Peace education as a transformative strategy in a community affected by gang violence

Abstract

Thousands of children in South Africa live in areas dominated by high levels of gang violence. Little is known about the impact of this violence on younger learners in their preschool years and on their teachers. This study sought to provide knowledge on the exposure and experiences of preschool learners towards gang violence in communities on the Cape Flats, Cape Town, over a two-and-a-half-year period (from 2019 to 2021). The study also sought to answer the questions of whether peace education could be used as a transformative strategy for the preschool community situated in gang affected areas, and if so, how peace education could be used in these circumstances. There is currently a dearth of literature surrounding peace education associations of preschool-aged children and teachers in high-gang violence communities as a strategy to transform a culture of violence to a culture of peace. Such underrepresentation in research constrains the understanding of the impact of gang violence on the preschool population and compromises community-based violence prevention and peace promotion intervention effectiveness. This study explored an ecological systems approach to the consequences associated with early childhood exposure to gang violence in proximal contexts, such as the family, school and environment. It also explored gang violence from the perspective of preschool teachers who live and teach in affected communities and the multiple barriers to promoting peace education in early childhood as an alternative to gangs. Using qualitative participatory action research (PAR), the study made use of questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus groups for data collection. The sample population was composed of teachers and principals from preschools on the Cape Flats. The findings revealed that this sample population experienced high levels of victimisation and violence on a regular basis and were desperate to find a solution to their plight. The data provided from the interviews, questionnaires and focus groups and through thematic analysis of the data, provided the researcher information to be able to put together a peace education manual for early childhood development educators. It is hoped that this manual may be used for practical interventions by preschool teachers in communities such as the Cape Flats, Cape Town, that experience high levels of violence. In this thesis, I argue that the implications for how peace education and peacebuilding aimed at transformation are conceived and practiced, particularly in high-violence, gang-affected contexts, are considerable.