PEACE EDUCATION:
A Special
Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association
Newsletter
June, 2002
Vol. 5, No. 2
Online Newsletter Editor: Aline Stomfay-Stitz, University of North
Florida; astomfay@unf.edu
Table of Contents
. Abstracts of Peace Education SIG
Presentations, Annual Meeting-4/1- 4/5/02
. Interactive Symposium: Debby
Jennings, Diane Levin & Betty Reardon
. Peace Education Paper Session: Ian
Harris, Alan McCully & Jean McNiff
. Peace Education Roundtables:
Stephen Sesko; Guy Senese and Jeffrey
Bloom;
and Joanne Curran, Blythe
Hinitz, Aline Stomfay-Stitz and Edyth
Wheeler
. Related Sessions of Interest: Dora Chen
& Kenneth Smith and Robert
Drummond & Heather Senterfitt
. Online Resources for Peace
Education/Peace Studies
. Future Conferences & Courses
. Request for Assistance with an Online
Survey
.
Recently Published Books
. Other News of Note
. Graduate Students Invited to Share
Their Research
. Election of Officers
. AERA & SIG Membership Forms
Online
-----------------------------------Abstracts of Peace
Education SIG Presentations, Annual Meeting, April 1-5, New Orleans.
The Interactive Symposium of the Peace
Education SIG was held after the annual Business Meeting. Invited presenters who contributed to the
Symposium Theme: The Changing Facets of
Peace Education were Debby Jennings, Hamilton Fish Institute, George Washington
University; Diane Levin, Wheelock College; and Betty Reardon, Teachers College,
Columbia. Each participant has chosen an area for peace education and conflict
resolution that was uncharted territory and they grew and expanded their
visions into action-based projects and publications. Each presenter reported on
their visionary roles through their research, writing, activism and planning
for future projects. Each had a
valuable message to share.
(1)Debby Jennings is a
Research Associate for the Hamilton Fish Institute of George Washington
University, an Institute created by Congress “to research strategies that
reduce and prevent school and community violence.” She managed research
activities at the Regional Alternative Education Program, with seven consortium
sites in the U.S.
“High
School for Peace:” is “ a replicable, research-based model for use in areas of
conflict” that is being envisioned as a future model high school program with a
focus on peace education. A note of
hopeful optimism was threaded throughout her presentation as she described how
“programs are starting up everywhere, in every country, world-wide to address
our global culture. “ Her examples included the Canadian League of Peaceful
Schools ( a past presenter at our Symposium in 2000); a boarding school for
warring tribes in Kenya, based on peace education; and the UNESCO initiative –
The European Observatory of Violence in the Schools with 15 nations
participating.
The proposal envisioned by Debby Jennings
would be a magnet school or a training ground for peace builders at the high
school level with possible facilitators being UNESCO, Department of Defense
Education Activity, to name a few. In addition, the model could possibly “be
tied into the Partnership for Peace Program, a part of NATO or the Ford
Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World program. Major goal would be to
“develop future international leaders via a four-year peace education program
model for high school students . . . geared toward students coming from
different cultural backgrounds that experience conflict with strength-building
based on this diversity of experiences.”
E-mail: debbyj@gwu.edu
(2) Diane Levin, Wheelock College, Boston shared her research and
advocacy in a presentation titled “Combating the Harmful Effects of Marketing
Violence to Children through the Media.”
She has written extensively on the hazards of our media culture on young
children with a focus especially on the violent toys and media tactics that
have deeply affected children. One of her numerous publications was Remote
Control Childhood: Combating the
Hazards of Media Culture. (1998, National Association for the Education of
Young Children). She is especially
concerned about the dangers of inappropriate television watching with children
affected by the violence they see on the screen and also by toys and products
marketed with television and other media, such as Star Wars, World Wrestling
Federation and Power Ranger toys. As a
result, she was a founding member of TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy
Children’s Entertainment). Her advocacy included a national campaign to protest
the Golden Marble Award, sponsored by the advertising industry, with protests
organized around their annual ceremonies in New York. Her teaching, research
and writing expanded to include an active role in advocacy to educate parents,
teachers and the public on the harmful effects of our media culture.
(3) Betty Reardon, pioneering peace educator, has been director
of the Peace Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University, currently
associated with the Department of International and Transcultural Studies. She has been a prolific author of peace
education curriculum materials since the late 70’s. She has been involved in peace education projects and
publications with colleagues in various parts of the world. The special focus of her presentation was
“Education for a Culture of Peace in a Gender Perspective”(which is the title
also of her latest book (UNESCO Publishing, 2001, published in Paris). She
emphasized that since the beginning of the 20th century, women and children were the
majority of those who were casualties of wars. In essence, “cultures of war and
violence and severe gender inequality are evident throughout the world. . .
with gender injustice and war. . . so integral. . . that a culture of peace
depends . . . on the achievement of gender justice and equality. . . as it does
on disarmament and demilitarization.” Her publications, nurturance of peace
organizations and tireless activism are vital steps toward a global movement
for a culture of peace.
Peace Education Paper Session:
(1) Peace Education Theory- Ian Harris
Ian Harris, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, founding member of our Peace
Education SIG and Convener of the Peace Education Commission, International
Peace Research Association, presented a broad overview of the myriad facets of
Peace Education, including Human Rights Education, Environmental Education,
International Education, Conflict Resolution Education and Development
Education.
He pointed out that “peace educators
promote a pedagogy based upon modeling peaceful democratic classroom practices.
. . (with) many of the nonviolent strategies that are espoused in peace
education classes being collective, for example, convincing people
around the world to support institutions like the United Nations that promote
alternatives to armed conflict.”
E-mail: imh@csd.uwm.edu
Alan McCully, University of Ulster at
Coleraine, Northern Ireland presented his paper titled “The Role of the
Practitioner in Facilitating the Handling of Controversial Issues in Contested
Societies: A Northern Irish
Experience.” He had presented previously at our conference in Montreal two
years ago on the ramifications of teaching a peace education/conflict
resolution curriculum titled “Education for Mutual Understanding” designed to
reduce violence and student tensions in Northern Ireland, especially in their
community schools within the context of widespread communal violence. After extensive interviews with teachers,
after working with mixed groups of young Catholics and Protestants,
communication and social skills were revealed as vitally important as were
emotions and feelings surrounding the controversial issues.
In conclusion, after extensive
interviews, he revealed that “an impressive picture emerges.” Teachers interviewed revealed that they were
“prepared to take risks. . .. (and) have the interests of the young people they
work with at heart.” In addition they reflected critically “on their actions
and its possible consequences. Those
working in Northern Ireland . . . revealed that they were committed to
inclusive classrooms or youth groups. . . in preparation for a more inclusive,
peaceful and just society.”
E-mail: AW.McCully@ulster.ac.uk
Jean McNiff ‘s research also
centered on the Northern Ireland peace education curriculum project, Education
for Mutual Understanding. Her focus was
on a self-study of the curriculum with “three supporters and eight
teachers.” There were many stumbling
blocks along the way. First, “that the
meaning of peace is arrived at by working through conflict.” Since the teachers’ group was comprised of
teachers in both Catholic and Protestant schools, the difficulties were
immense, based on prejudicial “attitudes and practices. . . quite contrary to
the principles that underpin Education for Mutual Understanding.” Second, the education components were “compounded
by manifestations of deep social inequities such as preferential housing and
jobs allocation.” All of this was
background for implementation of the peace education curriculum which promoted
core values such as the “pursuit of
social justice; acceptance of human rights and responsibilities; and
democracy.” She summed up her findings of the study with an understanding that
“What is needed. . . are forms of personalized support that place teachers and
their educational values at the heart of education processes.” After all, she concluded “all the rhetoric
on earth . . . cannot substitute for one caring teacher.”
Peace Education Roundtables:
(1)
Web-Based Education on Weapons of Mass Destruction. Stephen C. Sesko, Monterey Institute
of International Studies.
Stephen C. Sesko is from the Center for Nonproliferation
Studies(CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, a non-governmental organization for research
and training. The major goal for presentation
of this paper is to call attention to the fact that because of a void in the
national social studies curriculum, events of September 11th and the
threat of even greater terrorist threats, have made Americans especially
vulnerable. Education on these vital issues is a goal of the Institute.
The major outreach work of the
Center is facilitated through four projects, three of which “are completely
Web-based,” which include:
The Critical Issues Forum(CIF)
WMD 411 (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
NPT tutorial (Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons)
Educational Resources Guide
http://cnsdl.miis.edu/cnserd/advsearch.asp
The researcher underscored that his “ presentation was to demonstrate
our projects to members of the Peace Education SIG at AERA “ and “to seek
advice and guidance on proper channels for sound educational research.” This information in his presentation was
confirmed by a leading article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine,(May
26, 2002)titled “Nuclear Nightmares” by Bill Keller. This article can be accessed at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/26/magazine/26NUKES.html
The programs and outreach of the Institute are aimed primarily at high
school students and the general public.
E-mail: sesko@miis.edu
(1) Buddhist Practice and Study:
The Significance for Peace Education.
Guy B. Senese and Jeffrey Bloom,
Northern Arizona Univ.
These two researchers expanded our knowledge
of Zen Buddhist Education. The first,
Guy Senese, is a “20 year practitioner of Zen Buddhist meditation.” He outlined the three “jewels” of Buddhist
practices which are: (1) Buddha, the example of Sakyamuni Buddha and
his achievement “of enlightenment through meditation” (2) Dharma, “the law and scriptural universe of
Buddhist practice;” and (3) Sangha, the “community of practitioners.” He
emphasized that recently there has been a “connection between Asian traditions
and the seeds of the Dharma that have been sown in America, where practitioners
have sought to connect with ideas of Judeo Christian charity, democracy (as) .
. . a practical movement in recent years to combine basic Buddhist practice
with peace education and activism.”
E-mail: senese@nau.edu
(3) Assumptions of Western schooling and the
Basic Principles of Buddhism: the Karma
Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and Shambhala- Jeffrey Bloom, Northern
Arizona University
The second researcher, emphasized that “the
fundamental characteristic of life from the Buddhist perspective is referred to
as the three marks of existence:
suffering, impermanence, and egolessness.” With these three marks of existence as the backdrop, “the
Buddhist view can be described as one of becoming truly human or completely
sane.” It is in the last example he cited, Shambhala, that we can perceive that
“all beings are viewed as basically good with the image of the Shambhala
practitioner that of the spiritual warrior, who has the courage and openness to
face anything.” Finally, it is this
“open and tender heart” that is the key to recognizing the basic humanity of
oneself and of all sentient beings.”
E-mail: jeff.bloom@nau.edu
(1)
Peace Education SIG: A Response to
September 11th. Joanne M. Curran, State University of New
York – Oneonta; Blythe Hinitz, College of New Jersey; Aline Stomfay-Stitz,
University of North Florida; and Edyth Wheeler, Towson University
Joanne M. Curran reminded us that
AERA, “the primary research body in the discipline of education” has sponsored
the Peace Education SIG for the past ten years. During that time, we have “actively sought to understand and
demonstrate ways that schools can assist children in coping with war and
terrorism. “ In addition, “researchers have studied educational programs
designed to promote understanding among Jewish and Palestinian children, among
Protestant and Catholic Irish children, and among children attending U.S.
schools located in urban ‘war’zones.” Researchers have been the developers of
programs in
conflict resolution and peer counseling “as
ways to build peace in schools.”
E-mail: curranjm@oneonta.edu
Blythe F. Hinitz:
“This surely has been both a rewarding and a
difficult year for those of us who teach peace. What has become clearly evident to me during the past year, and
particularly since September 11, 2001, is what a diversified group we are. I believe our strength is in our
diversity. We include peace educators
and those who teach conflict resolution and mediation; members of local,
national and international peace organizations; educators who work with
individuals and groups ranging from infancy through tertiary education. . . . We can help to stop the violence that
is escalating around the world, and in our home communities, by being proactive
peace educators. This is the time when
the result of our research can be used to the benefit of one person and the
benefit of humankind.”
E-mail: hinitz@tcnj.edu
Aline M. Stomfay-Stitz suggested
that peace educators should re-examine the school curriculum and should work to
change “the atmosphere of America’s schools so that there could be a climate
that fosters the study of religion, beginning with the elementary years.
“Sadly, usually a part of the social studies curriculum, it has been pushed to
the fringes.” Because religion has been
implicated as the major reason for conflicts in humanity’s struggle for
freedom, it should be a vital part of the curriculum. With renewed
interpretations by the Supreme Court in recent years, it is permissible “to
teach about religion.” A second
area that should receive greater attention in the curriculum of America’s
schools is civic responsibility – (Civics in previous decades) teaching the
responsibilities of citizenry.
Finally, we should “concentrate
on the roles of children, students, teachers and our school communities because
we have a golden opportunity to nurture the attitudes and skills for becoming
caring citizens in a democracy.”
E-mail:
astomfay@unf.edu
Edyth Wheeler shared specific
resources and advice for talking with children about the September 11th
tragedy, with numerous websites cited.
She emphasized that “a first impulse for adults may be a desire to
shelter children from what is happening and to assume that children “are too
young to care or know.” Understanding
children, as well as “their development . . . and specific individual needs, is
important when helping them in difficult times.” Finally, she emphasized that
when tragedy strikes, “children understand both more (in terms of affect) and
the very real feelings of fear and grief they see among the adults in their
world.” E-mail: ewheeler@towson.edu
Related Sessions of Interest:
(1) The Social Conflict Inventory (SCI): A measure of beliefs about classroom peer conflicts. Dora W. Chen and Kenneth E. Smith,
University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The researchers shared the development of the Social
Conflict Inventory (SCI), “a
self-report teacher belief scale for assessing beliefs about young children’s
classroom peer conflicts.” An important factor in the development of the
instrument was realization that “many base their actions on very different
belief structures.” The researchers pointed out that there is lack of research
“linking specific beliefs about the role of peer conflict in children’s
development to teachers’ classroom management behavior.”
The main
goal of the researchers, therefore, “was to develop a research-based,
self-report measure of teachers’ beliefs about children’s peer social conflict
that can effectively discriminate between groups of teachers according to three
key background variables: overall level
of education, years of teaching experience in early childhood settings, and
amount of specialized early childhood education received.”
E-mail: dorachen@mail.unomaha.edu
(2)Impact
of Violence Prevention training on rural
middle school students: How well do these skills work outside of
school? Robert J. Drummond, University
of North Florida and Heather D. Senterfitt, Florida Institute of Education
The major goal of this study “was to
evaluate the impact of a violence prevention program on middle school students’
behavior after school hours and off the school campus. “ The 21st Century Community
Learning Centers(funded by the U. S. Dept. of Education) in 10 rural middle
schools in Florida were expressly
developed to help circumvent the rates of juvenile crime, which are at their
highest “between the hours of 2 and 8 p.m.” As a result of the study, the
researchers learned that there are “significant differences between students’
in school and out-of-school behaviors.”
The most violent behaviors “increased when students were outside of the
school environment.” At the same time,
“fewer students reported that they were being hurt by someone hitting,
slapping, and kicking outside of the school environment . . . being less afraid
of others while outside of school than while in school.”
E-mail: rdrummon@unf.edu
Online Resources for Peace Education/Peace Studies
Bright
Horizons (employer supported childcare)
(Outreach
Project to Kosovo)
Center
for the Study of Global Change: Bibliography
on Teaching Global Studies, an ERIC document
www.indiana.edu/~world/gl_teach_bib_ERIC.html
Chinese
Holocaust Memorial (Cultural Revolution)
Combatting
Child Labour(project of several Non-
Governmental Organizations-NGOs)
www.antislavery.org
- Anti-Slavery International,
a London
organization
Culture
of Peace News Network (CPNN-David Adams)
http://cpnn-new-england.org
Ecological
& Environmental Education SIG Website:
www.bath.ac.uk/cree/eeesig/news2002.htm
Franklin
& Eleanor Roosevelt Institute(human rights)
Friendship
Through Education – Project that links students with international exchange
groups, part of the Choices Education Program at Brown University.
www.friendshipthrougheducation.org/
Global
Campaign for Ratification of Migrants’ Rights Convention, Migrants Rights
International
Peacemakers
(My Hero website)
Peacemakers
Speak: Statements following Sept. 11th
from 17 of the living Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Peace
Research Index – America/Canada
Listing
of Canadian Peace-related Peace Studies programs
www.bonn.iz-soz.de/afb/pri/pri06.htm
Rethinking
Schools Online: Full text of current journal
articles
United
State Institute of Peace: New
publications that can be downloaded from website, including 12 from Jan. 2001 –
February 2002.
Future Conferences & Courses
Westheimer Peace Symposium –
October 23, 2002(Wed.) Topic is: Social Justice. Sponsored by the Peace
Resource Center at Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio.
Website: www.wilmington.edu/peaceRC.htm
(Dr. James Boland, Director).
TRANSCEND Peace University Courses: Online courses(10) will be offered in the Fall of 2002 as well as
several others in New York and various European cities during June, July &
August, 2002. This ambitious effort
builds on the success that TRANSCEND: A Peace and Development Network has had
with successful on-site courses offered since 1996 in conflict transformation,
peacebuilding and reconciliation in more than 20 countries with more than 4,000
participants. For further information contact Dietrich Fischer, Pace
University, at dfischer@pace.edu or www.transcend.org
In 2003, the Fifth International Children’s Conference on the Environment will
be held in Ledyard, CT, sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). For further information
contact:
Peace Education Courses at Teachers College, Columbia Univ., New
York. (July 15-19, 2002) to be
taught by Betty Reardon, who was one of our presenters at the
Interactive Symposium at the annual conference in New Orleans in April. Other courses are planned for July 9 –
August 19, 2002.
For
further information contact the Peace Education Office: peace-ed@exchange.tc.columbia.edu
Miriam College, Quezon City,
Philippines will be the national organizer of The International Institute on Peace Education, founded in 1982 by
the Peace Education Specialization of Teachers College. Betty Reardon in her presentation at the
Interactive Symposium,shared that the theme will be “Weaving Solidarity toward
a Culture of Peace” in recognition that peace educators will reflect critically
on the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and the Global Campaign for
Peace Education.” Information may be
obtained through the above e-mail address at Teachers College.
Request for Assistance with an Online Survey: Our colleagues in the association, Psychologists for Social
Responsibility (www.psysr.org) have asked
SIG members to assist with an on-line survey for directors and field workers
with experience in mental health and psychosocial programs in the areas of
ethno-political conflict, a project developed by the PsySR Action Committee on
Trauma, Resilience, and Social Reintegration.
If you have been involved in a humanitarian assistance program that
included mental health initiatives, your assistance would be appreciated.
Contact them through above website.
Recently
Published Books:
Bobbitt,
P. (2002) Shield of Achilles: War, peace, and the course of
history. New York: Knopf.
Boot,
M. (2002). The savage wars of
peace: Small wars and the rise of
American power. New York:
Basic Books.
Bourne,
R. (2002). Gods of war, gods of peace: How the meeting of
native and colonial
religions shaped early America. New York:
Harcourt.
Byman,
D.L. (2002). Keeping the peace: Lasting solutions to ethnic
conflicts. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Colas,
A. (2002). International civil
society: Social movements in world
politics. Polity Press.
DeVries,
H., (2002). Religion and violence:
Philosophical perspectives
from Kant to Derrida. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Eisendrath,
C. (Ed. (2002). National
insecurity: U.S. intelligence after
The Cold War. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Graybill,
L.S. (2002). Truth and
reconciliation in South Africa: Miracle
or model? Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Henderson,
E.A. (2002). Democracy and war: The
end of an illusion.
Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Intrator,
S. M. (2002). Stories of the courage
to teach: Honoring the
teacher’s heart. New York:
Jossey-Bass.
Note: Sam Intrator, Smith College, was a presenter
at our Peace Education paper session in
2001. Abstract of his paper is in our Newsletter Index for April/May 2001.
Kingsolver,
B. (2002): Small wonder (essays that
examine the genesis of
war, violence &
poverty). New York: HarperCollins.
Lantieri,
L. (2002). (Ed.) Schools with
spirit: Nurturing the inner lives
of children and
teachers. Boston: Beacon Press
Lasar,
M. (2002-Updated Edition). Pacifica
Radio: The rise of an
alternative network. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press.
Lewis,
J.E. (2002). Spy capitalism: ITEK and the CIA. New Haven:
Yale University Press.
McInnes,
C. (2002). Spectator-sport war: The
West and contemporary
conflict. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Moses,
R. & Cobb, E., Jr. (2002). Radical
equation: Math literacy and
civil rights. Boston:
Beacon Press.
Naples,
N.A. & Desai, M. (2002). (Eds.) Women’s
activism and
globalization: Linking local struggles and transnational
politics.
London: Routledge.
Power,
S. (2002). “A problem from
hell”: America and the age of
genocide. New York: Basic Books.
Plumwood,
V. (2002). Environmental
culture: The ecological crisis of
reason. London: Routledge.
Rotker,
S. (2002). (Ed.) Citizens of
fear: Urban violence in Latin
America. New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press.
Salomon,
G. & Nevo, B. (Eds.) (2002). Peace
education: The concept,
principles and practices
around the world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Starr,
K. (2002). War and peace,
1940-1950. New York:
Oxford
University Press.
Stiehm
J.H. (2002). The U.S. Army War
College: Military education in a
democracy( incl. Peacekeeping).. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press.
Worcester,
K., Bermanzohn, S.A. & Unger, M. (2002). (Eds.) Violence
and politics: Globalization’s paradox. London:
Routledge.
OTHER
NEWS OF NOTE:
New Peace Center Established:
In Northern Norway, colleagues have written
that a new Center for Peace Studies has been established at the University of
Tromso. Peace Education, they reported,
“ will be of high priority and so will research and mediation of successful
non-violent peace and conflict resolution efforts.” This will eventually lead to a two- year Master’s degree
program. Coordinator is Vidar Vambheim,
Associate Professor, University of Tromso.
Additional
information is at their website:
Fulbright Awards in Conflict Resolution, Peace Studies, and Related
Fields.
Betty Reardon recently reported that Fulbright Awads
will include the above areas of study for “American faculty for lecturing and
research in Southeast Asia , (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines) and Israel.”
Contact
person: Jean McPeek, Program Officer,
Asia/Middle East, Council for International Exchange of Scholars.
E-mail: jmcpeek@cies.iie.org
Archive of Young American Children’s Responses to September 11,
Terrorism, and War: The Play Art, and
Stories of Children 2-8 Years.
At our conference last year, Judy Van
Hoorn, professor at the University of the Pacific, attended our Business
Meeting with several of her doctoral students, who informally shared their
research. Judy has contacted us asking
for our assistance with a project for all who work with children. A leading educational organization, the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the
American Psychological Association, Division 48 have created a joint project
that will focus on how violence affects the lives of children. They will create a “national archive of
children’s responses to September 11” and the aftermath in the form of
“Spontaneous Art – visual art, music/songs; Spontaneous Play (constructive and
dramatic play; and Spontaneous stories as written by the children or dictated.”
If you can participate, please contact:
Judy Van Hoorn at
e-mail: jvanhoorn@uop.edu
International Graduate Students Interested in Peace Education:
At
our Interactive Symposium and roundtables, several students from different
parts of the world were participants in our discussions on peace issues. They were J. Lynn McBrien, from Emory
University; T. Wambui Gathenya, from Kenya, a doctoral student at the Ontario
Institute for the Study of Education in Toronto; and Bodil Weirsoe, a student
at Aalborg University, Denmark. We
were all delighted to have many graduate students interested in peace education
and actively engaged in research for their doctorates. We are encouraging ALL graduate students to
submit proposals for presentations next year.
First Class of Rotary World Peace Scholars.
In a recent ad in the Chronicle of
Higher Education(April 19, 2002), Rotary International presented the names of 70 scholars who will
“study conflict resolution at top universities in six countries” with the goal
of becoming “tomorrow’s leaders with the knowledge and the tools to achieve
world peace.” This group will be known
as “The Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict
resolution.”
Web
site: www.rotary.org
Special
Issue of Social Alternatives, a multi-disciplinary journal has a
Theme Issue: Peace Education for a New
Century, with Guest Editors, Ian Harris and John Synott. (January 2002, Vol.
21, No. 1)
Eleven
articles in the issue were on various topics such as Peace Studies, Conflict
Resolution at School, The Earth Community School and Challenges for Peace
Education at the Beginning of the 21st Century. Several SIG members were authors of
articles: Ian Harris, also Guest
Editor, Kathy Bickmore, past Symposium participant in 2001 and Candice Carter,
SIG member and presenter.
Copies
can be obtained for $10 through Ian Harris, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53208.
e-mail: imh@csd.uwm.edu
GRADUATE
STUDENTS INVITED TO SHARE THEIR RESEARCH:
At our Business Meeting, a former
doctoral student (now graduated) and a present doctoral student were the focus of attention. Mary Lee Morrison brought us up to date on her research of the
life of Elise Boulding, noted sociologist and founder of several peace research
organizations, and the research which she shared with us last year. Mary Lee completed her doctorate and has
since published an article based on her dissertation. She also met, during the conference, with a publisher’s
representative who expressed interest in her dissertation as a possible book
publication.
The curriculum project that Mary Lee completed
with Elise Boulding is now being used in several communities in New England and
in Uganda and Burundi. It is titled
“Making Peace Where I Live” and involves students learning to interview and
record conversations with a person who was a
peacemaker in their own community. “Making Peace” can be downloaded
at www.crinfo.org
(through the kindness of The Conflict Resolution Consortium of Boulder,
Colorado.)
Starting this summer, Mary Lee launched
her own educational resource center. She described the mission as the “linking
of educational and community service practitioners(PreK-through higher
education, scholars, activists and religious groups) and institutions to
materials, curricula and training in the areas of community service, peace and
conflict resolution, mediation, diversity, human rights and the
environment.” The Center – Pax Educare
– The Connecticut Center for Peace Education will be based in the Hartford
area.
E-mail: Marylee898@attbi.com
In addition, Marty Khan,
doctoral student at the University of North Florida gave a presentation on his
dissertation proposal and future activities.
His proposal is titled: Access
to Higher Education in Florida and South Africa: A Comparative Policy Analysis.
The general purpose of this study, he explained to the group, is to
“examine the issues educational leaders face in implementing the One Florida
Initiative and the South African National Plan for Higher Education. More specifically, this study is designed to
explore the implementation issues for traditionally underrepresented students
and describe how these policies have impacted those in selected higher education
institutions.”
Included in his research plan are
extensive interviews with Florida’s educational leaders as well as in selected
South African institutions. If you have
contacts in South Africa, please contact him.
E-mail: mkhan@unf.edu
ELECTION
OF OFFICERS:
Finally,
the following SIG officers were elected at the Business Meeting:
SIG
Chair, 2002-2003 only: Blythe Hinitz
Vice
SIG Chair/Program Chair, 2002-2004:
Edyth Wheeler
Secretary-Treasurer: Marty Khan, 2002-2004
AERA
& SIG MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT:
We are hoping that each SIG member will
continue to recruit new members. Our
allocation of sessions for paper presentations and roundtables depends on our
number of members. A SIG Membership
Form, including a separate listing for joining SIGs is available online at:
http://aera.net/member.memapp.htm