Peace Education: Cooling the Climate of Schools.

This paper discusses peace education curriculum in the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public School district. The peace education promotion has been in existence for 10 years and was created in response to rising levels of violence. Specifically examined are the uses of peace education at Fritsche Middle School, a school that has proven the positive effects of using peace education in reform efforts and has exhibited a high level of peace education practice in the school. The paper explores the perceptions of eight school personnel about the formal peace education/conflict resolution efforts that occur at this school and the impact these efforts have upon the climate of the school and the creation of a peaceful learning environment. The research also involved 18 students with varying degrees of interest and participation in the school's conflict resolution program. It explores students' activities that directly counteract violence in the school and examines the extension of these peacemaking endeavors into the students' home and community lives. The paper concludes by identifying aspects of peace education that are in need of improvement in schools, even those as successful as Fritsche, and discusses how these problems inhibit the effectiveness of conflict resolution programs and peace education endeavors. Contains 45 references. (EH) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ********************************************************************************