training teachers to integrate peace education into their classrooms can be an initial step towards peace education in higher education. It has been noted that the concept of peace education is absent in many curriculums. Capacitating teachers in peace education should therefore be included in the curriculum. Training can improve teachers' teaching methods and can eliminate methods that encourage structural violence (Rohrs 1983). Zainal et al. (2020) finds that integrating peace education into training improves the knowledge of peace. Nkang and Uwah (2021) maintain that training educators in peace education is a step towards integrating peace education into the education curriculum.

 

BENEFITS OF INCORPORATING PEACE EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Peace education has numerous benefits. Ofojebe (2014) is of the opinion that peace education can contribute to the attainment of a lasting culture of peace. In a study investigating teachers' perceptions of integrating peace education, Okeke (2018) maintains that peace education can shape students' behaviour and attitudes. Alemu (2018) submits that the significance of peace education is undeniable as it promotes a culture of peaceful relationships in a just society.

Incorporating peace education in learning institutions and notably in institutions of higher education is meaningful in South Africa (Msila 2011). Like many former African colonies, South Africa had its share of violence during apartheid, which still affects the current generation. The xenophobic attacks on and killing of foreign nationals in South Africa also justify the need for peace education. Nevertheless, peace education is not the focus of South Africa's national curriculum. Msila (2011) highlights that many scholars call for the transformation of South African education to encourage peace. Therefore, a study on the need for incorporating peace education in the South African higher education curriculum is required.

Peace education is a prerequisite for sustainable development as embodied in concepts such as sustainable resource utilisation, sustainable ecological management, disarmament, and environmentalism, amongst other things (Galtung 1982; Okeke 2018; Alemu 2018). Galtung (1982) asserts that the depletion of raw materials, the pollution of the environment, and population pressure are the main causes of violence and conflict.

In light of the above, Alemu (2018) and Brigg (2020) concur that peace education enables students in higher education to evaluate the causes and the nature of violence such as discrimination, social oppression, and marginalisation. On top of that, peace education can help them to be better leaders. Peace education can also help to eradicate the causes of conflict and violent societal relationships. Ssenkumba (2010) emphasises that integrating peace education in teacher training will lead to a culture of peace in schools, universities, and society at large.

Finally, this study would like to propose a model for incorporating peace education in higher education. The model is outlined in Figure 2.

 

A PROPOSED MODEL FOR INCORPORATING PEACE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION

After a careful analysis of literature, a peace education model is proposed.

The inclusion of peace education in higher education is suggested as a peace strategy. This model demonstrates that peace education is needed to put an end to the culture of campus and gender violence plaguing higher education. The model proposes two approaches to the incorporation of peace education in higher education: an integrated approach or a stand-alone module. If peace education is to be a stand-alone module, it will need a syllabus like any other module. If it is to be integrated into existing modules, peace education will be a cross-curricular issue. Various themes of peace education will have to form part of all modules. The model also proposes different pedagogies and strategies to immerse students in the messages of peace and transform them into peaceful citizens. The study also proposes that peace education be imparted by means of scholastic activities. This method can be used as an alternative or a supplement to what has already been taught and can be an important vehicle for cultivating peace values. Since teaching is regarded as the mother of all professions, the model also shows that peace education should be integrated into pre-service and in-service teachers training programmes and in educators' training curriculums to boost their peace education capacity. Training can improve their teaching methods because it enables them to eliminate methods that encourage structural violence. Finally, the model recommends the involvement of multiple stakeholders to end the cycle of violence in higher education.

 

CONCLUSION

Peace education needs to be implemented in South African higher education. It is about changing university staffs and students' mindset and honing their skills. Peace education is a matter of promoting human rights, a culture of peace, environmentalism, and disarmament. Incorporating peace education into the higher education curriculum can promote global peace and contribute to sustainable development. According to its model for incorporating peace education into the higher education curriculum, this article recommends the establishment of peace as a stand-alone subject, extra-curricular peace activities, and storytelling to deliver peace education and inculcate both educators and students at South African institutions of higher education with a culture of peace. The pedagogy for peace education has to be embraced and institutes for peace and conflict resolution need to be established at every higher educational institution across South Africa. It is imperative that the methods be applied to support the learning aims related to the knowledge, skills and attitudes of peace education.

 

DECLARATION OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The author declares no conflict of interest regarding this article.

 

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