Date of Award
12-1-1987
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Keywords
acting out behavior, communication, conflict, conflict resolution, cooperative learning, curriculum development, elementary education, elementary teachers, implementation, milwaukee board of school directors, nonviolent behavior, parental involvement, peace studies curriculum, perception and attitudes, problem solving, professional development, self concept, teacher training, workshop development
Abstract
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors mandated that a Peace Studies Curriculum be implemented in all grades of all Milwaukee public elementary schools. The purpose of the Peace Studies Curriculum was to teach elementary students how to understand conflict and how to respond to conflicts in their lives in a non- violent manner.
An informal survey revealed that the elementary teachers were not implementing the Peace Studies Curriculum in their classrooms because they did not feel adequately prepared to do so. Incidents of acting out and violent behavior continued to increase.
There was a need to educate the elementary teachers on how to implement the Peace Studies Curriculum with their students. This study explored the literature and developed a curriculum for a two day workshop to educate the teachers on how to implement the Peace Studies Curriculum.
Five major content-processes were developed for the workshop. They were 1.) Self Concept 2.) Perception/ Attitudes 3.) Communication 4.) Conflict 5.) Cooperative Learning. Lecturettes and experiences were presented for each of these topics with the goal being for the teachers to increase their repertoire for responding to conflict and being able to teach and model problem solving and conflict resolving behavior. The teachers developed follow-up plans for implementing the new skills they learned at the workshop. It was recommended that another workshop be done to further develop these Peace Studies concepts, especially Cooperative Learning. It was also recommended that the parents receive Peace Studies training to reinforce the concepts at home.