TEACHERS AS PEACEBUILDERS: EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR PEACE EDUCATION IN PAKISTANI SCHOOLS

Abstract

This study explores teachers’ perceptions of school violence and investigate how these views influence their role as peacebuilders in educational environment. The study explore that effective peace education depends not only on supporting peaceful values but also on teachers’ aptitude to identify, understand, and respond to varied kinds of violence within schools. Implementing an interpretive qualitative approach and thematic content analysis, the study investigates teachers’ understandings of violence and the implications of these understandings for classroom management, student relationships, curriculum implementation, and peace-oriented pedagogical practices. The findings explore that teachers often associate violence mainly with physical aggression, whereas less perceptible types for example psychological, relational, gender-based, cyber, structural, and cultural violence remain under recognized. This inadequate understanding may hinder efforts to make comprehensive, safe, and peaceful learning environments. The analysis further recommends that teachers who have a wider conception of violence are better positioned to foster empathy, respect, conflict resolution, and non-violent communication among students. The study suggests a violence-informed peacebuilding framework that prepares teachers to find various types of harm, model non-violent behaviors, employ curative methods to conflict, and support students through suitable safeguarding and referral mechanisms. It determines that teachers play a vital role in transforming schools into spaces of peace and social justice. Strengthening teachers’ understanding of violence is therefore essential for advancing meaningful peace education, increasing student well-being, and promoting a positive school climate.