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
Neighbor Circles as a Tool for Building Community
- Presented by: Mark Chupp, Case Western Reserve University
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Implementation and Sustainability of SEL/CRE/CE/PE
- Presented by: Caroline Irene Akinyi Owegi-Nairobi Peace Initiative and Mary Wanja Mugo-Ministry of Education, Kenya, Africa
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
State-wide Initiative for Creating Positive Learning Environments (Ohio)
- Presented by: Mary Lou Rush, Cheryl Kish, Ohio Department of Education
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Transitioning CRE into a Classroom Management Course
- Presented by: Lynnette Mawhinney, Lincoln University
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Connecting with CRE Tools and Materials: New Resources for Teacher Educators
- Presented by: Bill Warters
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Virginia Tech Shooting: Lessons for Dismantling Norms About Violence
- Presented by: Huey-li Li and Michiko Pence
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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." | |
| Gender Toolkit: A manual for youth peace workers | This guide aims to provide flexible and context-sensitive tools for supporting awareness and gender mainstreaming in youth peacebuilding organisations. It address the challenge of how to include a "gender lens" in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of different projects while integrating gender issues at the structural and organisational levels. These challenges can be addressed first by acknowledging their existence and making corrective entries to the organisations' apparatus of power, and secondly by transforming the challenges into something positive and productive. The 69-page guide provides a short overview of internal gender mainstreaming and gender mainstreaming in project management backed up by checklists and annotated resources in every section, best practices and trouble-shooters, as well as tips, quotes and advice. An appendix provides some activity modules that will lend a hand in addressing gender issues in organisations and projects. | |
| Talking stick, The and The tree of gratefulness: Autumn -- thankfulness at harvest time | 7-page PDF lesson plan which helps students, "to use nature as a means of expressing respect and gratitude." Projects include creating and using a talking stick. | |
| Making a difference: Creating more skillful educators & students & more peaceful schools through CRE | 24-page pdf report which documents the work of the "Conflict Resolution Education Partnership (CRE Partnership)[which] has given over 80 grants to schools in Maryland that have resulted in significant and meaningful changes. Beyond implementing short-term safety measures, Conflict Resolution Rducation (CRE) involves teaching problem solving, anger management snd life lessons for effectively de-escalating and resolving conflicts in productive and peaceful ways. The tesults of the CRE Partnership show dramatic improvements in schools: duccessful conflict resolution programs reduce school discipline problems, improve student decision-making skills and increase academic achievement." | |
| Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Orgs | A manual in pdf format providing an overview of various models for conflict resolution education program implementation. The first chapter defines conflict as a natural condition and examines the origins of conflict, responses to conflict, and the outcomes of those responses. It introduces four approaches to implementing conflict resolution education. Each of the next four chapters discusses one of these approaches and presents examples of programs that use the approach. One chapter describes an approach to conflict resolution education characterized by devoting a specific time to teaching the foundation abilities, principles, and one or more of the problemsolving processes in a separate course or distinct curriculum. Another chapter describes an approach in which selected, trained individuals provide neutral third-party facilitation in conflict resolution. A chapter presents an approach that incorporates conflict resolution education into the core subject areas of the curriculum and into classroom management strategies, and another chapter presents a comprehensive whole-school methodology that builds on the previous approach. The next two chapters address conflict resolution education in settings other than traditional schools. The final three chapters address more overarching topics: conflict resolution research and evaluation; a developmental sequence of behavioral expectations in conflict resolution; and the process of developing, implementing, and sustaining a conflict resolution program. | |
| Exploring emotional literacy through visual the arts: With embedded literacy and numeracy skills | 21-page PDF document created to "enable staff who are not Arts practitioners to carry out this [art based] work. They are designed as individual projects but can equally be extended into small group activities ... The aim is to encourage the young person to express visually emotions that are difficult to articulate verbally." Projects include: Making masks (expressing feelings using facial expressions); Abstract art (expressing feelings using colors and shapes); Designing a chair (expressing how I feel about myself); Creating a book (expressing how I feel, exploring what I know about an issue in my life); and Drawing a neighborhood map (exploring safe and unsafe areas where I live). | |
| Educational discipline using the principles of restorative justice | 15-page pdf article which "shows how restorative justice techniques can be used with students in correctional and alternative education settings. The simple principles of restorative justice are outlined and their suitability for offenders is illustrated through actual prison incidents that have been dealt with using these principles. A protocol is suggested for teachers and administrators who might consider adopting this approach." | |
| A Peer Mediation Needs Analysis For Schools | A three-page worksheet providing a series of questions for schools to consider prior to implementing a peer mediation program. | |
| 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. | |
| Strategies to prevent youth violence | 92-page pdf chapter from "Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action," which investigates "Social-cognitive interventions strive to equip children with the skills they need to deal effectively with difficult social situations, such as being teased or being the last one picked to join a team. They build on Bandura’s social-cognitive theory, which posits that children learn social skills by observing and interacting with parents, adult relatives and friends, teachers, peers, and others in the environment, including media role models (Bandura 1986). Social-cognitive interventions incorporate didactic teaching, modeling, and role-playing to enhance positive social interactions, teach nonviolent methods for resolving conflict, and establish or strengthen nonviolent beliefs in young people ... Mentoring—the pairing of a young person with a volunteer who acts as a supportive, nonjudgmental role model—has been touted by many as an excellent means of providing a child or adolescent with a positive adult influence when such an influence does not otherwise exist. Evidence has shown that mentoring can significantly improve school attendance and performance, reduce violent behavior, decrease the likelihood of drug use, and improve relationships with friends and parents." | |
| Mediation on campus: A history and planning guide | Pdf article reprinted from the June/July 1991 Issue (Vol 33) of The Fourth R, The Newsletter of the National Association for Mediation in Education exploring the role of mediation at colleges and universities, with a list of questions that those thinking of starting mediation programs should ask themselves. | |
| Conflict resolution, peer mediation and young people's relationships: Technical Report | 74-page PDF technical report that investigated, "what schools could do to improve young people's relationships with each other, with teachers and with their families. This is a key question for schools, policy-makers and pressure groups; there are currently programmes and initiatives on behaviour, citizenship, healthy schools and many other areas which have relationships at their core. Within that broad area, the team looked in more detail at school programmes that encourage conflict resolution and peer mediation." Ten studies relating to conflict resolution, all completed after 1994, were reviewed in detail. | |
| Physical and verbal bullying | Web-based interative scenario which explores bullying. | |
| 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." | |
| Restorative justice in the classroom: Lesson 5 the justice circle part 3 | 8-page pdf lesson which provides "students with an opportunity to learn and practice the facilitation of Justice Circles. After a review of the purpose and process, students role-play scenarios, covering all roles including the role of facilitator. After their role-play experience, students discuss whether the circle would be effective in both healing the victim and helping the offender learn a better way to behave, and explore what could have been done differently to more effectively meet those objectives." | |
| SACSC Elementary unit and lesson plans | Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission "is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment. Achieving this mission requires the involvement not only of parents, teachers, and children, but of all the important adults in children’s lives." The site houses a number of lesson plans and educational units "focusing on adult modeling, the SACSC programs prevent negative social behavior through character education, conflict management training and building respect for diversity. They promote a problem-solving approach to discipline that encourages positive social behavior by expecting young people to fix the wrong they have caused, thereby learning from their mistakes." They focus on 5 topics: Living Respectfully; Developing Self-Esteem; Respecting Diversity and Preventing Prejudice; Managing Anger and Dealing with Bullying and Harassment; and Resolving Conflicts Peacefully for grades K-6. | |
| Peer mediation programs: An end to school violence? | On-line journal article which "focuses on the ineffectiveness of PMPs [Peer Mediation Programs] to combat higher-levels of school violence, part I discusses school violence, both past and present, part II explores the shift from traditional methods of discipline to more proactive and education-based methods that are used in many schools today, part III addresses the fundamentals of peer mediation including what it is and how it is implemented, part IV examines which students PMPs should be targeting and why PMPs fail to prevent them from committing violent acts on their schools, finally, the conclusion recommends ways to reduce conflict in schools." | |
| Conflict in higher education faculty evaluation | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 5, Number 1, (Sept 2004), which examines "the various levels of organizational culture as they relate to faculty evaluation, administrators and faculty can achieve a better understanding of the purposes of evaluation and the best means to use when undertaking it." | |
| Conflict management skills leadership competencies: A higher ed success model | 26-slide Powerpoint presentation given at the Sustaining Conflict Resolution Education: Building Bridges to the Future conference in Fairfax, VA, which "highlights a successful professional development program for staff at University of Wisconsin-Madison, this program infuses conflict management skills into the workplace culture, from new and aspiring supervisors to experienced program and project managers, teaching conflict resolution, facilitation, and mediation skills and integrating them into a broader leadership development curriculum, the program serves to build bridges and support for student leadership efforts, enhancing opportunities for peer mediation as well." | |
| National curriculum integration project: Final report, phase two (2000-2001) | National curriculum integration project sought to promote the infusion of conflict resolution education into middle school curriculum, teaching it as part of other subjects, rather than as a stand-alone topic. This report shares the findings which suggest that classroom climate improves over the course of the school year using this approach. |