Educating for Peace and Social Justice: Integrating Conflict Resolution into the History and English Curricula

A research paper submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Teaching, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning,Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of TorontoThis study responds to the lack of awareness surrounding the idea of peace as a process and how opportunities are being lost to create a skill set in students that will enable them to recognize, understand and resolve conflicts nonviolently not only in the classroom, but also in society at large. The study, which was completed through the interviewing of three classroom teachers, also focuses on current conflict resolution efforts in schools and the preconception that using conflict resolution methods in the classroom requires hours of preparation and lost time for curriculum relevant lessons. This qualitative study highlights the experience of teachers who have worked to incorporate conflict resolution into the curriculum of their Intermediate/Senior level English and History classes, creating a perspective-widening empathic response between students and their peers, as well as students and members of the wider society. In this way, the experience of these teachers demonstrates that conflict resolution—when incorporated into the curriculum as a way to deconstruct and respond to content material—promotes a greater understanding of the roots of conflict and equips students for greater success in school and in the world beyond