# Introduction eace education is the process ofacquiring the values, the knowledge and developing the attitudes,skills and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself, with others and with the natural environment (Wikipedia, 2015) There are numerous united Nations declarations on the importance of peace education (Page, 2008) Ban ki Moon, U.N Secretary General, has dedicated the International Day of Peace 2013 to peace education in an efforts to refocus minds and financing on the preeminence of peace education as the means to bring about a culture of peace (Peace Day 2013) Koichiro Matsuura, the immediate past Director -General of UNESCO, has written of peace education as being of "fundamental importance to the mission of UNESCO and the United Nations. Peace education as a right is something which is now increasingly emphasized by peace researchers such as Betty Reardon and Douglas Roche. There has also been a recent meshing ofpeace education and human right education. Ian Harris John Synott has described peace education as a series of" teaching encounters" that draw from people :( Harris and Synott, (2002). ? Their desire for peace, ? Non-violent alternatives for managing conflict, and ? Skills for critical analysis of structural arrangements that produce and legitimize injustice and inequality. Page suggests peace education be thought of as "encouraging a commitment to peace as a settled disposition and enhancing the confidence of the individual as an individual agent of peace; as informing the students on the consequences of war and social injustice; as informing the student on the value of peaceful and just social structure and working to uphold or develop such social structures; as encouraging the students to love the world and imagine a peaceful future; and as caring for the student and encouraging the student to care for others. (Page,2008). Peace education is the type of study that essentially inculcates discipline in people. It is that course that teaches the past and present conflicts or wars noting the causes, the effects and recommends towards averting such social ills. It also teaches the expectations of citizens in general, and more specifically, the duties, roles, obligations, activities of individual leaders and followers. In peace Education, essential are knowledge of fundamental human rights of citizen; the rise and fall of political entities such as the empires in the pre-colonial days; the importance of the rule of law, separation of powers; and the menace of bad leadership. In Nigeria, there have been cases of inter-ethnic crisis. A good example of this is the crises between Hausa and Yorubas in Lagos with a spillover effect in Kano. There are many cases of boundary disputes such as the Modakeke and Ife in Osun State, Nigeria, Ipoti and Iloro in Ekiti State, Nigeria,+just to mention a few. The crisis between school children and school authority is rampant while political crisis disrupt progress in all its ramifications almost at all times. These are also source of disturbances to the peace of Nigerians, the common occurrences of armed robbery, ritual killings, abductions of innocent citizens and incessant fuel crisis. There is no doubt that there is a problem of peace in Nigeria. The need for solutions to the numerous problems that causes disturbances in Nigeria is therefore, evident. Peace should be conceived as something common to all (Galtung, 2004). A global state peace must be the goal pursued by Nigerian government and peace programmes must be organized periodically to sentizize people on the importance of peaceful co-existence. Several efforts have been made towards making peace a reality in Nigeria. The National policy on Education (2004 reversed 2013) for example, explained the role of education in this regard. The policy stated that all levels of Nigerian educational system must inculcate the values of respect for the worth and dignity of man and liberty, and develop moral and spiritual values of inter-personal and human relations along the line, school subjects such as social studies, history, Religious Studies, Moral Education, and Geography to mention a few were introduced into the school curricula. Since the higher institutions students also went through secondary education, so these subjects will enable the future that are always used by the politicians for crisis to learn about peace, its importance and how to keep peace and live in peace with people and in the land (Adejobi and Adesina, 2009). Peace education could be inseminated into the students using the existing subjects in the secondary school curriculum in Nigeria. Subject, such as History, Social Studies, Geography, Government and Religious Studies are relevant in this case. In History, Students are made to understand the past and present happenings in their communities and use the knowledge to better their future. History would make students appreciate the factors that make for national unity and global understanding (NECO, 2002). The contributions made towards lasting solutions to peace problems studied in the history cannot be exaggerated. Social studied is meant to transmit a body of knowledge, skill and values that aim at developing effective broad-minded patriotic citizen that will have as objective national integration, promotion of national unity and progress. It is also very good area of specialization that impacts the values of peace Education. It is a subject that teaches learners the development of an understanding of their immediate surroundings. It also makes students develop skills which will enable them deal with and manage the forces of the world in which they live. For many nations to enjoy peace, peace education has to be fully integrated to the secondary school subjects. It therefore becomes imperative to investigate the perception of teachers on the influence of peace education in Nigerian secondary schools. # II. # Peace Education Peace education (PE) is all educational efforts, formal or informal that aims at developing in the learners the attitudes, values and skills to live with others in harmony, mutual understanding, trust and amicable resolution of conflicts. Ajala (2003) stated that peace education includes all the values, attitudes and forms of behavior, ways of life, respect for life, reflection of violence, commitment to principle of freedom, Justice, Solidarity, tolerance among people and between groups and individuals Hick (1998) explained that the objectives of peace education can be grouped into three namely:acquisition of skills, knowledge about issues and development of attitudes. This is in line with Oyebanji (2001). Ajala (2003) Peace education could be integrated into the students using the existing subjects in the school curriculum in Nigeria. Subjects like History, social studies; Geography, Government and Religious Studies are relevant in this case. The development of the culture of peace can be traced to the indigenous system of education in Nigeria. Traditional education laid emphasis on character training. Falade, Akinola and Adejubee (2009) explained that the Yoruba of Nigeria have norms meant for social cohesion and smoothrunning of the community. In the traditional community, like any other human society, conflicts or disputes arise. Such disputes are settled through dialogue by the family and community leaders. The extended family system and the decentralized political structure in some parts of Nigeria promote conflict resolution, respect for elders, mutual understanding and harmony. Peace education has therefore become part of the school programme in many nations of the world. In some countries, peace education has been referred to as education for conflict resolution international understanding and human rights, global education, life skills education, social justice education, environmental education etc. The scope and nature of peace education in nations of the world are determined by societal issues and problems. The Nigerian government introduced the 9-year Basic Education Programme as one of the means of attaining the Millenium Development goals (MDG) by 2015. This prompted the need for the revision of the existing school curriculum. Hence, the National council on Education (NCE) in 2005 directed the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to review, re-structure and re-align the existing primary and JSS curriculum into 9-year Basic Education Programme. In 2006, the NERDC produced the 9-year Basic Education Curriculum which covered current and emerging issues live value reorientation, peace and dialogue including human rights education, family life and HIV/AIDS education etc. (NERDC, 2009). In the light of this, a new basic education social Studies curriculum incorporate contemporary issues like peace and conflict issues, child/women trafficking, youth unemployment and youth religious restiveness, gender issues etc. while a new civic education curriculum was disarticulated from the new social studies curriculum, other emerging areas like peace education, gender education, and family life education were integrated into the social studies curriculum. IV. # Influence of Peace Education in Nigerian Secondary Schools Peace education is an on-going and life -long learning process. It could be disseminated formally as in the school system or informally at the family or community levels. In the school system, elements of peace education are incorporated and taught as part of existing curriculum of subjects at the different levels. Generally, the objectives of peace education are the recipients, helping them to develop positive attitudes and acquire the skills to become peace builders in life (Gumut, 2004). It must also be emphasized that school children at whatever levels should be exposed to histories in the country to further strengthen their sense of appreciation of the dynamics of existence within the Nigerian landscape. At the informal levels, which offer wider platforms for peace education, the process is multifaceted, less organized but quite effective in the gradual building of peace in the society. In History, Students are made to understand the past and present happenings in their communities and use the knowledge to better their future. History would make students appreciate the factors that make for national unity and global understanding (WAEC, 1998;NECO, 2002). The contributions made towards lasting solutions to peace problems studied in History cannot be exaggerated. Social Studies is meant to transmit a body of knowledge, skill and values that aim at developing effective broad-minded patriotic citizen that will have as objective national integration, promotion of national unity and progress (CESAC, 1993). It is also a very good area of specialization that impacts the values of Peace Education. It is a subject that teaches learners the development of an understanding of their immediate surroundings. It also makes them deal with and manage the forces of the world in which they live. Social studies make learners learn how to live harmoniously in a society where many different groups co-exist. Students learn topics such as socialization, conflicts, co-operation, heroes, heroines, ethnic diversities, human rights and emergent problems in the society. Social Studies is supposed to instill in learners the acts of discipline, tolerance and such acts that would encourage peaceful co-existence of people in the society. All the above are included in the objectives which peace education intends to achieve. The objectives of peace education, according to UNESCO (1998) Looking at the objectives of peace education above, one can see the inner play with school subjects like social studies, Religious Studies and Government. History equally helps to bring information; action and international education. UNESCO (1998) stresses that education should include critical analysis of the historical and contemporary factors of an economic and political nature underlying the contradictions and tensions between countries together with the study of ways of overcoming these contradictions, which are the real impediments to understanding true international cooperation and the development of world peace. The intention of UNESCO favourably support school disciplines such a History, Religious Studies and Political Science in learning the values. WAEC (1998) pointed out that Government syllabi aim at assessing accommodates ability to recognize the role as an informed citizen and his contribution towards the achievement of national development. NECO (2002) highlights the aims of government as a school subject by writing that the subject would develop in the minds of the students' positive attitude towards the achievement of national unity and nation building. UME (2002). Suggests that Religious Studies would guide candidates in the acquisition of the knowledge and understanding of the tenets in the subject as contained in Quran or the Bible, and the ability to apply these tenets to the context of life in peace education objectives. Peace should be conceived as something common to all, yet peace seems to be far from some areas in the nation. It is against this background that the researcher deems it fit to investigate the perception of teachers on the influence of peace education in Nigerian Secondary Schools. V. # Purpose of the Study The general purpose of this study is to examine the perception of teachers on the influence of peace education in Nigerian Secondary School. Other specific purposes are to : 1) examine the perception of teachers on the influence of peace education in South-West Nigerian Secondary Schools; 2) Determine whether peace education in secondary school has influence on students. 3) Ascertain whether there is difference in the perception of male and female teachers on the influence of peace education in Nigerian secondary schools. 4) Investigate whether peace education can put an end to Nigerian crisis. VI. # Research Questions The following questions were raised to guide the study: 1) What is the perception of teachers on the influence of peace education in the south-west Nigerian secondary schools? 2) Does peace education in secondary schools has influence on the students? 3) Can peace education put an end to Nigerian crisis? 4) Is there any significant difference in the perception of male and female teachers on the influence of peace education in Nigerian secondary schools? VII. # Methodology The research employed the descriptive design of the survey type to achieve the purpose of the study. The target population was all secondary schools in the South-West Nigeria. Samples were taken from four (4) states namely; Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti. Five (5) schools were selected from each of these states. 20 teachers were randomly selected from each school for data collection. The total respondents were 100 teachers. A self-developed questionnaire tagged "The Influence of Peace Education" (TIPE) was used as instrument to elicit responses from the respondents. There were 20 items on the instrument and were put on four Likert Scale of; Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree(D), Strongly Disagree(SD). The instrument demonstrated high internal consistencies with Cronbah's alpha ranging from 0.80 to 0.92 copies if the instrument were personally administered on the respondents by the researcher. Respondents were guided on the procedure for completing the items of the instrument. Enough time was given the respondents to complete the scales. The copies of the questionnaire administered were collected after completion and analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test at 0.05 level of significance. # Results # Research Question 1 What is the perception of teachers on the influence of peace education in the South-West Nigerian secondary schools? develop qualities Japtitudes, and abilities which enable the individual to acquire a critical understanding of problems at the national and international levels; to work in a group; to accept and participate in free discussion; and to base value judgments and decisions on a national analysis of relevant facts and factors (P. 132). The results presented in the table 4.5 indicates that peace education is the central pillar to improving human relation in schools and it is best taught through subjects like social studies, government, history and religious studies. This is obvious from the average mean of 2.03 and standard deviation of 0.87. The teachers equally perceived that they should be engaged in seminars or activities on peace education as part of on-the-job training since they are the role models to the students. However, it was observed that the influence of peace education on female students is not somewhat different from that of their male counterparts (mean value of 3.25 and S.D of 0.94 which is higher than all other values point to this fact). Although, the participants did not unanimously agree that government plays key roles in keeping peace in schools (M.V= 2.43 and S.D= 1.14), they were of the belief that government full support with teachers and society will make peace education effective and Nigeria, a peaceful nation. # Research Question 2 Does peace education in secondary school have influence on the students? From the above table, it is clear that peace education, if taught in the classroom, will help to shape the attitude and behavior of students. The average score value of 1.65 and S.D of 0.72 point to this fact. It was made clear by the respondents that the importance of peace education is unequivocal for the cultivation of save and prospering future for the entire world. However, this is in addition to the fact that it will be of help to improving the social well-being of teachers and students. # Research Question 3 Can peace education put an end to Nigeria crisis? The statistics presented in the table above reveals that the teaching of peace education in our schools can help in eradicating crisis in the country. This is evident from the average mean score of 1.97 and S.D of 0.87. Parts of the causes of crisis in Nigeria, as made known by the participants are: the form of democratic government being practiced in the country and the multi-ethnic nature of the society (2.09 (0.99). However, the difference in the students' background (2.89(1.01) was disregarded as being part of the causes of crisis. # Research Question 4 Is there any significant differences in the perception of male and female teachers on the influence of peace education in Nigerian Secondary Schools? The results presented on the table above shows that there was no significant difference between the perception of male teachers and female teachers on the influence of peace education in the south-west Nigerian secondary schools. The t-test result of 0.812 (with pvalue of 0.857(>0.05}) which is less than table value of (2.02) confirms this fact. That mean both male and female teachers have the same perception on the influence of peace education in Nigerian secondary schools. VIII. # Discussion From the findings it was discovered that peace education is the cardinal pillar to improving human relation in schools and family settings and it is best taught through subjects like social studies, government, history, civic education and religious studies. The assertion made by UME (2002) that religious studies would guide the candidate in the acquisition of the knowledge and understanding of the tenet in the subject as contained in the Quran and Bible and the ability to apply this tenet to the context of the life in society corroborates this fact. The identification of religious studies as being parts of the subject with which peace education could be taught is seen as right gesture by the participants. However, the view of CESAC (1993) that social studies will help to transmit a body of knowledge, skill and values that aim at developing effective broadminded patrotic citizen that will bring about integration and promote national unity and progress was also in line with the findings made. It was pointed out in this study that teachers should be engaged in seminars or any activity on peace education as part of on-the-job training. Since teachers are the role models for the students, one then expects that this should take place as it is generally believed that what one does not have, one cannot definitely give out. The findings also revealed that the teaching of peace education in classroom will help in shaping the attitude and behaviour of students. The NERDC report (2007) puts it that 9-year basic education curriculum covered current and emerging issues like value reorientation, peace and dialogue including human rights education, family and HIV/AIDS. Therefore, it cannot be argued that peace education in school will produce students of positive attitude and good character. The results further shows that peace education is unequivocal for the cultivation of save and prosperity future and will also help in improving the social well-being of the teachers and students. This is in agreement with the assertion of United Nations (2009) that peace education will function as 'peace Zone' where children are safe from violent conflict and that it From the findings, it was gathered that the introduction of peace education in our school curriculum will help in eradicating crisis in the country. This goes in line with the submission made by Ajala (2003) that peace education will impact in learners all norms, values and attitudes that could bring about environment for human living. It was further highlighted by this fimdimgs that the form of democratic government being practiced in the country and the multi-ethnic nature of the society are parts of the causes of crisis in the country. This agrees with the submission made by John Galtung (2004) who after having categorized the types of violence, recognized the structural violence as deliberate policies and structures that cause human suffering and which has potential of leading to crisis in the entire system of government. However, it was clarified by the participants that students' background in school does not have any connection with Nigeria crisis. Also the position of Kadiri (2003) that in Nigeria, most of the ethnic crises are caused by no factor other than tribal sentiments, greed, selfishness and chauvinism support these findings. The findings also elucidate that the perception of male teachers on the influence of peace education in south-west Nigerian secondary schools is not different from that of female teachers. It was their joint perception that full participation of stakeholders in education sector will help to make peace education effective and which as they said will produce peaceful nation. Little wonder then surfaces, when they agree that if peace education is properly taught in schools will help to shape the attitude of the students as well as their behavior. This agrees with the findings of Hick (1998) who identified objectives of peace education as acquisition, skill, knowledge about the issues, and development of their attitude. This also goes in line with the oyebanji (2001). # IX. # Conclusion This study found out that peace education has a lot of implication on the students of south-west Nigerian secondary schools. It was observed that peace education is central to having good human relation in not only the school, the family settling but also the society at large. The study also established that the causes of crisis in the country are the form of democratic system of government being practiced and the multi-ethnic nature of the society. At the same time, the participants called for the attention of government to make necessary arrangement for the teachers by engaging them in seminar or other activities where peace education will be taught. Going by the essential nature of peace education in the secondary school schools, the perception of male and female regarding its influence on secondary schools was the same. They however, jointly agreed that the involvement of all stakeholders in education sector will make the teaching of peace education effective and the country, a peaceful nation. # X. # Recommendations Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made: i. Government should arrange for teachers where they would be fully engaged in seminars and activities that relate to peace education. ii. Peace education should be taught as a separate subject in Nigerian secondary school and should be fully integrated to the secondary school curriculum iii. People in the society should be involved in teaching of the subject. This can be achieved by promoting 'it' in any form of adult education programme already in place iv. Politicians should be banned from using secondary school students in their political campaign, otherwise they face the music. v. Any students or group of students found disrupting the peace of the school community should be severely punished and made to serve as deterrent to others. ![Cases of ethno-religious riots are common in the Nothern part of Nigeria. Example is the Boko haram insurgence (burning down churches in the North and even making effort of coming to the South, East and West). Good examples of other crises in Nigeria include the Tivs and Jukuns tribal wars of 1991, 1992, and 1993; the kattaf and Hausa; Fulani in Kanfachan 1988; the Ijaws and Isekiri clashes of 1991 and 1992; and the Niger Delta crisis. (kadiri 2003).](image-2.png "") 1S/NItemsSAADSDFS.D1Peace education is taught through subjects like741001881.800.77social studies, history, government and religiousstudies in secondary schools.2Peace education is the central pillar to improving829414101.760.79human relations in the family, school, workplace,countries and across borders3The students in the secondary schools are the641121681.840.73generation which has to lead in the future and canbe expected to cultivate a peaceful workingenvironment.4Teachers and educators in learning process should12470421.750.98be engaged in seminars or activities on peaceeducation5Government plays great roles in keeping peace at545650402.431.14schools6The teachers and the government should be the106741461.600.75models in peace keeping7Peace education has a greater influence on the1814681003.250.94female students than male students8Government's full support to teachers and society789414141.820.85will make peace education effective and Nigeria apeaceful nationAverage2.030.87 2S/NItemsSAADSDXS.D9Peace education in classroom aims at shaping the attitude of10094421.540.59the students positively.10Through peace education, students are encouraged to142421061.400.72shoulder their own responsibilities.11The importance of peace education at the school level is10482861.590.71unequivocal for the cultivation of save and prospering future ofthe world.12Peace education is an opportunity to improve the social well-629622202.000.91being and responsibilities of both teachers and students.13There is positive correlation between peace education and94881621.630.67students' behavior.14Peace education if taught properly will help in shaping the781041081.740.73attitude of students in school.Average1.650.72 3S/NITEMSSAAD SDXS.D15.Peace education in our schools can put an end to bullying in4938761.700.84schools.16.Giving student peace education can eradicate crisis in Nigerian364212101.970.94because students are the instruments used for violence and crisis17.The fact that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic society has a lot of324114132.090.99implications on the unity of the country18.The students background has contributed immensely to the122134332.891.01disunity and crisis in Nigeria.19.The democratic form of government being practiced in Nigeria is6231431.460.67one of the sources of crisis in Nigeria20With peace education in Nigeria, there is hope for peaceful4349621.70 0.76co-existence in future.Average1.97 0.87 4VariablesNDfMeanS.Dt-Calt-criticalp-valueMale teachers803932-803.040.1822.020.857Female teachers1203932.953.91 © 2015 Global Journals Inc. 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