EDSP 691 Special Topics: Developing a Proactive Response to Violence

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1 EDSP 691 Special Topics: Developing a Proactive Response to Violence Master of Arts in Education Program Eastern Mennonite University - Lancaster Course Syllabus Instructor: Anita Vestal, Ph.D. vestala@emu.edu Phone: (717) office (717) residence Course Description Over the past decade, incidents of school and organizational violence have been on the rise. We were shocked to find children killing their schoolmates in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Pearl, Mississippi, Paducah, Kentucky, Springfield Oregon, Littleton, Colorado, and Flint, Michigan. Closer to home in the winter of 2001, a former parent used a machete to injure teachers and administrators in a York County elementary school. Tensions from home and work life have set off random violence in the workplace to the point that the federal government has designated violence as a workplace hazard which employers should prepare for. The phenomena is far reaching, beyond the bounds of inner city and high crime communities. Incidents have occurred in rural, suburban and urban areas, in poor, middle and upper-middle class communities. The only common denominator with the perpetrators is that they are angry and they choose violence to try to even the score. They want to reconcile their feelings of being rejected, bullied or put down. In this multi-disciplinary course we will collectively probe the "why" questions from the perspectives of behavioral science, public health, organizational development and restorative justice. Why has violence become so commonplace among our youth? Why is it so difficult to predict and prevent random school/organizational violence? Why do children and adults choose violent responses when they feel rejected or disrespected at work or school? And we will probe the "how" questions. How do we take a proactive role to meet this challenge? How do we prepare employees, supervisors, students and parents for the changes in policies and practices that may need to be implemented? What are some concrete methods to avert conflict in school and organizational settings? Course Outcomes Students will: 1. Know, connect and integrate theories and concepts in violence prevention and intervention suitable for their school or organizational settings, including theories of emotional intelligence (S.1; AR S.3) 2. Critically examine personal assumptions and beliefs about the causes of violent behavior. (I.1; AR I.7) 3. Reflect on attitudes and policies/procedures for handling power and conflict. (C.2) 4. Investigate a transformative framework for creating peaceful settings in schools and organizations (I.5; SE.5) 5. Design an action research project which incorporates evidence of respectful approaches to conflict resolution. (SE.7; PK.7) Required Texts James Garbarino. Lost Boys: Why our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them. New York: Anchor Books, Vestal EMU 2002 M.Ed. Program 1

2 Daniel Goleman. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Doubleday, Katz, Neil & Lawyer, John. Preventing and Managing Conflict in Schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Supplementary Reading Articles, websites and powerpoint presentations will be assigned and posted in Course Materials. Please check the Course Materials section of Blackboard weekly. Course Requirements Class Participation It is expected that students will participate weekly on the discussion board giving your interpretation and reaction to the readings and lecture material. Assigned readings should be discussed on a timely basis, not waiting until the last weeks of class to respond to threads posted earlier. In addition to the threaded discussions in Blackboard, we will schedule some live chats during the course. Each student should participate in at least two of these live chats which will be devoted to giving and receiving feedback about your proposed final project. Evaluation of your class participation will be based on the following criteria: Raising and answering questions related to the assigned readings Sharing ideas, insights and feelings Sharing personal experiences and observations Pointing out relevant data Relating and synthesizing others ideas in a respectful, thoughtful and nurturing way Providing constructive feedback on the learning climate and processes of the course Pointing out relationships to earlier discussions Helping others to develop their views and ideas Please keep in mind that all remarks made on the discussion board and online chats are public and available to other class members unless we agree otherwise. When responding to one another on the board and in chats, please maintain a professional tone. Personal is available for private exchanges. Assignments 1. Students will post a two to three page environmental assessment addressing the following: What are the conflict-related issues that are of concern to the school or organization? Identify the stakeholders and summarize the perspective of each. How do you assess the school or organization s response to these issues? What are the resources currently being used or proposed to address these issues? What issues can be anticipated to become problematic in the future? Ideas for addressing potential conflicts in a proactive way The Environmental Assessment will be due the sixth week of class (Oct. 28) All students should plan to participate in at least two live chat sessions to raise questions and provide constructive feedback regarding the environmental assessments. 2. Students will prepare and submit a final project to address an issue in your school or organization. The final project is due to the instructor the tenth week of class (Nov. 25) and it may take the form of a research paper, a written strategy, policy or procedure, a training program, or an audio-visual intervention. The final project should be based on an action research model where you have gathered Vestal EMU 2002 M.Ed. Program 2

3 input from various stakeholders through interviews, survey or participant observation. The components of the project should include the following: Brief introduction or background information Needs assessment describing the problem or issue needing to be addressed Alternate methods of addressing the problem and a discussion of the merits of each alternative Data from your action research which provides input from stakeholders Proposal for a proactive response in the form of a policy, practice, program or other intervention that may address the issue. Working theories (from our readings and other relevant sources) that may contribute to the root causes of the problem or issue Bibliography of at least 12 scholarly references, including theory, methods and content references. 3. Students will display their final projects in Blackboard during the last two week of class. You will meet with other students in the virtual classroom at a time that is convenient to the group to discuss the projects. Please post your projects in Blackboard several days before the virtual classroom session. Reasonable accommodations are provided for students with documented disabilities. If you wish to contact the Student Disabilities Support Services, call Joyce Hedrick at and ask for her at extension If she is not in leave a message, a number where you can be reached, and several possible times for reaching you. Course Evaluation Class Participation: 25 % Environmental Assessment 25 % Final Project 50 % Class Format The educational format for this distance learning course includes a variety of learning strategies. The instructor will post lectures from time to time to supplement the assigned readings. We will make use of Blackboard s discussion boards, and, in addition, we will meet in a live chat session to discuss final project proposals. Content Outline Week 1: Introduction to the Course and to Blackboard. The Nature and Root Causes of Youth Violence, part one Theoretical foundations. Social Learning Theory. Behavioral Approaches. Ecological and multi-modal models. Assigned: Garbarino, chapters 1,2,3, 4. pages See Course Materials for posted websites and/or articles Week 2: The Nature and Root Causes of Youth Violence, part two Emotional Intelligence. The role of the media in promoting and averting violence and aggression. Assigned: Goleman chapters 3,4,5. pages See Course Materials for article, "Do American Freedoms Protect our Children? Week 3: Various Approaches to Understanding and Preventing Violence Social-Emotional Literacy. Public Health Approach. Restorative Justice. Risk and Resilience, Spiritual, Social and Psychological Anchors. Vestal EMU 2002 M.Ed. Program 3

4 Assigned: Garbarino chapter 6. pages Goleman, chapters 12, 13, 14,15 pages See Course Materials for posted websites and/or articles. Week 4: Diagnosing Conflict and Assessing Needs for Intervention Methods Assigned: Hocker & Wilmot Conflict Assessment Wehr Conflict Mapping See Course Materials for posted lecture and/or articles Week 5: Overview of Proactive Methods for Conflict Management. Assigned: Goleman, Appendices D.E.F. pages Garbarino, Appendix, pages See Course Materials for posted websites and/or articles. Week 6: Designing Systems and Programs based on Identified Needs Assigned: Katz & Lawyer, chapters 1 5, pages 1-69 See Course Materials for posted lecture and/or articles Week 7: Review of School-Based Violence Prevention Models Peer Mediation. Universal Curriculum models. Criticisms of programs and approaches. Assigned: George Lucas Educational Foundation ( Blueprints for Violence Prevention Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning ( See Course Materials for posted lecture in powerpoint Environmental Assessment posted by March 25. Week 8: Systemic Peacebuilding School/Workplace, Home and Community Assigned: Goleman, chapter 16 pages Garbarino, chapters 7,8 pages See Course Materials for posted powerpoint presentation Week 9: Professional Development and Empowerment Theory Assigned: See Course Materials for article, 'Transformative Professional Development and other posted lecture material Week 10: Student Presentations of Violence Prevention Models, Students present final projects, give and receive feedback Week 11: Student Presentations of Violence Prevention Models, continued. Reflections Vestal EMU 2002 M.Ed. Program 4

5 Bibliography Bey, T.M. and Turner, G.Y. (1996) Making school a place of peace. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Bernat, V. (1993) Teaching Peace. Young Children, 48 (3) Bodine, R.J. and Crawford, D.K. (1998) The handbook of conflict resolution education. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Braverman, Mark. (1999). Preventing Workplace Violence: A Guide for Employers and Practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Bush, R. & Folger, J. (1994) The promise of mediation: Responding to conflict through empowerment and recognition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Carlsson-Paige, N. (1998). Before push comes to shove: Building conflict resolution skills with children. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House. (ERIC No ) Carlsson-Paige, N. & Levin, D. (1992) Making peace in violent times: A constructivist approach to conflict resolution. Young Children, 48 (1) 4-13 Carter, M. (1995) Supporting teachers to create a culture of non-violence. Child Care Information Exchange. 102 (March - April, 1995) Costantino, Cathy and Christina Merchant. (1996). Designing Conflict Management Systems: A Guide to Creating Productive and Healthy Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). Anti-bias curriculum tools for empowering young children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. DeVries, R. & Zan, B. (1994) Moral Classrooms, Moral Children. NY: Teachers' College Press. Dusenbury, L., et.al. (1997). "Nine critical elements of promising violence prevention programs". Journal of School Health, 67 (10) Elias, M., et al. (1997) Promoting social and emotional learning: Guidelines for educators. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Fisher, R., Ury, W. & Bruce Patton. B. (1991) Getting to Yes. NY: Penguin Books. Folberg, J., & Taylor, A. (1986). Mediation: A comprehensive guide to resolving conflicts without litigation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Folger J.P. & Jones, T.S. (Eds.). (1994). New directions in mediation: Communication research and perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Garbarino, James. (1999). Lost Boys: Why our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them. New York: Anchor Books. Garbarino, J., Dubrow, N., Kostelny, K & Pardo, C. (1992) Children in danger: Coping with the consequences of community violence. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Vestal EMU 2002 M.Ed. Program 5

6 Girard, K. and Koch, S.J. (1996). Confllict Resolution in the Schools: A Manual for Educators. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam Hocker, J. L., & Wilmot, W. W. (1991). Interpersonal conflict (3rd. ed.). Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown. Katz, N. H., & Lawyer, J. W. (1994.) Preventing and Managing Conflict in Schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Katz, N. H., & Lawyer, J. W. (1992). Communication and conflict resolution skills. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt. Lantieri, L. & Patti, J. (1996) The road to peace in our schools. Educational Leadership, Lantieri, L. & Patti, J. (1996) Waging peace in our schools. Boston: Beacon Press Levin, D. (1995) Understanding and responding to the violence in children's lives. Child Care Information Exchange. 102 (March - April, 1995) Massey, M. (1998). Early Childhood Violence Prevention. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC No ) Moore, C. (1996). The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Prothrow-Stith, D. (1991). Deadly consequences: How violence is destroying our teenage population and a plan to begin solving the problem. Harper Collins Reardon, B.(1989) Toward a paradigm of peace. In Fahey, J. & Armstrong, R. (Eds.)(1992 A peace reader: Essential readings on war, justice, non-violence and world order. NY: Paulist Press. Stomfay-Stitz, A. & Hinitz, B. (1998). Integration of peace education conflict resolution with the arts and humanities: A new agenda for a new century. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Tampa, FL (ERIC No ) Ury, William, Jeanne Brett & Stephen Goldberg (1988) Getting Disputes Resolved. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Vestal EMU 2002 M.Ed. Program 6