Finch, John; Mura, Katherine (1996). "Cry, the Beloved Country." Bill of Rights/Human Rights Project. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996 (South Africa). This unit is based upon study of Alan Paton's novel, "Cry, the Beloved Country," and includes a writing component in which students create an original Bill of Rights for the new Republic of South Africa. To create the new Bill of Rights, students study three basic human rights documents and work in groups to write the finished product. Appended sample materials that can be used to complement social studies/history resources are included. (EH)… [PDF]

Icolari, Ellen (1996). The New South Africa: A Major Power in Transition. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996 (South Africa). This interdisciplinary and multi-modal curriculum unit provides a context for studying South Africa in grades 5-12. Three aspects of the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa are highlighted, including: (1) "Revisiting the Past": a brief history of South Africa's political and social climate; (2) "Beginning the Transformation": an overview of the Reconstruction and Development Plan; and (3) "The Future, A Brighter Day?": summaries of conversations with South African young people. (EH)… [PDF]

Bruning, Merribeth D. (2000). Positive, Peaceful Interactions between Adults and Young Children. Growing Together: Building a Peaceful Community. This paper discusses classroom practices contributing to positive, peaceful interactions between adults and young children. The paper begins with reminders about the development of self-control as a crucial aspect of peacefulness, the role of the toddler's developing autonomy, and the development of a sense of fairness in prekindergarten children. The paper notes the importance of positive adult role models who have a daily quiet time, engage in meditation or prayer, and are mindful of their vocal inflection and body language. Suggestions for fostering peaceful environments are given, including using visual reminders, having orderly homes and classrooms, providing aesthetic experiences that promote peace, telling stories about problem solving, and limiting and monitoring television viewing. Inappropriate strategies for dealing with conflict are delineated, including the avoidance of threats, physical reactions, name calling, bringing up the past, and inattentive listening…. [PDF]

Lapid, Ilana (1995). From the Hobbesian Floor to the Kantian Ceiling: UN Intervention as a Practical-Idealist Challenge. Social Studies, v86 n3 p101-04 May-Jun. Contends that the United Nations (UN) is redefining its role in the international community. Discusses whether the UN should follow a national sovereignty path or one that recognizes the erosion of the national state. Concludes that humanitarian intervention guided by practical idealism is the correct approach. (CFR)…

Bernat, Valerie (1993). Teaching Peace. Young Children, v48 n3 p36-39 Mar. Discusses and illustrates the ways in which early childhood teachers can teach preschoolers about peace. Teachers can implement two simple rules: "Don't hurt anyone," and "Use words to settle problems." Explains how these rules would be implemented in particular preschool situations. (BB)…

Albrecht, Lisa (1993). Bibliography: Jewish/Palestinian Middle East Peace Perspectives (with a Focus on Feminist Activist Work). MultiCultural Review, v2 n4 p16-21 Dec. This semiannotated bibliography, developed for an honors program at the University if Minnesota on "Women and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," lists regularly and irregularly appearing periodicals focusing on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (8 sources) and books addressing the conflict (46 sources). The course syllabus and outline are also provided. (SLD)…

Karaman-Kepenekci, Yasemin (2005). Citizenship and Human Rights Education: A Comparison of Textbooks in Turkey and the United States. International Journal of Educational Reform, v14 n1 p73-88 Win. Textbooks are major educational tools for students. A United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) project titled "Basic Learning Material" claims that textbooks provide the main resource for teachers, enabling them to animate the curricula and giving life to the subjects taught in the classroom. As Power and Allison indicate (2000), textbooks should support the full development of the human personality and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In order to actualize citizenship and human rights education apart from basic knowledge, educational activities that develop participation skills, critical-thinking skills, collaboration skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills are also needed. That is why civics and human rights textbooks especially should include both texts and instructions for educational activities consistent with the text that help to develop these skills of the students. A number of studies were… [Direct]

Walter, Virginia A. (1993). War and Peace Literature for Children and Young Adults: A Resource Guide to Significant Issues. This book suggests ways that children's books can create frames of reference about the related topics of war and peace. It suggests ways that books can be used to start a dialogue between adults and children, to facilitate communication about a subject that causes much anxiety in children. Rather than bibliotherapy, however, the object of this book is to help adults help children understand the complex issues involved in war and peace. Books are used to create a shared frame of reference and to extend the child's experiences beyond the everyday world. They make abstract or historical concepts more concrete and comprehensible. The book is organized into four chapters. The first chapter presents a historical perspective on the process of sharing books about war and peace with children, as well as some of the developmental issues involved with giving the right book to the right child at the right time. The second chapter suggests specific techniques for sharing books about war and…

Bickmore, Kathy; And Others (1984). Alternatives to Violence: A Manual for Teaching Peacemaking to Youth and Adults. Designed as a guide to teaching an introductory course in creative conflict resolution for adults and teenagers in school and community settings, this resource manual describes active, experiential learning activities. The alternatives to violence course is structured into twenty 45-minute units (a total of 15 hours). Sessions 1-3 examine kinds of violence, the nature of violence, and institutional violence. Session 4 deals with basic responses to conflict and historical cases of nonviolent action. Sessions 5-7 focus on the development of nonviolent alternatives, including active listening, group facilitation and consensus, and negotiation and leadership. Session 8 explores differences between violence and nonviolence and session 9 examines elementary skills necessary for active nonviolent self-defense. Sessions 10-12 deal with confronting violence, alternatives to violence on the community level, and problem solving. In session 13, students apply concepts and skills for… [PDF]

Doran, Sister Mary Catherine (1971). Stability and Change: Through Ideas, and Non-Violent Action. Grade Eleven, Unit Two, 11.2. Comprehensive Social Studies Curriculum for the Inner City. The second unit of the 11th grade section of the FICSS series (Focus on Inner City Social Studies — see SO 008 271) examines social change in the United States through ideas and non-violent protest. The unit looks at the peaceful protests portrayed in politics, art, music, and writing demonstrating that peaceful protest is an accepted part of American life and that respecting the rights of others with differing opinions is an important aspect of society and change. Examples are given of men and groups who affected change through peaceful activism. The lessons begin with early historical protests and end with current contemporary concerns of immediate interest to the student. The content of the unit includes an introduction; required materials for the successful completion of the unit; knowledge, skill, and behavioral objectives; learning activities; and supplementary materials for both students and teachers. (JR)… [PDF]

Barreiro, Jose, Ed.; Cornelius, Carol, Ed. (1991). Knowledge of the Elders: The Iroquois Condolence Cane Tradition. This study guide, developed for high school students, looks at Eastern Woodlands history and tradition through the words of Cayuga Nation elder Jacob Thomas. The Six Nations, also known as the Iroquois, are a confederacy of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. The Iroquois have a population of more than 60,000 living in 14 reservations and several urban centers in New York, Ontario, Quebec, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. The guide focuses on the Condolence ceremony by which chiefs are inducted into the nation councils represented in the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy, or League of the Haudenosaunee. The ceremony also prescribes the customs to be followed at times of death, both of common people and of leaders. Wampum belts, sympathy strings, and a carved Condolence Cane are used in the ceremony. The Condolence Cane is a mnemonic device that depicts the "seating" arrangement of the Grand Council confederacy chiefs from clans in the Six…

D'Andrea, Michael; Daniels, Judy (1996). Promoting Peace in Our Schools: Developmental, Preventive, and Multicultural Considerations. School Counselor, v44 n1 p55-64 Sep. Discusses ways to cultivate a more peaceful and respectful atmosphere in schools by incorporating developmental, preventive, and multicultural theories into the school environment. Three components are reviewed: (1) traditional conflict resolution learning strategies; (2) curriculum-based efforts designed to help students acquire the life skills necessary to prevent interpersonal conflicts; and (3) a clearly defined multicultural component. (KW)…

Jones, Nancy Aaron; Vestal, Anita (2004). Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Preschool Children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, v19 n2 p131 Win. This study was designed to examine whether teacher training facilitates greater conflict resolution strategies and whether conflict resolution training leads to prosocial solutions by preschoolers who are at risk for conflict and violence in their environments. Head Start teachers were trained in a 40-hour college-level course. Teachers were instructed in the theory of conflict, conflict management, and socio-emotional development in addition to following a problem-solving curriculum with their preschool students. Sixty-four children were assessed at 4 and 5 years of age. Results showed that preschoolers of trained teachers had more skills in generating solutions to interpersonal problems. Furthermore, children of trained teachers relied on more relevant solutions and fewer forceful, and thus more prosocial, solutions to solve interpersonal problems. These findings will be discussed in a framework for teaching conflict resolution and social-emotional skills to preschool children….

Chagnon, Jacquelyn, Comp.; Rumpf, Roger, Comp. (1976). If You Want Peace, Defend Life. This booklet, prepared for the 1977 World Day of Peace, examines the growing use of torture by governments around the world. It specifically focuses on torture and imprisonment of political prisoners as systematic violations of human rights. The booklet includes: a background essay which discusses human rights in the context of U.S. foreign policy; a paraliturgy section; an essay of the technology of torture; five case studies; a study and action guide; and a resource section. Argentina, Czechosolvakia, Indonesia, Iran, and South Africa are the five countries selected for the case studies. They were chosen with these criteria in mind: severe and persistant human rights violations; geographic distribution; and relationship to the United States aid and trade policies. The study and action guide outlines the procedures for the adoption of a political prisoner and gives suggestions and ideas for ongoing discussion and action related to the prisoner. Organizations, books, periodicals,…

Goldman, Ralph M. (1971). Guide to the Concept: Identity. This draft outline presents and organizes for teachers one of the fundamental concepts in war/peace studies: identity. Identity is viewed as the relationship between a person's self-role and other socio-political roles learned and valued by him in the course of his psychological development. A rationale section points up the relationship of the concepts identity and self to a war/peace curriculum, the objective of such a curriculum being to identify for the child those roles that seem most relevant to an understanding of conflict and order, and to do so in a way that encourages the child to place these roles high in the hierarchy of his own role-structure. A number of affective and cognitive objectives for a study of the concept of identity are enumerated, and a method of testing for shifts in attitudes is suggested. A general discussion of role-theory follows, indicating how some of the research findings may be adapted to classroom use. A short, suggestive listing of social and… [PDF]

Scriven, Michael (1971). Values and the Valuing Process. This paper develops a basic conceptual framework of values and the valuing process. Section 1, Values and Value Claims, discusses the four different types of value claims (personal, market, real, and implicit) and their relationships. The second section considers the process of rational evaluation as a method of arriving at and supporting value claims. As this discussion points out, the process of rational evaluation is basically one of comparing alternative means to our ends, and this means/end model must be seen as operating not with initially fixed means and ends, but with the task of developing, clarifying, and combining means and ends. A number of different skills are involved in this process, and it is worthwhile encouraging students to identify these skills during these discussions. The third and final section, Foundations of Morality and Democracy, discusses the place and function of ultimate values in discussions of values in general, and democratic values in particular…. [PDF]

Fine, Esther Sokolov (1997). Shaping and Reshaping Practice: Preparing Teachers for Peacemaking. Theory into Practice, v36 n1 p53-58 Win. Describes several exploratory sites where peacemaking is becoming an integral part of teacher education and reeducation within a university, research site, and student teaching practicum. The paper introduces a peacemaking school, highlighting shared learning of an experienced and a student teacher who wrote, read, talked, listened, and problem solved in their classroom. (SM)…

Ferguson, Henry, Ed. (1981). Handbook on Human Rights and Citizenship: Perspectives of Five Nations. This handbook was designed to help students learn the cultural contexts in which human rights are variously defined. It provides a comparative study of five nations, selected for their geographic and cultural scope, as a unique way to study human rights. Chapter 1 sets the stage for the study by presenting activities for establishing class objectives and examining the definition of human rights. Chapter 2 contains 90 readings from the five countries. These materials were selected for their value in illustrating the human rights situation in the five countries. International documents are included in chapter 2 which broaden the knowledge and understanding of human rights, such as "The Helsinki Agreement." Chapter 3 presents different activities and instructional strategies for presentation of the materials. Activities are included for different grade levels. Chapter 4 is the evaluation component in which an attitudinal questionnaire is administered to students to assess the… [PDF]

Schaufele, William E., Jr. (1981). Polish Paradox: Communism and National Renewal. Headline Series 256. This brief issues booklet provides basic information about the role of the Catholic Church in Poland, the erosion of Communist party leadership over the past year (as of 1981), the rise of the Solidarity Union and the economic problems plaguing the Polish people. An introduction is followed by the following sections: (1) "History of a Millennium"; (2) "Communist Poland"; (3) "Solidarity"; (4) "Church, Farm, and Freedom"; (5) "Poland between East and West"; and (6) "1981 and Beyond: A Personal Epilogue." A list of discussion questions and an 11-item reference list conclude the booklet. (EH)… [PDF]

Nelson, Jack L. (1990). Nuclear Proliferation as a Global Values Issue. Social Education, v54 n3 p169-70 Mar. Presents a classroom activity designed to involve students in critical thinking and values inquiry concerning the horizontal nuclear proliferation. Provides a set of global values, explaining the conflict between them and nuclear proliferation. Uses indicators, hypothesis development, and testing. Provides sources for material evidence to use in reports and discussions. (NL)…

(1995). Conflict & Gang Violence Prevention Using Peer Leadership: Training Manual for CHAMPS. Conflict and violence on the part of adolescents and pre-adolescents has been a growing problem. Young people will respond to an \anti-gang message\ if that message is delivered from their peer group. This manual describes a peer approach to impact young people about productive ways to handle conflict. Older students are trained to operate puppets and present age appropriate pre-recorded lessons to K-3 students. Younger students respond well and listen to the older students. At the 4th through 6th grade level, peer led activities are provided to use within the classroom. Students take turn leading activities, becoming \part of the solution\ rather than \part of the problem.\ This manual covers the program through the following chapters: (1) The program: An introduction; (2) The kit: What you have and how to use it; (3) The need: Elementary conflict, gang & violence prevention is a must; (4) The puppeteers: Selection, training and techniques; (5) The method: K-3 puppet scripts and… [PDF]

Lackey, Donald H. (1995). Promoting Multiethnic Relationships by Utilizing the Principles of Community Building. This report describes a student leadership program, Putting the Environment Above the Common Ego (PEACE), designed to reduce incidences of eighth grade students forming self-segregating groups based on ethnic or racial heritage. The targeted groups form the diverse student body attending a middle school with 1,400 students in Rockford, Illinois. Formation of the student-devised segregated groups was revealed by staff and administration. Analysis of staff and student surveys, personal logs, and the study of the student composition of after school groups confirm the initial observations of this middle school's professional staff. Causes of the problem include: (1) a city historically and geographically divided with societal tendencies to categorize people by race, economic circumstances, or ethnic background; and (2) a school culture that failed to address adequately the issue of diversity. The PEACE leadership program, based on survey interpretation and personal logs, did not appear… [PDF]

Osborne, Ken (1995). The United Nations in the News: Making Your Classroom a United Nations Information Centre. An Approach for All Grade Levels. This guide is to help students become more aware of the wide variety of United Nations' (UN) activities taking place in the world; to give students an interest in the affairs of the UN; and to lay the foundations for continuing interest in the UN. In this activity students read articles of recent world events in which the UN has been involved, then follow up with discussion and writing activities. A reference list of UN organizations and conferences for further activities is included. Students are instructed to read newspaper articles that are attached and to make lists using the headings: What?, Where?, When?, Why?, Results, and Questions. Once the lists are completed students are instructed to answer the following questions: (1) What was in these articles that you already knew? (2) What three things most interested you? (3) What three things most surprised you? and (4) What three things do you need more information about to make sense of them? (EH)… [PDF]

Russ, Adryan; Webster-Doyle, Terrence (1994). Why Is Everybody Always Picking on Me? A Special Curriculum for Young People To Help Them Cope with Bullying (for Ages 8-12) [and] Why Is Everybody Always Picking on Me: A Guide to Handling Bullies for Young People. These curriculum materials include a leader or teacher's guide for helping 8- through 12-year-old children cope with bullying, a text for students, and a poster illustrating ways for children to react to bullies. The teacher's guide presents 16 lessons for teachers to use in the classroom. Four of the lessons are role plays through which direct experience can enhance students' understanding of bullying. The other 12 lessons are: (1) What Is a Bully?; (2) How Does Bullying Affect Us?; (3) Why Do Bullies and Victims Exist?; (4) Earthlings: Creatures Who Fight To Survive; (5) How Can We Stop Bullying?; (6) How Victims Can Become Winners; (7) How bullies can become winners; (8) Awareness is everything; (9) How Bullying Affects World Peace; (10) Understanding Aggression; (11) Seeing Yourself As Peacemaker; and (12) The Power of a Questioning Mind. The lessons typically include questions to ask students, stories to read to students, and activities for students to do. The student text…

Bettendorf, Joline; And Others (1988). Literature of War and Peace. Section III: Why War?. This 13-day curriculum unit is designed for use in English and language arts classrooms, grades 7-12 and junior college. While it is the third section in a series of five on the literature of war and peace, it can be used with or without the other four sections. Each section of the series focuses on a different genre of the literature of war and peace, and the literature in each section has common sub-themes. In this section, students analyze poetry to determine how perceptions of war change in response to poetry to determine how perceptions of war change in response to changed experience in a community. The poems also are used to examine how war affects and changes the values of individuals. By researching how wars were fought during the time periods in which the poems were written and by connecting the historical descriptions with the writers' experiences, students understand the impetus behind the writing of poems. The handouts and activities contained in the lessons provide an…

Bettendorf, Joline; And Others (1989). Literature of War and Peace. Section V: The Individual and the State. This 14-16 day curriculum unit is designed for use in English and language arts classrooms, grades 9-12 and community college. While it is the fifth section in a series of five on the literature of war and peace, it can be used with or without the other four sections. Each section of the series focuses on a different genre of the literature of war and peace, and the literature in each section has common sub-themes. In this section, students analyze the text of a play and discuss the relationship of the individual to the society in which he or she lives. In addition, this section focuses on the comparison of drama with other literary forms. Students relate the presentational style of the play to the intentions of the playwright while learning to visualize the play in performance. A reading of \The Firebugs\ introduces the discussion of an individual's responsibility to society and government, and of the constructive and destructive nature of an individual's behavior. The handouts and…

Strohl, Jean Bryson; Szalay, Lorand B. (1981). American, Jordanian, and Other Middle Eastern National Perceptions. International perceptions of Jordanian university students are compared with those of American, Egyptian, and Israeli students. The sample consisted of 50 students from each country; results concentrate on Jordanian perceptions. Assessments were based on the Associative Group Analysis (AGA) which reconstructs perceptions and attitudes characteristic of national/cultural groups from their free word associations. Jordanians tended to be conflict-ridden and laden with perceived threats and fears of aggressive, expansionist intentions. When compared to a 1977 assessment, an increase in their longing for peace, less concern with military threat, more concern with violence and security, and a deterioration in their image of the United States was evident. Egyptian and Israeli perceptions were similar to the Jordanian emphasis on group and family unity, while Americans valued individualism and autonomy. The document also discusses the role of psychological disposition in international… [PDF]

(1989). Nuclear Age Education Curriculum. The primary goal of the Oregon nuclear age education curriculum is to develop in students the knowledge and skills needed to meet the challenges of living in a nuclear age. This curriculum is developed around five general themes, each corresponding to a specific unit. The general goals for the units are: (Unit 1) to increase students' exposure to the world outside themselves, to other cultures, and to the natural and physical world; (Unit 2) to increase students' critical thinking skills and understanding of how people make decisions and form attitudes; (Unit 3) to promote skills of constructive communication and conflict resolution; (Unit 4) to increase students' knowledge of nuclear technology and their understanding of its benefits and limitations; and (Unit 5) to increase students' understanding of armed conflict and modern weapons issues. This is a K-12 curriculum, but many of the topics in units 4 and 5 are more appropriate for older children. For the most part, the lessons… [PDF]

(1986). U.S.-Soviet Relations. Close Up Special Focus. This booklet, part of a video and print educational unit consisting of a student text, a teacher's guide, and four 30-minute videotapes, focuses on the U.S.-Soviet relationship, attempting to distinguish what guides each nation's actions in the world as a whole and with each other. Chapter 1, "Differing World Views," examines how differing geographies, economic systems, and political structures contribute to the competing world views of the United States and the Soviet Union. Chapter 2, "Evolution of U.S.-Soviet Relations," examines the evolution of the current U.S.-Soviet relationship. Topics include the Russian Revolution, World War II, the Cold War, bipolar politics, the Cuban Missile Crisis, detente, and arms control. Chapter 3, "A Critical Issue: The Arms Race," highlights the arms race as the issue that causes the most friction between the superpowers. A history of the arms race is presented, its current state is assessed, and its future course is…

Lakey, George; And Others (1972). Training for Nonviolent Responses in Social Conflict: A Manual for Trainers. This manual contains an outline for a fifteen hour training course intended for hypothetical peace groups and includes skills and techniques for trainers to transmit to adult participants. The group discovers through role playing that tolerance, openness, non-retaliation policies, and preparation can effectively implement social change. Materials, prepared from trainers' experiences in other non-violent training including direct action and knowledge of philosophy of non violence, emphasize role playing and group dynamics. Five chapters include information on: 1) planning and conducting guidelines for trainers in nonviolent direct action; 2) directing and evaluating role plays; 3) and 4) understanding and teaching function roles of group members and strategy and tactics; and, 5) leading and participating in direct action involving street speaking and leafleting. The material in the manual is suggestive rather than prescriptive. Trainers are encouraged to adapt methods and materials… [PDF]