Diverse Experiences of Peace Education: Tracing the Emergence of Peacebuilding Agency

This study aims to explore how fi rst-year university students in Bangladesh, China, and Japan remember and internalize the peace education they received prior to entering university, and to clarify how this contributes to the formation of their agency in peacebuilding. Peace education varies signifi cantly in content and implementation due to national historical, political, and social influences. However, research revealing how students experience it remains extremely limited. Therefore, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with nine students and performed thematic analysis on the following four themes: (1) contents and teaching methods, (2) infl uence, (3) perceptions, and (4) engagement as agency for Peace building. The results showed that, despite differences in content, students learned about direct and structural violence, developed awareness of social justice, and expressed a desire to contribute to peace through professional skills. However, there were variations in the depth of critical thinking and ethical reflection. Bangladeshi students show the critical perception against social structural violence, Chinese students demonstrated a deeper understanding of political complexity, and Japanese students tended to emphasize emotional resonance and moral responsibility. Furthermore, it was found that methods of peace education, such as historical narratives, and learning styles, infl uence students’ ethical responses and agency forms. These results underscore that fostering agency for peacebuilding requires more than conveying knowledge about peace and violence. It is crucial to learn how to critically examine the complex interplay of cultural, structural, and direct peace and violence, and how individual behavioral change can transform societal, national, and international relations into more peaceful ones.