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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
Kids Working It Out Resource Appendix A listing of books, publications and websites provided in the appendix to Tricia S. Jones and Randy O. Compton (Eds.) 2003 book Kids Working It Out: Stories and Strategies for Making Peace in Our 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."
Youth and Conflict: Best Practices and Lessons Learned Mercy Corps, as an international NGO focused on "saving and improving lives in the world's toughest places" believes youth are a force for positive change -- the generation that can help transition their countries into productive and secure nations. However, youth are the primary participants in conflict today. The reasons they participate in conflict are multi-dimensional - they lack economic opportunities, political voice and a sense of belonging or connection to their communities. Often the only way young people can imagine changing their predicament is through violence. In Mercy Corps programs the focus is on catalyzing youth's desire for change into positive outlets. This 11-page pdf publication is a sample of Youth and Conflict Best Practices and Lessons Learned drawn from Mercy Corps' programs, other agencies, donors, think tanks and researchers. It is divided into six sections: * General Program Design and Implementation. This section includes advice on training, as it is a central part of many of our youth programs. * Economic Engagement * Political Participation * Youth-to-Community Connections * Youth-to-Youth Connections * Addendum: Lessons from Our Colleagues
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."
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.
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.
Youth Leadership Development Module on Conflict Management This 38-page pdf on conflict management strategies for youth leaders was provided as a handout for a May 2008 training for youth in Namibia. The event was sponsored by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and facilitated by C.T. Bayer & B.T. Schernick. The materials include several creative visualizations of conflict resolution concepts.
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."
Practicing peace: A peace education module for youth and young adults in Solomon Islands: 4th draft 99-page pdf 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."
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.
Tug of war - Peace Through Understanding Conflict This 10-chapter 104-page book, available as a pdf, is for youth ages 8-16 interested in a peaceful world - and in understanding the forces that cause conflict, both in personal relationships and across the globe. Tug of War describes: 1) What the roots of war are. 2) How we create "The Enemy". 3) A new way to handle violence. Illustrated by award-winning artist, Rod Cameron. Part of the Education for Peace Series by Atrium Society Publications
Training of Teachers in Areas of Armed Conflict This 64-page practice manual was written by Dr. Anica Mikus Kos, a pediatrician and child psychiatrist from Slovenia. It was published as a supplement in the online journal Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, Vol 3 No. 2 ; July 2005
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
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.
Children at risk, violence in our home Two diagrams, one outlining the ways in which children may be at risk, such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the second diagram shows ways in which at risk children have problems in school, such as acting out, falling asleep, and no respect for authority.
Involvement of law enforcement officers in bullying prevention Pdf document examining ways in which law enforcement personnel can be involved in the prevention of bullying.
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.
Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths (2nd Ed) This 373-page compendium, available as a pdf, provides researchers and prevention specialists with a set of tools to assess violence-related beliefs, behaviors, and influences, as well as to evaluate programs to prevent youth violence. Although this compendium contains more than 170 measures, it does not claim to be an exhaustive listing of available measures. Most of the measures in this compendium are intended for use with youths between the ages of 11 and 24 years, to assess such factors as serious violent and delinquent behavior, conflict resolution strategies, social and emotional competencies, peer influences, parental monitoring and supervision, family relationships, exposure to violence, collective efficacy, and neighborhood characteristics. The compendium also contains a number of scales and assessments developed for use with children between the ages of 5 and 10 years, to measure factors such as aggressive fantasies, beliefs supportive of aggression, attributional biases, prosocial behavior, and aggressive behavior. When parent and teacher versions of assessments are available, they are included as well.
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.
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.