Matthews, JulieMatthews, RobertAstiana, Yuli2024-08-092024-08-092024https://hdl.handle.net/2440/141834This research aims to identify the contribution of education to the achievement of peace and harmony in Indonesia. By focusing attention on cultural identities and values, this research provides an opportunity to map the interplay between identities, associated values, and their relationship to radicalisation and violent extremism (RVE). For the purpose of this study, cultural identities are understood as involving religions, nationality, and ethnicity, and membership relies on their association with core values. The study adopts a qualitative case study approach with Islamic standpoint involving 16 peace educators and activists affiliated to three organisations that have a significant record of focusing their work on Peace Education (PE), namely SabangMerauke, Peace Generation Indonesia (Peacegen) and Srikandi Lintas Iman (Srili, Cross Faith Heroines). Informed by theoretical perspectives incorporating Freirean Pedagogy, Islam, and Pancasila as foundational lenses for generating research questions and analysing data, the study develops a critical peace analytic framework to comprehend participants’ views on their involvement in peace initiatives, as well as the role of their cultural identities and values in identifying and pursuing diverse pathways to peace. The study shows that peace educators and activists translate values and principles into various creative activities, involving experiential learning and values-based activities within the remit of their cultural orientations and the work of their organisations. The peace education organisations serve as sites of heterogenous exposure, enabling encounters between different individuals and the exchange of ideas and experiences. The study also emphasises the way these sites make space for seeking shared commonality as well as embracing differences. The sites serve as practical implementations of theories concerning peace-related values, some of which the participants have already encountered in formal classroom settings despite the absence of experiential learning usually associated with PE. This research argues that PE in Indonesia involves an intricate interplay between Pancasila, Islam, and indigenous values. There is a process of negotiation and adaptation that informs and enriches knowledge and the practice of peace to formulate culturally sensitive peace initiatives while effectively addressing issues related to RVE. The critical peace analytic framework draws attention to the point that the language of peace is not fixed but is adaptable according to the local context and agency involved. It is therefore important to note that this study indicates there is no universal solution for Preventing/Countering Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (P/CRVE). The thesis underscores the importance of exercising dialogue and praxis while bringing to light the need to take cultural values and specific historical and cultural foundations into account. It argues that P/CRVE and PE often disregard these factors.enPeace EducationCritical Peace EducationRadicalisationPreventing/Countering Violent ExtremismFreireIslamPancasilaIndigenous ValuesThesis