Gender and positive social interaction at school: a proposal based on the culture of peace and the capability approach

Abstract

In this paper, we propose the capability approach as an instrument for promoting positive social interaction and the culture of peace in education. Capabilities have been used by the United Nations to calculate Human Development Indexes (HDI) since 1990. They are used to measure a country's quality of life, taking into account the opportunities people have to be and do (capabilities), and to form the basic political principles all countries should guarantee their citizens. The capabilities approach is based on the ideas of Amartya Sen, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and those applied to education by Martha Nussbaum (1992), who views capabilities as the basic instrument for guaranteeing a dignified life with the highest possible well-being and positive social interaction. The concept of human development and capabilities is also linked to the concept of structural violence, which defines not only the most visible aspect of conflict and violence, but also the unequal relations built around the gender models and specific privilege- and power-based structures of which people form a part and which have become embedded in the customs and traditions of our culture and society (Bourdieu, 1991). We conclude that “capability” theory offers interesting ideas that help understand school violence and conflict. It also suggests principles for an education model based on coexistence, exchange and interrelationships in which people can learn to respect and appreciate each other.