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.
CRE Conference Presentations
How to Run a Student Mediation Conference
- Presented by: Marge Bleiweis
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Using Extracurricular Activities to Broaden Perspectives of a Diverse College Community
- Presented by: Megan Erclauz, Susan Lohwater, Shirien Muntaser, Sarah Smith, Amana Zahriyeh, Cuyahoga Community College
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
From the Ground Up: Lessons in Growing the Central Michigan Restorative Justice Initiative (CMRJI)
- Presented by: Nancy Schertzing, Michigan State University
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Policy to Programs: Initiatives by the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management
- Presented by: Sarah Wallis, Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management; Alexis Hayden, Lorain City Schools
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
Cool School – FMCS Youth Initiative Interactive Game
- Presented by: F.J. Lennon and Melanie Killen
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click Here
The Organization of American States: 100 Years of Building Bridges in the Americas
- Presented by: Presented By: Pablo Zuniga, Romina Giselle Kasman, and Marcia Bebianno Simoes
- View Presentation and Abstract: Click 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Teach kids a lesson ... or help them to learn? | 11-page PDF paper which promotes the idea of restorative justice practices in education as opposed to punitive ones. "Restorative justice philosophy views misbehavior in terms of how it has impacted upon relationships in the school community. Once the harm is acknowledged in a concrete way the process moves beyond harm to ask how can this harm be repaired? If schools are places of learning, where young people are encouraged to be independent and creative thinkers, are able to share their ideas and opinions, learn to accept the view of others, to be responsible and accountable for their learning, it stands to reason that the "punitive school" is being counter productive in achieving these desired outcomes." | |
| Restorative Justice: A Working Guide for Our Schools | The purpose of this publication, available as a 43-page pdf, is to provide support and guidance for teachers, health workers, community leaders, and school personnel who seek to implement Restorative Justice in their schools. The guide introduces Restorative Justice concepts, articulates what is new about the approach, explores benefits, outcomes and impacts and provides guidance on initiating Restorative Justice at the school or district level. Also included are listings of resources for additional information and support. | |
| Digital Pathways for Peace | As peacebuilders place increasing importance on the use of digital technologies to sustain peacebuilding work in this midst of the Covid‑19 pandemic, Peace Direct convened a three‐day online consultation with over 75 practitioners and academics across the globe to share insights and knowledge on how to capitalise on the opportunities for peace that digital technologies provide. The 56-page report is the latest in Peace Direct's series of ‘Local Voices for Peace’ reports. ‘Digital Pathways for Peace: Insights and lessons from a global online consultation’ shares perspectives from local peacebuilders on the benefits and challenges of using technology to build peace, and offers recommendations for policymakers, donors and civil society to harness the capabilities digital technologies offer. | |
| Statement of restorative justice principles: As applied in a school setting: 2nd edition | 24-page PDF document of "Principles [which] form the basis for restorative practices in all settings, using all models, where the primary aims are to repair harm and promote dialogue ... Restorative practices are underpinned by a set of values, these include: Empowerment, honesty, respect, engagement, voluntarism, healing, restoration, personal accountability, inclusiveness, collaboration, and problem-solving." | |
| 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. | |
| Conflict resolution, peer mediation and young people's relationships: Technical Report | 74-page PDF technical report that investigated, "what schools could do to improve young people's relationships with each other, with teachers and with their families. This is a key question for schools, policy-makers and pressure groups; there are currently programmes and initiatives on behaviour, citizenship, healthy schools and many other areas which have relationships at their core. Within that broad area, the team looked in more detail at school programmes that encourage conflict resolution and peer mediation." Ten studies relating to conflict resolution, all completed after 1994, were reviewed in detail. | |
| Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Orgs | A manual in pdf format providing an overview of various models for conflict resolution education program implementation. The first chapter defines conflict as a natural condition and examines the origins of conflict, responses to conflict, and the outcomes of those responses. It introduces four approaches to implementing conflict resolution education. Each of the next four chapters discusses one of these approaches and presents examples of programs that use the approach. One chapter describes an approach to conflict resolution education characterized by devoting a specific time to teaching the foundation abilities, principles, and one or more of the problemsolving processes in a separate course or distinct curriculum. Another chapter describes an approach in which selected, trained individuals provide neutral third-party facilitation in conflict resolution. A chapter presents an approach that incorporates conflict resolution education into the core subject areas of the curriculum and into classroom management strategies, and another chapter presents a comprehensive whole-school methodology that builds on the previous approach. The next two chapters address conflict resolution education in settings other than traditional schools. The final three chapters address more overarching topics: conflict resolution research and evaluation; a developmental sequence of behavioral expectations in conflict resolution; and the process of developing, implementing, and sustaining a conflict resolution program. | |
| 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." | |
| Conflict resolution across the curriculum | Pdf article reprinted from the Aug/Sept 1997 Issue (Vol 79) of The Fourth R, The Newsletter of the National Association for Mediation in Education which creates an argument for the teaching of conflict resolution in colleges and universities in every academic discipline as a necessary skill for graduation much like basic writing skills classes. "Ultimately, conflict resolution across the curriculum suggests that good conflict resolution skills need broader integration into the culture in which we live, conflict resolution must not simply be the private domain of specialists, it must be a way in which everyone learns to solve problems, it must become a part of every discipline just as good writing is a part of every discipline." | |
| Good Practice Guidelines for Peer Mediation Initiatives | A one-page summary of guidelines for best practice for peer mediation program initiatives. Based on a larger evaluation of Peer Mediation Programs in New South Wales Government Schools published in 2003 | |
| School-based violence prevention programs: A resource manual | 199-page pdf manual which "provides practical research- and expert-based information on school-based programs to prevent interpersonal violence. We review 79 prevention programs. Each has research evidence, addresses unique "at-risk" populations, such as children with disabilities, or uses innovative approaches to engaging youth." | |
| Non-violence in education | 79-page pdf manuscript published in cooperation with Institut de Recherche sur la Resolution Non-Violente des Conflits (IRNC), of which the author says, "These pages do not claim that merely placing the principle of non-violence at the heart of the educational project could be enough to solve them with ease. It is not our intention to teach teachers how to do their job. Our only aim is to urge them to look at their daily practices in the light of the principles and methods of non-violence. Perhaps we can all agree that when non-violence is possible, it is preferable. If so, and if non-violence is preferable, then it is up to us to do everything we can to make it possible. This study does not claim to be offering anything other than an exploration of the possibilities of non-violence." English translation of original French work. | |
| Hip-hop lyrics: Lesson and activity excerpted from the Tanenbaum curriculum COEXIST | 6-page PDF lesson plan to help students (grade 6-12), "learn about Hip-Hop as a form of communication and activism. Students will also learn how to critically read lyrics and how to identify bias or influence in an author’s writing," | |
| Intake hints | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 2, Number 2, (Feb 2002), which examines intake procedures and scheduling issues for community mediation, based on work done by "Neighborhood Dispute Settlement Program of Dauphin County (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), ... a community mediation program which receives referrals from criminal justice entities." | |
| Conflict management | Website "developed to provide an introduction to the study of conflict management, based on research in this field," the site includes information on the nature of conflict and it's key elements, why the study of conflict is important, as well as the skills necessary for conflict managers. Included on the website is a self-test to check your understanding of conflict management and a resource list. | |
| Promoting SEAL through circle time | 7-page PDF document promoting Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning through circle time for secondary students. "Circle time sessions provide a potential vehicle for the classroom delivery of the SEAL curriculum. Circle time is a time set aside each week when a whole class of young people and their teacher sit in a circle and explicitly engage in a structured programme of games, experiential activities, discussion and relaxation strategies ... It aims to provide an emotionally safe forum for participants to engage with a range of key issues, including peer relationships, conflict resolution, shared goal setting, justice, friendship, democratic principles, respect for individual differences and freedom of choice." | |
| Collaboration and conflict resolution skills: A core academic competency? | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 1, Number 4, (Nov/Dec 2000), examines "an innovative program at California State University Monterey Bay [which] has incorporated conflict resolution as one of the program's 11 Major Learning Objectives that students must know and understand in order to graduate." | |
| To be or not to be: Conflict resolution as a discipline | Pdf article reprinted from the February/March 1995 Issue (Vol 55) of The Fourth R, The Newsletter of the National Association for Mediation in Education discussing conflict resolution as an academic discipline. | |
| Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning School Posters | The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) materials from the UK Primary National Strategies curriculum provide seven posters for use across the school. They are available for download as pdfs (see attachments in site sidebar). The topics include the following:Feelings detective – understanding my feelings and understanding the feelings of others. These two posters support children when trying to recognise their own feelings and the feelings of others.AssertivenessThis poster uses the ideas covered in the theme sets and provides a reminder about how we might behave assertively rather than timidly, aggressively or manipulatively.Problem solvingThis poster outlines a problem-solving process that might be used in social or learning situations.Peaceful problem solvingThis poster provides a reminder of the SEAL approach to resolving conflicts within the school.Circle timeThis poster is an aid to those who use circle time and provides useful reminders for children to ensure the sessions are positive and productive.The FightThis is a copy of The Fight by L. S. Lowry. It is used as a stimulus for work in Say no to bullying | |
| Slouching towards inclusion | Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 2, Number 3, (May 2002), which discusses the need for diversity in the field of conflict resolution and examples of challenges and solutions when creating diversity within the conflict resolution team is a primary factor. |