Perception of peace among pre-service teachers

Received Mar 9, 2020 Revised Apr 10, 2020 Accepted May 4, 2020 This research was carried out to determine pre-service teachers' perceptions of “peace”. This was a qualitative research based on case studies scenarios and document analysis. The sample of the study consists of 180 teachercandidates studies in the social sciences and primary education at a state university in the Aegean Region of Turkey. These Preservice teachers were given scenarios and asked to retain the five scenarios given to them. In this context, in the study, of the document types personal documents and peacerelated sample case scenarios retained by teacher candidates themselves were used. The scenarios gathered are examined as a document and subjected to content analysis, and the data obtained are presented in tables and supported with direct quotations. As a result of the findings obtained from sample case study scenarios, themes of peace were obtained in the context of the teaching profession, in daily life, in the national and universal context. In the context of teacher behaviors and methods and techniques that can be used to bring peace value, teacher candidates’ state creating a democratic classroom climate, enabling free discussion of ideas and encouraging children to empathize. In addition,pre-service teachers stressed the importance of being a role-model and encouraging students to empathize under the theme of teacher behaviors supporting the value of peace.


INTRODUCTION
Human is a social being living in society due to his nature. Living in a society has developed some rules to follow, and more importantly, it has made some important factors in order to maintain the order in society. It is possible to argue that the first factors that make it possible for individuals to adapt to the society are the family. In many parts of the world today, military conflicts have been replaced by social and cultural conflicts. Under the influence of globalization, different cultures began to come together and diversity began to increase in societies. Cultural differences have made individuals change their thought, emotion, belief and behavior. By means of peace perception, it is targeted that students gain skills, attitudes and knowledge which are necessary to create an environment in which students behave each other sensitive, respective and tolerant. Teachers have a serious responsibility for peace education. In order for teachers and prospective teachers to carry out this responsibility in a good way, they must be individuals who are aware of their social role and guide their learners in this regard. Therefore, to determine the teachers' and teacher candidates' perception toward the peace is important for the realization of an effective peace education. Hence, it can be summarized that the aim of this paper is to determine the pre-service teachers' perception toward the peace on a psychological basis when discussing its definition. Some of them agree that the value of peace is related to logical actions as well as to rules and therefore, it is a law-related value. Thus, it is a combination of all these entities. It is related to psychology at the spiritual level. However, it is related to laws and norms at the level of action and endeavours. The lack of the value of peace refers to such social concepts as violance and hostility [10]. Deveci, Yılmaz and Karadağ [34] argue that peace education and the value involved in the educational program of the social studies courses are necessary since it has a significant role in having social harmony and peace, tolerance among individuals, globalization and in assisting the personality development. Bajaj [35] argues that the mission of schools in today's societies is to ensure that children are equipped with skills to enable them to become successful leaders in the future due to the fact that there are many inhibiting factors in achieving these goals: increase of single-parent families and differences, technological addiction and harmful effects of technology. The findings of the related research suggest that peace is a complementary component in ensuring social cohesion. It is stated that the value of peace contributes to individuals in terms of social action and social responsibility.

RESEARCH METHOD
In this study, which was conducted to determine the pre-service teachers' perceptions about peace based on case study scenarios, a qualitative research method, namely document analysis, was used. In the analysis of data, an induction analysis was employed.

Participants
The participants of the study were 200 pre-service primary school and social studies teachers attending Afyon Kocatepe University during the academic year of 2015-2016. However, the data obtained from 180 pre-service teachers which of them 110 females and 70 males were analyzed due to several reasons. In addition, 100 were pre-service primary school teachers and 80 were pre-service social studies teachers.

Data collection tools
As stated earlier, the data of the study were collected through the document analysis. Documents provide real and easily accessible data and allow researchers to find solutions to problems. The word document as an umbrella concept refers to visual and physical materials. This word contains communication materials in the broadest sense. The document analysis covers the analysis of written materials containing information on the facts or facts intended to be investigated [36].
The authors developed five case study scenarios about the value of peace. The related studies were reviewed and five dimensions of the value of peace were identified to be covered in the scenarios. These dimensions include teacher behaviors that contribute to acquire the value of peace, peace in the context of global citizenship, peace in everyday life, peace in the context of international relations and peace in national context. The scenarios were developed based on these dimensions to reveal the perceptions of the participants on the value of peace. They were asked to make comments on these scenarios and to expand them. Therefore, in the study these scenarios were analysed as documents. Then the scenarios were examined using the content analysis. The data are given in Tables and supported by direct quotations.

Data analysis
The data obtained were examined through the inductive analysis. It is a process of description, coding and categorization of the data [37]. The goal of the inductive analysis is to reach concepts and relations that may account for the data. Therefore, in the data analysis consisted of the following steps: coding of the data, identifying the themes, organization of the data based on codes and themes and the interpretation of the findings [36]. In the analysis each scenario was numbered and tagged for the values. In the coding the similar themes were put under the related codes. The themes were identified based on its relation to the value of peace. Miles and Huberman's [38] formula concerning the consensus/consensus + disagreement was employed and it was found to be P = 91. While giving the direct quotations the names of the participants were used.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
As stated above the findings are given in Tables and supported through the direct quotations. The perceptions of the participants about the value of peace are found to be related to four themes. These themes include the teacher behaviors that contribute to acquire the value of peace, peace in the context of global citizenship, peace in everyday life and peace in national context. The first theme, namely the teacher behaviors that contribute to acquire the value of peace, is found to have four sub-themes. Figure 1 indicates these sub-themes. As it can be seen in Figure 1 the value of peace in the context of teaching profession has four sub-themes: the teacher behaviors that contribute to acquire the value of peace, the values related to the value of peace, sources that can be used to teach values and methods and techniques that can be used to teach values. Table 1 indicates the views of the participants about the teacher characteristics that contribute to acquire the value of peace.  Table 1. Teacher characteristics that contribute to acquire the value of peace Characteristics To see the differences among students as a wealth To emphasize the importance of the value of peace at every opportunity To create a class climate based on solidarity and cooperation Encourage students to have empathy when they face different situations Respect human rights and children's rights To encourage students to express their views freely Basing the way of communication into calmness and love Table 1 indicates that the teacher characteristics that contribute to acquire the value of peace mentioned by the participants are both personal and professional. Creating a democratic climate in the classroom and encouraging free thinking, respecting the differences are given as the major examples of this sub-theme. Bülent who thought that "teachers should see the differences among students as a wealth." reported the following view: "For example, if they make fun of a foreign peer due to his speech, I start by teaching words like "good morning" and "hello" in various languages. He may ask the equivalence of various words to him. I let them recognize that there are several languages in the world and that they should accept one another as they are." Mesut who supported the idea that "teachers should emphasize the importance of the value of peace at every opportunity" stated the following view: "In order to draw attention to the misconceptions about students who are conflicting in class or students who have been excluded, I may employ materials like a newspaper or drama to make them to acquire empathy towards such people. Then an in-class discussion can be organized. I use every opportunity to emphasize the significance of the value of peace. In this sense, it may be an important dimension to take advantage of current events." Nil argued "Teachers create a class climate based on solidarity and cooperation." reported the following idea: "In class clashes the biggest problem is a competitor class climate. I always adopt a behavior that emphasizes solidarity and cooperation, and I encourage students to do so. Therefore, I try to get the students win together instead of competing." Almila who supported the idea "Teachers should encourage students to have empathy when they face different situations" expressed her view as follows: " Serkan who had the view "Teachers should respect human rights and children's rights" explained it as follows: "Teachers are primary models for students. Therefore, they should be sensitive to human rights and children's rights in their behaviors and reactions within and outside the class. A teacher who does not respect rights cannot educate individuals who respect rights and therefore, he cannot contribute to teaching of the value of peace." Akın who argued "Teachers should encourage students to express their views freely" expressed the following: "I think it is peace is a value that can stand out in free societies. Therefore, in order to teach the value of peace, freedom of speech and freedom of expression need to be supported both in the classroom and in society. Peace is not possible in an environment lacking freedom. Teachers should first encourage the freedom of thought of their students." Doğa who had the idea of "Teachers should employ a way of communication based calmness and love" claimed the following view: "Teachers should first have the value of love. Teachers who have this value can teach all values as well as the value of peace in a classroom environment based on trust. Loving each other can be taught by teachers in the classrooms, at schools and finally in the society to establish a peaceful community. The teacher, who is calmer, becomes a model for his/her students not to make an aggressive decision." Table 2 shows the values that the participants consider correlated with the value of peace. As can be seen in Table 2 the participants thought that the values of solidarity, cooperation, tolerance, honesty, patriotism, respect and hospitality are all related to the value of peace. Aykut who made a connection between the value of peace and solidarity expressed his view as follows: "I give project to students that they can complete it through group work. I evaluate their work in a way that all group members are responsible for success and failure. Thus they learn to achieve together. At school they learn to work together with their peers without experiencing conflict. Such activities can lead to a habit of working together no matter which profession they have when they become adults." Ferhat developed a connection between the values of peace and cooperation and expressed the following ideas about it: "I make sure that my students who do not get along with can work together for a common purpose. For instance, I ask them to plant saplings in some part of the garden and to be responsible for their care or I ask them to make donations to charity organizations such as LÖSEV. Therefore, they learn how to be peaceful and sensitive by extending their hand to people in need." Yiğit thought that the value of peace is closely related to the values of respect, tolerance and patriotism. His views are given as follows: "Students need to learn to respect for differences in order to understand the essence of peace. Only then can a society in peace be built. But I think that approaching in a tolerated way is also associated with patriotism, so that we can live in peace." Eren stated that the value of peace is related to patriotism and expanded his view as follows: "  Table 3 indicates the views of the participants considering the sources that can be used to teach the value of peace. The participants reported that cartoons, case studies, biographies, source people, visual materials, diaries and newspapers. Su who suggested that using some sections of the peace-themed cartoons to teach the value of peace stated her views as follows: "I use a cartoon featuring a down syndrome child named Punky as a cartoon hero. I emphasize respect for differences, love and peace." Table 3. Views on the sources that can be used to teach the value of peace Sources to teach the value of peace Using some sections of the peace-themed cartoons Providing an opportunity to discuss examples related to peace by students in class Using written products such as biographies of peace-related people Focusing on the impact of war and conflict on people with the expert support invited as a resource person Addressing the issue of peace through visuals (photography, cartoons, etc.) Observing students to solve conflicts and to act peacefully by writing diaries To make students to keep diaries and to record the observations of the students in peaceful life Discussion of peace and war themed news in the class Rukiye who argued that an opportunity to discuss examples related to peace by students in class should be given expanded her views as follows: "I think there are many cases of peace in our society, in our country and in the world. I can write such cases myself, too. Or I can benefit from existing case studies to teach the value of peace." Fahri who preferred to use written products such as biographies of peace-related people stated the following view: "In relation to peace, I first use Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's life and words. In the same way, I can use the biographies of important people like Yunus Emre and Mevlana as a tool to teach peace in lessons." Ahmet who argued that focusing on the impact of war and conflict on people with the expert support invited as a resource person is an effective way to teach the value of peace n classroom expressed his views as follows: "I would like to invite professors from the departments of history or social studies teaching as experts to give lectures on war and its effects or to ask them to participate in class. They can give striking examples about the situation in our country and in the world using the historical documents and facts and about periods without peace. Thus, the importance of the value of peace is highlighted." Nida who planned to address the issue of peace through visuals (photography, cartoons, etc.) in her future profession stated her views as follows: "There are great cartoons and very impressive photos about peace like many other topics. I think these are much more influential than pages of written documents… I would like to use such materials to teach peace." Burcu who thought that observing students while they were attempting to solve conflicts and to act peacefully by writing diaries detailed her views as follows: "By observing what students write in their diaries, we can determine which values they have. I think it is also important to determine our starting point." Ali who thought that he would make students to keep diaries and to record the observations of the students in peaceful life expanded his views as follows: "We talked about the forms we transferred our observations like media analysis in one of our courses. I would like them to use their diaries as an observation form to reflect their observations on media, in their own lives, in the world, to produce peaceful solutions for the problems experienced in the world." Sevda who argued for the discussion of peace and war themed news in the class to teach the value of peace stated the followings: "  Table 4 indicates the participants' views on the methods and techniques for teaching the value of peace. Table 4 indicates that the methods and techniques preferred by the participants in teaching of the value of peace include group work, field visits, parental involvement activities, drama, educational games, discussions, observations, sports activities and artistic activities. Aslı who stated that group work is one of the best methods in teaching of the value of peace stated the followings: "To be able to form heterogeneous groups in order to make students work in harmony although they have different characteristics." Musa who support the use of field visits as a way to teach the value of peace expanded his views as follows: "Organizing field visits can be effective in emphasizing peace in order to ensure that students act together to deal with conflicts in social environments. In non-classroom settings, people can learn more about each other and develop more positive social relations." Emine who suggested that parental involvement may be one of the ways to teach the value of peace to students stated the followings: "I think the family's point of view about peace is important. We will try to bring the value of peace through the activities that will be involving the family members or the activities in which the family will actively participate." İrem who argued that the scenarios by the children can be used to teach the value of peace stated her views as follows: "Students are given key words and asked to write scripts and drama about peace. Then we can offer an opportunity to students to discuss them in the evaluation process." İrem who thought that drama can be employed to teach the value of peace argued the following views: To enable students to perform their role by giving them themed scenarios or keywords. İrem who supported the idea of using educational games as a way of teaching the value of peace stated the following view: "If the group of students is younger, they can learn the value of peace by playing games. So we can develop games for this purpose. If there are traditional games suitable for teaching peace, we can also use them in the classroom." Sevinç who thought that discussions can be employed to teach the value of peace stated the followings: "I may give students such topics as peaceful behavior in social issues always solves the problem or it does not always solve the problem to make them discuss the value of peace and it can provide in-depth discussions in the classroom." Table 5 indicates the views of the participants about the place of peace in daily life. Table 5 indicates that the participants reported the value of peace in daily life in the form of by support for the people who are right, equal treatment, respect for differences, peace in family, friendship, the reflection of peace in language, reflection of affection in communication and sensitivity. Bülent who argued that people should involve in the events and support the people who are right stated the followings: "In such a situation I cannot say "let sleeping dogs lie". I am clearly on the side people who are right whether or not they are defending themselves enough. I would react to someone else who was wrong. When necessary you have to be cruel to be kind. People should not support those who are unfair even though they know them." "One should be a model to identify the right and the wrong in the family and treat it well.

Since the family is the smallest unit in society, I think it is important to base peace in family relations as well as in kinship relations. For example, it is important not to get angry like a child after having little conflicts sin family"
Nil who argued that friendship should be an inevitable part of life stated the following views: "There is an individualized world. People are chatting with everyone, but it is superficial. No one really shares his trouble or secret. People cannot trust the others because they are scared. Apparently, peace and tranquility prevail but in fact it is not true peace or tranquility. If we could give more significance to friendship in our lives, then I think the peace will be" Mehmet who thought that respectful language should be employed in communication with other people expressed his views as follows: "There is respect on the basis of peace in modern societies, and I think they live in peace, since nobody intervenes other people's freedom, because they accept them with all kinds of lifestyles, looks, beliefs and ideas. In my opinion there is absolutely lack of respect that prevents social peace to come true and inhibits conflicts. First of all, it is important not to reflect the aggressive and argumentative attitudes in our language and behavior." Ali thought that affectionate language should be used in communication stated the following views: "Even in the animal kingdom there is love for peace, dogs are friendly to cats. There are many such videos on social media. When we give priority to love each other, peace will come to life spontaneously." Tülin thought that people should be sensitive to those who are in need of help stated the followings: "I always try to be there for anyone who needs help or who is right. I tell the other person about his mistake, even I know him well. To be silent in the face of injustice means to be part of this injustice." Table 6 shows the views of the participants concerning the position of peace in the national and international contexts. As can be seen in Table 6 the participants have many different views on the place of peace in the national and global contexts, including not harming public property, avoiding physical and psychological harm, obeying rules and laws, doing business well, having harmony in society, using powers for public interest, equal treatment, taking active role in solving problems and respecting differences. Begüm who argued for not harming public property stated the following views: "In every country, people gather and perform demonstrations to use their democratic rights. At this point, there is no problem. The problem arises when the public property is damaged, causing it to be overwhelmed. A person who has the value of peace cannot harm public property and its environment."  Table 6. Views of the participants concerning the position of peace in the national and international contexts "Peace" in the national and international contexts Not damaging public property Not giving physical harm someone else Not giving psychological harm to someone else Complying with social rules Complying with laws Doing his job well and being appreciated for that Adapting to different environments and situations Using the power in the public interest and being objective Not discriminating people because of their religion, language, race, etc. Participating in various groups, institutions and social organizations to be part of the solutions for the problems experienced in the community Approaching the different lifestyles with tolerance Alperen who thought that people should avoid physical harm stated the following views: "We are talking about peace, but, for example, when our favorite football team loses the game or when we speak with someone who has a different political view, we do not hesitate to use physical violence. We hear this kind of news every day. The way other countries look at us in this sense is badly affected." Göktürk who thought that people should avoid psychological harm stated the followings: "I think hospitality to the tourists coming to our country is not the indicator that we respect the differences. We should protect them from any harmful approaches. Peace refers to avoid all kinds of harmful approach. We should develop empathy with all people. Not only physical violence, not to resort to psychological violence can make us a peaceful person" Aybüke who focused on the obeying the rules and laws stated the following views: "Social rules also exist to maintain peace. Both written and unwritten rules enable us to live peacefully in society." Almıla who emphasized the significance of the laws in the context of peace in national and global conditions expanded her views as follows: "For example, if I live abroad, the easiest way to adapt is to comply with the law. I can live anywhere in the world if I abide by working hours, obey traffic rules, stay away from behaviors that cause discomfort to people. I think the basic condition for living in peace or being a citizen of the world is to comply with the law." Hümeyra who developed a scenario about the relationship between the value of peace and doing the job in a good manner stated her views as follows: " In the study it was determined that the perception of pre-service teachers on the value of peace was about four main themes. These themes are as follows: peace in the context of the teaching profession, peace in everyday life, peace in national and global context. The theme of peace in the context of the teaching profession is found to have four sub-themes as follows: teacher characteristics that contribute to teach the value of peace, the other values associated with the value of peace, the resources that can be used to teach the value of peace and the method-techniques that can be used to teach the value of peace.
The teacher characteristics mentioned by the participants are both personal and professional in nature. Some of these characteristics include creating a democratic class climate in the classroom, encouraging free thinking and respecting differences. The participants mostly regarded the following values as being associated with peace: solidarity, cooperation, tolerance, honesty, patriotism, respect and hospitality. The sources that the participants thought to be used to teach the value of peace are as follows: cartoons, case studies, biography, source persons, visual materials, diaries and newspaper. The methods and techniques that can be used to teach the value of peace are given by the participants as follows: group work, field trips, parental involvement practices, drama, educational games, discussions, observations, sport activities and art activities.
Mishra [12] dealt with the design of the educational program for peace education towards secondary schools and concluded that peace education needs to be addressed in four stages. These are personal peace, peace at school, national peace and universal peace. The findings from the sample scenarios it is found that the following four themes included: peace in the context of the teaching profession, peace in everyday life, peace in national and global context. The findings are consistent with the stages of peace education developed by Mishra [12]. In this study, the participants talked about creating a democratic class climate in the context of teacher behaviors and methods and techniques that can be used by the prospective teachers to teach the value of peace, allowing the free discussion of ideas and encouraging children to establish empathy. Mishra [12] analyzed the views of the school administrators, teachers and parents. Of them school administrators regarded the peace education as more positive approach among people. Teachers thought it as an information exchange among people. Parents considered it to be a safe learning environment.
The participants of the current study mentioned all these dimensions in relation to the teacher behaviors related to the value of peace. In this context, it can be said that the participants have a multi-dimensional perspective on peace education.
The participants expressed the significance of respect reflected in the language in daily life under the theme of peace. Vestal and Jones [39] dealt with conflict resolution and peace in the pre-school education period and concluded that the prerequisite to have a safe and peaceful society is the teaching of the value of peace. They also added that such an attempt involves the steps of being a model for students, using appropriate words while dealing with these topics, helping students gain peaceful experiences and drawing attention to the value of peace.
Damirchi ve Bilge [40] analyzed the effects of peace education delivered to the seventh-grade students on their conflict resolution and communication skills. They concluded that peace education created very significant improvement on their skills. In addition to this, they stated that the most important responsibility of the teacher is to be a model in teaching peaceful behaviors to students. They emphasized the importance of developing empathy with others and the importance of being a part of global civil society, as well as the peace education program within the global issues and peace issues. In the study the participants emphasized the importance of being a model for students under the theme of teacher behaviors supporting the value of peace and encouraging students to empathize with other people. This finding is consistent with the previous findings.
Chubinidze [14] stated that global peace education could be integrated into existing educational programs of the courses to put it into practice. He also added that it involves peace-related issues, solutions, measures and mediation, human rights and non-violent approaches. It is also stated that during the peace education process different sources can be employed, including various web sites, books, modules and guides prepared for peace education and that several projects can be developed for different education levels. They also stated that during the implementation of such projects several institutions can be involved in the process. In addition, they argued that there are some factors used to support the peace education such as responsibility, multicultural education, respect for diversity, tolerance and awareness of prejudice. In the study the participants developed a connection between the value of peace and the values of tolerance and respect. In addition, under the theme of teacher behaviors supporting peace, the participants talked about encouraging students to practice human rights in the classroom and encouraging students to use non-violent approaches, to address peace-related issues in the classroom, and to use the related books and resources. These views of the participants about the dimensions of peace and about the process of peace education are consistent with the findings by Chubinidze [14].
Lockwood [11] listed several teacher behaviors that support peace education: having a deep understanding and calmness, paying attention to the present moment without any prejudice and accepting everything, having awareness and conscious views about events, making decisions in calmness and prioritizing love as a core value and calmness. They emphasized the positive impact of solidarity on creating a cooperative and democratic classroom climate concerning peace education. In this study, the pre-service teachers participated in the study stated that love and calmness should be based on communication, as well as democratic, cooperative and democratic class climate.

CONCLUSION
In order to determine the perceptions of "peace" of the preservice teachers based on case scenarios, the working group of this study was composed of 180 teacher candidates studying in primary school teaching and social studies teaching at a state university in the Aegean region of Turkey. The teacher candidates were given scenarios and asked to continue the five peace-themed case scenarios given to them. As a result of the findings obtained from case scenarios, the themes of peace in terms of teaching profession, daily life, national and universal were obtained. In the context of the teaching profession, the theme of the peace is composed of 4 sub-themes. These themes are teacher characteristics that contribute gaining the peace as value to the students, values associated with the value of peace, resources that can be used in the value of peace, and methods-techniques that can be used in the value of peace. In the context of appropriate teacher behaviors, methods and techniques that can be used to bring the peace value, teacher candidates stated to create a democratic classroom climate, to allow free discussion of ideas and encourage children to empathize. In addition, pre-service teachers have focused on the importance of being a model and encouraging students to empathize under the theme of teacher behaviors that promote the value of peace. In their case scenarios, the teachers expressed the value of peace in the form of solidarity, cooperation, tolerance, honesty, patriotism, respect and hospitality.
Pre-service teachers have mentioned being on the right side without being a spectator to events, establishing positive relationships with the people having different beliefs, lifestyles, and thoughts, prioritizing the respect in daily language, being sensitive to people who need help and doing what they supposed to do. In the national and global context, the pre-service teachers expressed the importance of social rules, respecting differences and being aware of their responsibilities.