A.08. Nonviolent Education and Demilitarization of Schools: Practices, Tools, and Pedagogical Perspectives Towards Universalist Humanism

The need to rethink education as a tool for peace, social justice, and democracy is widely recognized internationally (UNESCO, 2023; UN, 2015), yet there are differing conceptions of “peace.” Rethinking peace in education requires moving beyond a reductive notion of peace as the mere absence of war toward an active, positive perspective (Galtung, 2014). Educating through nonviolence involves interrogating not only content but also educational processes, as well as the physical and symbolic environment. Learning occurs within relationships and demands adults capable of embodying democratic and nonviolent values (hooks, 1994; Freire, 2004).

Building a school that rejects violence requires recognizing and dismantling punitive, competitive, and hierarchical logics persisting in educational practices, often silently and as normalized routines (Dolci, 1987). In a context of rapid transformations and increasing militarization of educational and social imaginaries, it is urgent to reflect on the risks these dynamics pose for human development.

Promoting nonviolent education calls for a multidimensional approach. Personally, teachers’ self-work is crucial; interpersonally, maieutic methods and shared decision-making foster communities of inquiry; socially, a nonviolent school carries inherently political significance, countering exclusionary structures and nurturing democratic experience (Dewey, 1916).

The panel welcomes contributions examining how school practices and policies can advance nonviolence and demilitarization of educational imaginaries—for instance reorganization of spaces and times, non-punitive assessment, participatory structures, relational literacy, local educational networks. The aim is to contribute to the development of theoretical frameworks, pedagogical tools, and policy proposals sustaining systemic transformation consistent with a planetary humanism (Morin, 2022) and universalism (Silo, 1991).