The Effects of Peace Education Program on University Students: Case Study of University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54150/thame.v4i2.743Keywords:
Peace Education, HWPL, Kurdistan Region, IraqAbstract
Peace education globally equips students with skills for harmony and conflict prevention using innovative methods, technology, and community initiatives, fostering intercultural understanding and sustainable peace. This study aims to evaluate HWPL’s peace education program’s impact on intercultural sensitivity, student attitudes, behaviours, and its implications for Iraqi university curricula. This study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research to assess the impact of HWPL’s 12 peace education lessons. The research spanned one semester (15 weeks) during the 2023–2024 academic year, with data analysed using SPSS. The study’s findings revealed a statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test results, favouring the post-test, indicating improved student understanding of peace education. The mean scores of the 12 lessons ranged from 1.93 to 2.26, with lesson 2, focused on appreciating diverse viewpoints, traditions, races, and affiliations to promote societal harmony, ranking highest at 2.26. The results positively impacted university students’ perspectives towards peace education. Additionally, no statistically significant gender differences were found in average peace education scores. The researchers concluded with several recommendations and suggestions for future studies to explore this field further. Conclusion: The study showed that peace education significantly improved students’ understanding of peace and diversity, supporting its expansion in universities, schools, and international collaborations.
References
Ahmed, M. F. (2024). Positive Psychology Perspectives: A Multifaceted Approach to Human Flourishing. Pakistan Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(1), 1-7.
Ajmal, F. (2022). Building Resilience through Peace Education: Perspectives of Teacher Educators about Pre-Service Teacher Education. NUST Journal of International Peace & Stability, 60-71. https://doi.org/10.37540/njips.v5i2.132
Albert, S. P. (2019). Peace education, attentive creativity and sustainable development [Educación para la Paz, Creatividad Atenta y Desarrollo Sostenible]. Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social, 8(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.15366/RIEJS2019.8.1.002
Ali, A. A. (2023). Promoting Peace Through Education Concepts and Applications.
Bachmann, T. (2023). Exclusion despite nominal inclusion: A critical analysis of participatory development programmes in post-war Colombia. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 42(3), 440–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.13438
Breed, A., Pells, K., Elliott, M., & Prentki, T. (2024). Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP): Creating arts-based communication structures between young people and policymakers from local to national levels. In Children, Youth, and Participatory Arts for Peacebuilding: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Nepal (pp. 47–65). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003230038-3
Buheji, M. (2024). Avoiding resilience fatigue-navigating ‘collective pain’and ‘collective happiness’ in Gaza (war of 2023/2024). International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 14(1), 22-33.
Etim, F. O., & Ukpere, W. I. (2023). A deconstruction of frustration–aggression-theory of political violence: Nigeria. https://doi.org/10.26458/2326
Haastrup, T. A., & Nwakibea, F. I. (2024). Effective leadership for peace and security management. International Journal of Institutional Leadership, Policy and Management, 6(2), 212-228.
Hamzeh’ee, B., Attar, F., Abbas-Azimi, R., & Avakh, H. E. (2025). F. 2025: The importance of qualitative and quantitative anatomical traits in distinguishing species of the series Crataegus subseries Erianthae in Iran. Iran. J. Bot, 31(1), 75-93.
Harris, C., Vazsonyi, A. T., Özdemir, Y., & Sa?kal, A. S. (2020). Family environment and school engagement: An investigation of cross-lagged effects. Journal of Adolescence, 84, 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.08.006
Hou, Y., Li, X., & Xia, L. X. (2024). Common mechanisms underlying the effect of angry rumination on reactive and proactive aggression: a moderated mediation model. Journal of interpersonal violence, 39(5-6), 1035-1057. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231201819
Istianah, A., Darmawan, C., Sundawa, D., Fitriasari, S., & Shamim, A. (2025). Research Trends in Peace Education as A Pillar in Creating A Safe and Comfortable Learning Environment: A Bibliometric Study. IJORER: International Journal of Recent Educational Research, 6(2), 582-601. ttps://doi.org/10.46245/ijorer.v6i2.769
Kárpava, A., & Ramos, V. J. (2020). Education for peace: A space of innovation and exchange of good teaching practices [Educación para la paz: Un espacio de innovación e intercambio de buenas prácticas docentes]. Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social, 9(2), 285–307. https://doi.org/10.15366/RIEJS2020.9.2.014
Kim, E. L. (2024). The effect of media violence on aggression: A meta-analysis and a test of replicability of publications from 2015 to 2022 (Doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University).
Lahti, I. (2025). Creating a Culture of Peace through Basic Education.
Lan, P. C. (2025). Reproducing multicultural citizens: citizenship pathways of Southeast Asian immigrant mothers in Taiwan. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2024.2441905
Lopes, L. F., & Cavazzani, A. L. M. (2025). Education for peace and new technologies: Challenges and possibilities in contemporary Brazil [Educação para a paz e novas tecnologias: desafios e possibilidades no Brasil contemporáneo]. Acta Scientiarum - Education, 47(1), e65696. https://doi.org/10.4025/actascieduc.v47i1.65696
Martínez-López, J. Á., Molina Cano, J., Munuera Gómez, P., & Silva, A. M. C. E. (2022). Analysis of the perception of conflict and its positive resolution in University Students. Social Sciences, 11(11), 529. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11110529
Mashuri, S., Futaqi, S., Hasanuddin, M. I., Yusuf, K., Rusdin, Takunas, R., Bahdar, D., Dwicahyanti, R., & Dwitama Haeba, I. (2024). The building sustainable peace through multicultural religious education in the contemporary era of Poso, Indonesia. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2389719. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2389719
Moe, D. T. (2024). Beyond the Academy: Lived Asian Public Theology of Religions. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Nelson, L. L. (2021). Identifying determinants of individual peacefulness: A psychological foundation for peace education. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 27(2), 109. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000517
Ntini, T., & Omona, J. (2022). Peacebuilding through early childhood care and education in a post-conflict society: The roles of the parents and the early childhood development centres in Gulu District, Northern Uganda. Southern African Journal of Social Work and Social Development, 34(1), Article 9535. https://doi.org/10.25159/2415-5829/9535
Orders, I. S. (2024). AGENDA FOR THE FACULTY SENATE MEETING March 22, 2023 3: 00-4: 15 pm (Doctoral dissertation, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY).
Özel, D., & Sümer, Z. (2025). Peace Education Program Adaptation. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 12(2), 231-251. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/2142
Paluck, E. L., Porat, R., Clark, C. S., & Green, D. P. (2021). Prejudice reduction: Progress and challenges. Annual review of psychology, 72(1), 533-560. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-071620-030619
Papadakis, S., Lytvynova, S. H., Ivanova, S. M., & Selyshcheva, I. A. (2024, October). Advancing lifelong learning with AI-enhanced ICT: A review of 3L-Person 2024. CEUR Workshop Proceedings.
Phillips, N. L., Du, T. V., Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2025). Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Daily Life: An Exploratory Experience?Sampling Method Study. Aggressive Behavior, 51(1), e70019. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.70019
Pineda, P., Celis, J., & Rangel, L. (2019). The worldwide spread of peace education: discursive patterns in publications and international organisations. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17(5), 638-657. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2019.1665988
Purwanto, Y., Suprapto, Munaf, D. R., Albana, H., Marifataini, L. D., Siregar, I., & Sumarni. (2023). The peace education concept and practice at universities: A systematic review. Cogent education, 10(2), 2260724. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2260724
Purwanto, Y., Suprapto, Munaf, D. R., Albana, H., Marifataini, L. D., Siregar, I., & Sumarni. (2023). The peace education concept and practice at universities: A systematic review. Cogent education, 10(2), 2260724. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2260724
Purwanto, Y., Suprapto, Munaf, D. R., Albana, H., Marifataini, L., Siregar, I., & Sumarni. (2023). The peace education concept and practice at universities: A systematic review. Cogent Education, 10(2), 2260724. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2260724
Reardon, Claudia L., et al. "Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019)." British journal of sports medicine 53.11 (2019): 667-699. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100715
Rico, S. H. (2021). Peace education in times of Covid-19: Rethinking other kind of logic from the imagination, fantasy, creativity and utopia [La Educación para la Paz en tiempos de la Covid-19: Repensar otras lógicas desde la imaginación, la fantasía, la creatividad y la utopía]. Araucaria, 48, 325–348. https://doi.org/10.12795/araucaria.2021.i48.15
Sa?kal, A. S., & Özdemir, Y. (2020). I am satisfied with my sweetheart, therefore I am satisfied with my life (and vice versa): A cross-lagged autoregressive panel model. The Journal of General Psychology, 147(4), 381-397. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.2019.1688757
Sanders, A. M., Warman, M., Deycard, F., Goodman, J., Klein, A., Unterwegner, K., Sangare, B., Moussa, S., George, S., Chica, I. P., Coulibaly, C. O., Saye, M., Jensen, K. A., Weiss, A. J., & Ijaz, K. (2024). Advancing health security and disease eradication through peace and health: A Mali case study. Health Security, 22(2), 159–166. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2023.0091
Schneider, C. P. (2023). Building peace and citizenship through cultural and public diplomacy. Journal of Communication Management, 27(2), 293-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-01-2023-0011
Sekibo, G. T., & Iroye, S. (2024). Exploring Peace Education in a Post-Conflict Society: Challenges and Opportunities. NIU Journal of Social Sciences, 10(3), 295-308. https://doi.org/10.58709/niujss.v10i3.2023
Summa, R. (2021). Everyday boundaries, borders and post conflict societies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55817-8
Thompson, P. (2022). From Gas Hysteria to Nuclear Fear: A Historical Synthesis of Chemical and Atomic Weapons. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 52(2), 223-264. https://doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2022.52.2.223
Timmer, A., Johnson, R. J., Antonaccio, O., & Botchkovar, E. V. (2022). Stress and depression as pathways between violent conflict exposure and moral beliefs: Why people sometimes condone “bad” things. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 28(2), 184. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000603
Upadhyaya, P. (2020). Building peace through education and culture: evolving UN perspectives. Strategic Analysis, 44(5), 429-437. https://doi.org/10.1080/09700161.2020.1824456
Zembylas, M. (2025). Building peace through lifelong learning: Past research and future agendas. International Review of Education, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-025-10148-3
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nizar Ismat Ali, Diman Zuhair Sami Jacksi, Mohammed Ismael Sulaiman, Ali Saeed Saleem
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
