Coeducation: Teaching Peace from a Gender Perspective

Abstract

When analyzing peace education through a historical lens we should be sensitive to the gender dimension. Not only should we include critical analysis of the subordination of women and the denial of their rights throughout history, but we should also be sensitive to the way in which the educational system has recognized or denied women’s historical legacy as caregivers and peace workers. In this article, the author analyzes care ethics as a key issue to explain the relationship between women and peace. Caring becomes a source of peace by enhancing such values as patience, responsibility, commitment, and tenderness. The historical evolution of the educational system in Spain from segregated schools to mixed schools and coeducative schools is analyzed to propose the inclusion of caring as part of a peace education curriculum. The aim is to generalize caring as a peaceful human value, not just a part of women’s roles.