The role of school culture in teacher professional development for peace education: the case of Sukma Bangsa School Pidie in post-conflict Aceh, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

This paper explored the relations between the practice of school culture and teacher professional development for peace education. Using the case of Sukma Bangsa School Pidie (SBS Pidie) in post-conflict Aceh, Indonesia, and the influence of school culture on teacher professional development as the theoretical framework, this paper provides a discussion of teacher professional development for peace education that is still lacking in the literature. The findings suggest that SBS Pidie teachers who participated in this study perceived that their school leadership had developed a school culture and clarity of stance that was conducive to their learning for peace. The culture in this school is based on a clear stance of the school on peace, and the practices that contribute to teacher professional development are manifested in the school management and its environment, facilitation for learning, and relationships between teachers. The findings also suggest that in post-conflict areas, school culture needs to be able to assist teachers in overcoming their conflict-related trauma.

KEYWORDS:

• School culture
• teacher professional development
• peace education
• peace learning
• school management
• Aceh

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. A discussion on the importance of vision and policy towards organizational culture can be found in Principles of Management, published by University of Minnesota (2015).

2. Training as a practice in an organizational culture is dicussed by Polo, Cervai, and Kantola (2018).

3. A list of standard skills for teachers teaching peace education was written by Candice C. Carter (2008).

4. The original text is in Bahasa Indonesia, ‘Menciptakan lingkungan pendidikan yang positif dan berkelanjutan bagi warga belajar untuk meningkatkan kualitas sumberdaya manusia yang memiliki kemampuan akademis, terampil, dan berakhlak mulia.’

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dody Wibowo

Dody Wibowo is a consultant on peace education. He holds a Master Degree in Peace Education from the University for Peace, Costa Rica and Doctoral Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Otago, New Zealand. His research interest focuses on peace education, peacebuilding, and teacher professional development.