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Students exposed to conflict have increased risks of perpetrating school violence. For young people who experience war in Philippine's Mindanao, overcoming violence can be particularly challenging as perpetrating this behaviour has, over time, become embedded in their postcolonial culture. These students are most affected by conflict and vulnerable to competing political entities; therefore, in this study, they are identified as the subalterned. Data from a phenomenological research that focus on the lived experiences of the subalterned students and schools' impact on their identity formation were used to investigate ways to counter the production of a violent culture. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions with art-based activity are used to gather the experiences of current students from six schools and former students in three conflict-affected regions of the country. Using postcolonial theory, this study highlights that student empowerment through identity formation and elements that were previously used to propagate violence and extremism can be effectively harnessed to foster a nonviolent culture in schools. The study concludes by showing that the identified factors that aided participants to overcome violent tendencies must incorporate an active notion of advocating a decolonial peacebuilding program in schools that considers the subaltern's identities and culture.

Young people living in conflict-ridden areas in the southern part of the Philippines, Mindanao, experience hostility from communities motivated by religious ideologies and political beliefs. With this premise, this study will uncover emerging themes on the way students form their views towards people who have a different faith based on three distinct religious cultures of six schools situated in conflict-ridden areas in Mindanao. Guided by the precepts of phenomenology, this study utilized focused-group discussion with art-based activities and in-depth interviews to show the three dominant religious cultures in schools have distinct influences on their students' perspectives of others.