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
Successful Maryland School CRE Programs: Highlights of a Statewide Grants Program
- Presented by: Barbara Grochal, University of Maryland King Carey School of Law
- 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
New York Guidelines for Social and Emotional Development and Learning (SEDL)
- Presented by: Mark Barth, New York Department of Education
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Connecting Schools, Communities, and Families through SEL
- Presented by: Linda Lantieri, Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Making Class Matter and Engaging Difference
- Presented by: Rachel M. Goldberg
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Using Extracurricular Activities to Broaden Perspectives of a Diverse College Community
- Presented by: Megan Erclauz, Susan Lohwater, Shirien Muntaser, Sarah Smith, Amana Zahriyeh, Cuyahoga Community College
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Peer mediation training for schools: Best practice guidelines (UK) | 8-page Word document which presents best practice guidelines developed by the Peer Mediation Network in the UK. Paper begins with a definition of peer mediation and then outlines best practices for many aspects of training. | |
| Quick Guide to Implementing a Peer Mediation Program | A 7-page pdf providing a series of annotated questions designed to help a school plan for the implementation of a peer mediation program. Draws on the many years of experience gained at School Mediation Associates, a long-standing peer mediation advocacy and training organization. | |
| Coaching youth initiatives: Guide for supporting youth participation | 150-page PDF guide which, "explores the concepts of coaching, youth initiatives and youth participation, including practical tools and methods, advice and information, opportunities and support for those encouraging young people’s participation in youth initiatives ... As a handbook which aims to offer practical support for people active in coaching youth projects, the biggest part of this publication deals with ‘coaching’ itself and the adaptation of different coaching techniques to the field of youth work." | |
| Developing departmental communication protocols | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 4, Number 1, (Oct. 2003), which presents the concept of a "Communication Protocol [which] is a set of guidelines for day-to-day communication and informal problem solving developed in a mediation context involving a group of co-workers, these Protocols are most effective when developed with the full participation of both staff and management, although difficult to achieve, in academic units the chair needs to participate, the more inclusive the group, the more the Protocol will reflect the culture and norms of the organization." | |
| SCORE peer mediation guide for students: Student conflict resolution experts | 34-page pdf manual which "guides students through the principles and techniques for successful mediation. The content of the student manual reflects that of the coordinators’ manual." With lessons in introduction to mediation, building trust, listening and troubleshooting. | |
| Social and emotional learning (SEL) and student benefits | 12-page pdf document brief which "shares the latest research on the effects of social and emotional learning SEL) on students and includes strategies for implementing SEL, it explains how SEL works, elaborates on how SEL can be an integrative prevention framework that addresses the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) core elements, and spells out implications of the research for SS/HS grantees." | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| Podcast audio resources for conflict studies | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 6, Number 1, (Nov 2005), which introduces the concept of podcasting and its use in conflict resolution education, it also provides basic start up information and sites of interest. | |
| 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." | |
| Ideas for using emotion cards: Citizenship education for young people with special needs | 5-page pdf document which presents a number of images of different emotional states. The cards can be used with particular lessons or to allow children to show how they feel about specific situations. | |
| Evaluation report on progress made through the OSCE's efforts to unify the Gymnasium Mostar: Summer | 51-page PDF evaluation "of the unification of the Gymnasium Mostar in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as commissioned by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to BiH ... the Gymnasium Mostar was an historic and premier secondary school prior to the war of 1992-1995. It was completely destroyed during the war and had become the centre of an effort to revitalize the historic Mostar downtown. An initiative to restore the multinational and high-quality nature of the school was viewed as an opportunity to use this divided school in this divided city as a model or beacon for potential reform efforts throughout the country." | |
| Teacher development for conflict participation: Facilitating learning for "difficult citizenship" | 15-page pdf article which "examines the professional development-related opportunities available to teachers to support their facilitation and teaching for peacebuilding citizenship, the few teacher learning opportunities offered seem unlikely to enhance teachers' capacity to foster diverse students' development of agency for difficult citizenship, much of the explicit professional development available in the schools examined emphasizes teachers' control of students and containment of disruption (peacekeeping), instead of their facilitation of diverse students’ participation in constructive conflict management (peacemaking and peacebuilding), professional learning opportunities are often relegated to short, fragmented occasions, primarily during teachers’ volunteer time after school: this severely limits their potential to foster critical dialogic learning on the difficult issues of citizenship education practice." Includes bibliography. | |
| Programmes scolaires de prévention de la violence: Manuel de documentation | 199-page pdf manual in French which "provides practical research- and expert-based information on school-based programs to prevent interpersonal violence. We review 79 prevention programs (18 in the French version). Each has research evidence, addresses unique "at-risk" populations, such as children with disabilities, or uses innovative approaches to engaging youth." | |
| Civil Discourse in the Classrooom | This 23-page pdf curriculum "will introduce educators to basic tools for teaching civil discourse. It is not subject-specific; on the contrary, the tools of argumentation and discussion lend themselves to any subject in any classroom. Although it is primarily designed for young adolescents, the curriculum can be adapted for students of any age." | |
| Preparation of pre-service teachers for a culture of dignity and peace, The | 38-page PDF article which argues the necessity of peace education for future teachers. Abstract: This paper argues that since schools are considered spaces for critical transformation and teachers play a vital role in creating conditions where students can become loving, caring members of society, peace education should be made explicit in teacher education. It asserts that the teacher education culture in Ontario is keen and positioned for this endeavour to take place despite implicit and marginalized peace education content and practices. It continues by suggesting how a move to prepare teacher candidates with education for and about peace through the magnifying of current implicit peace practices may strengthen the overall momentum of producing just societies, thereby, building human dignity. Drawing from findings derived from a small-scale study, three implications for teacher education are given: teacher education must recognize the proclivity of teacher candidates for partnership pedagogy; create space for sharing experiences; and expose teacher candidates to peace education knowledge. Six recommendations are provided for increasing possibilities for peaceful and equitable social pathways. The overarching purpose is to stimulate further discussion and networking among Ministry of Education in Ontario and faculties of education by advocating how peace education aligns with the goals inherent in their own philosophies and those of the global peace agenda. | |
| Lessons and activities for Florida's fourth annual mediation celebration | 41-page pdf manual which can be used "as a general guide to activities that can be easily incorporated in your classroom to make everyone aware of measures that help ensure peaceful schools ... mediation skills and other methods of conflict resolution are life-long skills that help promote positive interactions among all people ... the intention of this booklet is to help peak your interest and awareness in the area of mediation, and let you see how easily and subtly these concepts can be integrated into the existing curriculum." Includes bibliography. | |
| VOV activities: Preventing feelings of isolation through trust and cooperation, grades 7-12 | 6-page PDF with activities for 7-12 graders to improve communication skills and build trust. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. |