Research article summarizing a violence intervention initiative. The investigation examined the differential effectiveness of PeaceBuilders, a large-scale, universal violence prevention program, on male and female youth identified as low, medium, or high risk for future violence. It included eight urban schools randomly assigned to intensive intervention and wait-list control conditions. The sample included N = 2,380 predominantly minority children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Results indicated differential effectiveness of the intervention, by level of risk; high-risk children reported more decreases in aggression and more increases in social competence in comparison to children at medium and low levels of risk. Findings add to a growing number of promising science-based prevention efforts that seek to reduce aggression and increase social competence; they provide encouraging evidence that relatively low-cost, schoolwide efforts have the potential to save society millions in victim, adjudication, and incarceration costs.
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Democratic Dialogue – A Handbook for Practitioners
This 262-page pdf provides a collection of information and advice from experienced dialogue practitioners and includes numerous international examples to illustrate key ideas. “The Handbook on Democratic Dialogue has been a joint effort of The Canadian International Development Association (CIDA), International IDEA, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), receiving valuable input from a wider network of organizations. This Handbook has been designed to reflect current practice in the field of dialogue and to draw on concrete experiences of practitioners in various regions and of various actors involved in these processes. It seeks to consolidate emerging learning – both in terms of the conceptual framework supporting dialogue, and practical experiences in the design, facilitation and assessment of such processes on the ground. It also offers a comprehensive mapping of the process tools that can be used to support dialogue initiatives, thereby expanding the toolbox currently available to practitioners.”
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.”
Tolerance in multiethnic Georgia: Training methodology manual for educators
156-page pdf training manual, “on the management of interethnic relations intended for teachers and youth leaders (educators). It also includes the description of the ethnic groups residing in Georgia and covers the themes like the nature of ethnic stereotypes and attitudes, peculiarities of intercultural dialogue, the essence of ethnic identity and conflicts. The suggested training system is based on the findings of the empirical research carried out with the teachers in the public schools of Georgia, youth leaders in patriot camps and future teachers. The system underwent an additional testing with 195 training participants. The given book can be useful to psychologists, students, ethnologists and those who are involved in the fields of education and interethnic relations.”