Quakers welcome Scottish teachers’ support for peace education
Quakers have welcomed Scottish teachers' call for peace education with a new policy from the country's largest teaching union.
Launching its refreshed policy on Education for Peace, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said that peace is essential to stave off a rise in extremist views.
Education for peace throughout the Scottish curriculum is vital to equip young people for non-violent conflict resolution and to help counter extremism on online platforms, EIS said.
Peace education is a priority area for Scottish Quakers who work alongside the EIS in encouraging Scottish policymakers to make it an important part of the curriculum.
Inclusion in EIS policy, which cites Quakers in Britain resources, ensures many Scottish teachers will receive peace education training as part of their continuing professional development.
Speaking at an EIS conference in Glasgow on Friday, Ellis Brooks, peace education coordinator for Quakers in Britain, said: “We are really thrilled to see this support for peace education."
He added: “Teachers are more than peacekeepers. They are peacemakers, resolving conflict every day, and peacebuilders, creating positive and just relationships at every level.
“Our students have that same capacity."
Quakers in Britain recently urged the government to include peace education in the English curriculum in a submission to the Department for Education's curriculum review.
They also work with the Welsh Centre for International Affairs and Academi Heddwch in Wales to promote peace education.
Quakers in Britain hope that the recent surge in interest in peace education will see the different nations of Britain supporting each other.
Quakers also hope that the newly launched first ever OpenLearn peace education course from the Open University will be widely accessed.