CR Education
Home » Global CRE »

Peace Education Resources

A great deal of exciting educational reform and just generally good teaching falls under the heading of Peace Education. According to one international authority on this, “Peace education is a participatory holistic process that includes teaching for and about democracy and human rights, nonviolence, social and economic justice, gender equality, environmental sustainability, disarmament, traditional peace practices, international law, and human security” (Hague Appeal for Peace, 2005)

Conflict Resolution Education is typically understood to focus on the local/domestic level while the focus of Peace Education is generally more global in perspective. Peace Education also “has a stronger emphasis on social justice orientations and larger systemic issues of violence than conflict education programs” (Jones, 2004).

A portion of the growing collection of free Peace Education print resources found in our catalog is displayed at the bottom of this page. You can also choose to directly browse the full list of items categorized under peace education in our catalog. Other especially relevant materials include

all of which are hosted by our site. Lots of good content!

If you are interested in a broader bibliography of Peace Education readings, check out this Peace Education resource collection from Ian Harris and Mary Lee Morrison.

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
Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators - High School Edition The Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators is designed to support the work of educators as peacebuilders. It is a resource developed by and for educators, to help introduce peacebuilding themes and skills into the classroom. The Toolkit can help develop students’ understanding of, and interest in, global peacebuilding, and develop their skills and capacities to act as peacebuilders. It can help teachers develop their own understanding of key concepts and skills, and enhance their capacity to teach about global peacebuilding themes and issues. There are two volumes of the toolkit––one for middle school and one for high school. The High School Edition of the toolkit is designed for a general audience of students in grades 9–12 (ages 14–18). The content can be modified for older students and some of the content can be modified for younger students. High school students are at an ideal stage to talk about peace and conflict, to view the world as an evolving system of relationships, and to prepare themselves to make a positive impact through their choices and actions today and in the future. The lessons have been developed with great detail to be useful for educators who are new to the methods employed that engage students in experiential learning and critical thinking. The toolkit is organized around basic themes within the field of international conflict management. Theme 1: Conflict is an inherent part of the human condition. Theme 2: Violent conflict can be prevented. Theme 3: There are many ways to be a peacebuilder. The 15 lessons in the toolkit are interactive and encourage students to work collaboratively to understand concepts and solve problems. The lessons are designed to be detailed enough for a new teacher or a teacher unfamiliar with interactive or experiential methods to pick them up and use them as intended.
Exploring Humanitarian Law Curriculum Package Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) is an adaptable toolkit that gives educators easy-to-use materials to expose students to issues of international humanitarian law, the rules that ensure respect for life and human dignity in war. The toolkit offers educators primary source materials and strategies that reinforce and enrich existing curricula and educational programs. The full curriculum is available for download as a 360+ page pdf. Humanitarian law is a body of international law that aims to protect human dignity during armed conflict and to prevent or reduce the suffering and destruction that results from war. All nations are party to the Geneva Conventions, and therefore have a legal obligation to encourage the study of humanitarian law as widely as possible. These laws, together with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, should be viewed as an integral part of today's basic education. Aligned with social studies requirements around the country, Exploring Humanitarian Law offers educators activities that can be used as a whole or mixed and matched into current lessons. High-quality materials, including news accounts, photos, letters, videos, case studies and interactive projects bring real events and people to life, helping teachers connect lessons of the past with events of today.
Peace education: A pathway to a culture of peace (2nd Edition) 209-page pdf book designed to provide educators with the basic knowledge base as well as the skill- and value-orientations that we associate with educating for a culture of peace. Although this work is primarily directed towards the pre-service and in-service preparation of teachers in the formal school system, it may be used in nonformal education. Part I presents chapters that are meant to help us develop a holistic understanding of peace and peace education. Part II discusses the key themes in peace education. Each chapter starts with a conceptual essay on a theme and is followed by some practical teaching-learning ideas that can either be used in a class or adapted to a community setting. Part III focuses on the peaceable learning climate and the educator, the agent who facilitates the planting and nurturing of the seeds of peace in the learning environment. Finally, the whole school approach is introduced to suggest the need for institutional transformation and the need to move beyond the school towards engagement with other stakeholders in the larger society.
Learn Peace : How students can rid the world of nuclear weapons Produced by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, this colorfully illustrated 43-page pdf provides a collection of 18 disarmament education activities for use by young people. It is written in a voice that speaks directly to youth, encouraging them to learn more and take action to call for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The activity titles are as follows: Have a classroom debate; Organize a writing competition; Write a letter to the editor; Make up your mind; Design a peace symbol; Role-play a nuclear crisis; Transform a nuclear bomb ; Honour the victims; Run a United Nations debate; Fold paper cranes for peace; Celebrate the victories; Write to your leaders; Promote abolition online; Hold a trivia night; Describe a nuclear blast; Conduct an opinion poll; Meet with your mayor; Plant sunflowers for peace.
Inter-agency peace education programme: Skills for constructive living: Overview of the programme 46-page pdf document which provides an overview "of the components of the Peace Education Programme and the implementation structure of the programme. It is designed for education managers of ministries dealing with both formal and non-formal education and from agencies who may be implementing education activities on behalf of the government ... The programme is currently being implemented in eleven countries in Africa and has been integrated into complementary programmes in Sri Lanka, Kosovo, and Pakistan. In these latter situations, training and initial materials were provided but the implementation costs were borne by the agencies concerned." Related to this overview are 15 pdf documents that make up the Peace Education Programme kit with individual entries in this catalog.
Inter-agency P.E.P.: Skills for constructive living: Facilitators and trainers training guide 13-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 activies on behalf of the government ... This training guide in peace education is divided into four areas: content, method, environment (both physical and psychological) and output (or product). Often method and psychological are dealt with together as there is overlap."
Peace education curriculum: Programa pendidiken damai 92-page word document translation of the Indonesian "Kurikulum Pendidikan Damai" which "was the first of its kind to be developed in Indonesia, representing peace education from an Islamic and Acehnese perspective. It promotes a positive, comprehensive peace encompassing peaceful relations with God the Creator, with oneself, with one's fellow humans, and with the environment. The curriculum teaches communal peace in accordance with the positive Islamic approach, namely the absence of war and discrimination and the necessity of justice in society. This manual emphasizes that peace is neither a subjugation to situations nor a passive acceptance of injustice, discrimination, and war, but rather a recognition of these problems and addressing them in a peaceful manner. The curriculum also stresses the importance of process and ends, since peace is both process and results, as reflected in active involvement of students in a system of learning by doing ... The materials and learning activities were authored in such a manner to allow the students dominant roles in the learning process. The students are guided to observe, analyze, and seek for solutions to existing conflicts. We feel that this strategy can better improve the students' knowledge on conflict and peace, build their skills in managing conflicts without violence, and actualize them all in their real life."
Inter-agency P.E.P.: Skills for constructive living: Analytical review of selected peace education 271-page pdf document 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 ... this document presents a compilation of resource materials in peace education ... the purpose is to give an overview of materials used by practitioners and provide references for those searching materials."
Educating for Peace and from the University: Memorial Anthology of a Decade 488-page pdf in Spanish. The UNESCO Chair in Education for Peace was created in November 1996 from a cooperation agreement between the University of Puerto Rico and the Organization of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This Anthology provides an overview of the essays and documents developed in the first decade of activity seeking to promote reflection and attention to the problems of violence and hope and to encourage and provide direction for non-violent action towards peaceful coexistence. The Anthology was released on a commemorative CD and as this downloadable pdf.
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.
Teach Peace Pack Elementary (updated edition) In Teach Peace you will find a set of ten lesson plans for use as assemblies or workshops aimed at 5-12 year olds. The pack also contains follow-up activities and resources, prayers, and reflections on peace. The original pack was so popular that we decided to produce an updated edition with three new lesson plans, providing educators with further resources to champion peace education.
Art for Peace Art Start Cards A set of art start cards that provide 5 conflict resolution concepts for students to choose as a theme, 10-15 different art project ideas, and 6 different art tips. These cards also include a glossary for what might be unfamiliar art terms and the art supplies helpful in creating art projects.
Youth4Peace Training Toolkit The Youth4Peace Training Toolkit that will guide you through the concepts and practice of delivering educational activities on conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and the creation of peaceful narratives. This toolkit has been developed for beginners and intermediate youth trainers and educators in the field of peacebuilding and we hope that this is going to be a useful tool for you to start or further implement educational programmes on peace and transforming conflicts and narratives targeting youth through non-formal education.
Peace and conflict resolution education at schools of Shirak Region (Armenia): Final report Report presents the experience stored up in Armenia in the field of peace education, gained successes, educational course developed by the authors, opinions of the beneficiaries and policy makers in the area of education to integrate the training course into school curriculum, future strategy, etc. Report was developed for the First UNESCO/EURED In-Service Teacher Training Course "Human Rights and Peace Education in Europe" 2004-2006. Authors are members of Women for Development NGO. Includes bibliography.
An Integrated Primary Peace Curriculum: A Beginning This resource package includes integrated primary peace education activities and worksheets related to language arts, literature, math, science, social studies, art, music and drama plus ideas for peace themed presentations and multicultural activities. Peace education web sites are also listed.
UNESCO'S Work on Education for Peace and Non-Violence: Building Peace Through Education A 20-page brochure providing an overview of UNESCO's work in advocacy, policy, information exchange and the development of text books, learning materials and curricula. It was developed by the Section for the Promotion of Rights and Values in Education, Division for the Promotion of Basic Education. Included are links to many useful publications produced by UNESCO and its partners.
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."
Classrooms in peace: Preliminary results of a multi-component program 24-page PDF article from the "Ineramerican Journal of Education for Democracy," vol. 1, no. 1, September, 2007. Abstract: "Classrooms in Peace is aimed at preventing aggressive behaviors and promoting peaceful coexistence through 1) a curriculum for the development of citizenship competencies in the classroom; 2) extracurricular reinforcement in groups of two initially aggressive and four prosocial children; 3) workshops for, visits and phone calls to family mothers/fathers. A first implementation of the complete program showed a drastic decrease in aggressive behaviors and indiscipline and a considerable increase in prosocial behaviors, adherence to rules, and friendship networks among classmates. The combination of universal components and targeted components for those most in need seems to be highly valuable, especially in violent contexts."
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."
Inter-agency P.E.P.: Skills for constructive living: Sara's choice a collection of stories and poetr 59-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." A collection of stories and poems, each reflects an aspect of peace education or responds to particular needs in the community.