Peace Education Evaluation

A volume in Peace EducationSeries Editors Jing Lin University of Maryland Edward Brantmeier James Madison Universityand Ian Harris University of Wisconsin MilwaukeePractice and research of peace education has grown in the recent years as shown by a steadily increasing number ofpublications programs events and funding mechanisms. The oft-cited point of departure for the peace educationcommunity is the belief in education as a valuable tool for decreasing the use of violence in conflict and for buildingcultures of positive peace hallmarked by just and equitable structures. Educators and organizations implementing peaceeducation activities and programming however often lack the tools and capacities for evaluation and thus pay scantregard to this aspect in program management. Reasons for this inattention are related to the perceived urgency toprioritize new and more action in the context of scarce financial and human resources notwithstanding violence orconflict; the lack of skills and time to indulge in a thorough evaluative strategy; and the absence of institutional incentivesand support. Evaluation is often demand-driven by donors who emphasize accounting given the current context ofinternational development assistance and budget cuts. Program evaluation is considered an added burden to already over-tasked programmers who are unaware of theincentives and assessment techniques. Peace education practitioners are typically faced with forcing evaluation frameworks techniques and norms standardized fortraditional education programs and venues. Together these conditions create an unfavorable environment in which evaluation becomes under-valued de-prioritized andmythologized for its laboriousness.This volume serves three inter-related objectives. First it offers a critical reflection on theoretical and methodological issues regarding evaluation applied to peaceeducation interventions and programming. The overarching questions of the nature of peace and the principles guiding peace education as well as governing theoriesand assumptions of change transformation and complexity are explored. Second the volume investigates existing quantitative qualitative and mixed methodsevaluation practices of peace educators in order to identify what needs related to evaluation persist among practitioners. Promising practices are presented from peaceeducation programming in different settings (formal and non-formal education) within various groups and among diverse cultural contexts. Finally the volume proposesideas of evaluation novel techniques for experimentation and creative adaptation of tools from related fields inorder to offer pragmatic and philosophical substance to peace educators' next moves and inspire the agenda forcontinued exploration and innovation. The authors come from variety of fields including education peace andconflict studies educational evaluation development studies comparative education economics and psychology.