WORLDVIEW OF CONFLICT IN MINDANAO: BASIS FOR

ENHANCING PEACE EDUCATION PROGRAM

Zahara Alamada
Bradley Arzaga
Karen Dacula
Sheryl Dela Rosa
Franie Finalla
Erica Lamata
Jacquelyn Lamita
Ramel Mark Lauron
Julie Bee Tolin
Jechelle Vilbar
Background of the Study

Mindanao is a mosaic of cultures. There are eighteen Lumad tribes, thirteen

ethnic-linguistic Moro tribes, and sixty-four settler groups that have been on the

island for more than a century. Possesses variety of ethnic backgrounds and cultural

backgrounds, Mindanao has been a hotspot for various conflicts due to political

disputes, socioeconomic inequality, and tensions between different ethnic and

religious groups.

Due to unending conflicts, improving Mindanao's peace education initiatives is

essential. These kinds of initiatives are transformative instruments that can alter

attitudes, heal rifts within communities, and promote a peaceful atmosphere. These

initiatives must, however, be sensitive to the unique requirements of the communities

they are intended to serve as well as the local context.

According to Richmond (2006) the issue of conflict and violence in today's

world hasn't been effectively tackled by liberal peacebuilding strategies post-Cold

War, aimed at fostering multiparty democracy, free-market economies, and the rule

of law. McKenna (1998) highlights the historical and sociopolitical factors shaping the

Mindanao conflict, shedding light on identity, governance, and rebellion dynamics.

Moreover, the conflict underscores the interconnectedness of global issues,

stressing the importance of international cooperation, conflict resolution, and

sustainable rebuilding efforts.

Since conflicts and violence persist in the Philippines in the 21st century,

peace education has gained significance. Nepomuceno (2020) highlights education

as a crucial tool for fostering peace, emphasizing the need for diverse initiatives to

advance peace education. According to Galtung (1996), establishing a culture of

opportunities exist to promote social justice education in the Philippines. Salud

(2017) commends the government's initiatives to support peace education,

underscoring its importance for progress toward a just and equitable society.

Moreover, International Crisis Group (2024) supported the Comprehensive

compliance on the Bangsamoro, the world's first big peace accord in ten years and

has become a standard reference for any other current peace effort. After years of

negotiations, the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were

able to establish a creative hybrid architecture for verifying the ceasefire, supporting

the negotiations, and implementing the agreements, with the participation of Filipinos

and members of the international community, military and civilians, institutions and

civil society.

Mindanao's dire condition necessitates quick action. In order to create a

transformative peace education program, it is imperative to comprehend the various

worldviews that are driving the conflict. To properly address the situation and obtain

vital insights into the mechanisms of conflict in Mindanao, researchers must conduct

multidisciplinary studies.

Even with all the efforts to promote peace education, there is still a great deal

to learn about the various worldviews that fuel conflict in Mindanao. Limited research

on cultural, theological, and historical narratives hampers the development of

effective, culturally relevant programs for lasting peace. The researchers aim to close

the gap that is crucial for creating evidence-based peace education that resonates

with the local community and fosters significant and enduring positive change in

Mindanao.
 Review of Related Literature

This section contains the literature and body of knowledge that have been

read and compiled to provide additional information about this study. The literatures

herein are combination of international, national, and local studies to enhance its

richness and scope.

Peace Education

According to Hantzopoulos and Bajaj (2021), peace education considers as

content, process and educational structure that seek to dismantle various forms of

violence, as well as move toward broader cultures of peace, justice, and human

rights. Also, Peace education promotes a culture of peace as stated by Castro and

Galace (2010). It focuses on the knowledge base, skills, attitudes and values that

influence the mindsets, attitudes and behaviors of people that may in turn contribute

to violent conflicts. This can be attained through building awareness and

understanding, developing concern and challenging personal and social action. This

will enable people to live, relate and create conditions and systems that actualize

nonviolence, justice, environmental care and other peace values. Peace education

brings about behavioral changes that enable children, youth, and adults to prevent

conflict and violence, to create conditions conducive to peace at different levels, and

to resolve conflict peacefully. Moreover, Davies (2010) and Kester (2007) elaborates

that the content of peace education includes knowledge about peace movement,

peacemakers, direct and indirect violence, peace as an active process, nurturing

culture of peace, human rights and responsibilities.

However, Davies (2010) emphasizes that it is always hypocritical of

educational institutions to preach tolerance or peace when their own students are not
given respect, or to preach democracy when they are hierarchical institutions, or to

preach cooperation when they are fiercely competitive places. By this, exploring the

intersection of peace education and the communication discipline within the context

of communication center, can start to build and foster equitable, empathetic, and

culturally sensitive communication behaviors and skills in students, classrooms,

resource centers, and our campus communities.

Importance of Peace Education Program

The study of Salomon (2011) highlighted the importance of peace education

and social cohesion in regions of intractable conflict. Emphasizes that peace

education and social cohesion were high on the political agendas before the official

ending of the conflict, but the need for a continuous and integral peace education

approach seems to be losing political ground in present-day. Raises concerns about

the sustainability and political support for peace education programs in conflict-

affected regions. In view of Danesh and Danesh, the main purpose of peace

education is to transform the minds of people from conflict to peace through dialogue

and non-violence means. The second objective of peace education is to transform

the beliefs of general public especially youth about peace across generations.

Hence, peace education is the attainment of knowledge, acquisition of values and

developing skills, attitudes, and behaviors about living in harmony and peace with

others and with others in the society. It is also an ability of co-existence with all living

creatures in the ultimate natural environment. The importance of peace for tranquility

and development is self-explanatory and peace is essential for world progress.

Additionally, Peace education program is considered imperative to maintain

peace and security in the society. Dhaliwal (2013) explained why people should
maintain a state where there are ways of beginning and preserving peace.

Furthermore, Synott (2005) suggests that enhancement of knowledge and

recognition of peace education by educational authorities and policymakers and the

number of publications in the area specify that peace education is emerging as an

educational model. As addressed by Finley (2004), peace education should be

taught that help to be aware of the skills that they need to integrate into topics such

as gender inequality and discrimination, conflict resolution, and citizenship

education.

Integration Peace Education

The ideology of peace education is based on conceptual understanding, skills

development, moral values development. According to Ahmed (2018) amalgamation

is the procedure of application and growth; hence, more concern needs to be given

for action-based learning as it is one of the major needs for learners for the skills and

values development. Therefore, integration of peace education will provide an

opportunity to share their ideas as emphasized by Harber (2019).

Effects of Peace Education Programs

Several studies have demonstrated the wide-ranging effects of peace

education programs on conflict resolution skills. Corboz et al. (2019) found that

conflict resolution, peace education, and peer mediation education programs have a

significant impact on the conflict resolution skills of students in Afghanistan. Similarly,

Wahyudin (2018) emphasizes that peace education aims to help individuals resolve

conflicts without violence and maintain harmonious relationships, assuming that

human beings have an active propensity toward goodness and human cooperation.
This highlights the potential of peace education programs to cultivate positive

attitudes and behaviors among individuals in conflict-affected areas.

Challenges Facing Peace Education

Salomon (2011) also identifies four major challenges facing peace education

in regions of intractable conflict. These challenges include political obstacles,

institutional constraints, cultural barriers, and the impact of ongoing violence.

Understanding and addressing these challenges are crucial for the successful

implementation and sustainability of peace education programs in conflict-affected

regions.

Furthermore, Ahmed (2018) advises bridge the gap between theory and

practice of peace education. According to Zembylas and Bekerman (2017) one of

the major challenges is the lack of interest from the side of political organizations. It

is obvious from the education policy that hardly any work is done in the context to

peace education, despite increasing emphasis given to peace education and its

impact to change student’s behavior stated by the study of Salomon (2011). Another

challenge is the lack of authentic and comprehensive curriculum for peace education

that can be used to suit the interest of the country. For this reason, Kester (2017)

believed that it is difficult to apply any common and specific model of peace

education in all three education systems.