Peace Education: Understanding Conflict
Peace Education: Understanding Conflict and Artistic Approaches to Peacebuilding
Preparatory readings
Learning to Abolish War, Reardon and Cabezudo (2002)
Collaborative approaches to resolving conflict, Isenhart and Spangle (2000)
Training for Transformation, Hope, Timmel, and Hodzi (1984)
Working with conflict: Skills and strategies for action, Fisher et al (2000)
Introduction:
Conflicts occur every day, in multiple settings, and between parties of equal and asymmetrical power relations. Often conflicts grow and escalate, with parties not communicating openly and honestly, to the point that relationships become stressed and possibly stretched beyond a point of return to normalcy. The capacity to manage and resolve conflicts nonviolently enables individuals and groups to maintain peaceful environments. With such tools peacefulness may be established and sustained. Without the knowledge and practice of creative conflict resolution and peacebuilding techniques, relationships often enter into periods of violence, followed by times of relative peace, and elapse again into periods of conflict. Conflict however, as e explore through this module, is not necessarily negative—but violence should be avoided. By learning to recognize personal approaches to conflict management (i.e., avoidance, assertion, and aggression), being aware of theories of conflict, and practicing tools of conflict transformation, individuals become empowered to manage conflict and relationships constructively.
Level: High School and Undergraduate courses
Core Subject: Social Sciences, History, Geography, English, Peace Studies
Materials: Poster paper and writing utensils
Time Frame: Approximately five (5) hours
Theme:
A unit addressing: ➢ Awareness of conflict styles ➢ Conflict analysis tools ➢ Conflict resolution techniques ➢ Conflict resolution in the workplace ➢ Teambuilding activities
Core Concepts: ➢ Various conflict styles
Preparatory readings
Learning to Abolish War, Reardon and Cabezudo (2002)
Collaborative approaches to resolving conflict, Isenhart and Spangle (2000)
Training for Transformation, Hope, Timmel, and Hodzi (1984)
Working with conflict: Skills and strategies for action, Fisher et al (2000)
Introduction:
Conflicts occur every day, in multiple settings, and between parties of equal and asymmetrical power relations. Often conflicts grow and escalate, with parties not communicating openly and honestly, to the point that relationships become stressed and possibly stretched beyond a point of return to normalcy. The capacity to manage and resolve conflicts nonviolently enables individuals and groups to maintain peaceful environments. With such tools peacefulness may be established and sustained. Without the knowledge and practice of creative conflict resolution and peacebuilding techniques, relationships often enter into periods of violence, followed by times of relative peace, and elapse again into periods of conflict. Conflict however, as e explore through this module, is not necessarily negative—but violence should be avoided. By learning to recognize personal approaches to conflict management (i.e., avoidance, assertion, and aggression), being aware of theories of conflict, and practicing tools of conflict transformation, individuals become empowered to manage conflict and relationships constructively.
Level: High School and Undergraduate courses
Core Subject: Social Sciences, History, Geography, English, Peace Studies
Materials: Poster paper and writing utensils
Time Frame: Approximately five (5) hours
Theme:
A unit addressing: ➢ Awareness of conflict styles ➢ Conflict analysis tools ➢ Conflict resolution techniques ➢ Conflict resolution in the workplace ➢ Teambuilding activities
Core Concepts: ➢ Various conflict styles
References: Boal, Augusto (1992). Games for Actors and Non-actors. New York: Routledge. Earth Charter (2000). Online at http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2000/10/the_earth_charter.html Fisher, Simon et al Galtung, J. (2004). Transcend and Transform: An Introduction to Conflict Work. London: Pluto Press. Hope, Timmel, and Hodzi (1984). Training for Transformation: A handbook for community workers. Harare, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press. Isenhart, M. W. & Spangle, M. (2000). Collaborative Approaches to Resolving Conflict. Thousand Oaks, (Ca): Sage Publications Raider, E., Coleman, S Reardon, Betty A. (2001). Education for a culture of peace in a gender perspective. Paris: UNESCO. Reardon, Betty, and Cabezudo, Alicia (2002). Learning to Abolish War. New York: Hague Appeal for Peace. United Nations (1999). Declaration and resolution on a decade for a culture of peace and nonviolence for children of the world