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Anti-Bias Education

Many people have argued convincingly that CRE does and should overlap with anti-bias education because prejudice is an underlying cause for conflict and we need to realize the impact of prejudice on the school and community (Lantieri & Patti, 1996; Oskamp, 2000). Most anti-bias education efforts fall into one of the following four categories: cross-cultural awareness, prejudice reduction and appreciation for diversity, hate crime prevention, and examining the systemic roots of oppression to dismantle them.

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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
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.
Opening the door to nonviolence: Peace education manual for primary school children Electronic version of the second edition of a teacher's guide for teaching peace education to primary school students. "Part I is designed as a training in affirmation, cooperation and communication. Part II deals with the healing of trauma; Part III is about bias and prejudices. Part IV introduces peaceful problem solving and nonviolent conflict resolving and Part V is about peaceful living. There are 20 chapters/sessions in the book, each session developed through step-by-step activities."
Empowering students for just societies: a handbook for primary school teachers
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."
Be Civil! The Search for Civility This classroom resource was developed as part of the Catholic Schools Opposing Racism (COR) initiative, which ran for eight years (2000-2008) in the Chicago Illinois area. It is part of a much larger collection of materials available at http://racebridgesforschools.com
Hip-hop lyrics: Lesson and activity excerpted from the Tanenbaum curriculum COEXIST 6-page PDF lesson plan to help students (grade 6-12), "learn about Hip-Hop as a form of communication and activism. Students will also learn how to critically read lyrics and how to identify bias or influence in an author’s writing,"
Fall interreligious festivity feast: Autumn -- thankfulness at harvest time 7-page PDF lesson plan to introduce children to, "different traditions’ fall festivity foods and use math skills to create their own menu."
Education for global citizenship: A guide for schools 12-page PDF guide which "gives children and young people the opportunity to develop critical thinking about complex global issues in the safe space of the classroom. This is something that children of all ages need, for even very young children come face to face with the controversial issues of our time through the media and modern communications technology. Far from promoting one set of answers, Education for Global Citizenship encourages children and young people to explore, develop and express their own values and opinions, whilst listening to and respecting other people’s points of view. This is an important step towards children and young people making informed choices as to how they exercise their own rights and their responsibilities to others. Education for Global Citizenship uses a multitude of participatory teaching and learning methodologies, including discussion and debate, role-play, ranking exercises, and communities of enquiry. These methods are now established as best practice in education, and are not unique to Education for Global Citizenship. However, used in conjunction with a global perspective, they will help young people to learn how decisions made by people in other parts of the world affect our lives, just as our decisions affect the lives of others."
Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who are Changing Our World The Speak Truth To Power curriculum (296 page PDF) introduces general human rights issues through the stories of some remarkable people working in the field, and urges students to become personally involved in the protection of human rights. The curriculum is based on a book written by Kerry Kennedy that lead to a dramatic production by Ariel Dorfman (the play script is included in the curriculum). It is illustrated with a series of photographic portraits of human rights defenders by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams. Various editions of Speak Truth to Power have been produced, with this one drawing input from the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union. Also available are Cambodian, Italian, and South African editions, and an edition developed in New York State.The focus of the learning activities varies based on the age-group of students you are working with. In pre-kindergarten through grade 3, human rights learning focuses on respect for self, parents, teachers and others. In grades 4–6 the focus moves to social responsibility, citizenship, and distinguishing wants and needs from rights. For grades 7 and 8, the focus shifts to introducing and enhancing specific human rights. At the high school level, grades 9–12, the focus expands to include human rights as universal standards, integration of human rights into personal awareness, and behavior.
Navigating the Unchartered Waters of Cross-Cultural Conflict Resolution Education It is the author's view that conflict resolution educators should in part draw from participants' real-life experiences in order develop more culturally appropriate conflict resolution processes (an elicitive approach). Additionally, trainers should hold their knowledge lightly, and elicit conflict-resolution strategies from the group. This dialogical approach allows local and introduced knowledge of conflict resolution to permeate each other in dialogue, thus developing dynamic ways to deal with conflict. In this model, the students become the teachers and vice versa, as problems are explored and concepts are developed as a group. The author also advocates the use of local co-facilitators to establish trust in the local capacities for peace. Participants and trainers alike gain the opportunity to further develop conflict resolution practices that are rooted in their own experience but enhanced by the knowledge of others.
Fitting in: Lesson and activity excerpted from the Tanenbaum curriculum passages to immigration 6-page pdf lesson plan which explores the ideas of home, belonging and fitting in, for grades 1-6. Activities include, "The Sharing Circle," "I am, we are poems" and "Unity and diversity circles."
Impact on diverse populations, what we know Powerpoint presentation exploring the effect of conflict resolution education on diverse communities.
Flash judgements Pdf document with exercise related to forming judgements based on appearance.
Immigration & me: Lesson & activity excerpted from the Tanenbaum curriculum passages to immigration 3-page PDF lesson plan in which students (grade 2-6) interview family members to investigate their immigration story and discover where family traditions came from.
Shared Solutions - A Guide to Preventing and Resolving Conflicts (in Special Ed) The Ontario Ministry of Education encourages the use of approaches and strategies that lead to higher achievement for all students in Ontario's publicly funded education system. This Shared Solutions resource guide is intended to help parents, educators, and students with special education needs work together to prevent conflicts, resolve them quickly, and allow students to develop their full potential and succeed in school. The approaches outlined build on techniques and strategies for conflict prevention and resolution that are already in place in many school boards.
Human Total: A Violence Prevention Learning Resource Human Total is a 303-page pdf manual created by Human Rights Education Association (HREA), the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) and the Instituto Mexicano de Investigación Familia y de Población (IMIFAP). Targeted towards young people between the ages of 10 and 14, the manual helps learners understand attitudes that promote violent behavior (often brought about by the misuse of alcohol) by males and cultivates methods to minimise these behaviors' harms and prevent their perpetuation. Human Total contains 32 adaptable lesson plans, including ways to recognise and understand violence in social contexts and techniques for minimising violence through education about human rights and active participation in the community. The manual also features a note for facilitators on how to use it, tools for outreach to parents and guardians, recommendations for additional resources, and eight annexes with supplemental information. The resource was piloted in El Salvador and Kenya. Human Total: A Violence Prevention Learning Resource is currently (July 2013) available in English and will soon be available in Spanish.
Social Justice Standards The Social Justice Standards are a set of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes divided into four domains—identity, diversity, justice and action (IDJA). The standards provide a common language and organizational structure: Teachers can use them to guide curriculum development, and administrators can use them to make schools more just, equitable and safe. The standards are leveled for every stage of K–12 education and include school-based scenarios to show what anti-bias attitudes and behavior may look like in the classroom.
Maligned wolf Pdf document that uses the telling of "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Maligned Wolf" to help children (grades K-8) see both sides of every story.
Fostering Dialogue Across Divides This 183-page pdf from the Public Conversations Project (PCP) provides their definitive guide to conducting successful dialogues on the most heated topics. The guide is based on PCP's experiences working in many different settings and on a wide range of topics, including abortion, foresting practices, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sexual orientation and the teachings of Christian scripture, the war in Iraq, interfaith and interethnic relations, and social class differences. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an overview of PCP’s ways of thinking about dialogue and their core principles and practices. In Chapters 3 through 6, they offer specific advice on each phase in the dialogue process. And in Appendices A through C, they present detailed sample formats, questions, invitations, and handouts that exemplify the principles and practices described in the body of the document. Note: This guide is also available in spanish via www.publicconversations.org/resources/guides
Hip-Hop artists: Lesson and activity excerpted from the Tanenbaum curriculum COEXIST 5-page PDF lesson plan in which students (grade 6-12), "will learn about stereotypes as well as how to identify and challenge their own biases. Students will also make connections to religion as an important aspect of identity and an influence within the realm of Hip-Hop."