Reimagining Peace Education in Nepal: Arts-Based, Learner-Centric Pedagogy for Social Justice and Equity

Abstract

In post-conflict and socially diverse societies like Nepal, peace education remains deeply challenged by entrenched hierarchies, curriculum rigidity, and marginalization of local knowledges. Drawing on the Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) action research initiative, this paper critically examines how arts-based, learner-centred pedagogy—grounded in participatory action research—can promote learner agency, intergenerational dialogue, and educational equity from a social justice perspective. Using qualitative, arts-based methods across multiple Nepali districts, this article argues that when students are empowered as co-creators of knowledge and given space to express their lived realities through culturally relevant art forms, education can become a transformative force for inclusion, recognition, and systemic change. We analyse the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for peace education, offering a model that places arts and learner agency at the core of educational reform.