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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.

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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
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.
Manual for Colleges and Universities Developing Programs in Peace and Conflict Studies
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.
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."
Gender Toolkit: A manual for youth peace workers This guide aims to provide flexible and context-sensitive tools for supporting awareness and gender mainstreaming in youth peacebuilding organisations. It address the challenge of how to include a "gender lens" in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of different projects while integrating gender issues at the structural and organisational levels. These challenges can be addressed first by acknowledging their existence and making corrective entries to the organisations' apparatus of power, and secondly by transforming the challenges into something positive and productive. The 69-page guide provides a short overview of internal gender mainstreaming and gender mainstreaming in project management backed up by checklists and annotated resources in every section, best practices and trouble-shooters, as well as tips, quotes and advice. An appendix provides some activity modules that will lend a hand in addressing gender issues in organisations and projects.
Tips for developing peace education curriculum: Some lessons from Vietnam 4-page tips document, the abstract states, "Teachers and schools around Australia are being asked to take responsibility for ensuring safe schools and promoting citizenship among students. This is part of an international movement to use school-based education to promote a global culture of peace. The International Conflict Resolution Centre at the University of Melbourne recently co-developed a national peace education curriculum for primary schools in Vietnam with Vietnamese educators. This experience highlighted three important peace education tools that can also be used within an Australian context: The UNESCO "peace keys," physical games and reflective material."
Inter-agency P.E.P.: Skills for constructive living: Teacher activity book of secondary modules 36-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 ... the teacher's main resource it has a lesson-by-lesson curriculum for formal schooling structured according to the children's cognitive and emotional development ... these secondary modules are designed primarily for those students who have undertaken the Peace Education programme in Primary School, there may be specific lessons in the primary grades that adapt very well to the secondary situation, these should be used where appropriate, in addition there are some stories (and poetry) in the Story Book (part of the primary component) that may also be useful."
Practicing peace: A peace education module for standards 4 through 6 in Solomon Islands 87-page pdf document which presents peace education for the Solomon Islands context. "The primary method used in peace education is generally referred to as a "facilitated" or "interactive" model of teaching. In this method, the teacher becomes a facilitator of learning and a co-learner with the students. Students and teachers use experiential strategies to practice skills for peace. There is a shift in the value placed on being a teacher. Using the facilitated processes of conflict resolution and peace education, teachers and students learn together and teach each other." Covered areas include: Interpersonal skills; Understanding and accepting differences; Children's rights; Building community and Mediation.
Elicitive Curricular Development: A Manual for Scholar-Practitioners Developing Courses in International Peace and Conflict Studies This book is co-authored by Peace Studies Innsbruck core faculty Josefina Echavarría Alvarez, Adham Hamed and Noah B. Taylor and it outlines central principles of the University of Innsbruck's approach to curricular development for Peace and Conflict Studies around the world. It has been authored in the framework of the project Education for Peace in the Iraqi Higher Education System, implemented by the University of Innsbruck in partnership with the Iraqi Al-Amal Association the United Nations Development Program in Iraq and nine Iraqi Universities. The ECDM is a systematic collection of experiences and lessons identified in academic contexts around the world in Austria, Cambodia, Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia and Iraq. The ECDM reflects core elicitive principles such as the importance of a focus on relationships, looking beyond the episode of conflict, collaboration, communication and local knowledge. These principles are consistent with the mission of the Research Center for Peace and Conflict (InnPeace) to teach, learn and research as reflective processes of relevant social questions of peace and conflict transformation. This manual offers helpful guidelines for academic and administrative staff, as well as international cooperation partners trusted with developing peace and conflict courses at the graduate and postgraduate levels.
Preparation of pre-service teachers for a culture of dignity and peace, The 38-page PDF article which argues the necessity of peace education for future teachers. Abstract: This paper argues that since schools are considered spaces for critical transformation and teachers play a vital role in creating conditions where students can become loving, caring members of society, peace education should be made explicit in teacher education. It asserts that the teacher education culture in Ontario is keen and positioned for this endeavour to take place despite implicit and marginalized peace education content and practices. It continues by suggesting how a move to prepare teacher candidates with education for and about peace through the magnifying of current implicit peace practices may strengthen the overall momentum of producing just societies, thereby, building human dignity. Drawing from findings derived from a small-scale study, three implications for teacher education are given: teacher education must recognize the proclivity of teacher candidates for partnership pedagogy; create space for sharing experiences; and expose teacher candidates to peace education knowledge. Six recommendations are provided for increasing possibilities for peaceful and equitable social pathways. The overarching purpose is to stimulate further discussion and networking among Ministry of Education in Ontario and faculties of education by advocating how peace education aligns with the goals inherent in their own philosophies and those of the global peace agenda.
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.
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
Education for peace: A curriculum framework K-12 14-page pdf document which presents a "conceptual framework from which schools may devise a program comprising the transmission of universal values and enduring attitudes, and the development of skills which will enable our students to become active global citizens ... the implementation of this conceptual framework recognizes the practice of peaceful relations at all levels: personal, familial, communal, inter-cultural and global, it entails a process of knowledge acquisition and skill-building which affects the behavior of individuals and groups and provides a model for the formal and informal curriculum of the school, education for Peace is a process and condition which permeates all aspects of school life, with implications for learners, teachers, and administrators and it extends beyond the school to society as a whole."
Programa Fortalecimiento de la convivencia democratica, derechos humanos y resolucion pacifica de Powerpoint presentation that outlines peace and conflict resolution education initiatives developed in Columbia.
Inter-agency P.E.P.:Skills for constructive living: Manual for training of facilitators I 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 ... the manual looks at the skills required to develop effective facilitation of adult learners, these skills are useful not just for a Peace Education programme but also for all aspects of the professional life of the people with whom you are working."
The Elementary Child: Teaching to the Spirit, Teaching for Peace This combined 2-part article (published in 2 separate issues of Montessori Leadership), provides an overview of how Cathleen Haskins implemented a peace education curriculum in a Montessori classroom. It provides information on Montessori's call for peace education, and specific details on the curriculum autonomously created (activities and exercises) and used with students aged 6-9 years, in both a public Montessori and private.
Quaker Peacemakers Poster Collection This set of 10 letter-size posters describes the work of 9 Quakers (members of the Religious Society of Friends) active in various domains of peacemaking. Featured peacemakers include Lewis Fry Richardson, Adam Curle, Bayard Rustin, Elise Boulding, Kenneth Boulding, Priscilla Prutzman, Jennifer Beer, Bill Kreidler and George Lakey. Also featured is the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), a Quaker-founded program working in prisons and community settings. Each poster includes a quote, a stylized picture and biographical background information on the featured person or project.
UNESCO Peace Pack (Combined) The UNESCO Peace Pack is a set of materials for the elementary school teacher. It was prepared following a series of seven subregional Culture of Peace Children's Festivals held in 1995. A thousand Peace Packs were produced on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations and UNESCO (1995). These resource materials were tested successfully in 125 countries. As its contribution to the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, UNESCO distributed the Peace Pack worldwide beginning in 2001. The various pieces are no longer directly available via UNESCO's website, but this combined document retrieved from the internet archive extends its availability. Included in the combined document is a teacher's handbook explaining and describing the various materials in the package. Also included is a set of topical posters on a series of topics of concern to children with corresponding questions for discussions. In addition, there are seven activity cards which deal with the following topics: - What is peace? - Tolerance and respect - Conflict the wrong way - What are my rights? - It's our world - Getting to know you - intercultural learning - Learning together Also included is a set of Appeals to world leaders that were written by the children at the seven regional UNESCO Peace Festivals. Students are encouraged to review the appeals and suggest changes or additions.
Learning to live together: Building skills, values and attitudes for the 21st Century 167-page pdf study which, "represents an attempt to interpret the aim of ‘learning to live together’ as a synthesis of many related goals, such as education for peace, human rights, citizenship and health-preserving behaviours. It focuses specifically on the skills, values, attitudes and concepts needed for learning to live together, rather than on ‘knowledge’ objectives. The aim of the study is to discover ‘what works’ in terms of helping students learn to become politely assertive rather than violent, to understand conflict and its prevention, to become mediators, to respect human rights, to become active and responsible members of their communities—as local, national and global citizens, to have balanced relationships with others and neither to coerce others nor be coerced, especially into risky health behaviours ... The recommendation emerging from the study for national policy-makers and curriculum specialists is that a core national team of educators committed to the goals of peace-building, human rights, active citizenship and preventive health should be created, in order to put together and pilot test materials and methodologies related to these goals."
Teacher insights from an intercultural peace curricula development project 25-page PDF article from the Interamerican Journal of Education for Democracy, vol. 2, no. 2. September 2009. Abstract: "Data garnered from an eight month critical ethnographic action research project tells a story of prejudice and discrimination in a white, Euro-American dominant context at Junction High School in the U.S. Midwest. However, counter-normative efforts aimed at transforming the situation for newcomer students were conducted by both the researcher and a group of teachers who developed and implemented intercultural peace curricula. White, Euro-American constructions of “others” and teacher reflections on their engagement in the process are presented in this article. The article aims to provide a case study and to encourage deeper dialogue on intercultural peace education in schools for achieving an authentic democracy."