Nuclear disarmament education poll
'The survey recommends that schools, trusts and education authorities should ensure funding is available to train teachers in nuclear disarmament and peace education.'
Ninety-three per cent of teachers do not agree that nuclear disarmament education is too political to be taught, a new survey from the Nuclear Education Trust has found. It reveals that most teachers believe students should learn about the humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) staff took part in a launch event at the House of Lords this week to discuss the findings. Peers, MPs, academics and think tanks joined peace education and advocacy practitioners to look at the role of education, especially in schools, in a time of increasing nuclear tension and public concern.
Ellis Brooks, peace education coordinator for BYM, spoke at the event on 6 December, on a roundtable including: Fabian Hamilton MP, shadow minister for peace and disarmament; Jenny Clegg, Nuclear Education Trust trustee; and Helen Griffin, Quaker and peace education officer at CND.
The survey recommends that schools, trusts and education authorities should ensure funding is available to train teachers in nuclear disarmament and peace education.
The importance of disarmament education was highlighted by the UN secretary-general in 2018 and is further strengthened by the UK government’s commitment to sustainable development goals, which include promoting ‘peaceful and inclusive societies’.
Paul Parker, recording clerk of BYM, said: ‘Teaching children about the impact of nuclear weapons is vital if we are to continue to prevent their use.
‘War represents our failure to resolve our differences by peaceful and amicable means; teaching children listening skills, non-violent resolution of conflict, mediation and respect for difference lays the groundwork for a peaceful, just society.’
The poll follows a YouGov ‘Study of War’ in September 2022 which showed that seven in ten Britons think that countries with nuclear weapons should get rid of them, although few (ten per cent) think they should do so unilaterally.
One in seven Britons think countries should keep their nuclear weapons.
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