peace education: inculcating global peace values among students

GSE E-JOURNAL OF EDUCATION. E-ISSN 2289-6889. Organized by WorldConferences.net 18

PEACE EDUCATION: INCULCATING GLOBAL PEACE VALUES AMONG STUDENTS THROUGH LITERARY TEXTS IN MALAYSIA

Norbaiyah Abd Kadir

Academy of Language Studies University Technology MARA (UiTM) Pahang, Malaysia

[email protected]

Farah Haneem Ahmad Jamal Faculty of Law

University Technology MARA (UiTM) Pahang, Malaysia [email protected]

Juhaida Ismail

Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences University Technology MARA (UiTM) Pahang, Malaysia

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

The main concern in this paper is to answer these questions, “Where/How does the teaching of global peace values fit into the English Language curriculum for the primary school education in Malaysia?” “Do the English teachers teach these global peace values in their lessons?” “How do they inculcate the values on global peace among their students?” Therefore, this paper is looking at whether the teaching of global peace is stated in the English Language curriculum for the primary schools in Malaysia and whether the teachers are practicing the teaching of global peace issues in their lessons. We are also suggesting how the global peace issues could be incorporated and taught. By using the many types of literary texts in the classroom activities could help students understand what is meant by global peace and thus could inculcate these global peace values in their life. In order for the students to appreciate and understand more on global peace issues through literary texts we are promoting Reader’s Theater as one effective methodology to achieve this objective. In addition, the literary texts chosen should have the theme on global peace. Therefore, to justify this we have asked a language teacher to help carry out an action research to justify that Reader’s Theatre could help students be more receptive and they could understand better the underlying message on global peace in the literary texts. Field of Research: Global Peace Values, Literary Texts, Reader’s Theatre

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Introduction

The schools and teachers, today, are so concerned with the academic performance of the students that they tend to forget what the students should actually learn at the end of the day. What teachers should understand is not only the many subjects in schools, but more about teaching ‘them’ – the students. In other words, they should be able to teach students to survive in this world and understand the many challenges that they might face in their life in the near future. It is good that teachers teach and follow what is stated in the curriculum but they should try to be more critical and creative so that they could see beyond what is installed in the curriculum given to them. There are so many things they could do with their students, for example, teaching them what kind of life is waiting for them in the real world. Every year the same thing happens, teachers would be

mailto:[email protected]




happy if their students pass with flying colors, forgetting students need more than just the outstanding grades and certificates. Students need to survive in the real world and understand that the world outside is forever evolving.

Have we ever wondered whether students take their time to ponder on these questions? : What does this real world mean to them? How many of them would ponder on the many happenings around the globe? Have they ever thought that the reality in this real world is not the same with what they read in fairy tales that would only promise them happy endings in life? How many of them would try to empathize with their friends whose country is at war? Or living in a country where there would be no or not enough food, schools which could not offer conducive learning and teaching process, and perhaps, houses which are not fit to live in. We could not blame them if they do not have the answers to these questions because all these are not happening in their life; the country they live in is safe. Why is this happening because we have neglected the teaching of global peace values that has made it difficult for them to feel the pain; their other friends around the globe are feeling. Some of them might read in the newspapers or listen to the news but how many would really feel the sufferings and pains that their friends have to endure because no one actually ‘shows’ them, we only ‘tell’ them.

With the teaching of global peace values, we hope that our students would value the peace and harmony that are bestowed to them in their country. We hope that they would always safeguard their country so that war would be the last thing that could happen as long as they live. However, if we peek into the English Language curriculum in Malaysia, we could not find the importance of teaching global peace to the students. It is not mentioned specifically how the language teachers should treat this issue when teaching the language. Teachers seem to not treat this issue properly because it is not tested and they are not asked to teach it. This is the main concern of this paper, to answer the question as how the teaching of global peace values fit into the English Language curriculum in Malaysia, especially in the primary schools and how to integrate global peace issues in the teaching and learning process. In the primary school curriculum, English Language is taught with the emphasis of the four language skills. Literature is not a compulsory component to be taught. Teachers could select a few literary texts to be read by students but not to make them do an analysis on the underlying message so that they could be more critical readers when reading the texts. Actually, the teachers could inculcate the global peace values among students with the appropriate choice and types of literary texts and the activities that they could carry out with the use of these literary texts. These literary texts are not conformed to only short stories but other types such as poems/poetry and also memoirs.

What are literary texts?

We could define the meaning of literary based on the definition given by the Webster’s New World College Dictionary that it deals with literature or has to do with books or writings that have literary agents. There are many types of literary texts and to name a few, we have poetry/poem, plays, novels, short stories and even memoirs. Teachers could use all these literary texts in their language lessons where they could teach global peace to their students. The problem here is that our short stories use in the primary school curriculum are lacking in the theme of global peace. Therefore, teachers need to find other literary texts that do have this theme. One type of literary text that seems to be appropriate would be the use of poems in the literature class. Short stories on this theme could also help students understand better the meaning of global peace. The challenge here would be to get the students involve in not only reading these texts but understand the underlying message, that is global peace. Many language activities could help teachers in presenting and promoting literary texts to their students which could make them understand and appreciate the meaning of global peace.


One activity that we like to promote is the use of Reader’s Theatre and it is hoped it could help teachers solve this problem. What is Reader’s Theatre? Reader’s Theatre could be described as a presentation of a story. Students are asked to read aloud play scripts. According to the book entitled Literacy in the 21st Century: A Balance Approach, students choose roles and rehearse reading scripts in Reader’s Theatre. During rehearsals, students would practice reading character’s lines in the script and interpret the story without using much action instead they use their voices, gestures, and facial expressions. Finally, students give a performance of the script in front of their classmates. To summarize this, below are the steps in the Reader’s Theatre:

1. Select a script. Here, students or teachers select a particular script from any literary text, read and discuss it.

2. Rehearse the production. Teachers could help the students to interpret the characters they are reading.

3. Stage the production. What is good about Reader’s Theatre it could be performed either on a stage or in a corner or in front of the classroom (Tompkins, 1997).

(The use of Reader’s Theatre in a language class will be discussed later in the paper).

2. The Importance of Teaching Global Peace Values

According to Susan Fountain, a consultant for UNICEF New York in her working paper entitled Peace Education in UNICEF (1999) stated that, “… peace education refers to the process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behavior changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national or international level…” Fountain (1999) in a way has suggested that through peace education we could inculcate the global peace values among students. In addition, by adopting peace education in the language curriculum, it could help teachers to teach the global peace values and this make students understand better what is meant by conflict and violence that are happening around the globe and this in turn would help students to avoid conflict and violence because they know that conflict and violence would not bring any benefits but destructions to the people and the country.

In Malaysia, the Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) had held a month-long event that was in September 2011 entitled “Voices Of Peace”, and one of the most memorable and notable event was a poetry reading and performance in tribute to Malaysia’s National Literary Laureate SMK Dato’ Usman Awang. This event entitled “Kekasih—A Tribute to Usman Awang and Peace” is to acknowledge his contributions in literary works where he has explored the themes of love, peace, friendship, compassion and also the Malaysian identity. Poems were presented at this event in the forms of live music, dance, and choral performances and through these performances audience could visualize better the message on love and peace (SGI Quarterly, January 2012). This event indicates that literary texts could be used in the language classes to teach global peace to students but teachers need to be creative in their methodology in order for the students to understand and appreciate better the message on global peace. By just asking students to read but not making them to be critical readers and thinkers, they would not be able to really digest the meaning of global peace. Activities like bringing in live music, asking them to dance and doing performances through choral speaking, role plays, dramas and perhaps, Reader’s Theatre could help make the teaching, learning and understanding of global peace be more exciting and appreciative among students. In this way, teachers could inculcate the global peace values and awareness to their students.

UNICEF has come out with the rationales in promoting peace education to schools around the globe where this peace education could mould students to be more tolerant in many aspects of life with


regards to global peace. This has been stated in the 1990 World Declaration on Education for All: “Every person – child, youth and adult – shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs. These needs comprise both essential learning tools (such as literacy, oral expression, numeracy, and problem solving) and the basic learning content (such as knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes) required by human beings to be able to survive, to develop their full capacities, to live and work in dignity, to participate fully in development, to improve the quality of their lives, to make informed decisions, and to continue learning … The satisfaction of these needs empowered individuals in any society and confers upon them a responsibility to … further the cause of social justice, … to be tolerant towards social political and religious systems which differ from their own, ensuring that commonly accepted humanistic values and human rights are upheld, and to work for international peace and solidarity in an interdependent world.” In other words, UNICEF has long supported the teaching of global peace so that students could be tolerant of the religious belief and political stand which might be different from theirs. Tolerances could help minimize the many problems that we are facing today especially challenges in global peace.

Machel, Graca (1996), did a study on “The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children”, and has reaffirmed and stressed that we must implement the teaching of global peace in schools because through education we could shape a peaceful future. To quote her, “Both the content and the process of education should promote peace, social justice, respect for human rights and the acceptance of responsibility. Children need to learn skills of negotiation, problem solving, critical thinking and communication that will enable them to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence.” What we could gather from her study is that the need for educating students on global peace is undeniable and now it is up for all teachers to think on how to actually teach global peace in their classes. As for the language teachers, we suggest the use of literary texts in the many language activities which they could adopt in their teaching and learning process. This could also help teachers to inculcate values and awareness on global peace to their students.

Therefore, global peace awareness and values need to be instilled and inculcated through education. We suggest that through language teaching and learning process using literary texts, the global peace awareness and values could be inculcated among students.

3. Where Does The Teaching Of Global Peace Values Fit Into The Language Curriculum In Malaysia?

When talking about the language curriculum in Malaysia, we could see that it does not emphasize on the teaching of global peace because it is not specifically stated in the curriculum. Just like other language curriculum around the globe, language curriculum in Malaysia emphasizes on the teaching of the four language skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. However, to teach these language skills it is up for the teachers to come up with the appropriate and interesting activities in order to attract students to be involved in the teaching and learning process. These language teachers are well trained and with the knowledge they have in the methodologies of teaching these four language skills, it is hoped that they would try to make their language lessons fun and receptive to their students.

Let us look at the language curriculum for the primary students in Malaysia. The objectives of the English Language curriculum are:

By the end of Year 6, students should be able to: 1. communicate with peers and adults confidently and appropriately in formal and informal

situations; 2. read and comprehend a range of English texts for information and enjoyment;


3. write a range of texts using appropriate language, style and form through a variety of media;

4. appreciate and demonstrate understanding of English Language literary or creative works for enjoyment; and

5. use correct and appropriate rules of grammar in speech and writing.

There are two stages in the primary education English Language curriculum: 1. Stage One refers to Years 1, 2, and 3. 2. Stage Two refers to Years 4, 5, and 6.

In Years 1 and 2, the English Language curriculum emphasizes on the development of basic language skills so that students will have a strong foundation to build their proficiency in the language. In this initial stage, there are only four modules: Module One – Listening and Speaking; Module Two – Reading; Module Three – Writing; and Module Four – Language Arts. A fifth module is added that is Grammar in Years 3 – 6. (Source: The Standard-Based English Language for Malaysian National Primary School, Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education, Malaysia)

Since we are suggesting on using the literary texts to teach students on global peace, the Language Arts Module (Module Four) seems to be the most appropriate module to integrate the teaching of global peace theme in our English Language lessons. It is in this module too, that we could achieve the fourth objective that is to help students appreciate and demonstrate understanding of English Language literary or creative works for enjoyment. Even though it is not stated that global peace theme should be covered, teachers could try to fit in the global peace theme in this module so that students would inculcate the global peace values and awareness when they are involved in the creative activities carried out in the language lessons. We could relate this to the explanation in the Language Arts Module stating that:

“The standards for language arts in Year 1 and 2 will explore the power of story, rhyme and song to activate pupils’ imagination and interest, thus encouraging them to use English Language widely. This component will ensure that they benefit from hearing and using language from fictional as well as non-fictional sources. Through fun-filled and meaningful activities in this component, pupils will gain a rich and invaluable experience in using the English language. When taught well, pupils will take pride in their success. They will also benefit strongly from consistent praise for effort and achievement by the teachers with the aim of making their learning as rewarding as possible. Pupils will also be encouraged to plan, prepare and produce simple creative works. In addition, the Language Arts module also provides pupils an opportunity to integrate experiment and apply what they have learnt in the other modules in fun-filled, activity-based and meaningful experiences.”

If we look at the educational emphases in the curriculum, they reflect the current developments in education. It is stated in the curriculum that “these emphases are infused and woven into classroom lessons to prepare pupils for the challenges of the real world. In this respect, Moral Education, Citizenship Education, Patriotism, Thinking Skills, Mastery Learning, Information and Communication Technology Skills, Multiple Intelligences, Constructivism, Contextual Learning, Learning How to Learn Skills, Creativity and Entrepreneurship are incorporated where appropriate and relevant in lessons.” (Source: The Standard-Based English Language for Malaysian National Primary School, Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education, Malaysia)

One of the educational emphases stated above is Thinking Skills – where it is hoped that students are taught on how to solve simple problems, make decisions, and express themselves creatively in simple language. What we could gather here, teachers could help students understand the meaning of global peace by encouraging them to express creatively and critically the literary texts given to


them. This has been indirectly stated in the Thinking Skills educational emphasis in the curriculum. Therefore, we could imply here, literary texts could play an important part in helping teachers to inculcate global peace values and awareness among students where teachers could choose the literary texts which carry the global peace theme.

One more emphasis in the curriculum that could fit the global peace values and awareness in our language lessons is patriotism. Patriotism means “love for or devotion to one’s country” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th Edition), therefore we could use literary texts which talk about patriotism and discuss the message in our language lessons. One way to make this interesting is asking students recite poems or a tell story on patriotism using Reader’s Theatre.

What is important here, teachers need to be very selective and creative in choosing the many types of literary texts to be carried in their language lesson in using the many types of literary texts in order for their students to understand the theme on global peace and hopefully we could inculcate the values and awareness on global peace.

Next, we would like to discuss a language activity where we could teach the values and awareness on global peace.

4. How Do We Integrate The Teaching Of Global Peace Values Using Literary Texts In A Language Classroom Activity/Lesson?

In order for teachers to integrate the teaching of global peace values and awareness among students, the most important thing that they must consider first would be the basic themes on global peace which could accommodate the crucial peace values and awareness concepts in the current global context. We have decided to adopt the basic themes which have been discussed in the paper A Model for Peace Education by NCTE, New Delhi (National Council for Teacher Education). There are ten basic themes discussed in the model but let us look at only six themes. First, teachers could consider looking at the theme Thinking Positively. In this theme, we hope that we could develop students to have a positive attitude towards life because when they think positively, they would not only value themselves but value life in all forms. They would have the attitudes to accept and appreciate others with respect; and more importantly they would develop positive attitudes towards their own country and humanity as a whole.

The next theme that we could also consider is Be Compassionate and Do Not Harm, this theme could help teachers to inculcate emphatic qualities such as love, kindness, and friendliness among students so that they could have a better understanding about the values of global peace. Respect Human Dignity which is based on the concepts of human rights, duties and justice is another theme that teachers might consider using when teaching global peace values in their lessons. We could help students to respect one’s own and others’ rights. Perhaps teachers could also use the theme on Build Peace in Community where we could provide an opportunity for students to be exposed to social realities and understand the problems that people are facing not only in their country but globally. This would also help them to work better together in the future.

The fifth theme that teachers could also consider is Discover Inner Peace. It is concerned with students’ own psychological conflicts and problems, and discovering the peace of mind. This theme is important because students are encouraged to discuss on the ways of understanding self and the process of thought, controlling emotions such as anger; and they could also discuss on the art of soothing the mind. We hope they could be able to manage anger and stress and also control their emotions where they could be more tolerant with people who are of different belief and culture.


Lastly, the theme on Learning to Live Together seems to be appropriate for teachers to use when teaching global peace. Students need to learn how to work harmoniously in groups with others when they leave schools. Therefore, teachers must help them to inculcate this behavior when they are still in schools so that they could be better people to work and live with in the near future. This theme also covers subthemes such as sharing, mutual help, and trust building, taking group responsibility, leading and following; which essentials in developing cooperative and non-egoistic individuals in the future. This could also reduce egoistic competitive tendencies in students even when they are in schools.

Even though, in Malaysia, literature is not taught as a subject to be tested but this should not be a reason for teachers not to emphasize on teaching literature to students in the primary schools. This should not be the case because teaching literature could be done or incorporated in any of the language lessons for example in a reading class. Perhaps, teachers could take the initiative to ponder on the six basic themes when teaching global peace to students and try to find literary texts which have these themes. In addition, it is stated in the Language Arts Module where teachers are encouraged to use the literary texts in their lessons. Therefore, teachers need to find ways to use the literary texts in their lessons where they could help students understand and practice what is demanded in the themes chosen. Literary texts could also be used in the four language skills taught not only in a literature class. What is important here is how teachers perceive the teaching of global peace to their students and make it happen.

After having chosen the appropriate themes, teachers need to come up with interesting and lively language activities which are suitable to accomplish the objective of the language lessons. There are many activities which teachers could choose and carry them out in their lessons. Reader’s Theatre is an activity which is very easy and does not take a lot of time to do. It is not like a full drama where scripts need to be memorized, props are required, and students need to rehearse many times according to the play chosen. This has been agreed by (Martinez et al., 1999; Millin & Rinehart, 1999; Rasinski, 2004) where they have stated that the use of Reader’s Theatre seems to be both manageable and motivating for teachers and also students.

An action research has been carried out with the help of one English teacher teaching at one of the primary schools in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. She wrote this brief information and outcomes from the Reader’s Theatre activity that she has carried out. Before this it was just reading the literary texts with her students, no language activities were carried out. Students were not so receptive before as compared to when she changed her style of teaching and did this small scale action research on introducing Reader’s Theatre to her students.

Below is the information about the teacher and the activity using Reader’s Theatre (RT) which she has carried out in her language lesson using the literary text on short story entitled “The Caring Tree” by Sheikh Hassan Seylan ‘Abad :

Teacher : Siti Nor Azwana Bt Abu Hassan

School : SK Sg Karang, 26100 Kuantan

Year : 4 Cerdik Level : Low achiever Number of students : 35


Number of RT group : 5

1. Students’ perception versus traditional? a. Help with pronunciation b. Fun – play with the scripts, using own imagination to make audience understand

scripts. c. Can show the teacher student’s talent in expressing dialogues

2. Teacher’s view a. Help students increase fluency as they read the dialogues. b. The learning process is more fun and the students enjoyed the process. c. Help students in enriching their vocabulary as they searched for difficult words in

the dictionary. 3. How do students look at RT?

a. Have to cooperate among the group members (e.g. help the poor students to understand their dialogue)

b. Have to practice, so must come together as a group. c. Develop the spirit of wanting to perform the best to compete with the other groups

even though it is not a completion. 4. Improvement in students

a. Develop cooperation among students b. Pronunciation improved c. Students are not shy and ready to step forward to perform RT. d. Enjoy the English lesson more. e. Could understand better the underlying message of the texts.

5. Procedures; a. Day 1

i. Students were introduced to RT by using RT scripts from the literary texts chosen. (Here, I have used the same scripts)

ii. Practiced the scripts to the whole class. b. Day 2

i. Students were divided into group of 5 – 7 students in each group. ii. Each of the group selected their own leader.

iii. Each leader picked selected script via ballots. iv. Discussed the characters. v. Worked on pronunciation – dictionary, online thesaurus.

vi. Practice c. Day 3

i. Practice ii. Performed

iii. Teacher inculcated moral value in each performance.(HERE TEACHERS COULD USE GLOBAL PEACE THEME AND THEY COULD INCULCATE THE VALUES AND AWARENESS ON GLOBAL PEACE TO STUDENTS)

6. Students expressed views and opinions towards the RT performances.

(Source: Miss Azwana has provided us with the findings of the action research above)

What we could summarize from her findings above is students enjoy doing the Reader’s Theatre with their friends and are receptive to the lesson taught. They have developed cooperation among their group members and they are not shy to perform because there is no acting involved except for


they need to interpret the roles in the scripts and read the scripts using appropriate intonation and pronunciation. They could also understand better the underlying message with the help of the teacher in Day 3. Actually, the teacher could use any type of literary texts not just short stories as long as there is a script. Another suggestion here, teachers could use the lyrics of the song “We are the World” and perform it in a Reader’s Theatre activity. Students do not have to sing but read the lyrics with correct intonation and try to express their feelings according to the message in the lyrics. Teachers then could discuss the underlying message in the lyrics. This beautiful song talks about love and peace. Therefore, teachers could inculcate the values and awareness on global peace when using this song in their language lessons.

There are many other language activities besides Reader’s Theatre which could help teachers to teach global peace and inculcate its values and awareness to students. Debates, songs, role plays, and poem writing and recitals could also help teachers teach global peace to students.

5. Conclusion

Nowadays, with the many challenges around the globe where some countries are facing instability in politics and economy, we need to help students whose countries are not facing these challenges, to understand that this kind of stability in their countries will not last forever if there is no unity among the people. Therefore, the schools must help these students learn and practice global peace since young and they must try to inculcate the values of global peace in their life. We hope with the teaching of global peace through language activities using appropriate literary texts could help this happen not only in the Malaysian schools but globally. To conclude, let us ponder on some of these quotations:

“The goal is not to bring your enemy to his knees but to his senses.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“What’s done to children, they will do to society.” - Karl Menninger

“Teach yourself peace. Pass it on.” - Alice Walker

References A Model for Peace Education (NCTE New Delhi). (n.d.) Retrieved April 30, 2012 from http://www.ncte-india.org/pub/unesco/ch9.htm Fountain, S. (1999). Peace Education in UNICEF (Working Paper). N.Y.: UNICEF. Griffith, L. W. & Rasinski, T. V. (2004). A focus on fluency: How one teacher incorporated fluency with her reading curriculum. The Reading Teacher, 58, 126-137. Machel, Graca (1996). The Impact of Armed Conflict. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from www.un.org/children/conflict/english/themachelstudy.html Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed). (2003). Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Merriam- Webster, Incorporated Millin, S.K., & Rinehart S.D. (1999). Some of the benefits of reader’s theatre participation for second grade Title 1 students. Reading Research and Instruction, 39, 71-88. Ministry of Education, Malaysia (Curriculum Development Centre). (2010). The Standard-

http://www.ncte-india.org/pub/unesco/ch9.htm

http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/themachelstudy.html


Based English Language for Malaysian National Primary School. Kuala Lumpur: Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education, Malaysia. Tompkins, G. (1997). Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach. N.J.: Merrill. Voices of peace” in Malaysia. (2012, January). SGI Quarterly. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from http://www.sgiquarterly.org/nws2012Jan-4.html Wallace, C. (2003). Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wells, L.C. (2003). Teaching Peace: A Guide for the Classroom & Everyday Life. Retrieved April 30, 2012 from www.wagingpeace.org/.../peace-ed-book/teaching-peace.pdf World Declaration for All. (1990). Retrieved April 30, 2012 from www.unesco.org/education/pdf/JOMTIE_E.PDF

http://www.sgiquarterly.org/nws2012Jan-4.html

http://www.wagingpeace.org/.../peace-ed-book/teaching-peace.pdf

http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/JOMTIE_E.PDF

peace education: inculcating global peace values among students

Documents