Developing peace and justice education praxes at a university – towards pedagogies for life-deep learning

Peace education remains marginal in higher education institutions in South Africa and elsewhere. Drawing on a three-decade-old peace education programme at a university in South Africa, this article shares the development of a peace and justice education programme amidst some of the highest levels of violence and inequality in the world. It discusses formal and non-formal curricula and the blending of these modes. This article explores partnerships, praxes and pedagogies for advancing critical and decolonial peace and justice education. It illustrates the roles of pedagogies of critique, critical reflection, dialogue, and action in existing offerings and the importance of pedagogies of care, connection and community building for life-deep learning which responds to cycles of trauma and violence.