Most disputes between people are solved without violence - but not all. If we are to move away from violence as a way of solving disputes at home and abroad we must work together to help young people learn how deal with conflict creatively and nonviolently.

To prevent continued cycles of violence, education must promote peace, tolerance and understanding to help create a better society for all.

The overall aim of Education for Peace is to help build a peaceful world.

Awareness of values and attitudes underpin peace education and need to be addressed through the curriculum and the whole school. Education for Peace is founded on the following values and attitudes:

Wars, shootings in schools, natural disasters, deaths at sporting events-as adults we hope that these and other tragic outcomes will never happen anywhere and definitely will not impact the children and youth we care about. We would like to protect those young minds from the pain and horror of difficult situations. We would like to ensure that they have happy, innocent, and carefree lives.

So what is a parent, teacher, or other caring adult to do when terrorism or disasters fill the airwaves and the consciousness of society?

The school community is not always a neutral setting for children. Schools can facilitate a pupil’s journey of discovery about their own identity, other people and the world around them. This helps children to formulate their own view of the world, and to manage and articulate their own emotions. The school community can also reinforce the development of aggressive responses to conflict, however.

In this article we go through National Curriculum Key Stage 3 subjects and make brief suggestions on how each subject could help educate for peace and foster a culture of non-violence. Click here to download the PEN Curriculum Guide.