29-page PDF article from “Journal of Peace Conflict & Development,” Issue 11, November 2007. Abstract: “Around the world many young people are victims of cultural, direct, and structural violence and become carriers of that violence or perpetration. There is a strong tendency among politicians and researchers to see youth as a problem to be solved. However, many youth are peaceful and peace-builders. Equally affected by various forms of violence, they decide to act constructively towards building a culture of peace. Youth are underestimated as positive agents of change and key actors in peace-building, both by policy-makers and academics. This paper explores the role of youth as peace-builders, illustrating their unique power and potential to affect social change through a number of examples.”
Archive
GIRC Annotated Bibliography of Conflict Resolution Resources
An annotated bibliography from the Global Issues Resource Center on conflict resolution resources covering the topics of bullying prevention, classroom management, and trauma & violence prevention. Includes books, curricula, videotapes, simulations and games.
CRETE Project Overview (April 2010)
An overview of the Conflict Resolution Education in Teacher Education (CRETE) initiative as of April 2010. The document reviews the need for CRETE and provides a list of current partners and a history of funding support for the initiative.
Cycles of harmony: Action research into the effects of drama on conflict management in schools
13-page PDF paper which, “describes the first five years of an ongoing action research project (1996-2000) investigating the possibilities of using a combination of drama techniques and peer teaching on a whole-school basis to help school students explore the causes of conflict, and develop strategies for conflict prevention and mediation … A number of principles relating both to conflict management and to drama, together with a tentative pedagogy for using dramatic strategies and techniques have emerged. These are elucidated, and the project and some of its provisional findings are described.”
Beginning with the Children – A guide to creating a Peace Helpers program, grades K-2
This 73-page guide presents a field-tested, step-by-step process schools can use to train and support young students (K-2) in serving as “peace helpers†in their classrooms. After training sessions to develop their skills in listening, handling feelings, and mediating conflicts, they help their teacher establish a peace corner. Upon request they are available to work in the peace corner, listening to a student who is upset or helping two classmates talk out a conflict.
Chapter 1 of the guide describes the Peace Helpers Program at P.S. 24 in Brooklyn, NY, to provide a vision of what’s possible. Chapter 2 describes the ingredients for a successful program and a process a school planning team can use to decide whether now is the time for a Peace Helpers Program at their school. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 describe the steps for establishing and sustaining the program, including detailed agendas for workshop sessions to train the peace helpers. The Appendix has handouts for the peace helpers’ training and other aids for implementing the program.
Peer Mediation Student Handbook – Mediator Mentors
58 page mediation training manual in .doc format used to train peer mediators working at the elementary school level. Used as part of the Mediator Mentor program at California State University Fresno. The program is a university-public school partnership in which future teachers, counselors, social workers and school psychologists support the development of conflict resolution skills in school children. Teachers and students in the public schools receive eight to 10 hours of communication and conflict resolution training and university students coach and mentor at lunch periods. More than 5,000 children and teachers have participated in the program as of Spring 2010.
Helping Children Resolve Peer Conflict
Vol 15, Issue 1 of School-Age Connections provides 4-page pdf reviewing research and concepts for understanding children’s peer conflicts. Includes 8-step model for assisting children in resolving their conflicts.
Non-Violent Conflict Management: Conflict Resolution, Dealing with Anger, Negotiation and Mediation
This 95-page pdf training guide is designed to support the development of conflict resolution skills for people involved in social work activities. “This module teaches conflict management through a combination of skill-building and philosophical discussion to enable participants to become invested in the idea that non-violent conflict management is better, more effective, and more efficacious in the long run than either conflict avoidance, or an aggressive approach that produces ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ The material can be presented in training sessions of varying lengths from one class to an entire semester. The author recommends separating the three modules over time to allow time for integration of skills.”
Preventing and countering school-based harassment: A resource guide for k-12 educators, rev. ed.
76-page PDF guide which “is the result of two conferences on racial harassment and numerous training-of-trainer administrator workshops conducted during the past eight years by the Equity Center (formerly the Center for National Origin, Race, and Sex Equity—CNORSE) where the intersection of the issues of racial and sexual harassment have been made clear by educators in the field. Although much national attention has been focused separately on the issues of racial harassment and sexual harassment, the reality is that when one form of harassment occurs, the opportunity exists for all types of harassment. Focusing only on one type of harassment can allow another type of harassment to go unchallenged. This guide addresses the more comprehensive issue of school-based harassment by capturing similarities in cause of, type of, and remedy for all forms of harassment while also addressing the unique and legal aspects of racial and sexual harassment, as appropriate. The hope is that the material will help school staff, families, students, and communities to create a safe and bias-free learning environment.”
Northeast Ohio Juvenile Corrections Officer (JCO) pilot curriculum
Pilot-project under the coordination of the Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College. “This 120 hour pilot curriculum attempts to address training deficiencies which often lead to high levels of [Juvenile Corrections Officer] staff turnover and increased operational costs … The challenges associated with the supervision, rehabilitation, and treatment of these [incarcerated] youth has compounded over the last two decades; placing juvenile corrections officers on the front lines. Juvenile detention facilities primarily house youth who have committed a violent or sexually oriented crime, suffer from persistent mental illness, are repeat offenders and have a history of substance abuse (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2004). This youth population has increased the challenges faced by juvenile detention personnel, thereby creating a demand for more professional, higher skilled detention employees … For the first time in Ohio, the Northeast Ohio Juvenile Detention Professional Development Project established a comprehensive curriculum for entry level staff that went beyond the current minimum standards to address growing risk factors … The Project’s Advisory Committee and partners believe that by investing in Ohio’s juvenile corrections officers, agencies can reduce staff turnover, increase employee morale, and improve relationships between staff members as well as between staff and incarcerated youth. It is the Committee’s hope that the pilot curriculum will facilitate the implementation of a formal certification process for staff and agencies utilizing the comprehensive training tool. The existence of a formal certification process will help provide the foundation for recognizing juvenile corrections as more than a job, but rather a profession characterized by motivated and dedicated staff.”
Together we can: Creating a healthy future for our family
Curriculum geared toward unmarried parents which is, “made up of a series of 24 lessons of about 60 minutes in length. The program can be offered in a one-on-one, couple, or small group format. The curriculum is designed so that the facilitator can tailor the materials to the needs and interests of the participants and group size. This curriculum has five goals: 1. To prepare unmarried parents to set goals to promote and create a healthy future for their children. 2. To help unmarried parents establish a positive co-parenting relationship that enables them to work together in raising their child. 3. To ensure the on-going and sustained involvement of both parents, especially the father, whenever possible in their children’s lives. 4. To encourage the on-going payment of child support and provision of other forms of support by the non-custodial parent. 5. To prepare unmarried parents to make healthy decisions (with their child’s best interests in mind) about their romantic and couple relationships.” Module 3 contains conflict resolution specific materials.
Introducing cooperation and conflict resolution into schools: A systems approach
29-page PDF chapter in the 2001 publication: Peace, conflict and violence: Peace psychology for the 21st Century by D.J. Christie, R.V. Wagner and D.A. Winter. The chapter argues the fundamental importance of a systemic approace to peace and conflict resolution education. The authors discuss five levels of “school systems through which one can introduce cooperation and conflict resolution concepts, skills, and processes: Level 1, the student disciplinary system; Level 2, the curriculum; Level 3, pedagogy; and Level 4, the school culture and Level 5, the community—will enhance the view of the school system as an “open system†embedded in a larger communal system which can aid in the sustainability of school system change.”
Values education, teacher professional learning and the United Nations
8-page PDF article which, “focuses on values education in teacher professional learning and in particular the innovative use of Model United Nations Conferences as a way of enhancing values-based approaches.”
Preparing for special education mediation and resolution sessions: A guide for families & advocates
28-page PDF document created, “to contribute to better outcomes for children with special needs. Through a collection of articles, this guide seeks to provide families and advocates with an array of information that will equip them to make the most of the new and expanded dispute resolution options offered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As the nation’s special education law has evolved, Congress has consistently sought to provide new ways to encourage informal and speedy resolution of problems … This guide provides a comprehensive article on preparing for special education mediation and resolution sessions, including tips for both families and advocates. A flowchart of mediation and resolution session supports the understanding of how these two processes work and intersect. For additional insight, it provides both an interview with a seasoned special education mediator and a summary of a study that sought to identify the factors that contribute to parent-school conflict. Finally, it offers communication tips for building strong partnerships and additional resources for locating further information.”
Human rights education in the school systems of Europe, Central Asia and North America: A compendium
239-page PDF, “compendium of good practice [it] is a compilation of 101 examples of good practice in human rights education in primary schools,ssecondary schools and teacher training institutions … the term “human rights education” is often used in this resource in a broader sense, to also include education for democratic citizenship and education for mutual respect and understanding, which are all based on internationally agreed human rights standards. These three areas are seen as interconnected and essential within educational systems in order to prepare youth to be active, responsible and caring participants in their communities, as well as at the national and global levels … this book aims to support quality teaching in these areas and to inspire educational policymakers (those working in education ministries and local school boards) and administrators, teachers, teacher trainers, non-formal educators and all other interested actors, as well as to facilitate networking and the exchange of experience among education professionals.”
A companion website with additional examples and documents is available at http://bit.ly/2uUsv65