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Differences Between War and Peace are Big: Children from Yugoslavia and the United States Describe Peace and War

American Psychological Association
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology
Authors:
Karen S. Myers-Bowman at Kansas State University
Karen S. Myers-Bowman
Kathleen Walker at Kent State University
Kathleen Walker
Judith A. Myers-Walls
Judith A. Myers-Walls
Judith A. Myers-Walls
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Abstract

This article presents children’s descriptions of peace and war from two very different sociocultural environments: Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and the midwestern United States. Interviews were conducted shortly after the 1999–2000 NATO-Yugoslavian active conflict; therefore, one meaningful contrast between these two contexts is the exposure these children had to political violence. The children from Belgrade directly experienced the bombing of their city, whereas the U.S. children observed the political violence from a distance (if they knew of it at all). Children from both countries expressed overwhelmingly similar ideas of peace and war; however, there also were striking differences between their answers, some of which may be a result of their level of exposure to war. Implications for peace research and education are provided.
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“Differences Between War and Peace are
Big”: Children from Yugoslavia and the
United States Describe Peace and War
Karen S. Myers-Bowman
Family Studies and Human Services
Kansas State University
Kathleen Walker
School of Family and Consumer Studies
Kent State University
Judith A. Myers-Walls
Child Development and Family Studies
Purdue University
This article presents children’s descriptions of peace and war from two very different
sociocultural environments: Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and the midwestern United States.
Interviews were conducted shortly after the 1999–2000 NATO-Yugoslavian active
conflict; therefore, one meaningful contrast between these two contexts is the exposure
these children had to political violence. The children from Belgrade directly experi-
enced the bombing of their city, whereas the U.S. children observed the political vio-
lence from a distance (if they knew of it at all). Children from both countries expressed
overwhelmingly similar ideas of peace and war; however, there also were striking dif-
ferences between their answers, some of which may be a result of their level of expo-
sure to war. Implications for peace research and education are provided.
At the time this article was written, war was occurring in many places around the
world (e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Sudan). The effects of war on adults and
community institutions have been well documented by researchers and widely
covered by journalists. However, war also affects children, yet much less is known
about the impact of war on children and especially about how they understand the
PEACE AND CONFLICT: JOURNAL OF PEACE PSYCHOLOGY, 11(2), 177–198
Copyright © 2005, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Correspondence should be sent to Karen Myers-Bowman, Kansas State University, Family Studies
and Human Services, 303 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506. E-mail: karensm@ksu.edu
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
... Their subjects described the enemy/enemies in individual, personalized terms as 'angry 'people, who 'attack you,' 'fight and shoot people' and 'steal jewelry.' Further research suggests that there are a variety of factors that influence the way children conceptualize enemy/enemies in the context of peace and war (Hakvoort & Hägglund, 2001;Myers-Bowman, Walker, & Myers-Walls, 2005;Raviv, Oppenheimer, & Bar-Tal, 1999). Hakvoort (1996) in reviewing research from 1960s-1990s, posited that for children the concept of war is more easily understood than that of peace. ...
... Spielmann (1986) reports that children not exposed to war conceive of peace as non-violence and tranquility while children experiencing war more directly describe peace as freedom of movement. The research of Myers-Bowman et al. (2005) investigating American and Yugoslavian children's perceptions of war and peace supports the findings of Spielmann. Myers-Bowman et al. (2005) found both "overwhelming similarities" (p. ...
... However, unlike research investigating how sex and age influence a child's understanding of enemies, peace and war, less is known in terms of cultural influences. Myers-Bowman et al. (2005) in their brief but thorough review of literature concerned with socio-cultural factors influencing children's perceptions of war and peace, conclude "there is a relation between children's socio-cultural environment and how they perceive war and peace but much remains unknown" (p.180). Cultural Anthropologists have long been interested in childhood. ...
Cultural Context and Children’s Perceptions of Conflict and Peace
Article
  • Dec 2011
This is a cross cultural comparison of children’s perceptions of conflict and peace. Thirty children, age 6-10 living in the United States and 33 children, of the same age living in the United Arab Emirates were interviewed and asked to respond to 18 questions concerning war, enemy, and peace. Analysis of responses included assessment of sex, culture, and age similarities and differences. Findings indicate that culture plays a prominent role in the way children experience their world and world events. The findings of this study support taking a cultural context focus towards understanding children’s perceptions and using such insight in helping children learn cooperation and acceptance of others knowing that children see the world from the context in which they live.
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... Children's drawings of peace often highlighted the end of the war and a return to safety, happiness, and normalcy, consistent with other studies (Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özer et al., 2018). In this study, children associated peace with smiling children jumping in natural settings, reflecting positive emotions and a utopian state of happiness and harmony (see, e.g., Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;McLernon & Cairns, 2001;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özgür, 2015;Walker et al., 2003). ...
... Children's drawings of peace often highlighted the end of the war and a return to safety, happiness, and normalcy, consistent with other studies (Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özer et al., 2018). In this study, children associated peace with smiling children jumping in natural settings, reflecting positive emotions and a utopian state of happiness and harmony (see, e.g., Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;McLernon & Cairns, 2001;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özgür, 2015;Walker et al., 2003). ...
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  • Dec 2024
Special issue of the journal "Social Inclusion" on “Perceptions, Reflections, and Conceptualizations of War and Peace in Children’s Drawings”, edited by Lisa Blasch, Phil C. Langer, and Nadja Thoma. The issue includes qualitative research contribution by Myriam Denov,Glynis Clacherty, Lisa Blasch and Nadja Thoma, Aisha‐Nusrat Ahmad and Phil C. Langer, Josephine Deguara, Zihan Zhou, Judith Klemenc, and Laila Hamouda, Manuela Ochoa‐Ronderos, Sewar A. Elejla, Keven Lee, Rachel Kronick. The topic’s complexity is reflected in a diverse array of innovative approaches and perspectives, including those that push beyond conventional academic frameworks and methods.
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... Children's drawings of peace often highlighted the end of the war and a return to safety, happiness, and normalcy, consistent with other studies (Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özer et al., 2018). In this study, children associated peace with smiling children jumping in natural settings, reflecting positive emotions and a utopian state of happiness and harmony (see, e.g., Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;McLernon & Cairns, 2001;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özgür, 2015;Walker et al., 2003). ...
... Children's drawings of peace often highlighted the end of the war and a return to safety, happiness, and normalcy, consistent with other studies (Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özer et al., 2018). In this study, children associated peace with smiling children jumping in natural settings, reflecting positive emotions and a utopian state of happiness and harmony (see, e.g., Ilifiandra & Saripudin, 2023;McLernon & Cairns, 2001;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özgür, 2015;Walker et al., 2003). ...
“I Don’t Want War in My House”: Young Children’s Meaning‐Making of War and Peace Through Their Drawings
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2024
War and conflict have always been an integral part of humankind, posing significant threats to humanity. This article investigates young children’s conceptualisation of war and peace through their drawings. Taking a qualitative, interpretive research paradigm, eight five‐year‐old children who had never experienced war first‐hand were invited to draw pictures depicting their understandings of war and peace accompanied by their narratives. The drawing and talk processes were video‐recorded. Drawing on the theory of social semiotics, this study considers drawing as a multimodal visual artefact and metaphorical representation to analyse the content as illustrated by children. Employing a phenomenological approach, the analysis centres on the meanings, feelings, and constructs of war and peace that the participant children communicated through 25 drawings. The findings indicate that children used visual elements like lines, colours, symbols, and narratives to convey multilayered meaning‐making, where five overarching themes were identified as the children’s conceptualisations of war: concrete depictions and symbols of war and warfare such as weapons and soldiers; descriptions of identifiable actions of war to include fighting, shooting, and killing; the negative consequences of war including dead people and animals, sadness and homelessness; conceptualising peace as the end of war and as a happy, safe place with beautiful nature; and reflections on war and peace including the dichotomy between the two. The findings show that while children who do not have first‐hand experience of war, struggle to fully comprehend its complexity, they still exhibit a basic understanding of the trauma of war. The findings also emphasise the importance of giving voice to children to communicate their understandings and emotions through drawing.
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... A key difference was the focus on the element of wellbeing among 12-15-year-olds in less advantaged schools although this can be explained by extreme health inequalities that characterize Glasgow (Coid et al., 2021) and, in particular, the areas in which the schools are located. And, as Myers-Bowman et al. (2005) explained, factors within a child's environment contribute to their understanding of peace as meanings arise from social interactions and from their experiences of dealing with different issues. We then juxtaposed our findings with the analysis of Curriculum for Excellence conducted by Standish and Joyce (2016). ...
Visions of peace: Exploring how Scottish youth understand and define peace
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2024
In this article, we report on a study that explored how young people in Scotland understand and define peace. A total of 59 young people aged 12–18, from three schools (independent, state Roman Catholic, and state non-denominational) participated in this study. The young people were asked to participate in a peace data walk and, after that, to draw or paint pictures of what peace means for them in their local community and beyond. We utilize a combination of Personal Meaning Mapping, visual content analytic procedures, and visual art coding scheme to analyse the pictures. We drew on Critical Peace Education as an overarching framework to approach data collection and on the Peace Education Curricular Analysis framework to examine the presence of positive peace elements in youth drawings/paintings. Previous research in different contexts suggests that youth find it difficult to conceptualize peace, whereas it appears to be easy to explain war and negative peace (i.e., absence of war). Previous research conducted in Scotland showed that the curriculum focused on the element of wellbeing, with many other positive peace elements being either absent or not well represented. By contrast, youth in our study showed a strong understanding of positive peace, with a particular emphasis on the following facets: peace zone, eco mind, wellbeing, peace bond, and social justice. In our conclusion, we discuss these findings in relation to Scottish education policies and ways of capitalizing on this method of engagement and overall findings to support youth learning about peace.
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... Πιο συγκεκριμένα, αρκετοί μελετητές (Tephly, 1985. Miljevic-Ridjicki & Lugomer-Armano, 1994. Bar-Tal, 1996. Connolly et al., 2002. Bar-Tal & Teichman, 2005. Myers-Bowman et al., 2005. Blankemeyer et al., 2009. Cummings et al., 2014. Sharvit, 2014 κ.α.) υποστηρίζουν ότι η διαδικασία της πολιτικής κοινωνικοποίησης μπορεί να ξεκινήσει ακόμα και στην ηλικία των δύο ή τριών ετών -ειδικά για τα παιδιά που αναπτύσσονται σε εμπόλεμα κράτη-και να επηρεάσει τους πολιτικούς προσανατολισμούς που θα αποκτήσουν κατά τη διάρκεια τ ...
Η εκπαίδευση για την ιδιότητα του πολίτη στην προσχολική και πρώτη σχολική ηλικία: Εκπαιδευτικές προσεγγίσεις και πρακτικές
Thesis
Full-text available
  • Jun 2019
Η παρούσα έρευνα μελετά τις αντιλήψεις και τις κοινωνικές δεξιότητες των μαθητών/τριών της προσχολικής και πρώτης σχολικής ηλικίας στην πόλη της Φλώρινας, σε σχέση με την πρόσληψη της έννοιας της ιδιότητας του πολίτη. Συγκεκριμένα, η μελέτη επικεντρώνεται (α) στη δυνατότητα αναγνώρισης κοινωνικών- πολιτειακών αξιών σε οπτικό υλικό, (β) στη δυνατότητα αναγνώρισης πολιτικών αξιών, (γ) σε δεξιότητες ανάπτυξης/εκδήλωσης κοινωνικής-πολιτειακής δράσης, (δ) σε δεξιότητες ανάπτυξης/εκδήλωσης κοινής ομιλίας-δράσης, (ε) στη δυνατότητα αναγνώρισης συγκεκριμένων πολιτικών ηγετών/πολιτικής ιδιότητας και (στ) στη συσχέτιση όλων των παραπάνω με τις μεταβλητές του φύλου, της ηλικίας, της τάξης φοίτησης και της εθνικότητας των μαθητών/τριών. Οι λόγοι που οι συγκεκριμένες δεξιότητες μελετώνται στην παρούσα διατριβή είναι επειδή: (i) θεωρούνται απαραίτητες για την επιτυχή συμμετοχή των πολιτών σε συλλογικές δράσεις που αφορούν πολιτικά και κοινωνικά ζητήματα, (ii) παρέχουν γνώσεις στους πολίτες σχετικά με τα δικαιώματα και τις υποχρεώσεις που έχουν απέναντι στην κοινωνία, αλλά και τις αξίες που πρεσβεύει το πολίτευμα της δημοκρατίας και (iii) προάγουν τη συνεργασία ανάμεσα στα μέλη της κοινωνίας για την επίτευξη κοινών στόχων. Ακόμα, πολλές έρευνες (π.χ. Verba et al., 1995. Moely et al., 2002. Schur, 2003) επισημαίνουν ότι οι συγκεκριμένες δεξιότητες συνδέονται με υψηλότερα ποσοστά πολιτικής και κοινωνικής συμμετοχής των πολιτών και όπως είναι γνωστό, η δημοκρατία συνεπάγεται υψηλά επίπεδα συμμετοχής στη λήψη αποφάσεων. Ειδικότερα, (α) η αναγνώριση των κοινωνικών-πολιτειακών αξιών συνδέεται με τις πραγματικές και βαθύτερες ανάγκες της κοινωνίας και επιπλέον αποτελούν θεμελιώδες συστατικό για τη συνοχή και την πρόοδο των κοινωνιών, (β) η αναγνώριση των πολιτικών αξιών στο οπτικό υλικό συνδέεται με τους πολιτικούς θεσμούς, τις σχέσεις, τους οργανισμούς, τα δικαιώματα και τις υποχρεώσεις του πολίτη και το πολίτευμα της δημοκρατίας που πηγάζει και ασκείται από τον λαό, (γ) οι δεξιότητες ανάπτυξης/εκδήλωσης κοινωνικής-πολιτειακής δράσης και κοινής ομιλίας-δράσης θεωρούνται από τις σημαντικότερες δεξιότητες των ενεργών πολιτών, καθώς συνδέονται με τη δυνατότητα συνεργασίας με άλλα μέλη, το ομαδικό πνεύμα, την ενότητα και την κοινή δράση για την επίλυση προβλημάτων σε μια κοινωνία και (δ) η δυνατότητα αναγνώρισης συγκεκριμένων πολιτικών ηγετών/πολιτικής ιδιότητας, αφορά την αναγνώριση πολιτικών ζητημάτων -όπως ακριβώς και στην περίπτωση για τις πολιτικές αξίες. Ως ερευνητική στρατηγική επιλέχθηκε η μελέτη περίπτωσης, ενώ για τη συλλογή του υλικού κατασκευάστηκαν δύο οπτικά ερωτηματολόγια που βασίστηκαν στο Ευρωπαΐκό πρόγραμμα imago 2010 -«Μάθηση με εικόνες. Εναύσματα για την εργασία στην προσχολική ηλικία και στην ηλικία δημοτικού» του Πανεπιστημίου Gießen, του Πανεπιστημίου της Σόφιας και του Βόλου, καθώς και του Mozarteum στο Salzburg. Όσον αφορά την ανάλυση και επεξεργασία του πολυτροπικού υλικού εφαρμόστηκαν (α) η κοινωνικοσημειωτική και η ερμηνευτική μέθοδος, ως τεχνικές που ερμηνεύουν το οπτικό και γλωσσικό υλικό και υποστηρίζουν την έρευνα και την ανάλυση των παιδικών ιχνογραφημάτων και (β) η ποσοτική και ποιοτική ανάλυση περιεχομένου, ως αναλυτική τεχνική για τις απαντήσεις των μαθητών/τριών στη δομημένη συνέντευξη. Η ερευνητική διαδικασία έδειξε ότι οι μαθητές/τριες που συμμετείχαν στην έρευνα ανέπτυξαν ένα βαθμό οπτικού γραμματισμού όταν αναγνώρισαν τα σενάρια, τους ρόλους και τις ιδιότητες των εικονιζόμενων προσώπων μέσα από τα ποικίλα είδη εικόνων που τους προσφέρθηκαν και ταυτόχρονα οδηγήθηκαν σε προσωπικές μορφές κατανόησης, ερμηνείας και αξιολόγησης του κόσμου. Επιπλέον, έγινε η υπόθεση ότι τα παιδιά μέσω των ιχνογραφημάτων αποτύπωσαν τις αντιλήψεις τους για την ιδιότητα του πολίτη όπως τη βίωσαν και όπως την είδαν, δηλαδή, παρήγαγαν και αφηγήθηκαν μέσω των εικόνων ιστορίες, ανάλογα με τον τίτλο-θέμα που τους έδωσαν. Παράλληλα, το υλικό της έρευνας μπορεί να αξιοποιηθεί από/και για το παιδί, τον εκπαιδευτικό και τον/την ερευνητή/τρια ως υλικό πληροφόρησης για την πολιτική κοινωνικοποίηση του παιδιού, για τα στερεότυπα που συνειδητά ή ασυνείδητα έχει ενστερνιστεί ή όχι, ενώ συγχρόνως αποτελεί ερευνητική και διδακτική πρόταση για την ιδιότητα του πολίτη στην προσχολική και πρώτη σχολική ηλικία. Συνοψίζοντας, θα πρέπει να επισημανθεί ότι επιχειρείται μια πολυτροπική ανάλυση με τη μετατόπιση του ενδιαφέροντος από το ιχνογράφημα ως αντικείμενο και ως εργαλείο έρευνας στο ίδιο το παιδί - δημιουργό, στη διαδικασία της ιχνογράφησης και στις διαδικασίες που συντελούνται την ώρα της ιχνογράφησης, καθώς και στην εξέταση των πλαισίων επικοινωνίας και των σχέσεων με στόχο να ανιχνευθεί η επιρροή συγκεκριμένων διαδικασιών στα συναισθήματα και στις αντιλήψεις τους.
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... Bloody and protracted conflicts accelerate the acquisition of specific linguistic expressions, concepts, knowledge, and emotions. For example, regarding peace and war (Miljević Ridjički & Lugomer-Armano, 1994;Myers-Bowman et al., 2005;Özer et al., 2018), and the enemy (Mertan & Husnu, 2014;Povrzanović, 1997). Conflicts intensify awareness regarding group distinctiveness, and as a result, the collective identification (Gallagher & Cairns, 2011;Oppenheimer & Midzic, 2011). ...
Ethno‐political socialization of young children in societies involved in intractable conflict: The case of Israel
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This paper presents an analysis of the ethno‐political socialization of young children in the context of intractable conflict, drawing on the case of Israeli society. The analysis is based on the integrative developmental‐contextual theory (IDCT), which proposes that in the context of intractable conflict, from a very early age onward, in‐group members acquire a socio‐psychological repertoire that consists of narratives, beliefs, attitudes, and emotions related to the conflict and to the rival group. IDCT highlights three central components that dictate the nature of this socio‐psychological repertoire: children's normative developmental trajectory, the context in which the development takes place, and the ethno‐political socialization that is performed by societal agents. We discuss the interaction between these components in socializing children's socio‐psychological repertoire, and ways to change the course of socialization in the context of intractable conflict towards peace‐oriented socialization.
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Impact of Political Violence on Images of War and Peace in the Drawings of Primary School Children
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  • Mar 1965
  • J PEACE RES
'War', said the seven-year-old, 'is to do with "Goodies" and "Baddies", and it's all right to make War so long as you don't start it first. A "Goodie" is someone who does not start a War, he just joins in — if he didn't, he would be nothing.' To which his mate adds, 'Come on lazy-bones, it's only a fight — not the end of the world'.
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Age Differences in Understanding Peace, War, and Conflict Resolution
Article
  • Dec 1994
Children's and adolescents' understanding of conflict and strategies for peace were assessed in response to concerns raised during the Gulf War. The sample comprised 156 schoolchildren aged 7-18 years. Major findings included a unilinear developmental progression in understanding the concept of war and peace. There was a tendency for the younger children to have concepts of war which broadly incorporated many negative aspects and to cite government rather than individuals as having responsibility for ensuring peace. The older children were more likely than the younger children to express the belief that there should be no intervention in others' conflicts. Age differences in strategies for resolving conflict and establishing peace between individuals were found to be greater than developmental differences in strategies for conflict and peace between countries. There was little evidence for assuming that children develop a strategy for resolving conflicts which is generalised across interpersonal and international domains. Across ages, the concept of peace was specified less well than the concept of war, although the overall patterns of findings suggest that most children understand peace.
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Explicating Cognitive Conflict through Photo-CommunicationThe Meaning of War and Peace in Germany and the United States
Article
  • Jun 1989
Separation of groups is associated with differential meaning of crucial concepts, negative attributions of the separated parties arising from cognitive differences, and an accompanying increase in the probability of conflict. Here, the crucial concepts examined are “war” and “peace.” Eighty children from Germany and the United States were asked to take one photograph that represents war and another that represents peace. A content analysis of the photographs in conjunction with photo-focused interviews showed German children in comparison with American children depicted more destruction and negative consequences associated with war and more person-related photographs associated with peace. These differences in orientation may be irreconcilable because they are below the level of awareness of the group members.
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If Peace Comes ... Future Expectations of Israeli Children and Youth
Article
  • Mar 1986
  • J PEACE RES
This article explores the development of attitudes among Israeli Jewish and Arab children and youth, and their possible relevance to peace. The article is based on free compositions written in schools by 9-18 year olds in Jewish and Arab towns and villages in central Israel before, as well as shortly after, President Sadat's Peace Offer in Jerusalem in 1977. The 1224 essays were subjected to content analysis as well as to a more impressionistic study. Many similarities between Jews and Arabs were found. Be fore Sadat, younger children saw peace as natural. The older ones (17-18 years) generally argued that peace is a well-defined but unrealistic ideal of doubtful desirability, especially for Jews. Neither ethnic group was aware of its own part in the conflict, seeing themselves as helpless victims of each other. The effect of Sadat's visit was influenced primarily by the social role of each age. The age groups 9-10, 13-14 realized that peace has a price, and became sceptical. The 17-18 year olds, who expect to encounter adult society and army induction (for Jews), focused on the hope for peace with enthusiastic creative imagination. All groups saw peace primarily as active rather than passive. Its realization was seen as something beyond one's own influence or control.
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Leadership beyond the Curriculum: The Role of the School Community in Character Education
Article
  • Jan 1998
The United States is experiencing a revived interest in character education, responding to the public's perception of a moral decline in America's sociocultural life. Educators are responsible for becoming attuned to their schools' moral atmosphere and for setting a tone that positively motivates the entire school community. (13 references) (MLH)
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