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
Hemispheric Course on Evaluation of Policies and Programs in Citizenship Education
- Presented by: Adriana Cepeda-Organization of American States, Washington, DC, USA
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
From the Ground Up: Lessons in Growing the Central Michigan Restorative Justice Initiative (CMRJI)
- Presented by: Nancy Schertzing, Michigan State University
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Changing College Culture: Bullying Prevention and Intervention at the Post-Secondary Level
- Presented by: Lisa Pescara-Kovach, University of Toledo
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Restorative Measures for School Connectedness & Alternatives to Suspension
- Presented by: Nancy Riestenberg
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
CRE Resource Creation and Discovery via CREducation.org
- Presented by: Bill Warters
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Changing the World – Youth Mediators Across the Globe
- Presented by: Tricia Jones
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PROS: Peaceful resolutions for Oklahoma [elementary] students: School-based peer mediation curric | 83-page PDF manual which helps teachers and trainers introduce elementary school students to peer mediation and conflict and teach communication and problem solving skills. | |
| ASJA mediation component gaining strength | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 1, Number 2, (March/April 2000), presenting the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (ASJA) and events and programs at their Twelfth Annual International Conference. | |
| M.O.V.E.: Mind over violence everywhere | 88-page PDF manual developed to provide learning materials on violence prevention for youth with low literacy skills. The objectives of M.O.V.E. are to: Increase awareness of violence and develop skills to prevent violence, increase literacy through non-traditional learning activities, encourage youth to participate actively and assist the facilitator in recording the workshop responses. The program is organized into five sections: Learning and thinking styles, Communication rights and responsibilities, Peer mediation, Resisting peer pressure and Social action. | |
| 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. | |
| Creating schoolwide prevention and intervention strategies: Effective strategies... | 55-page PDF document which is "intended to put the issue of schoolwide violence prevention in context for educators and outline an approach for choosing and creating effective prevention programs. The guide covers the following topics: 1. Why schoolwide prevention strategies are critical, 2. Characteristics of a safe school, 3. Four sources of vulnerability to school violence, 4. How to plan for strategies that meet school safety needs, 5. Five effective response strategies and 6. Useful Web and print resources." | |
| Curriculum in mediation, A: Lesson plans gateway | 5-page pdf document which presents a teacher's guide for training peer mediators, provides links to workbook lesson plans for conflict management, communication skills, role playing exercises and agreement writing. | |
| Community mediation centers and campus mediation | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 3, Number 2, (February 2003), which "presents some of the similarities between campus mediation work and that of community mediation centers and provides readers of the Report with more information on some of the potential benefits of membership in the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM)." | |
| Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL): Improving behaviour, improving learning | This fully articulated curriculum resource from the United Kingdom is available as a 90MB zip file containing the full kit or as individual pdfs. It aims to develop the underpinning qualities and skills that help promote positive behaviour and effective learning. It focuses on five social and emotional aspects of learning: self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills. The materials help children develop skills such as understanding another's point of view, working in a group, sticking at things when they get difficult, resolving conflict and managing worries. They build on effective work already in place in the many primary schools who pay systematic attention to the social and emotional aspects of learning through whole-school ethos, initiatives such as circle time or buddy schemes, and the taught personal, social and health education (PSHE) and Citizenship curriculum. The materials are organised into seven themes: New Beginnings, Getting on and falling out, Say no to bullying, Going for goals!, Good to be me, Relationships and Changes. Each theme is designed for a whole-school approach and includes a whole-school assembly and suggested follow-up activities in all areas of the curriculum. The colour-coded resources are organized at four levels: Foundation Stage, Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6. Pupil reference material and photocopiable teacher reference material accompany each theme. | |
| World of possibilities: CRE and peace education around the globe, A | 34-page Powerpoint presentation given at the Sustaining Conflict Resolution Education: Building Bridges to the Future conference in Fairfax, VA, which "presents summaries of several important activities related to global expansion of conflict resolution education and peace education." | |
| Emergence of campus mediation systems, The: History in the making | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 2, Number 1, (Oct 2001), which "explore[s] historical changes in the campus context as it relates to mediation and conflict resolution, and make[s] note of apparent trends in the writing and research on campus conflicts and conflict resolution." Includes bibliography | |
| The Role of Restorative Justice in Teen Courts: A Preliminary Look | In March 2000, the American Probation and Parole Association convened a focus group to examine and discuss the role of restorative justice in teen court programs (also called youth and peer courts). The panel consisted of persons working actively in teen courts and persons working actively in more traditional restorative justice-based programs. This paper provides a brief overview of restorative justice principles and addresses several key issues the focus group members identified that serve as a promising foundation from which teen courts can begin to move toward integrating more restorative justice-based practices within their programs. Key issues discussed include how youth courts can rethink the role of victims and the community within their programs, how youth courts can alter the way that their proceedings and practices are structured, and how youth courts can rethink and redefine sentencing options so that they are based on the restorative justice philosophy. | |
| 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. | |
| Conflict resolution, negotiation & team building: Reviewing an impossible course that worked | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 5, Number 1, (Sept 2004), which presents the story of a "course teaching dispute resolution, negotiation and team building (ACS 201: Dispute Resolution and Team Building) [which] was designed to fit into the program's first year curriculum, this essay reviews the nature of the course and in some detail the student response to it." The course was taught at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. | |
| Inter-agency P.E.P.: Skills for constructive living: Teacher activity book of secondary modules | 36-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 teacher's main resource it has a lesson-by-lesson curriculum for formal schooling structured according to the children's cognitive and emotional development ... these secondary modules are designed primarily for those students who have undertaken the Peace Education programme in Primary School, there may be specific lessons in the primary grades that adapt very well to the secondary situation, these should be used where appropriate, in addition there are some stories (and poetry) in the Story Book (part of the primary component) that may also be useful." | |
| Restorative justice in the classroom: Lesson 2 class meetings | 8-page pdf lesson which "through role-play and discussion, this lesson will help students understand the motives behind offending and re-offending and to develop problem-solving consequences that will help offenders learn a better way to behave. By developing restorative consequences, the classroom community can help the offender repair the harm he/she has caused and discourage the offender from re-offending. Students practice consensus building and explore the consequence-setting aspect of justice circles." | |
| 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. | |
| Tolerance in multiethnic Georgia: Training methodology manual for educators | 156-page pdf training manual, "on the management of interethnic relations intended for teachers and youth leaders (educators). It also includes the description of the ethnic groups residing in Georgia and covers the themes like the nature of ethnic stereotypes and attitudes, peculiarities of intercultural dialogue, the essence of ethnic identity and conflicts. The suggested training system is based on the findings of the empirical research carried out with the teachers in the public schools of Georgia, youth leaders in patriot camps and future teachers. The system underwent an additional testing with 195 training participants. The given book can be useful to psychologists, students, ethnologists and those who are involved in the fields of education and interethnic relations." | |
| Respecting each other: From the Tanenbaum curriculum interreligious understanding guidebook | 5-page PDF lesson plan which helps students understand and develop their own concept of respect for others. | |
| Tolerance Stories Booklet | 55-page collection of stories, "to teach tolerance because stories are the first and most enduring literary form and they have the power to shape people’s understanding of the world and to change their lives ... it is our hope that this resource booklet will facilitate educators in elementary and secondary schools to introduce discussions of tolerance by supplying a wide array of narratives that illustrate principles of tolerance, and by so doing, enable their students to be leaders of tolerance in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities." | |
| Best practices of non-violent conflict resolution in and out-of-school some examples | 78-page pdf document which "aims to inform teachers, trainers, educators, parents, youth and students who, one way or another, are confronted with violence in the school or in non-formal community education, and are looking for practical solutions. The intention of UNESCO in this project is not only to inform them what is best internationally in terms of education for peace and non-violence, but above all to supply concrete pedagogical tools to prevent and transform the violence with which they are confronted on a daily basis at work." |