Representation of the Values of Peace, Justice, and Conflict Resolution
A Discourse Analysis of Arabic Language Textbooks in Madrasahs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v10.i1.33489Keywords:
Peace education, social justice, conflict resolution, Arabic textbook, madrasahAbstract
This study examines the representation and pedagogical potential of peace and social justice values in Arabic textbooks used at the Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) in Indonesia. Grounded in Johan Galtung’s concept of positive peace, John Paul Lederach’s conflict transformation framework, UNESCO’s pillars of peace education, and social constructivist theory, the study explores how textbooks contribute to students’ peace consciousness and peace-oriented learning. Using a qualitative design, critical content analysis was applied to Arabic language textbooks for Grades VII, VIII, and IX published by the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs. 18 texts were analyzed through thematic coding, focusing on non-violence, empathy, tolerance, equality, and social justice. The findings indicate that peace values are predominantly represented through harmonious interpersonal relations, politeness, empathy, and cooperation, reflecting an understanding of peace primarily as social harmony. However, more complex dimensions of peace, such as social justice, conflict resolution, pluralism, and structural inequality, are marginal and insufficiently articulated. Pedagogically, the textbooks provide limited opportunities for dialogical and reflective learning. Nevertheless, the consistent presence of relational peace values suggests considerable potential for strengthening peace education through intentional teacher mediation and constructivist pedagogical approaches.
References
Journals and Books
Åke Bjerstedt, Peace-Related Education in Schools–Then and Now, Department of Educational and Psychological Research, School of Education Malmö, Lund University, 1994.
Apple, Michael W. Ideology and Curriculum. 3rd ed. New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2004.
Apple, Michael W. Review of Official Knowledge: Democratic Education in a Conservative Age, 3rd ed. Alberta Journal of Educational Research 61, no. 4 (2015).
Bajaj, Monisha. “‘Pedagogies of Resistance’ and Critical Peace Education Praxis.” Journal of Peace Education 12, no. 2 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2014.991914
Bar-Tal, Daniel. “The Elusive Nature of Peace Education.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 7, no. 2 (2001).
Benesch, Sarah. “Considering Emotions in Critical English Language Teaching: Theories and Praxis.” The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language 17, no. 4 (2014).
Buchori, Saeful, et.al., “Developing a Framework Peace Education for Primary School Teachers in Indonesia.” International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 20, no. 8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.26803/IJLTER.20.8.14
Burns, Robin J., and Robert Aspeslagh. Three Decades of Peace Education around the World. Vol. 24. London: Routledge, 2013.
Danesh, H. B. “Towards an Integrative Theory of Peace Education.” Journal of Peace Education 3, no. 1 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1080/17400200500532151
Davies, Lynn. Unsafe Gods: Security, Secularism and Schooling. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books, 2014.
Febriyanti, Rina and Nurhadi, “Social Interaction Between Muslims and Christians in Karangturi Village, Surakarta, Indonesia,” Jurnal Sosiologi Dialektika Sosial 11, No. 2 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.29103/jsds.v11i2.23778.
Galtung, Johan. “Peace by Peaceful Means: Building Peace through Harmonious Diversity—The Security Approach and the Peace Approach & What Could Peace between Washington and Al Qaeda/Iraq Look Like? Some Points for Presidential Candidates to Consider.”. http://emanzipationhumanum.de/english/human/peace.html.
Galtung, Johan. “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research.” Journal of Peace Research 6, no. 3 (1969).
Gebregeorgis, Mehari Yonas. “Peace Values in Language Textbooks: The Case of English for Ethiopia Student Textbook.” Journal of Peace Education 14, no. 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2016.1228526.
Halik Halik, et.al., “Cultivating Peace through Education: A Case Study of Social Studies in Aceh’s Junior High Schools,” Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun 13, No. 3 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i3.1494.
Hall, Stuart. “The Work of Representation.” In Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, edited by Stuart Hall. London: Sage Publications, 1997.
Hamid, Abdul, et.al., “Peace-Oriented Dakwah and Peacebuilding: A Critical Discourse Analysis in Conflict-Affected Middle East Societies,” Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun 13, No. 3 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i3.2057
Hamzah Hamzah, “The Reflection of Medina Charter As A Basis For Religious Moderation In Indonesia,” Jurnal al-Dustur 5, No. 1 (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.30863/jad.v5i1.2601.
Harrington, Christine. “Textbooks and Political Socialization: A Multivariate Analysis.” Teaching Political Science 7, no. 4 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1080/00922013.1980.11000213
Harris, Ian M. “Peace Education Theory.” Journal of Peace Education 1, no. 1 (2004).
Khatun, Ms. R., and M. Hossain. “Integrating Value Education and Peace Education into School Curriculum: A Pedagogical Framework.” Journal of Educare (JoE) 1, no. 2 (2024).
Krasnova, Daria, and Emilie L. Jensen. Peace Education for Conflict Prevention: An Analysis of the Palestinian School Books. Gothenburg: University of Gothenburg, 2025.
Krippendorff, Klaus. Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004.
Lederach, John Paul. The Little Book of Conflict Transformation. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2003.
Masdar, Muhammad, et. al., “Interactionism and Social Harmonization in Wonomulyo as the Multiethnic City,” Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun 12, No. 2 (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v12i2.1022
Mawardi Mawardi, “Religious Tolerance in Banda Aceh and Kediri: Challenges and Opportunities in Digital Space,” Jurnal Sosiologi Dialektika Sosial 10, No. 2 (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.29103/jsds.v10i2.18538.
Muliadi Muliadi, et.al., “Religious Moderation by Design: A Comparative Sociological Da’wah Study in Indonesian Higher Education,” Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun 13, No. 2 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i2.1778.
McEvoy-Levy, Siobhán. “Youth Spaces in Haunted Places: Placemaking for Peacebuilding in Theory and Practice.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 17, no. 2 (2011).
Nwokah, L. K. “Peace, Peace Culture and Moral Education as a Panacea for Sustainable Nation-Building.” Educational Advancement and Development Journal (EADJ) 1, no. 1 (2025). https://neadafrica.com/journals/neadj.
Podeh, Elie, and Samira Alayan. Multiple Alterities: Views of Others in Textbooks of the Middle East. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
Salomon, Gavriel, and Ed Cairns, eds. Handbook on Peace Education. New York: Psychology Press, 2010.
Schultze-Kraft, Markus. “Conventional and Critical Approaches to Peace Education.” In Memory Politics and Transitional Justice, 13–35. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93654-9_2
Shuayb, Maha. “Human Rights and Peace Education in the Lebanese Civics Textbooks.” Research in Comparative and International Education 10, no. 1 (2015).https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499914567823
Teff-Seker, Yotam. “Peace and Conflict in Israeli State-Approved Textbooks: 2000–2018.” Journal of Curriculum Studies 52, no. 4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2020.1716392
Ulum, Ömer Gökhan, and Dinçay Köksal. “Ideological and Hegemonic Practices in Global and Local EFL Textbooks Written for Turks and Persians.” Acta Educationis Generalis 9, no. 3 (2019). https://doi.org/10.2478/atd-2019-0014
UNESCO. Learning to Live Together: Education Policies and Realities in the Asia-Pacific. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2014.
Vygotsky, Lev S. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Edited by Michael Cole, Vera John-Steiner, Sylvia Scribner, and Ellen Souberman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Webel, Charles, and Johan Galtung. Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies. London: Routledge, 2007.
Zembylas, Michalinos, and Zvi Bekerman. “Peace Education in the Present: Dismantling and Reconstructing Some Fundamental Theoretical Premises.” Journal of Peace Education 10, no. 2 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2013.790253
Published
Versions
- 2026-03-31 (2)
- 2026-03-31 (1)
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 St. Kuraedah, Nur Azaliah Mar, Zulaeha Zulaeha, and Wa Muna

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga dan Hukum Islam agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. (See The Effect of Open Acces)







