It recalled the image of war and reawakened fears (also the one related to the atomic risk) within Western societies that were marked by the end of the illusion of the end of history, fears that were thought to be over because they were kept in memories of the past.
In this historical moment Education cannot fail to be confronted with diverse contexts of
- people who live in war while being regularly under threat to their own survival,
- people who flee from the war looking for welcome and peace,
- people who can and feel the duty to take sides and be proactive in countering damages that are caused by the war,
- people who perceive and grasp indirect consequences and risks of international relations crumbling.
Moreover, as history shows, there is the point of view of people who promote and support war and educate for war. They are the ones who struggle to start up educational trajectories that are typical of nationalist pedagogical paradigms.
Both in contexts that are marked by emergencies directly connected to war and where effects are only secondary, sciences of education are called to promote theoretical reflections and/or educational research that might be helpful in addressing and answering some questions/issues that recently became an urgent matter:
- How to promote education for welcoming people coming from war areas, taking into account their trauma, stress, cultural and language differences?
- How to renew education and teaching for a better understanding of geopolitical problems of the global world?
- Which fears, representations, discourses are conveyed and in circulation through media and what is being settled down at a community level?
- How to educate to peace, solidarity, conflict management?
The Issue of the Journal is dedicated to those who have been developing studies, reflections and practices in the educational research, that were dealing with issues of war and issues of peace in the current reality. Contributions must refer to time where Russia leaded by Putin is occupying Ukraine and the concept of geopolitics entered public discourse again, incorporating the nineteenth-century paradigm of “national pedagogy” in its own way.
Editors: Alessandro Vaccarelli and Elena Zizioli
Deadline for submission: 31 August 2023
Publication: November 2023
