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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.

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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
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."
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.
STOP: On-the-spot bullying intervention Word document presenting actions and statements for on-the-spot intervention of bullying behavior.
Peace education in UNICEF: Working paper 52-page PDF paper "produced to describe Peace Education programmes in UNICEF. Peace education programmes have been developed in a number of UNICEF country offices and National Committees for UNICEF over the past decade. Ideas are continually evolving about how to use the full range of children's educational experiences to promote commitment to principles of peace and social justice. The purpose of this working paper is to stimulate further discussion and networking among UNICEF colleagues, to move towards a clearer articulation of good practice in Peace Education, and to pave the way for further exploration of how best to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of this area of UNICEF activity."
Violence begets violence, breaking conflict cycles One page diagram illustrating the cycle of conflict caused by stress in a child.
International network on school bullying and violence: March 2007 overview Powerpoint presentation overview of the work of the International Network on School Bullying and Violence whose aim is to, "stimulate and support more effective measures against school bullying and violence."
Exploring the nature and prevention of bullying: Significant identifying characteristics for victims Word document that lists 21 characteristics of victims of bullying.
Let's Resolve Conflicts Together: Middle School Classroom Activities A 30-page guide filled with suggested activities designed to be used during Conflict Management Week (May 1-7, 2000) in Ohio Middle Schools. In the middle school classroom, making use of themes of conflict can invigorate subject areas across the curriculum. This activity booklet/guide offers ideas for improving the overall climate of the school and for learning how to resolve conflicts in the classroom. The guide first presents ideas for drawing attention to issues of conflict and peace. It then provides activities for helping students become aware of underlying causes of conflict. The guide cites the six steps to conflict resolution and states that, in addition to learning steps of a conflict management process, teachers may also work with students to enhance communication skills used in conflict management. According to the guide, these skills include understanding blocks to communication, using "I" statements, and improving listening skills--resources to teach these skills are included in the guide. The guide is divided into four broad sections: School-Wide Activities; Learning about Conflict; Communication Activities; and Conflict Management across the Curriculum.
International Day of Peace Educational Resource Packet This 16-page pdf provides a framework for educating about the culture of peace and offers suggested activities and resources for use on the International Day of Peace. Includes ideas for Elementary, Middle and High School level classrooms.
Preventing, Assessing and Intervening in Teen Dating Abuse This training guide and related slides and handouts aims to provide school Specialized Instructional Support Personnel with information and skills to identify, assess, effectively intervene in, and prevent teenage dating abuse; as such, it is appropriate for upper middle school and high school communities (and some lower middle school communities). The full training kit with powerpoint and handouts is available at http://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov
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."
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."
Suggestions for handling surface behavior Pdf document that outlines the ways in which a teacher can direct or redirect student behavior, with suggestions for responses when confronted by a student, with material from Nicholas A. Seta and Allen N. Mendler.
Peace and Non-Violence Curriculum - Grade 12 Social Studies This 218-page curriculum guide is designed for use with grade 12 Social Studies classes, but can be adapted for grades 7-11. It provides a 12-week structured curriculum exploring topics related to Peace and Nonviolence. Weekly themes include Poverty as a Form of Violence; Violence and Conditioning; Non-violent Change; Working Together; Oriental Philosophies; Western Philosophies; The United Nations; The Ethics of War and Peace; The Science of Matter and Energy; The Problems of Disarmament; Economic Conversion; and One World Beyond War.
Sample responses for using the "Teachable moment" for responding to bullying: On-the-spot interventi Word document that describes different types of bullying behavior and situations, with suggested responses for educators.
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."
Changing Children's Trajectories of Development This research brief describes one of the largest and longest running school-based violence prevention programs in the country--the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP)--and discusses the results of a rigorous evaluation of its effectiveness conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The brief is designed to inform federal, state, and local policymakers and opinion leaders, as well as program developers and managers at the local level, of an effective strategy for directly addressing the problem of violence among children and youth. The evaluation assessed the impact of the RCCP program on children's developmental trajectories toward violence, providing concrete evidence that early school-based violence prevention initiatives such as the RCCP can work and should be included in communities' efforts to prevent violence among children and youth.
Peaceful Conflict Resolution Guide for Primary and Secondary Schools (Croatia) This training guide for schools consists of three primary modules: 1. damiri/ice - Conflict and Communication 2. spajalice - Peer Mediation 3. kazimiri/ice - Peer Education The guide is the result of the work on the project Peaceful Problem Solving in Schools and Trauma Alleviation, Youth for Youth - Peer Mediation, initiated and supported by UNICEF Office for Croatia in co-operation with Croatian Ministry of Education and Sports. The Project was carried out by NGO "Mali korak" - Centre for Culture of Peace and Non-violence Zagreb. In the school year of 1999/2000 it was implemented in 52 primary schools, most of which were schools of special social care in previous war affected areas. The purpose of this program model was to change attitudes, behaviors and experiences related to conflict and violence: improve coping with problem and conflict situations, develop awareness of prejudice, of one’s own rights as well as the rights of others both in those who participate in the program (students) and those who deliver it (teachers).
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."
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.