Thanks to Ben Ballin for this notification
This Seminar is part of the programme for a research link between CIER and the Comparative, International and Development Education Centre, University of Toronto, funded by the International Council for Canadian Studies
How is democratic peace building dialogue possible in ordinary schools?
Insights and next steps from a Canadian study
Dr Kathy Bickmore OISE / University of Toronto, Canada
17 December 2008 at 12:30 – Room G39, School of Education, University of Birmingham
Please contact Sue Gallagher (s.gallagher@bham.ac.uk <mailto:s.gallagher@bham.ac.uk> ) to reserve your place.
You are welcome to bring your lunch along – refreshments provided.
How is democratic peacebuilding citizenship education actually possible, in the diverse ‘real worlds’ of stressed state schools? Based on a study of three large Canadian urban public school districts with ethnically and economically diverse student populations, this seminar will begin with discussion of the unequal opportunities diverse students may have to develop agency for peacebuilding participation in school — in particular, opportunities for participation and self-determination in dialogue on difficult issues. It is no surprise that this research found in-depth, sustained peacebuilding citizenship dialogue opportunities to be rare, especially for marginalized students. However, some shining exceptions highlight the factors that facilitate as well as impede such education in these contexts.
In particular, two types of circle dialogue initiatives, emerging from different roots in educational scholarship, were occasionally implemented: (A) In discipline contexts after incidents of violence: victims, offenders, and community representatives participate in restorative justice problem-solving circles to gain understanding of a problem’s causes and to jointly create solutions that repair harm done and rebuild healthy relationships. (B) In classrooms as a pro-active pedagogical strategy: inclusive discussion circles address controversial issues and social conflicts, as part of a program of democratic citizenship learning relevant to students’ real lives. What are the advantages and disadvantages of infusing peacebuilding dialogue in either discipline or classroom contexts? What indicators, in each setting, might persuasively indicate that such activities were ‘successful’ democratic learning experiences?
This seminar is part of the programme for a research link between the Centre for International Education and Research, University of Birmingham, and the Comparative, International, and Development Education Centre, University of Toronto, funded by the International Council for Canadian Studies.
Kathy Bickmore (Ph.D. Stanford University 1991) is Associate Professor in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada. She teaches (graduate and pre-service teacher education) and conducts research in education for constructive conflict, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, equity, and citizenship/ democratization in public school contexts. Recent work appears in The Sage Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Democracy; Handbook of Research in Social Studies; Education, Conflict and Reconciliation: International Perspectives; and The Challenge of Teaching Controversial Issues; and in journals such as International Journal of Citizenship and Teacher Education, Journal of Peace Education, Canadian Journal of Education (Democracy and Education theme issue), Theory and Research in Social Education (Education for Peacebuilding Citizenship theme issue). She is co-editor, with K. Mundy, R. Hayhoe, M. Madden, & K. Madjidi, of the book Comparative and International Education: Issues for Teachers (2008).
Sue Gallagher, Administrator
Centre for International Education and Research
School of Education
University of Birmingham
E-mail Address : s.gallagher@bham.ac.uk
Direct Dial : (44) 0121 414 3967
