EFFECT OF VITAMINS C AND E INTAKE ON BLOOD ... - EuroJournals

European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, Number 1 (2006)
peace. According to Mason (2001), the ethics and values that are being promoted must accord respect
to all. Also our institutions and practices should be arranged to maximize the life chances of all.
Education can achieve this purpose. Education is the most effective means that a society possesses for
confronting the challenges of the future. It is the culture, which each generation purposely gives to
those who are to be its successors in order to qualify them at least for keeping up and if possible
improving on what has been attained.
According to Page (2004), philosophical foundations of peace education can be explored in the ethics
of virtue, consequentialism, aesthetics, conservative politics and care. Each of these composes a
significant element of peace education although ultimately its solid basis can only be established
through an integrative approach. Education and training are underpinned by certain stated aims and
objectives which reflect the good and desirable things that educating and training people are intended
to achieve. This is because education is meant to provide for the common good and promoting a
culture of peace is one major way of realizing this common good.
Any education that promotes a culture of peace must be based on some fundamental principles
amongst which are: efforts to meet the environmental needs of the present and future generations;
respect for and promotion of equal right of and opportunities for all; respect for and promotion of the
rights of every one to freedom of expression, opinion and information (Lasonen, 2004). According to
Article 9 of the Declaration of the United Nations (2000), education plays significant roles in
promoting and ensuring peace. Specifically, it recommends ensuring that children benefit from
education on values, attitudes and modes of behaviour that will enable them to resolve any dispute
peacefully. It also encourages the revision of educational curricula.
There is therefore the need to incorporate peace education into the school curriculum.
Although, it can be introduced as a new subject, it can also be embedded in all aspects of the
established curriculum. This approach of promoting peace is not designed to resolve on going conflicts
but rather to prepare for possible future causes of conflicts. It is important to note that any individual or
nation that desires peace must make conscious efforts to prepare for peace.
The curriculum is the main instrument for education in schools. Curriculum has been defined
by Ehindero (1994) as the totality of planned, organized and intended learning experiences, which the
school provides for the all-round development of the pupils and the society. Any good curriculum
should have clearly stated objectives, which to a large extent determine its content and implementation.
According to Tuomi (2004), a balanced school curriculum covering the arts, the sciences and
technology, non-violence in thought, in speech and in action are very important means and tools to
achieve peace. Such a curriculum must be suitable to the local culture.
Thus a way to make peace can be by using science to address the personal, environmental and global
benefits that can train the mind in the emotions of peace and as a tool to address the causes and impact
of violence and conflicts. According to the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific
Knowledge adopted by the World Conference of Science (1999), science should promote intellectual
and moral solidarity of mankind, which is the basis of a culture of peace. Science relies on critical and
free thinking and this is essential in a democratic world.
One wonders what the proper role of scientific knowledge is. Science has been known for
breakthroughs. There have been discoveries in electricity, medicine, transportation etc. The methods
and content of science can also be used to engender peace. Thus, the integrated science curriculum of
the Nigerian JSS can be used to cultivate a culture of peace. Integrated science is an approach to the
teaching of science in which concepts and principles are presented so as to express the fundamental
unity of scientific thought and avoid premature of undue stress on the distinctions between the various
scientific fields (Bajah, 1989).
An integrated science curriculum that will build a culture of peace should include the teaching
of the ethics of science and engineering which is the need for scientists to be aware of and take
responsibilities for the consequences of their scientific exploits (Aladejana, 2003). Integrated Science
is offered as a compulsory subject for all JSS students in Nigeria. Focusing on this level of students in
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