Addressing Hostile Attitudes in and through Education—Transformative Ideas from Finnish Youth

Abstract

Amid global disturbances, the calls for educational institutions to promote peace and counter hostility intensify. However, policymakers and other adults typically draft the various programs developed for schools to pursue this mission. While young people have valuable insights into the realities and issues around them, their ideas are rarely solicited in this respect. This study contributes towards filling this gap by bringing insights from Finnish youth on how to address hostile attitudes and foster the development of more peaceful futures in and through education. The data were gathered through an online survey sent to students in upper-secondary education (16- to 20-year-olds) in Finland. The survey included an open-ended question on how schools could address hostile attitudes. In total, 2744 students answered this question, and their responses composed the data of this study. Through qualitative analysis, we found that their suggestions concerned both the academic and social dimensions of school education in addressing hostile attitudes. The students highlighted that to change people’s attitudes and beliefs, they need to know more, and most importantly, they need to know differently. They proposed self-reflection and dialogue as pedagogical tools for the critical examination of one’s taken-for-granted assumptions. The students’ ideas align well with the tenets of transformative learning, which could be valuable in developing educational approaches for more peaceful societies.