Can Education Contribute to Peace?

The paper questions the common assumption that education promotes peace. By referring to pedagogic routines and the political culture of nationalism, the paper indicates the nature of reforms education requires for contributing to peace. The basis of discussion is the author’s own study of the role played by school education, specifically through the teaching of history, in maintaining mutual hostility between India and Pakistan. The paper is divided into four sections.
The first section summarizes conceptual issues raised by philosophers and educators in the context of schooling and peace. Section II introduces the author’s Indo-Pak study in relation to the challenges that nationalism, religion and culture place before education. Section III deals with regimentation as an integral aspect of modern schooling and its implications for the role expected from education in promoting peace.
The final section discusses the demands and contradictions education faces under the increasing dominance of the human capital ideology. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of humanist goals and processes in education for serving the cause of peace.