Teaching Peacemaking in Criminal Justice: Experiential Applications

Abstract

As educators, we recognize that students often come to the classroom with preconceived notions about the criminal justice system that shape their subsequent learning. One such notion revolves around the effectiveness of the “war on crime” model of the criminal justice system. Many students feel that this model is the best way to achieve “justice.” Teaching peacemaking represents an opportunity to introduce the students to a new way of thinking about the criminal justice system. This paper explores how experiential learning strategies can facilitate students’ learning of peacemaking. Suggestions also are made about how peacemaking can be implemented into the pedagogy of criminal justice professors.