Policymakers and Administrators
Welcome to the Conflict Resolution Education Connection’s resources for policymakers and administrators. Our goal is to provide information that will support administrators interested in promoting or extending conflict resolution work within education. The sidebar menu to your right provides a listing of the content areas we focus on at this site.
CRE Conference Presentations
Changing the World – Youth Mediators Across the Globe
- Presented by: Tricia Jones
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Columbine Facilitation: Lessons Learned
- Presented by: Lisa Loescher and Myra Isenhart
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Working with Angry and Disruptive Youth in the Classroom
- Presented by: John Barnes
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
SEL Conceptual Framework for Positive Youth Development
- Presented by: Molly McCloskey-Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, USA
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Making Class Matter and Engaging Difference
- Presented by: Rachel M. Goldberg
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Designing, Marketing and Implementing a School-Based Restorative Justice Program: Lessons Learned
- Presented by: David T. Deal and Joan Packer
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Sample Catalog Resources
Below you'll find a randomized listing of up to 20 related items (we may have more...) drawn from our Resource Catalog.
| Resource Title | Description | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing for special education mediation and resolution sessions: A guide for families & advocates | 28-page PDF document created, "to contribute to better outcomes for children with special needs. Through a collection of articles, this guide seeks to provide families and advocates with an array of information that will equip them to make the most of the new and expanded dispute resolution options offered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As the nation’s special education law has evolved, Congress has consistently sought to provide new ways to encourage informal and speedy resolution of problems ... This guide provides a comprehensive article on preparing for special education mediation and resolution sessions, including tips for both families and advocates. A flowchart of mediation and resolution session supports the understanding of how these two processes work and intersect. For additional insight, it provides both an interview with a seasoned special education mediator and a summary of a study that sought to identify the factors that contribute to parent-school conflict. Finally, it offers communication tips for building strong partnerships and additional resources for locating further information." | |
| GIRC Annotated Bibliography of Conflict Resolution Resources | An annotated bibliography from the Global Issues Resource Center on conflict resolution resources covering the topics of bullying prevention, classroom management, and trauma & violence prevention. Includes books, curricula, videotapes, simulations and games. | |
| Practicing peace: A peace education module for youth and young adults in Solomon Islands: 4th draft | 99-page pdf document developed "to help people resolve interpersonal and inter-group conflict through productive and peaceful strategies, and to teach young people how they can participate in public life. The module is intended for use with youth and young adults in community and school settings in Solomon Islands." Skill areas include: Understanding rights and responsibilities; Understanding cultural diversity; Restorative justice and reconciliation; Gender relationship skills; Ability to live with change; Leadership qualities Conflict prevention; Traditional definitions of peace; Understand[ing] interdependence between individuals and society and Respect[ing] different cultures." | |
| Alternative dispute resolution in the law schools | Pdf article reprinted from the February/March 1995 Issue (Vol 55) of The Fourth R, The Newsletter of the National Association for Mediation in Education which discusses the development of alternative dispute resolution education in law schools. | |
| Promoting SEAL through circle time | 7-page PDF document promoting Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning through circle time for secondary students. "Circle time sessions provide a potential vehicle for the classroom delivery of the SEAL curriculum. Circle time is a time set aside each week when a whole class of young people and their teacher sit in a circle and explicitly engage in a structured programme of games, experiential activities, discussion and relaxation strategies ... It aims to provide an emotionally safe forum for participants to engage with a range of key issues, including peer relationships, conflict resolution, shared goal setting, justice, friendship, democratic principles, respect for individual differences and freedom of choice." | |
| Evaluating Your Conflict Resolution Education Program: A Guide for Educators and Evaluators | This 258-page pdf manual is intended to help educators and/or evaluators conduct evaluations of their conflict resolution education programs. Because much of the funding from the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and the Ohio Department of Education supports school programs, most attention was placed on helping users evaluate these kinds of programs. The manual was prepared as a workbook so that it should be easy to use. Worksheets are included throughout the beginning parts of the manual to help users identify the program goals and evaluation goals they want to emphasize. When offered, questionnaires and interview questions are presented so that the user can simply copy the forms from the book and use them in a school. | |
| Promoting mediation center quality awareness using guided self-assessment | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 4, Number 1, (Oct. 2003), which introduces "NAFCM's [National Association for Community Mediation] manual ... [which focuses] ... not on the direct provision of services themselves, but rather on the quality of the system through which cases are managed, mediators are trained and evaluated, and mediation centers determine what "quality"Â means in their communities, by encouraging community mediation centers to examine their goals and values in light of their communities' needs and values and to develop their own approaches to serving these needs effectively, NAFCM's self-assessment approach aims to increase quality without imposing restrictive and inappropriate standards." | |
| Reaching across boundaries: Talk to create change | 21-page pdf handbook which, "shows you how to conduct Mix It Up Dialogues. In the dialogues, participants will have honest discussions about social boundaries, and they will plan action projects that help cross those boundaries ... Mix It Up Dialogues aren't just about talking, however. They're also about taking action -- changing personal behaviors that may hurt or exclude others and engaging in collective projects to improve school climate." | |
| Preparing pre-service educators to break up fights -- before they happen | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 4, Number 1, (Oct. 2003), which discusses a project by the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention -- Center for the Prevention of School Violence (DJJDP Center), to prepare future teachers to effectively manage conflict. | |
| Inter-agency P.E.P.: Skills for constructive living: Teacher training manual 1 | 61-page pdf manual which "is one of the components of the Inter-Agency Peace Education Programme, the programme is designed for education managers of ministries dealing with both formal and non-formal education and for agencies which implement education activities on behalf of the government ... the manual looks at ‘good teaching’ and the skills required to develop ‘good teaching’, these skills are useful not just for a Peace Education Programme but also for all aspects of the professional life of the teachers whom you are training." | |
| Gender based violence: Challenging norms, building capacities, promising practices, creating peace | 16-page Powerpoint presentation given at the Second International Summit on Conflict Resolution Education which "provide[s] a new context for prevention of intimate partner, domestic and sexual violence, participants will build their capacity to engage in social change work, learn current promising and best practices for intimate partner and sexual violence prevention." | |
| Regional Meetings benefit campus conflict resolution efforts | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 2, Number 1, (Oct 2001), presenting highlights of meetings for conflict resolution professionals across the United States. | |
| Multi-party roommate conflict | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 5, Number 1, (Sept 2004), which presents a "roleplay for a graduate course in interpersonal and small group conflict resolution, while it could be used for a mediation roleplay, it's written to be a 4-5 person small group conflict with no formal, outside intervenor, the expectation is that students can represent the characters and still demonstrate conflict resolution skills." | |
| Northeast Ohio Juvenile Corrections Officer (JCO) pilot curriculum | Web-based pilot-project under the coordination of the Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College. "This 120 hour pilot curriculum attempts to address training deficiencies which often lead to high levels of [Juvenile Corrections Officer] staff turnover and increased operational costs ... The challenges associated with the supervision, rehabilitation, and treatment of these [incarcerated] youth has compounded over the last two decades; placing juvenile corrections officers on the front lines. Juvenile detention facilities primarily house youth who have committed a violent or sexually oriented crime, suffer from persistent mental illness, are repeat offenders and have a history of substance abuse (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2004). This youth population has increased the challenges faced by juvenile detention personnel, thereby creating a demand for more professional, higher skilled detention employees ... For the first time in Ohio, the Northeast Ohio Juvenile Detention Professional Development Project established a comprehensive curriculum for entry level staff that went beyond the current minimum standards to address growing risk factors ... The Project’s Advisory Committee and partners believe that by investing in Ohio’s juvenile corrections officers, agencies can reduce staff turnover, increase employee morale, and improve relationships between staff members as well as between staff and incarcerated youth. It is the Committee’s hope that the pilot curriculum will facilitate the implementation of a formal certification process for staff and agencies utilizing the comprehensive training tool. The existence of a formal certification process will help provide the foundation for recognizing juvenile corrections as more than a job, but rather a profession characterized by motivated and dedicated staff." |
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| Multiple Responses, Promising Results: Evidence-Based, Nonpunitive Alternatives To Zero Tolerance | Research brief by Child Trends that finds that zero tolerance school discipline policies have not been proven effective by research and may have negative effects, making students more likely to drop out and less likely to graduate on time. Instead, the brief recommends the use of nonpunitive disciplinary action, such as behavior interventions, social skills classes, and character education. | |
| Tale of two colleges, A: Diversity, conflict, and conflict resolution | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 5, Number 1, (Sept 2004), which shows, "how real people can achieve dramatically different outcomes depending on the strategies they devise and the methods they employ, the first chapter shows people digging in to their positions and trying to force the Other Person to give in, the second chapter shows similarly situated people using the problem-solving negotiation strategy popularized in the book Getting To Yes." | |
| Improving outcomes for Indigenous students - the Workbook and guide for school educators (3rd ed.) | This 55-page pdf workbook is a practical set of support materials for taking action and working systematically in schools. Developed in Australia, it provides a set of tools and ideas to help achieve improved outcomes for Indigenous students, and can be used in conjunction with the materials on the What Works http://www.whatworks.edu.au/ website and other companion What Works publications. This is the third edition, published in 2010. It was substantially revised and updated and provides a complete support for taking systematic action. | |
| Statement of restorative justice principles: As applied in a school setting: 2nd edition | 24-page PDF document of "Principles [which] form the basis for restorative practices in all settings, using all models, where the primary aims are to repair harm and promote dialogue ... Restorative practices are underpinned by a set of values, these include: Empowerment, honesty, respect, engagement, voluntarism, healing, restoration, personal accountability, inclusiveness, collaboration, and problem-solving." | |
| Steps to address bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document with advice to school administrators on addressing bullying at school. | |
| Developing and Assessing School Culture: A New Level of Accountability for Schools | This 8-page CEP position paper argues that education in our nation is at a defining moment, one with the potential to reshape our national conversation about school improvement. Successful schools--ones that foster both academic excellence and ethics--have positive school cultures (or "climates"). CEP defines a positive school culture broadly to include all aspects of school life, including a safe and caring environment, a powerful pedagogy and curriculum, student motivation and engagement, professional faculty culture and relational trust, parent partnerships, and community collaboration. The paper presents case studies and educational research showing the impact of school culture on students' academic achievement and social behavior. Because a positive school culture is central to student success, the authors argue we must address how to help all schools develop effective cultures. Since what gets measured matters, schools must also be held accountable for having positive school cultures and must have tools for assessing their culture. If we are to prepare students to be lifelong learners and 21st century ethical citizens, we must develop a new "school report card" that includes not only test scores but also concrete indicators of the quality of school culture. |