CR Education
Home » Teachers »

Violence Prevention

Violence prevention programs often include a conflict resolution education component, but are more likely to include increases in safety and security issues relevant to the prevention of serious violent behaviors that are, luckily, still quite rare in schools (Burstyn et al, 2001). Violence prevention efforts seek to decrease serious risk behavior, including violence toward self and others, risky sexual behavior, and substance abuse (Wilson, Gottfredson & Najaka, 2001). Conflict resolution education is focused more on the development of important life skills, and especially communication skills, that help students find nonviolent ways to handle their problems and, thereby, may decrease violent behavior.

Videos of Possible Interest

See MORE VIDEOS...

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
1st Report to the Nation on Youth Courts and Teen Courts This national report (43-pages in MS Word format) documents significant highlights and events over a fifteen (15) year period of unprecedented and historic growth of this groundbreaking American juvenile justice prevention and intervention program that utilizes volunteer youth to help sentence their peers. The report begins in 1993, when fewer than seventy-five (75) local youth and teen courts existed in just about a dozen states. The report concludes fifteen (15) years later in 2008, when more than a record 1,000 local communities in 48 states and the District of Columbia now operate these local juvenile justice programs. Historic numbers of youth and adults are now involved, as more than 111,868 juvenile cases were referred to local youth and teen courts and more than 133,832 volunteers to include both youth and adults who volunteered to help with the disposition and sentencing of these juvenile cases.
Practicing peace: A peace education module for youth and young adults in Solomon Islands: 4th draft 99-page word 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."
Gandhi's Nonviolent Values and Skills This 295-page guidebook, subtitled "A Violence Prevention Guidebook for High Schools", is available online as a series of pdfs. It provides a basic methodology for proceeding from "awareness" through "concern" to "action" building on the ideas of nonviolent activist Mohandas Gandhi. The units in the Guidebook are designed to help teachers nurture in their youth and in themselves: 1) a disciplined mind - awareness - there are other ways of thinking and acting, you can control your feelings and thoughts, you have an important role to play in the world; 2) a compassionate heart - concern - becoming empathetic and deepening the desire to act on behalf of others; 3) a courageous hand - action - putting compassion into practice by standing with others in service and against the forces and forms of oppression/domination (social change); 4) a committed will - perseverance - pledging to be a doer of peace and a teacher of peace. It provides a pledge of nonviolence as a key element of the program that can be used in various settings. The units include the following: Unit 1: Introducing Gandhi and His Principles Unit 2: Respect Unit 3: Anger Unit 4: Nonviolent Problem-Solving & Nonviolent Resistance Unit 5: Making Amends & Forgiveness Unit 6: Our Oneness with the Earth & Challenging Materialism Unit 7: Courage & Solidarity: Overcoming Our Fears & Standing with Others Who Are Treated Unfairly Unit 8: Courage: Challenging the -ISMS: Sexism, Racism, Nationalism & War
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.
Help Increase the Peace (HIPP) Program This article from 2006 describes the Help Increase the Peace Program (HIPP), a project of the American Friends Service Committee that uses an experiential training model to teach non-violence to youth. The HIP Program is based on the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) that has brought Quakers into American prisons to teach non-violence.
Teachers Without Borders Dr. Joseph Hungwa Memorial Peace Education Program This 300+ page guide provides a full professional development curriculum in peace education. It was developed by Teachers Beyond Borders. The goal is to bring Peace Education to new audiences around the world. The program is divided into three units, which progress on a continuum from theoretical to practical. Unit 1 provides the history of peace education, a selection of definitions, an overview of the key thinkers in the peace education field and the core concepts. Unit 2 focuses on the Scope of Peace Education, reviewing different approaches to peace education, or different lenses through which peace education can be viewed. Unit 3 moves from theory to practice, addressing the pedagogical approaches to peace education and practical ways to introduce peace education into your classroom and community.
Cultivating Peace - Taking Action This 66-page pdf is a curriculum packet developed for use in Canadian classrooms. "This resource encourages students to examine their own beliefs regarding the need for change in our world and their personal responsibility in taking action. The preconditions necessary for a culture of peace are explored through the examination of global issues in sustainable development, economic disparity, fair trade, human rights and consumerism. Students are given opportunities to explore the range of actions possible, the ways in which change occurs, the barriers to participation and the factors that support youth involvement. The resource includes a teacher's guide, a video, a poster series and a student guide to taking action. It is designed for use in grades 10-12."
Real-World Scenarios for Campus Leaders from Divided Community Project Created as part of the Divided Community Project’s Virtual Toolkit, these short hypothetical fact patterns propose several divisive incidents on college and university campuses to be used in training and discussion. The examples discuss a range of important issues. For example, how should university administrators respond to student protests against racial injustice? What role, if any, should campus police play when there is student unrest? What policies should schools consider to ensure student safety/well-being and to protect free speech on campus? These are only some of the questions that are worth discussing. The Divided Community Project encourages campus leaders to carefully think through each example, talk through the steps that one would take, consider relevant questions, and develop actionable plans.
Doing anti-rape work: One man's perspective Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 6, Number 1, (Nov 2005), which discusses the author's "anti-rape prevention work with men [which] means trying to reduce the likelihood that the men who attend a workshop will behave in ways that are assaultive."
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."
Violence begets violence, breaking conflict cycles One page diagram illustrating the cycle of conflict caused by stress in a child.
Bullying in out-of-school time programs: tips for youth-serving professionals and volunteers Pdf document that examines bullying in extracurricular activities with tips for professionals and volunteers.
A Social Justice Lens: A Teaching Resource Guide This 12-page guide provides a lens that applies social justice and critical theory to all aspects of an educators professional life. The tool provides a framework for unions and schools to help guide policy, plan actions, and evaluate resources for social change. Social justice theory focuses on equity for all and critical theory requires action and systemic change. These two concepts form the basis of the British Columbia Teachers Federation social justice lens. The lens has four distinct interconnecting filters -- access, agency, advocacy, and solidarity action. Each represents an aspect of social justice work, and, while we may focus on one filter at a time, the true potential of these filters lies in engaging with all four simultaneously. Participatory democracy, civil society, transformative practice, and systemic change found on the rotating outer ring of the lens are necessary to achieve the ultimate goal of equity found at the centre of the lens.
Why is Everybody Always Picking on Me?: A guide to handling bullies for young people This 10-chapter 131-page illustrated book, available as a pdf, is for youth ages 8-16. Lively color illustrations, exciting stories, and practical tips and role-playing exercises help give children the tools to avoid being victimized. Topics covered include: Cope with the "Schoolyard Bully"; Stop bullies by using the "School of No Sword"; Gain the confidence to win without fighting. Recipient of the Silver Benjamin Franklin Award.
Creating Spaces for Dialogue - A Role for Civil Society This manuscript is published by Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) as part of a new GPPAC Dialogue and Mediation series. The stories presented in the book are authored by GPPAC network members who initiated a conversation between communities and societies polarised and divided as a result of conflict. Each story shows how civil society plays a vital role in rebuilding trust and enabling collaborations. The authors describe how the dialogue processes unfolded, and share resulting lessons and observations. They also present their views on the questions that need to be addressed in designing a meaningful process. Is there such a thing as the most opportune moment to initiate a dialogue? Who should introduce the process? How is the process of participant selection approached, and what are the patterns of relationship transformation? Lastly, what follows once confidence and trust have been established? The stories include civil society contributions to normalising inter-state relations between the US and Cuba, and Russia and Georgia and chronicles of community dialogues between Serbians and Albanians in Serbia and Kosovo, and Christians and Muslims in Indonesia.
Step Up: A Curriculum for Teens Who Are Violent at Home The Step-Up curriculum is designed for counselors who facilitate groups with teens who have been violent towards a parent or family member. The curriculum uses a cognitive behavioral approach to help teens stop the use of violent and abusive behaviors and teaches nonviolent, respectful ways of communicating and resolving conflict with family members. The curriculum also includes materials for a parent group. The curriculum is designed to include parents at the beginning of each group session and then separate into a parent group and teen group or stay together for the session to work on learning a skill together.
Cyber bullying Word document examining bullying in cyberspace, with advice to parents and young people from Aman Batheja.
Bullying in our schools: protecting GLBT youth Powerpoint presentation which discusses bullying in schools particularly involving gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered youth in schools.
Something is Wrong - Exploring the Roots of Youth Violence A 382-page pdf curriculum guide addressing violence in the lives of youth. From the introduction:" The Chicago Freedom School, Project NIA and Teachers for Social Justice have partnered along with other volunteers to develop a curriculum guide in order to contribute to the ongoing efforts by young people and their adult allies to analyze the root causes of youth violence and to create local solutions"The authors "wanted to create a curriculum that would provide a holistic view of violence in the lives of young people across a number of arenas. Through this curriculum, we want to challenge youth to think about a) the roots of violence in their lives; b) the enforcers and victims of violence; c) the effects of violence on both victims and perpetrators; and d) how violence can ultimately be minimized through systemic changes."
School-based violence prevention programs: A resource manual 199-page pdf manual which "provides practical research- and expert-based information on school-based programs to prevent interpersonal violence. We review 79 prevention programs. Each has research evidence, addresses unique "at-risk" populations, such as children with disabilities, or uses innovative approaches to engaging youth."