Paper short abstract:

In 2014 the Colombian government passed an Educational Law establishing a peace core subject in schools. This paper analyzes strategies in 5 schools serving children in contexts of poverty and violence. I explore the extent to which these pedagogical programs develop civic engagement.

Paper long abstract:

2012 marked the beginning of peace dialogues with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to end the 60-year armed conflict. A key effort came when the Ministry of Education passed the 1732 Law that mandates a peace core subject at every school level.

The Law suggests different notions of peace that range from a narrow understanding of peace as the absence of physical violence (i.e. negative peace) to a broader view of peace as social justice (i.e. positive peace). I apply these global conceptualizations of peace to explore the connections between peace, democracy, citizenship and education and engage in a critical examination of the theory and practice of peace education in Colombia. I explore how local understandings of peace influence peace education and analyze different approaches to peace education in practice in schools that have been identified as 'exemplary' and serve populations in contexts of poverty and violence. I propose an alternative notion of imperfect peace as an analytical tool to examine these efforts.

I conclude that current programs tend to reinforce the notion of negative peace or the absence of direct violence. In addition the research identifies a focus on developing people individually as personally responsible citizens. There is less focus on broader notions of peace that aim to develop active citizenship in the pursuit of social justice. I propose that the notion of imperfect peace best captures the inherent tensions in delivering peace education in practice.