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Peace Education and Peace Culture in a Philippine Schools Division

Alicia D. Sapao*, Darwin Don M. Dacles

Pansindaramuan: Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Studies, Nueva Vizcaya State University Bambang Campus, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

Abstract: Utilizing a combination of quantitative – qualitative research approaches, this study gathered information on the underlying structural and socio-cultural factors in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya that build peace as well as how schools promote some factors that build peace culture and the challenges they encounter in promoting peace education. Findings of the study revealed that generally, the school administrators, teachers and student leaders dispensed their power based on mutual agreements and they followed the democratic type. There was free flow of information in the school and rules and regulations were treated as flexible. Teaching styles were perceived to be innovative and student-centered. Learning gains are creative, supervised and inclusive. School – community partnerships through the Homeroom Parents – Teachers’ Association (HPTA) are sustained, empowering and treated as major partner in the holistic education of the learners. The Division greatly promotes peace education through curriculum integration, instructional contents, pedagogies, instructional materials used, and initiatives in extra and co-curricular activities, community extension, school policies and rules, plan and program and peace linkages. However, based on document scanning and analysis, areas that need to be enhanced were seen in establishing greater articulation of peace education in teacher pedagogies, instructional materials, community extension and linkages. Peace plan and program must be made more specific and concrete. Forging stronger partnerships between the school and private, governmental, and non-governmental organizations were seen as vital in sustaining peace education. The proposed Peace Education Action Plan which is aimed to enhance the peace education program in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya was seen as relevant since they are largely based on the findings of this study.

Keywords: community extension services, initiatives in extra and co-curricular activities, peace pedagogies, peace plan and program, peace linkages and school policies and rules

Received November 05, 2021; Revised December 08, 2021; Accepted December 16, 2021

Citation: Alicia D. Sapao, Darwin Don M. Dacles, Peace Education and Peace Culture in a Philippine Schools Division. American Journal of Educational Research, 9 (12). 730-745. January 2021. doi:10.12691/education-9-12-6

1. Introduction

The history of the world has numerous narratives of suicide, genocide, civil and global wars, social conflict, ecological depreciation, selfish rulers and those who work for world domination. So too is it abundant with stories of selfless rulers like the great Hindu teachers of ahimsa (non-violence) and dharma (execution of one’s duties), sacrifice, movers of good manners and right conduct, workers of non-violence and peace prize winners. The world saw both good and bad people, a thriving environment and an imbalanced ecology.

The only habitable planet for humankind is in crisis as [1] elucidate, “planet earth and her peoples are in crisis. People need new ways of being and living if we are to sustain life on earth. This awesome task begins within each of us as we are called into a deeper consciousness of our identity as part of the one sacred community of life where God is encountered.” This developing awareness of the community of life has led to the notions of peace, peace education and peace culture.

A myriad of definitions of peace and peace education exists, depending on the experiences of people. There is no single definition that might suit all of humanity because of different experiences of conflicts, atrocities, and injustice. But people can find similarities in these definitions.

Peace is a concept that motivates and inspires the imagination, indicating more than the absence of violence. “Is is a psychological, social, political, ethical, and spiritual state with expressions at intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, international, and global areas of human life” [2]. [3] defines peace as the “absence of structural and socio-cultural violence and the presence of justice.” This definition provided by Kester gives the idea that people could explore the root causes of conflict, know international humanitarian and human rights laws, envision alternative structures of security and learn skills for managing micro/macro conflict without any violence at all.

Most people find the goal of achieving peace desirable and necessary. However, a significant disagreement exists on how to achieve peace. There are diverse strategies for achieving peace. [4] divide them in the following categories: peacekeeping (peace through strength), peacemaking (peace through communication) and peace building (peace by proactive actions).

The three categories gives one the idea that in order to sustain a lasting peace, any programme must be along these three holistic domains: we must keep peace, we must make peace and we must build peace. Peace keeping entails one to exert his will but should be without committing injustice to others. Peace making requires one to communicate or link with others. Peace building involves conscientious effort or proactive actions to allow peace to harbor in the hearts of all men so that all actions are geared towards respect, understanding, meaningful dialogues and collaborations.

Education for peace, therefore, is seen as a possible way of transforming a currently dominant “culture of violence” to a “culture of peace” by developing children’s peaceful attitudes and skills and by stimulating a change in their consciousness. Schools therefore become indispensable in reversing the current mindset and trend.

This study on peace education and peace culture is primarily anchored on the principles of: (a) the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly on the provisions for the right to live in peace and orderly society; (b) the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-2030, particularly on equality and peace; (c) the UNESCO Culture of Peace and Non Violence Programmes; (d) transformative education, pragmatism and utilitarian philosophies of education; (e) the 1987 Philippine Constitution; (f) the National Executive Orders and DepEd Orders titled: Institutionalizing Peace Education in the Basic Education Curriculum and Teacher Education (Executive Order 570, s. 2006); Declaration of Schools as Zones of Peace (DO No. 44 s. 2005); and Institutionalizing Peace Education in Teacher Education Curriculum [5].

Why conduct peace education studies? This study was inspired by four essential reasons: first, many students, in both public and private schools (both foreign and local) reported direct exposure to violence and conflict in communities, homes and schools. In 2013, about 12% of students aged 12–18 reported that gangs were present at their school doing school violence such as as bullying, gang abuse and assault with or without weapons [6]. In 2014, there were about 486,400 non-fatal violent victimizations at school among students 12 to 18 years of age. Approximately 9% of teachers reported that they have been threatened with injury by students from their school; and 5% of school teachers reported that they had been physically attacked by students from their school [7].

The second reason is that if these violence and conflict remain unchecked and unresolved, they will become part of man’s destructive culture (a vicious way of life). In the Philippines, [8] reported a study conducted by the Phillipine Women’s University. Accordingly, one in two school children in the Philippines are bullied or suffered from other forms of abuse inflicted by peers or teachers. The abuse, on top of widespread poverty, might help explain the relatively high dropout rates in primary and secondary schools in the country. Findings in the study of a group at the Philippine Women’s University School of Social Work showed that at least five out of 10 children in Grades 1-3, seven out of 10 in Grades 4-6 and six out of 10 in high school have experienced some kind of violence in school. Verbal abuse, including ridicule, teasing, being shouted at or cursed is the most prevalent form of violence at all levels with male children more likely to experience physical violence. The victims' peers, more than adults, are the perpetrators and most incidents go unreported due to fear of retribution.

The third reason for the conduct of this study is the conflict and violence in Lanao (in the 1980s), Maguindanao (1990s) and Marawi (2017) which may be due to unchecked personal and group radical (fundamentalist) ideas that make use of violence to forward their personal agenda, making violence as a means to achieve an end – and naturally allowing people to see that violence is a natural facet of life. In Nueva Vizcaya, the principal of a DepEd High School was shot dead by an unidentified assailant moments after the school’s foundation festivities at the town of Quezon in Nueva Vizcaya province. The principal of the Quezon National High School, was walking towards his motorcycle after overseeing the school’s evening program when he was approached by a lone assassin, and was shot four times on the chest. Witnesses said that the suspect was seen casually watching the program, which indicates a charater of being a professional killer [9].

Lastly, the writing of this dissertation espouses the belief that one of the major roles of the state and its agencies is to provide a type of education that will become a catharsis to attaining personal, societal, ecological and spiritual peace (Paradigm of True Peace). The above explications are rich both by theoretical and empirical data. The Marawi siege 2017 for example has left a devastating outcome for all Marawi folks – the elderly, adult and children, men and women, rich and poor, all of them were victims of one of the most violent sieges by an extremist group comparable or may be even greater than the Lanao and Maguindanao atrocities. The damage is even greater for children as they are not only able to feed themselves regularly, mourn the death of their deceased family members, but have to experience the psychological trauma that the war has brought them. They have to stop their schooling and have to constantly live in fear. Most of them rely now on the benevolence of other people to feed and clothe them and may be to help them regain self-confidence and start to hope for peace and order all over again in makeshift tents with very meager amenities.

This study on mainstreaming peace education and peace culture in the Department of Education – Division of Nueva Vizcaya is a noble addition to humanity’s peace-building initiatives in schools. To prove that education reflects the societal norms and aspiration of a society, the Department of Education is mandated to actively promote a culture of peace in the educational system by incorporating peace education concepts, skills and values in the learning contents of basic education. Most school-going youth are enrolled in public schools. This might provide a big pool of youth who could be educated with peace concepts and carry on the task of being peace makers, peace keepers and peace builders. When peace culture becomes their way of life then we could hope for a much bigger influencing crowd.

The need to mainstream peace education in the Philippine basic education is premised on the idea that what we aspire or yearn as a Filipino people is largely based on common belief systems, values and aspirations as a Filipino people enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution Article II – Declaration of State Principles: renunciation of war and any form of violence as a means for subjugation – and a clamor to establish an orderly and peaceful Filipino society.

Considering this background, mainstreaming peace education has major purposes: (1) developing a coherent understanding and awareness about what peace education is, so that those working in the educational sector get acquainted with the diverse themes and methods of peace education and can coherently work on mainstreaming peace in their locale in consideration of their ideas and experiences; (2) enhancing the elements of peace education by ensuring that a broad range of structural and socio-cultural factors as well as the challenges they confront are addressed in the context of their educational milieus – as in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya; (3) school administrators have the power to influence stakeholders by crafting peace programs, implement peace policies and making peace part of organizational culture; (4) teachers when trained to become peace educators pass on to their pupils and students the same peace mindset, knowledge, skills, values and attitudes; and (5) when peace culture becomes a way of pupils and students’ lives, they carry the ideals and practices at home and in their communities. These may be the very reasons for why peace has been institutionalized through Executive Orders and DepEd Orders.

Such a baseline appraisal therefore as regard the various peace initiatives in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya is seen as relevant and timely given the changing signs of the times and is geared towards enhancement of peace education initiatives in the target locale, thus, this study.

1.1. Purpose of the Study

This study specifically sought to attain the following goals:

1. Determine some underlying factors that build peace or feed violence among Public Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya in terms of:

1.1. Structural factors

1.2. Socio-cultural factors

2. Describe and analyze how the Public Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya respond to these realizations, particularly on promoting peace education via the following:

2.1. Peace education integration in the curriculum;

2.2. Peace education instructional contents;

2.3. Peace pedagogies;

2.4. Instructional materials used; and

2.5. Peace initiatives (extra and co-curricular); and

3. Identify the challenges encountered by the Public Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya in promoting peace education; and

4. Propose a program to enhance peace education initiatives and creation of peace zones in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya.

2. Methodology

2.1. Research Design

This study utilized a combination of quantitative – qualitative research approaches. The quantitative-descriptive design used the techniques of survey to gather information on the underlying structural and socio-cultural factors among public schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya that build peace or feed violence as well as how schools promote and implement the factors that build peace education and the challenges they encounter in promoting peace education. The qualitative designs used the open-ended questions, document scanning and analysis and interview techniques to describe how schools promote peace and encouraged a culture of peace zones in the locale. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data became the basis for a proposal to craft robust peace education program in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya.

2.2. Research Locale

While the Schoools Division of Nueva Vizcaya may be described as relatively peaceful and orderly, still, the issuance of Executive Orders mandating the Department of Education to establish peace zones in the public schools (which led to the issuance of DepEd Memoranda Orders Nos. 44, s. 2005 and 469, s. 2008) warrant an indepth exploration on the status of peace education in public schools. This study is a proactive response to the above mandate if peace education and peace culture were truly imbibed and assimilated by school administrators, teachers and students in the public school like the Schools’ Division of Nueva Vizcaya.

The research locale is the province of Nueva Vizcaya, located at the heart of northern Luzon. Geographically located at the southernmost part of Region 02. It is often referred to as the gateway to the Cagayan Valley region. It is bounded on the north by Ifugao, in the northwest by Isabela, east by Quirino, west by Benguet and south by Nueva Ecija. The municipality of Bayombong is the capital town, often described as the educational center of Nueva Vizcaya. It is where the Schools Division Office of Nueva Vizcaya is located.

The province of Nueva Vizcaya through the Schools Division Office of the Department of Education, envisions to produce naturally vibrant 21st century skilled learners who are all STARS for the community, an acronym which stands for S-Service Oriented; T – Talented; A – Affective; R – Responsive; and S – Spiritually-driven learners.

At present, the various schools under the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya categorized their schools into small (100-600 enrolees), exceptional (601-1200) and big schools (1201 and above) based on the number of enrollees of schools. This is true in both elementary and high schools. The categorization is dependent on the total school enrolment of said school. The bigger the school is, the greater the needs and allocation in terms of physical, human and financial resources of the school to meet the needs of the pupils, students and teachers.

2.3. Research Respondents, Schools and Sampling Procedures

The target schools and sample respondents of the study were the public elementary and secondary school principals and teachers representative of small, exceptional and big schools. This DepEd classification is based on the number of enrollees in the schools. The concentration is on the public schools because most school-going basic education youth are enrolled in the public schools. A sample list of schools and grouping and target number of teacher and administrator - respondents are shown on Table 1.

Table 1. Target Secondary and Elementary Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya (N=138)

A sample of nine secondary and elementary schools (and three schools in each category) totalled to 69 respondents each from secondary and elementary schools. The grand total is 138 respondents. There are 9 principals and 60 teachers each in secondary and elementary schools, giving a total of 18 principals and 120 teachers.

The rationale for the sampling of schools is based on the fact that if truly the Department of Education Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya is integrating peace education in the division and mandates the schools to have a culture of peace in the education of the children by virtue of the Executive Orders and DepEd Memo. Orders, then regardless of where the school is located, peace education is supposed to be made mandatory or obligatory for schools.

2.4. Research Instruments

To gather the needed data and be able to respond to the purposes of this paper, the following research instruments were used:

Peace Education and Peace Culture Survey

This is a researcher-made tool to suit the context of the study. It was content-validated by the members of the examining panel. It has four main parts namely: (a) a part that determines some demographic profile of respondents; (b) a part where structural and socio-cultural factors that promote peace or feed violence in the school are identified; (c) a part where some descriptions on the schools’ responses to promote peace education and create a culture of peace were gathered; and (d) a part where some challenges (problems or hindrances) encountered by the schools in promoting peace education are surfaced.

Another part was a checklist of school responses to promote peace education and create a culture of peace, thus, this part was subjected to a reliability test to determine the internal consistency of the items. It was floated to a sample group of public school teachers in southern and northern part of the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya. Table 2 presents the internal reliability coefficients using the Cronbach Alpha Test. The test yielded an overall coefficient of .971.

Table 2. Cronbach Alpha Coefficients (n=75)

Interview Guide

The interview guide gathered direct experiential accounts from administrators and teachers in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya particularly on common conflict problems encountered in the school, how they try to resolve these conflicts, how peace education adapted or taught in the school, the necessity to teach peace education in the school, some peace content themes they usually integrate in peace education, some school factors that influence the creation of a peace culture in the school, some knowledge on peace contents, skills, values and attitudes they want the pupils and students to possess, the role(s) that they play in building peace culture, some impact of peace education in the daily lives of the school population, factors that would influence attitudes towards peace-building in the school, the dilemma or challenges they confront in teaching peace education and some recommendations that they would want to suggest in enhancing peace education and peace culture in the school.

Documents and School Reports Scanned

The following school documents or records were scanned and analyzed:

1. Written policies or rules and regulations on peace education;

2. School peace plans and programs;

3. Student or Teacher leadership peace initiatives;

4. Extra and co-curricular peace activities; and

5. Peace efforts in community extension and outreach.

6. Peace education integration in the curriculum;

7. Peace education contents (lesson logs);

8. Peace pedagogies for teaching and learning;

9. Instructional materials used;

10. Peace initiatives conducted by teachers and students;

11. Strategies adopted to conduct peace education; and

12. Peace linkages or partnerships.

Other docuements which are not part of the above list but forms part of peace education initiatives in the locale were also considered.

2.5. Treatment of Data

1. In determining some structural factors that build peace or feed violence such as the administrators and teachers’ dispensation of power, leadership style, information flow, school rules and regulations, teaching styles, learning styles and type of community support in the DepEd Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya, computation of frequencies and percentages were done to determine the pattern;

2. In determining some socio-cultural factors that build peace or feed violence such as the administrators and teachers’ social relation, handling differences in ethnic background and gender, practice of traditions, religious or interfaith learning, expression of beliefs, and language use, in the DepEd Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya, computation of frequencies and percentages were done to determine the pattern. To strengthen the quantitative results, the administrators and teachers’ ideas (open-ended) were openly coded and then grouped thematically and used to support the quantitative results;

3. To determine the schools’ responses to promote peace education and peace culture, computation of mean scores and standard deviations. To determine the appropriate qualitative descriptions, a four-point scale was used namely: for mean scores from 1.00-1.49 – little integration; 1.50-2.49 – moderate; 2.50-3.49 – great and 3.50-4.00 – very great integration;

4. To describe how schools promote and implement the factors that build peace, computation of frequencies and percentages were done. This was also strengthened using the ideas gathered from interview (clustering of similar attributes) and open-ended questions;

5. To identify the challenges encountered by schools in promoting peace education in the various domains such as peace education integration in the curriculum, peace education instructional contents, peace pedagogies, instructional materials used, peace initiatives (extra and co-curricular), peace efforts in community extension services and outreach, peace policies and rules, peace plans and programs and peace linkages, the ideas in the open-ended questions and interview were also thematically clustered; and

6. School documents or records were scanned and analyzed thematically and integrated in the various parts following the inductive reasoning technique of writing.

3. Results and Discussions

3.1. Determination of some Underlying Factors that Build Peace or Feed Violence among Public Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya

A. Structural Factors

1. Administrators’ Dispensation of Power

In terms of dispensation of power among school administrators, about 91.3% stated that power is based on mutual agreements and about 7.2% of the teachers stated that the free-rein type of leadership is exercised based on individual styles. Generally, therefore, the teachers observed their school administrators as dispensing power based on the democratic style where power is based on mutual agreements.

The high rating on the characterization of school leaders or administrators in the Schools Division when dispensing power is supported by some direct experiential accounts which were gathered from the teachers themselves.

In terms of power based on mutual agreements following some democratic principles, several teachers indicated that their school administrators practice transparency as indicated:

“Power is manifested based on their roles as administrators. There is no force or coercion.”

“May transparency, ang lahat ng kanilang transaksyon at mababait sila sa mga nasa mababang posisyon.” (There is transparency in all their transactions. They are also kind especially to those in the lower positions).

“At the start of the school year, faculty and staff decide on the rules and policies to be followed.”

“The school administrators call for a meeting and then they will present a problem to be solved by the body.”

Meanwhile, other teachers also described their school administrators as good mentors who are open-minded, approachable and kind as shown below:

“He is a good mentor/coach to others. He is always open to suggestions (open minded).”

“They are respectful and they treat their teachers with respect.”

“My administrators are humble enough to solicit ideas to achieve a common goal.”

“The administrators are workaholic, they show good examples to teachers, and work well with others.”

Other teachers also labeled their administrators as somewhat legalistic but in a sensible and reasonable way. They follow rules and guidelines according to what the Department of Education through memoranda wants their employees to do as reflected:

“They manage orderly the personnel. Give orders to accomplish a certain task in a kind way but still according to rules and regulations.”

“Our administrators are always basing their decisions based on the guidelines of the DepEd.”

“Their power is not used to coerce teachers or staff. Their power is most commonly used when they delegate tasks.”

“Most of their actions or decisions are based on legality but they are fair and just.”

“Leaders act based on what the Department requires them to do.”

Thus, the foregoing experiences by the teachers affirm the school administrators as good democratic leaders. They are not perfect leaders but they follow democratic dispensation of power. They practice transparency, open-mindedness, approachability, kindness, and somewhat legalistic but in a sensible and reasonable way. Their openness to their teachers, treatment of individual differences and awareness building of their roles and duties are manifestations of a shared vision of establishing democratic leadership.

The foregoing ideas and experiences are supported both by rich theoretical and empirical grounds. For example, [10] infers that in today’s era, individuals are more concerned with getting rights, responsibilities and freedom at their work place similar to what they enjoy outside the work environment. This highlights the fact that workers of an organization must be treated as citizens. A person comes to his work place not only with his skills and knowledge but also with his feelings and social duties, hence, for this reason, managers of today are obliged to manage the whole organization in the values of democracy.

Therefore, it is essential to create a work space where workers are considered as a part of organization and free to exercise their view points. This type of work environment should also be practiced in educational institutions to promote democracy [12] (Manville & Ober, 2003). In any type of organization; leaders have to make numerous decisions on daily basis. However, these decisions are not always subjected to choose between good and bad. Occasionally the decisions are subjected to select one of the two bad choices. In the view of the fact that solutions of these issues were not stated in policies, laws or any other guide lines, decision making can be really tough task [12].

2. Teachers’ Dispensation of Power

In terms of dispensation of power by teachers as shown on Table 8, about 74.6% of the total respondents stated that power is based on mutual agreements, however, about 2.2% of the respondents mentioned that power is based on coercion. And 23.2% of the respondents stated that the free-rein type of leadership is exercised based on individual styles.

The results would indicate that the teachers themselves largely exercise power and authority based on mutual agreements and the free-rein type of leadership. Whether it is by teacher – teacher relation or student – teacher relation, the exercise of power is based on these two attributes.

Some teachers described themselves and their co-workers as considerate, approachable, respectful and kind as evidenced by the following:

“While the teachers are given the freedom to manage their class, they are managing them well and are not overconfident.”

“They are kind and approachable.”

“They are considerate and do not abuse their authority.”

“Teachers are approachable and willing to help.”

Other teachers also commented that their dispensation of power is based on established rules and regulations for order, peace, security and discipline not only in the classroom but outside the school too:

“They follow school rules and regulations strictly but in a reasonable way.”

“Teachers are considerate and mutual respect is observed.”

“Teachers are hardworking and do their jobs well.”

“Few teachers use force but they are not oppressive.”

Meanwhile, another group of teachers described themselves as performing their obligation as second parents of the children and are therefore responsible for their students and accountable for them:

“They discipline students in the right way and facilitate learning as well.”

“Teachers agree that they are the second parents of students.”

“Teachers are described as parents surrogate so they have to use their abilities in disciplining their students as well as teaching in the right way as good models to everyone.

Lastly, they also shared that while they may be the authority inside the classroom, they are also aware of the fact that they do not have the monopoly of knowledge. They interact with respect, given the freedom to lead but with respect to senior teachers:

Teachers believe that no one has the monopoly of knowledge.”

“Most of the time when tasks are given, they abide by them.”

“Generally, teachers work and interact with one another with respect for individuality and even seniority.”

The foregoing descriptions of being democratic teachers when dispensing power characterize the teachers as being considerate, approachable, respectful and kind. They also manifest that power is based on established rules and regulations for order, peace, security and discipline. As they perform their obligation as second parents to the children, they are aware that they are responsible for their students and accountable to parents, they also admit that they do not have the monopoly of knowledge, thus, they interact with respect, and manifest hardwork and patience as much as possible. This type of role modelling was supported by [13] who infers that the present democratic age necessitates that schools should prepare young people for democratic living. To achieve this, teachers should not only be able to transmit knowledge to students about democratic life but, they should also be provided with such a learning environment where they can learn and practice democracy.

3. Student Leaders’ Power Dispensation

As presented on Table 8, in terms of dispensation of power by student leaders, 66.6% identified that power is based on mutual agreements and 33.4% of the respondents stated that the free-rein leadership is exercised based on individual styles.

The teachers see their student leaders as instruments to help them establish order and discipline among students in the school. They also set themselves as role models by abiding with school rules and regulations as manifested in their experiences:

“They follow the rules in disciplining their co-students.”

“The pupil leaders follow the policies in the school and also in the classroom.”

“They follow the provisions specifically on the student handbook.”

Some teachers also observed that the student leaders practice equality. With minimal supervision, they try to lead on their own and establish agreements with teachers and administrators as reflected in the following ideas:

“There is respect of cultural affiliation and they are sensitive of these.”

“There is equal sharing of power and rights based on their positions.”

“Some student leaders sometimes assert their rights and establish agreements with teachers.”

Other teachers affirm that their student leaders do not impose rules and regulations that are self-serving but rather according to set school rules. They are also respectful because they knew that were it not for the students’ votes, they are not get elected into position. They serve as role models especially in encouraging their co-students to study well as indicated:

“While some students are complacent in their studies, student leaders motivate them to study well.”

“They are respectful with their teachers.”

“The officers exercise their authority in a good manner and also in imposing the rules and regulations properly.’

“Students choose their student leaders in the classroom by popular vote.”

The foregoing interview transcripts are supported by theoretical grounds. For example, students learn cooperation and trust through working and learning together. In this context, when student leaders are trained to dispense power based on mutual agreements and free-rein, Classroom Officers create a democratic power dispensation. [14] argue that democratic classroom environment provides wider space for students’ social, moral and academic development. Thus, the democratic classroom is a place where instruction is characterized by freedom and cooperation. The notion of democratic classroom comes from the progressivism’s theory of education.

This theory puts an emphasis on a teaching a learning environment where students are able to critically think on the activities, and learn to practice their skills. Such a teaching and learning atmosphere develops their problem solving and leadership skills. This philosophy of learning increases the self-confidence of students and enables them to take part in the learning activities actively [15].

B. Socio-Cultural Factors

In terms of social relations, 96.4% of the respondents indicated that the school treats everyone with respect and as equal, only a small 3.6% of the respondents said that the school is showing favoritism, unfair and disrespectful. In the open-ended question, the following ideas were gathered from teachers:

“Lahat ay may pagkakaisa at pagkakaunawaan kahit iba iba ang departamento.” (There is unity and understanding among stakehoders even if they represent various departments).

“Sometimes there is misunderstanding between teachers and administration but they try to resolve these issues.”

“School stakeholders are united especially when there are projects that need to be attained.”

Many of the teacher-respondents shared that in building and maintaining good social relation, respect, equality, just and fairness are only some of the attitudes and values that they manifest to establish good social relation:

“Teachers are teaching students to respect each other. There is equality, respect and mutual understanding in the school.”

“Utmost respect for everyone is observed. Everyone is treated with respect.”

“Teachers and students respect each other even if they have different religion, ethnicity and belief.”

“Generally, respect and equality are observed. There is just and fairness in the treatment of others.”

The foregoing experiences are affirmed by some empirical studies. Research has indicated that democratic classroom environment helps develop social skills of students such as cooperation, accommodation and tolerance [16]. Studies support the view that teaching and learning is an interactive process. It demands the active involvement of the students. When students actively participate, they learn to reconstruct new knowledge on the basis of their previous knowledge by applying their skills in real life situations [17].

To achieve this aim, teachers may create a learning environment characterized by open interaction, discussion and cooperation (Feinberg & Toress, 2001). In a democratic classroom, teachers encourage the students to share their ideas freely. The teacher during this process acts as a moderator. In this way the learners construct knowledge by themselves. Classroom learning environment is defined as a social-psychological context where learning takes place and where the personality of the learner is constructed. The classroom is a learning environment or a social atmosphere where learning takes place. It also called educational environment or classroom climate. It is closely related to how teaching is conducted. The process of teaching and learning is essentially manipulated by the teacher [18]. (Kubow & Kinney, 2000).

In terms of diversity of ethnic origin, 95.6% of the respondents specified that the school shows admiration and respect towards ethnic origins. But, 4.4% mentioned that there is still bias and prejudice. Some opinions were shared in this aspect:

“There is respect for everyone even when we have different cultural backgrounds.”

“Pinapahalagahan at nirerespeto ang bawat pangkat etniko” (There is valuing and respect among various tribes).

“We treat one another equally. We accept and respect each other's ethnicity.”

“Members of various ethnic groups are treated equally.”

“We treat everyone with respect regardless of ethnic origin.”

“Everybody is welcome to enroll in the school regardless of ethnic origin.”

Multiculturalism and multicultural education have been the byword of schooling in the late1990’s. Studies have suggested that teachers create a classroom environment where students are able to learn and practice cooperation and trust despite diversity in cultural ways. For this purpose, different cooperative learning activities can be deigned where students will participate and work as teams.

This will develop in them the skills of leadership and decision-making and effective communication [19]. This will also promote their cognitive and emotional growth (Siddiqi, 2002). Research has further documented that one of the goals of education is to prepare useful, participative and thinking citizens. To achieve this aim, students may be exposed to a classroom environment where they find care, respect and encouragement [20].

More recently, in a study conducted by Ackley, Colter, Marsh, and Sisco (2014), findings revealed that teachers can have a more positive influence on student achievement when they allow students to have a voice in classroom decisions, although these results are equivocal and warrant further study. The results show promising practices that are worthy of further study in the age of the No Child Left behind Act.

The results were validated in the study conducted by [21] where findings showed that there is a strong positive correlation between democratic classroom environment and student engagement and its three dimensions namely: behavioral, emotional and cognitive. The study discovered that teacher moderates the relationship between democratic classroom environment and student engagement.

3.2. Descriptions and Analyses on how the Public Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya Promote Peace Education

A. Peace Education Integration in the Curriculum

Table 3 shows the ratings of the teachers on peace education integration in the curriculum. Of the five items under peace education integration, one item was rated very great by the elementary teachers. This was on the item: cultivating values and attitudes on peace (mean=3.50). This would indicate the elementary teachers’ belief that the values and attitudes of peace is being given emphasis in the education of the pupils. Meanwhile, all the other four items were valued as great. These are: making peace education an important topic theme or subject matter (mean=3.34); having various lessons about peace (mean=3.27); incorporating inner peace, social peace and ecological peace (mean=3.39); and emphasizing acquisition of peace knowledge and skills (mean=3.44). The elementary teachers also believe that they are providing ample discussions about making peace education an important topic theme in the lesson like incorporating the concepts of inner peace, social peace and ecological peace and emphasizing acquisition of relevant peace knowledge and skills.

In the case of the high school teachers, all items were rated great with mean scores from 2.50-3.49. The high school teachers also attest that they too underscore peace concepts as important lesson-themes in the secondary basic education. When the respondents were taken as a whole, the results show that the elementary and high school teachers view the school as a place where values and peace attitudes are greatly cultivated.

These high ratings on peace education integration in the curriculum found bases on the studies conducted by [22,23,24] whose ideas forwarded the view that the school is a primary space for peace education and for nurturing a culture of peace in order to enable individuals to live peacefully together. Accordingly, this is so because peace education is useful to mold future generation for a peaceful society. Findings in these researches were in line with postulations that: (a) bits of peace education can be seen in school subjects such as social studies, history, religions studies and moral education; (b) also, some peace - related topics such as social environment, cooperation, conflict, responsibility, civic obligation, culture, were evident in various curricula like the social studies curriculum; and (c) formal peace education are integrated into existing school curriculum.

Table 3. Teachers’ Ratings on Peace Education Integration in the Curriculum

In addition, [25] study found out that: (a) peace education has been institutionalized into the school curriculum of the Calabar Zone, Cross River State of Nigeria although peace culture activities were yet to be made a vital part of the school life; and (b) the public and private schools do not differ significantly in the institutionalization of peace education and peace culture at post primary school level. The study recommended that activities to enhance peace education and peace culture should be encouraged in the school system, especially in the curriculum.

B. Peace Education in Instructional Contents

As shown on Table 4, of the seven items under instructional content integration, the elementary teachers rated two items with mean scores from 3.50-4.00, described as very great. The items are: discussing dignity or sanctity of life (mean=3.50) and promoting environmental education (mean=3.56). This would indicate the elementary teachers’ beliefs that discussions about the dignity or sanctity of life and environmental promotion education are immensely being underscored in the Schools Division.

Meanwhile, the other five items were rated as great. These are: integrating human rights lessons (mean=3.43), teaching social justice and equality (mean=3.49), promoting global peace (mean=3.34), believing in multiculturalism (mean=3.38) and integrating indigenous peoples education (mean=3.43). The elementary teachers also give huge emphases on teaching peace-related concepts such as human rights, social justice and equality, global peace, multiculturalism and indigenous peoples’ education.

In the case of the high school teachers, one item was rated very great. This was on the item: promoting environmental education (mean=3.69), while the remaining items were rated great with mean scores from 2.50-3.49. Overall, result show that both elementary and high school teachers very greatly view the school as a place that promotes environmental education as shown in the highest computed mean score of 3.62. The rest of the items were rated as great. The high school teachers believe that environmental education promotion is being underscored very immensely in the various topic-lessons in high school.

C. Peace Pedagogies

Meanwhile on peace pedagogies, of the six items under peace pedagogies, all of the items were rated great by both elementary and high school teachers with mean scores from 2.50-3.49. The results could mean that the integration of peace education in teacher pedagogies are greatly seen as being used in the classroom. Overall, the teachers also view group and collaborative works as a pedagogy that is commonly used by teachers (mean=3.27, highest), while the lowest although still described as great was on the pedagogy of field studies or group studies (mean=2.97) as indicated on Table 5.

The high ratings given by the elementary and secondary teachers can be validated through the various classroom strategies that they use when teaching which are supportive of peace education (a term we refer as peace pedagogues). Some documentations of the pedagogical competence of elementary teachers in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya which are encouraging the creation of an atmosphere of peace and order in the various classes are presented.

Table 4. Teachers’ Ratings on Peace Education integration in Instructional Contents

Table 5. Peace Education integration in Pedagogies

In Social Studies, a teacher uses debate, talk show and reporting as teaching pedagogues in discussing Mga Kontemporaryong Isyu ng Lipunan or Contemporary Issues of Society. Contemporary issues and concerns in society gives the opportunity for learners to discuss important matters that affect their lives. Debate as an activity makes pupils become critical of these issues and concerns. Talk Show as a strategy makes them more logical in presenting their ideas and fluent in the language. Reporting on the other hand, makes them more adept and involved in the issues and concerns that confront the nation or their community.

The current peace pedagogues that teachers in the Schools’ Division of Nueva Vizcaya found support in the ideas of [26]. These teachers are leading proponents of peace education efforts at Miriam College in Quezon City, Philippines. Accordingly, some teaching-learning ideas, approaches and strategies in peace education are utilized to encourage learners to cultivate personal peace as well as to become aware of the connection between personal and social peace, as well as environmental or spiritual peace. Allowing the learners to reflect quietly on important questions and to share their responses in dyads or small groups is one way by which a culture of peace can be cultivated.

D. Instructional Materials Used

In addition, of the five items under instructional materials used for promoting peace as shown on Table 6, again all items were rated great by both elementary and high school teachers, with mean scores from 2.50-3.49. When the teachers were taken as a whole, the results indicate that the teachers gave premium to showing videos on peace as a perennial instructional material (mean=2.98), while the least used although still described as great was on using posters that depict war and peace (mean=2.80).

We know fully well that teaching becomes more effective when teachers prepare instructional materials that support the teaching and learning process. They do not only help the teacher make teaching easier but also concretize what the teacher is trying to impart among the learners. In this way, the learners’ interest on the subject matter is stirred and highly solicit curiosity among pupils. Relative to instructional material use, a teacher teaching a topic-content on Karapatan ko, Igalang Mo! (My Rights, Respect them!) uses PowerPoint presentations, video clips and flashcards in teaching the subject matter.

In relation to peace education and teaching materials, [27] mentioned that peace, human rights and intercultural education are rarely included as separate subjects in the curriculum. They are rightly viewed as cross-cutting themes. In order to introduce training in conflict resolution skills into the curriculum as a multidisciplinary principle, educational guidelines, examination contents and teaching materials must be overhauled. The first two items were already explicitly validated both in theory and empirical data but researches on instructional materials that aim to strengthen peace education remain inadequate. The hard but challenging task is that when teachers use specific strategies or approaches in teaching education, instructional materials must always conform to the strategies that are about to be used like digital instructional materials, graphic organizers, multimedia presentations such as films and video clips for millennial learners.

E. Peace Initiatives (in Extra and Co-curricular Activities)

Table 7 shows the ratings given by the teachers on peace initiatives. Of the five items under peace initiatives in extra and co-curricular activities, once again, all items were rated great by both elementary and high school teachers with mean scores from 2.50-3.49. Overall, the teachers rated the highest the initiative on having a school peace program (mean=3.13). This could mean that teachers view the school as a place that should really be initiating peace inasmuch as schools should really be zones of peace for teaching and learning.

Table 6. Peace Education in Instructional Materials Used

Table 7. Peace Initiatives in Extra and Co-Curricular Activities

These high ratings given by teachers were due to many extra and co-curricular activities being done in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya. Some of these were: 1) Ordinance No. 2016-118, ''An Ordinance Declaring the Whole Month of February of Every Year as Provincial Arts Month in the Entire Province of Nueva Vizcaya." The theme was, Ani ng Sining, Alab ng Sining highlighted various forms of art such as visual arts, dances, film-making, etc. through exhibits, contests and workshops. This celebration aimed to heighten exposure and awareness among the youth of Novo Vizcayanos of local talents, arts and culture and greater camaraderie among the participants; 2) Nueva Vizcaya Young Legislators’ Congress, where 200 selected youth leaders in the province were gathered. Among these youth leaders were representatives from each of the High Schools in the province, of which, one is a student leader and the other was a young professional/teacher from the same institution who accompanied the student leader and at the same time a participant of the activity; and 3) 2nd Resilience Mobile Photography Contest, where resilience refers to the Filipinos’ ability to adapt and recover from hazards and emergencies. This activity aimed to showcase examples of Filipino resilience against hazards and calamities and still stand united and with hope that they could survive the aftermath of calamities and emergencies.

The foregoing extra and co-curricular activities related to peace were affirmed in the ideas of Baxter and Ikobwa (2005) who state that peace education programmes exist for all age groups: adults, youths or children. They can be implemented within the school system, either as part of the formal curricula, or as extra-curricular activities. Or they can also occur completely separate from the school system through camps or other informal trainings. The content of peace education varies as much as its form, ranging from advocacy to law reform, from basic education to social justice. Meanwhile, [4,28,29] mention that peace education initiatives can comprise areas such as human rights education, education for development, environmental education, gender training, global or international education, landmine awareness, life skills education, citizenship education, conflict resolution education and even psychosocial rehabilitation. These activities could be school-based or community-based initiatives or governmental requirements like Executive Orders and or Republic Acts.

3.3. Challenges Encountered by the Public Schools in the Division of Nueva Vizcaya in Promoting Peace Education

A. Peace Integration in the Curriculum

Table 8 presents some challenges that teachers in the division confront in relation to integration of peace in the curriculum. Thematic clustering of ideas through the open-ended question yielded five major problems being experienced in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya as shared by the teachers.

In descending order as shown from the computed percentage of responses, the top-most challenges are as follows: (a) inadequate integration in all subject areas (84.1%); lack of modules and needed references (74.6%); not aligned learning competencies for peace because of many competencies to be delivered and developed (69.5%); limited time allocation for peace education (52.8%); and tendency to neglect peace education because there are no direct lessons and aligned competencies (49.2%).

Table 8. Challenges Encountered in Peace Integration in the Curriculum

In the interview conducted with some select teachers on the challenges that they face on curriculum integration, the difficulty of integrating peace education especially in the applied sciences is really a big consideration as presented:

“Sometimes it is difficult to integrate peace concepts in all the subject areas like in mathematics or in the sciences which are considered applied sciences. While a lot of lessons on ESP and social studies can be connected to peace concepts (elementary teacher).”

“It’s quite challenging to integrate peace and order in Math subjects…there are inadequate peace education teaching materials (Elem and HS Math teachers).”

Another difficulty is on establishing direct association between peace education and expected learning competencies as reflected in the following ideas:

“One of the problems is that there are minimal or no direct learning lessons or competencies on peace education…they are only integrated in the subjects (HS administrator).”

“There are too many learning competencies that are expected to be accomplished, there are no direct learning competencies on peace (HS Department Head).”

“I find it a problem on how to integrate this in my Math subject. Although these are being taught in the other subject areas, still, the main themes of peace concepts are not really discussed in a chapter or unit…only integration (HS Math Teacher).”

Another difficulty is on instructional content and lesson materials like presence of modules in peace education not to mention the problem of time allocation as shared:

“There are no lesson modules on peace, only integration in the topic-lessons (Elem Teacher).”

“Since peace concepts are only integrated in select subjects, the problem of time allotment is also a challenge (Elem. Department Head).”

“We integrate peace education in our lesson based on the topic and when there is memorandum from the Division Office. The integration is highly dependent on the teacher (HS teacher).”

The problem on minimal integration of peace concepts especially in the applied sciences is the direct relation of the learning competencies and peace education. Meanwhile, the topic contents on ESP and Social Studies really have a lot of topic-lessons that can be linked directly to peace and they also follow the four dimensions of peace, that is, peace for oneself, others, environment and God as discussed in section 2A of this study.

In relation to the above, [30] investigated the role education has played in peace-building following the 2007/08 post-election violence in Kenya. Findings in this study show that: (a) only one of the four case-study schools was found to have implemented peace education despite the encouragement done by the Ministry of Education; (b) the three remaining schools were found not implementing peace education as policy makers had hoped; and (c) within these three schools, a range of challenges faced by peace education initiatives were identified, in particular, the perceived relevance of peace education, location of schools, school leadership, sense of ownership of peace education, and national peace education policies were found to have a particular influence.

Taking the foregoing ideas, school leaders and teachers in the division have much to say in the realization of any peace education plan. If they would truly work on the plan, then any problem would be secondary. Having true altruism and sense of ownership of the vision-mission and goals of peace education among school stakeholders would truly make the difference between success and failure of the peace education plan.

B. Peace Education Instructional Contents

In relation to challenges encountered in instructional contents, almost the same problems were shared by the teachers as presented on Table 9. Thematic clustering of these ideas yielded four major problems. These are: (a) difficulty in integrating peace education especially in Mathematics and few in the Sciences, Technology (81.2%); (b) inadequate instructional materials like books, references, movies, video clips, slow or no internet connection in school (80.0%); (c) central themes on peace education is not totally discussed (70.3%); and (d) inadequate topic integration (50.0%).

Table 9. Challenges Encountered in Peace Education in Instructional Contents

In the interview conducted on challenges, some ideas are reflective of these problems. Accordingly, one such problem is the lack of instructional materials as reflected in the following:

“Not enough materials to teach peace education like books and other references. We cannot teach these concepts without any guidance or reference at all. We cannot give examples as compared to when we have modules or references (Elem Teacher).”

“Mahirap siyang iintegrate kasi hindi naman yun ang main topic. Depende na lang yun sa teacher kung minsan at hindi pa talaga yun ang hinihiling na idiscuss kundi yung main topic sa araw na yun (It’s difficult to integrate peace education because it is not the main topic. It is dependent on the teacher sometimes and it is not really the main thing to be discussed but the main lesson scheduled for the day, Elem Teacher).”

“There are many video clips on peace and even movies but it can only be integrated in some select topics and not all the time, there is inadequate integration (Elem and HS Teachers).”

Another challenge is on the lack of internet connection in the school where relevant and rich materials and activities can be freely downloaded.

“The only available means is the internet but there is no internet connection in the school even if we want to download to develop a lesson pertaining to peace (Elem Teacher).”

“Sometimes I surf the net while in Poblacion because there is no internet connection in the community or barangays where we teach.”

“There are many activities on the net but I can only download when there is wifi connection.”

These are problems that truly pose as challenges to the teachers in the division in relation to peace education topic contents and materials. In relation to the difficulty of identifying topic-lessons on peace education, the United Nations Declaration on Peace and Non-Violence of the UN 53rd session (1999) identified some themes of peace education in terms of set of values, attitudes, traditions and modes of behavior and ways of life based on: (a) respect for life, ending of violence and promotion and practice of non-violence through education, dialogue and cooperation; (b) full respect for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States and non-intervention in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law; (c) full respect for and promotion of all human rights and fundamental freedoms; (d) commitment to peaceful settlement of conflicts; (e) efforts to meet the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations; (f) respect for and promotion of the right to development; (g) respect for and promotion of equal rights and opportunities for women and men; (h) respect for and promotion of the right of everyone to freedom of expression, opinion and information; and (i) adherence to the principles of freedom, justice, democracy, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, pluralism, cultural diversity, dialogue and understanding at all levels of society and among nations; and fostered by an enabling national and international environment conducive to peace. Consequently, any topic-lesson that can be related to the foregoing concepts can be directly linked with the concepts of peace and peace education.

C. Peace Pedagogies

Table 10 shows the top-most challenges encountered by teachers in peace education pedagogies or strategies. Thematic clustering of ideas in the open-ended question yielded four major problems as follows: (a) insufficient materials to enrich teaching pedagogues in peace (83.3%); (b) inadequate teaching seminar-workshops or trainings in peace education (80.4%); (c) limited knowledge on the need to integrate peace pedagogies in the various contents whenever appropriate or applicable (75.4%); and (d) no teacher evaluation on classroom pedagogues (71.7%).

Table 10. Challenges Encountered in Peace Pedagogies

These ideas were validated in the interview of select teachers who mentioned the following ideas. The same problem of lack of materials to teach peace education is brought to the fore:

“There are really no specific books and references to teach peace education since they are integrated in some subjects like ESP and Araling Panlipunan and no stand- alone subject for peace (HS Teacher).”

“Materials are inadequate and there is really insufficient materials to enrich the topic related to peace (Elem Teacher).”

Meanwhile, the challenge of teacher preparation to teach peace education was also emphasized by the teachers:

“There are no seminar or training workshops centered on peace but only memorandum orders and these are on making the school as a peace zone (Elem Teacher).”

“Maybe there is a need to train the teachers on peace education so that they will be more competent in teaching peace concepts (HS Department Head).”

Another problem is the lack of recognition of subject teachers on how to connect peace education concepts in the current or present topic-lesson and that the evaluation of lesson is not really focused on the strategies which could determine immediately if the teacher strategies promote the ideals of peace:

“Sometimes the problem is on the ability of teachers to recognize a connection between a topic and peace education. The teachers sometimes fail to see the connection because it is not stated explicitly (HS Teacher).”

“Although strategies are made a component of evaluating the lesson plan, it’s not really being checked if these are related to peace education. The focus is always on the attainment of learning outcomes.”

In relation to these challenges, [27] affirmed the issue of training and retraining of peace educators. Accordingly, there is really a need for educators who are involved in peace education to be trained or re-trained. Targeted training and retraining, support with teaching methods and supervision should equip educators with the necessary in-depth knowledge and skills to work in constructive conflict management, intercultural learning and peer group education.

D. Instructional Materials Used

Table 11 presents the challenges on instructional materials used in teaching peace education. Three major problems were given by the teachers namely: (a) very limited material resources to teach the concepts; (b) slow internet connection or no Wifi connection in school; and (c) lack of teacher resourcefulness and creativity.

Table 11. Challenges Encountered in Peace Instructional Materials Used

Some ideas relative to the foregoing ideas were gathered in the interview. Despite the inadequacy of materials, the teachers still use their creativity to make their own materials as reflected:

“Some teachers really prepare needed materials like video clips and multimedia presentations, graphs, graphic organizers, etc…but there are some who do lectures only. The most common materials are pictures or photographs using Cartolina or manila papers (Elem Teacher).”

“Those who have laptops and internet connections download video clips or movies for film viewing but they also complain about slow internet connection (HS Teacher).”

“Sometimes, it is really dependent on the creativity and resourcefulness of teachers but it takes time to make those materials for one or two sessions only. If there are prepared modules, it would be easier for the teachers (Department Head).”

However, despite this creativity, the problem of time allocation really posed a challenge. For example:

“Documentary movies are powerful teaching materials but it takes two or three hours to finish one movie, so it would be continued the following day and it’s not practical since there are learning competencies that must be met daily (HS Teacher).”

“Technology requires time to prepare and sometimes, it takes about 5 or 10 minutes to prepare the visual or multimedia presentations and so a lot of time is wasted, especially for subject that are allotted only about 40 or 50 minutes.”

On the issue of creativity and resourcefulness, Faucon (2001) postulated that the lack of resourcefulness and creativity of peace educators may be due to their inadequate knowledge, competencies, values and attitudes on peace education. Among school leaders, it is also important for educators to recognize that they are role models. Through their personal and social skills, they have an opportunity to influence the learning environment and achieve a greater impact, in terms of the transmission of values, than the formal curriculum. Furthermore, if educators feel they have the support of their institutional directors, this will have a positive impact on the learning environment. This places a particular onus on directors to lend their weight to such initiatives train peace educators.

E. Peace Initiatives (in Extra and Co-curricular Activities)

Table 12 shows the challenges faced by the teachers in relation to doing peace initiatives on extra and co-curricular activities.

Table 12. Challenges Encountered in Peace Initiatives

Thematic clustering of ideas yielded five major problems in this area. These are: (a) too much concentration on knowledge and skills (70.3%); (b) unsustained peace initiatives in extra and co-curricular activities (64.5%); (c) inability to connect activities with peace education (60.1%); (d) too much or overlapping activities (59.4%); and (e) minimal peace education awareness and valuing (52.9%).

The results are reflective of the following ideas during the interview. One issue is about the attainment of intended learning outcomes that do not really reflect peace education ideals:

“Sometimes, the concentration of teachers are on the attainment of learning competencies reflective of knowledge and skills and they forget that an equally important area is the development of values and behaviors (Elem Teacher).”

“There are many activities in the school that overlap sometimes but they fail to relate them on peace or an added activity on peace will be an added burden to the already many activities (HS Teacher).”

“Perhaps one way of integrating topic-contents to peace education is through the valuing of these contents where peace concepts that can be linked immediately (Elem ESP Teacher).”

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

4.1. Conclusions

In the light of the findings of this study, the following conclusions were derived:

1. The Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya generally fosters a climate of peace and encourages peace education by following the democratic and egalitarian styles of leadership and power dispensation. There was a transparent – free flow of infomation, school rules and regulations which were adaptable, innovative and student-centered teaching styles, creative, supervised and inclusive education and an established partnership with parents through the HPTA;

2. The Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya nurtures peace education through curriculum integration, instructional contents, teacher pedagogies, instructional material used, initiatives, efforts in community extension, policies and rules, plan and program and linkages. Nevertheless, the teachers considered the following as necessary in building a culture of peace such as a more pronounced integration of peace education in all the subject areas, utilization of varied peace pedagogues and instructional materials, more specific and concrete community extension services, peace plans and programs and richer and wider linkages and partnerships; and

3. The Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya encounters myriad of challenges in promoting a culture of peace but despite these, teachers’ ideas display ethusiastic and optimistic attitudes in resolving or minimizing these challenges.

4.2. Recommendations

Considering the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations are advanced:

1. That a continuing education on democratic, egalitarian and multicultural (inclusive) principles be sustained in all facets of teaching and learning through:

1.1. formal integration in the curriculum in all subject areas whenever appropriate;

1.2. Leadership trainings of student leaders which are supportive of peace principles;

1.3. Enhanced knowledge and competencies among learners which are reflective of the principles;

1.4. Cultivation of attitudes and values among learners that support and foster the principles; and

1.5. Role modelling of these principles by administrators, teachers, student leaders and parents for the learners to follow.

2. In mainstreaming peace education and peace culture, the following are suggested:

2.1. Use of varied peace methodologies and strategies in teaching and utilization of instructional materials that iam to cultivate peace culture;

2.2. Creation of amore concrete and specific community exrtension and outreach activities and definite action plan for peace education ; and

2.3. Hiring of a full time guidance counselor is highly recommended.

3. In resolving or minimizing the challenges encountered the following are suggested:

3.1. On Peace Education Curriculum Integration

a. Review of competencies that can be linked to peace educatio concepts;

b. The DepEd Library Hubs should contain relevant references on peace education (purchase of needed references)

c. Conduct of teacher capacitation trainings on relating the subject matter to peace concepts; and

d. Invitation of specialized lecturer on peace education (Miriam College) to help teachers recognize topic – contents relating to peace education.

3.2. On Peace Education in Instructional Contents

a. Purchase of needed books, references, videos or movies and storing them in the library hubs for teachers’ use;

b. Information-dissemination activities for teachers regarding the presence of these references on peace education; and

c. Contextualization of instructional materials on peace taking available data in the division.

3.3. On Peace Pedagogies

a. Conduct of seminar workshops on teaching aids preparation which are reflective of peace education;

b. Workshop trainings on peace pedagogues like reflection writing, critical thinking and analysis, decision-making, imagination, communication, conflict resolution, empathy, grouping, pair share, visualization or imagination exercises, perspective-taking, role-playing, simulation games, problem-solving, considering positions/issue poll, encouraging action, reading or writing a quotation, web-charting, use of film and photographs, telling stories, including personal stories, song or poem analysis, sentence completion, journal writing, individual reflection, go-around, teachable moments, interviews or research, expert resources, reciprocal teaching, twinning projects, dialogues or exposure trips; and

c. Evaluation on peace pedagogues could become an important component of teacher evaluation.

3.4. On Instructional Material Used

a. Conduct of training workshops on peace education material preparation;

b. Strengthening internet connectivity or installation of internet connection in the schools as a future project; and

c. Seminar-workshop on teacher resourcefulness and creativity in designing instructional materials on peace education.

3.5. On Peace Efforts in Community Extension Services and Outreach

a. Crafting of a prototype community extension projects in the division;

b. Identification of clients whose needs are reflective of the paradigm of peace (Children in-conflict with the law, parents counseling, deprived children, livelihood trainings, etc); and

c. Activities must be varied and not only limited to cleaning and beautification like counseling, GAD activities in the community, Illegal-drug free, etc.

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