My dissertation explores spiritual dimensions of peace education in Colombian schools from the perspective of peace educators. While interest in connections between religion, spirituality and peace education has increased in recent years, the topic remains underexplored in Latin America, despite a growing recognition of the relevance of religious actors and spiritual practices to peacebuilding in the region, including Colombia. Existing research highlights spirituality as an important component of and resource for peace education, whose influence on educational dynamics should be examined in greater depth. Using a Grounded Theory based approach, the study examines how peace educators in the Colombian school context view the role of spirituality in peace education, how they assess the opportunities and challenges of integrating spiritual dimensions into peace education, and what role, if any, spirituality plays in their educational practice. It places a strong focus on the perspectives of practitioners, reflecting studies of peace education in Colombian schools showing it to depend heavily on teachers’ individual positioning, as well as decolonial critique of peace education research, which calls for more attention to local approaches and practices. By exploring these questions, the dissertation aims to contribute to global discussion on religion, spirituality and peace education with results from an understudied context.

• Friedensbildung
• Religion und Friedensförderung
• Spiritualität
• Dekoloniale Ansätze
• Partizipative Wissenschaft

• 2018 Alumni-Preis der Theologischen Fakultät Universität Zürich für ausgezeichnete Masterarbeiten