The Effect of Cooperative Concept Mapping on Misconceptions, Knowledge Achievement, and Transfer of Learning in Peace Education

Abstract

This study tested the effect of cooperative concept mapping on knowledge achievement and transfer in peace education on 159 social studies students using a quasi-experimental research design. Four intact classes—two each in rural and urban areas—were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions, and two instruments—Peace Education Achievement Test and Peace Education Transferability Test—were used for data collection. Findings showed that cooperative concept mapping unveiled students’ misconceptions in peace education and their perceptions about violent behaviors, raised students’ consciousness about asymmetric structures undermining peace, empowered them with ability to establish connections between intrinsic and extrinsic causes of conflict, and encouraged practical suggestions on how to resolve conflict and promote peace through enactment of peace virtues. Bivariate associations showed that students’ achievement in one context correlated with their transfer of learning in another context, with stronger correlation exhibited among experimental students. We attributed the stronger correlation recorded among experimental students to the “concepts connection” and visual effect occasioned by concept maps and overt effort of experimental teachers to create cooperative, experiential, and learner-centered lessons. Also, our assumption that female students will do better than male students in peace education was met. Implications of findings for curriculum review, instructional delivery and teacher education were discussed.

Keywords:

• Peace education
• concept mapping
• social studies education
• transfer of learning
• academic achievement

Notes

1 At the proposal of this study, one question raised at the faculty was, by teaching “social conflict and conflict resolution and management” has “peaceful living” not been indirectly taught? The answer is no, not just because the education authority saw the need for teaching the two topics separately as evidenced by the disintegration of the two topics in JSS3 social studies curriculum (Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, 2012) but also, as deducible from Noddings’ (2012) arguments in “Peace education: How we come to love and hate war,” we need to emphatically and directly teach our children peace— our children have heard, witnessed, and learned much about conflict. Also, by extensively applying Noddings’ principle of caring relation in teaching (Noddings, 2012) we do not have to assume students’ knowledge and understanding of peaceful living; we have to express students’ knowledge and understanding of peaceful living.

2 Ethical rules were observed: all participants’ names reported in this study are pseudonyms.