Policymakers and Administrators

Welcome to the Conflict Resolution Education Connection’s resources for policymakers and administrators. Our goal is to provide information that will support administrators interested in promoting or extending conflict resolution work within education. The sidebar menu to your right provides a listing of the content areas we focus on at this site.

A very young administrator working at desk

CRE Conference Presentations

National Policies on Education for Democratic Citizenship in the Americas

  • Presented by: Adriana Cepeda-Organization of American States, Washington, DC, USA
  • View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here

How to Run a Student Mediation Conference

  • Presented by: Marge Bleiweis
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Reforming Special Education

  • Presented by: Christina Cassinerio, Leila Peterson and Ellen Wayne
  • View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here

Conflict Transformation Education for At-Risk Youth: Connecting With Kids

  • Presented by: Sarah Bernhardt
  • View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here

Macro Models of Implementation: Policy to Practice

  • Presented by: Terry Pickeral-Cascade Educational Consultants, USA
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The Illinois Story

  • Presented by: Mary Utne O'Brien-CASEL, Chicago, USA
  • View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here

View More Presentations Here


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
Diversity training Pdf article reprinted from Aug-Sept 1997 issue (Vol. 79 pp. 17-19) of The Fourth R, the Newsletter of the National Association for Mediation in Education, introducing The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), an international organization which leads diversity programs on college campuses.
SACSC Elementary unit and lesson plans Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission "is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment. Achieving this mission requires the involvement not only of parents, teachers, and children, but of all the important adults in children’s lives." The site houses a number of lesson plans and educational units "focusing on adult modeling, the SACSC programs prevent negative social behavior through character education, conflict management training and building respect for diversity. They promote a problem-solving approach to discipline that encourages positive social behavior by expecting young people to fix the wrong they have caused, thereby learning from their mistakes." They focus on 5 topics: Living Respectfully; Developing Self-Esteem; Respecting Diversity and Preventing Prejudice; Managing Anger and Dealing with Bullying and Harassment; and Resolving Conflicts Peacefully for grades K-6.
VOV activities: Preventing feelings of isolation through trust and cooperation, grades 7-12 6-page PDF with activities for 7-12 graders to improve communication skills and build trust.
Restorative justice in the school setting: A whole school approach 12-page PDF paper promoting the teaching of restorative justice in schools. "Restorative justice is a philosophy and a set of practices that embraces the right blend between a high degree of discipline that encompasses clear expectations, limits and consequences and a high degree of support and nurturance."
Culture of power, The Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 5, Number 1, (Sept 2004), which examines the culture of power particularly within educational institutions.
National curriculum integration project: Final report, phase two (2000-2001) National curriculum integration project sought to promote the infusion of conflict resolution education into middle school curriculum, teaching it as part of other subjects, rather than as a stand-alone topic. This report shares the findings which suggest that classroom climate improves over the course of the school year using this approach.
Global education guidelines: A handbook for educators to understand and implement global education 85-page pdf handbook "written on the premise that educational processes in formal and non-formal settings should open the path to a better understanding of an increasingly globalised world. It also raises important issues about the professional responsibilities of educators and teachers and the role of schools and different organisations and institutions in raising global awareness and knowledge on worldwide issues across the curriculum and in non-formal projects and activities ... this document should be regarded as a guide for understanding and practising global education, also as a pedagogical coaching tool to help establish global education approaches where they do not yet exist and enrich existing ones. Its content was set up taking into account in-field practices and references and cultural, geographic, social and economic realities."
National policies on education for democratic citizenship in the Americas: Analytic report 48-page PDF report with the goal of "address[ing] the gap in the literature on national policies in citizenship education in the Americas, providing an initial “mapping” of these policies, at the formal and non-formal levels. To that end, the analysis focuses on national policies and standards, the school curriculum within which citizenship education is embedded, places and age levels where citizenship education occurs, and the extent to which citizenship programs are evaluated. Twenty-five countries participated in this study. Selected demographic characteristics of the countries are reported in Appendix 1."
Youth & conflict: A toolkit for intervention 35-page PDF toolkit which is, "part of a series that explores how development assistance can address key risk factors associated with conflict. One area that is receiving increasing attention is the relationship between young people and violence ... This document: 1) examines key issues related to youth participation in violence; 2) discusses lessons learned in developing programs for at-risk youth; 3) presents a range of program options; 4) includes illustrative monitoring and evaluation tools; and 5) identifies relevant USAID mechanisms and partners. Together, the elements of this toolkit are designed to help raise awareness about the linkages between young people, development aid, and conflict; and to help officers integrate a conflict perspective into their development programming."
Collaboration across fields: Implementation and sustainability of SEL, CRE, PE and CE 73-page PDF conference reader from the two-day summit, "Collaboration across Fields: Implementation and Sustainability of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Conflict Resolution Education (CRE), Peace Education (PE), and Citizenship Education (CE), held in Cleveland, Ohio on June 19th and 20th, 2009. The conference "brought together government representatives from among the 50 states and invited countries (Ghana, Kenya, Montenegro, Philippines) and their non-governmental organization partners. Organizations were invited because of their interest in developing legislation and policy in peace education, social and emotional learning, conflict resolution education, and/or civics education and their interest in securing ways to strengthen implementation and achieve sustainability of these efforts ... this capacity building summit offered a dynamic opportunity to develop a global infrastructure to advance the work in the fields of conflict resolution education, peace education, social and emotional learning, and citizenship education. The summit brought together policymakers, researchers and educators representing regions across the United States and select member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict GPPAC). These national and international guests exchanged successful macro level policy design and implementation models at the state-wide or national level, and macro level evaluation methodology and tools for states and countries. Specific areas of focus included: Teacher education, research and evaluation, and policy implementation options for primary, elementary and secondary education at the national or state levels."
Challenge to create a safer learning environment for youth, The 83-page PDF report which continues the author's "exploration of how violence affects learning and my search for effective approaches to support learning for those who have experienced violence ... I sought to learn more about how violence affects learning by interviewing young people who are currently struggling with learning, either within or outside the school system. I wanted to explore how responses to trauma support or limit learning possibilities by interviewing young people and professionals engaged in the school system and in other education for youth."
Connected and respected: Lessons from resolving conflict creatively 19-slide Powerpoint presentation given at the Sustaining Conflict Resolution Education: Building Bridges to the Future conference in Fairfax, VA, which "explore[d] a model, five approaches, and practical strategies for integrating conflict resolution education into elementary classrooms based upon experiences in the widely disseminated and well-evaluated Resolving Conflict Creatively Program ... also look[ed] at how conflict resolution education can be linked with social and emotional learning competencies, character education, and national standards."
Racial and ethnic conflict on campus Pdf article reprinted from the June/July 1991 Issue (Vol 33) of The Fourth R, The Newsletter of the National Association for Mediation in Education which discusses the, "role of the ombudsman in relation to racial incidents and the development and implementation of racial harassment policies ... in developing our training, we will be incorporating racial and cultural differences into the mediation process, including training about communication styles, conflict styles, different expectations for mediation and neutrality and different approaches to emotions and aggressiveness."
A Peer Mediation Needs Analysis For Schools A three-page worksheet providing a series of questions for schools to consider prior to implementing a peer mediation program.
Conflict Resolution Education Connection teacher's calendar 2009-2010 24-page pdf calendar created by the Conflict Resolution Education for Teacher Education (CRETE) Connection Project and the Association for Conflict Resolution Education Section. "The calendar, designed to be hung by a teacherÌ¢‰â‰ã¢s desk, provides short takes on CRE tools each month along with corresponding Special Days related to conflict resolution or peacemaking, CRE catalog resources, online links to the CRE website and other great collections of classroom activities and professional development tools. The calendar skips the summer and ends with the month of September to welcome folks back to the new school year!" .
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."
Improving outcomes for Indigenous students - the Workbook and guide for school educators (3rd ed.) This 55-page pdf workbook is a practical set of support materials for taking action and working systematically in schools. Developed in Australia, it provides a set of tools and ideas to help achieve improved outcomes for Indigenous students, and can be used in conjunction with the materials on the What Works http://www.whatworks.edu.au/ website and other companion What Works publications. This is the third edition, published in 2010. It was substantially revised and updated and provides a complete support for taking systematic action.
Restorative justice in the classroom: Lesson 2 class meetings 8-page pdf lesson which "through role-play and discussion, this lesson will help students understand the motives behind offending and re-offending and to develop problem-solving consequences that will help offenders learn a better way to behave. By developing restorative consequences, the classroom community can help the offender repair the harm he/she has caused and discourage the offender from re-offending. Students practice consensus building and explore the consequence-setting aspect of justice circles."
The Role of Restorative Justice in Teen Courts: A Preliminary Look In March 2000, the American Probation and Parole Association convened a focus group to examine and discuss the role of restorative justice in teen court programs (also called youth and peer courts). The panel consisted of persons working actively in teen courts and persons working actively in more traditional restorative justice-based programs. This paper provides a brief overview of restorative justice principles and addresses several key issues the focus group members identified that serve as a promising foundation from which teen courts can begin to move toward integrating more restorative justice-based practices within their programs. Key issues discussed include how youth courts can rethink the role of victims and the community within their programs, how youth courts can alter the way that their proceedings and practices are structured, and how youth courts can rethink and redefine sentencing options so that they are based on the restorative justice philosophy.
Curriculum in mediation, A: Lesson plans gateway 5-page pdf document which presents a teacher's guide for training peer mediators, provides links to workbook lesson plans for conflict management, communication skills, role playing exercises and agreement writing.