Educational Psychologist

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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
PEACE EDUCATION The Montessori approach to the
conflict within the classroom . . and the war
within the world
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Maria Montessori insisted that if humanity
wished to succeed in establishing
solid foundations for world peace, it had to
focus on the prevention of war. She believed
that helping the young child develop into a
healthy adult was crucial to this endeavor.
When children are accustomed, from earliest
childhood onwards, to considering those who
surround them as a source of help to explore the
world, they are not tempted to adopt a wary or
hostile attitude towards men who belong to
different races or religions. At a later date,
children raised according to these principles
will be of great help in the construction of a
peaceful society... MM
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Applying Peace Education in our endeavor to bring
an end to bullying
Maria maintained that if families and communities
did not become more understanding of the childs
developmental needs, then the goals of helping
humanity develop its potential would not be
reached.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Common, clearly understood definitions of
bullying, are the cornerstone of any successful
program. The following is an example of a
definition (each phase, i.e. 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 class
should be helped to create an age appropriate
definition) To harass someone is to bother, make
fun of, trouble or attack them, and this is done
repeatedly. Someone who harasses wants to hurt
the other person (its not an accident), and does
or says the same things over and over again.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Definitions and consequences of engaging in these
problem behaviours should be posted in common
areas and classrooms and reviewed regularly.
learners must be engaged in this process.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist

• Discuss the four main types of bullying with your
  children

PHYSICAL VERBAL SOCIAL ELECTRONIC
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Physical hitting, shoving, kicking, spitting
on, beating up on others damaging or stealing
another persons property Verbal
name-calling, mocking, hurtful teasing
humiliating or threatening someone making
people do things they dont want to do
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Social excluding others from the group
spreading gossip or rumors about others making
others look foolish making sure others do not
spend time with a certain person Electronic
using computer, e-mail, phone or cellular phone
text messages to threaten or hurt someones
feelings single out, embarrass or make someone
look bad spread rumors or reveal secrets about
someone
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
What Works? What Doesnt?
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
What Works? Strong teacher/adult leadership,
learner- teacher bonding, Clear, consistent
and fair behavioural norms, Ongoing teacher
training, Effective supervision and playground
design and Parent training.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
What Doesnt Work? Inflexible zero tolerance
policies which dont consider intensity,
longevity, context Suspension/expulsion of
learners without school re-entry plan or daytime
structure (academic support and counseling).
In-school suspensions are best way to ensure
participation in academic, therapeutic
programming. This strategy requires additional
school resources
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
continued Segregation of learners with
emotional/behavioural difficulties, Sports,
arts, or recreational activities that exclude
those who want to participate.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Working with children to achieve an anti-bullying
climate "Averting war is the work of
politicians establishing peace is the work of
education." MM
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Behavioural management Using positive
(rewarding or reinforcing to learner) and
negative (unpleasant or undesirable to learner)
consequences to shape a learners behaviour.
Positive consequences increase the likelihood
that a given behaviour will reoccur and
negative consequences decrease the likelihood
that a given behaviour will reoccur. In the end,
a learners own perception determines whether a
consequence is rewarding or unpleasant.
Consequences must be immediate, fair, consistent,
and individualized (zero tolerance policies do
not meet the last three criteria).
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Modeling Changing the behaviour and social
interactions a learner witnesses. Learners are
most likely to copy and learn from peer and adult
models who are respected, have status, are
perceived as realistic and natural, and are
rewarded for their behaviour. For example,
teachers can provide powerful messages to
bystanders in a bullying incident by intervening
in an authoritative and calm manner to support
the victim and deal with the bully. Learners can
use similar strategies by refusing to be a
bystander, intervening safely, and getting help
from an adult. It should be noted that when
adults and peers fail to intervene when learners
are harmed, or intervene inconsistently, they are
also conveying strong messages supporting
anti-social behaviour.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Social problem solving Adults and peers can use
proven strategies to help high-risk learners
think about how to see situations in constructive
ways stop to think about a problem and solve it
in practical steps, generate options to process
the benefits and drawbacks of the options, and
develop pro-social values (e.g., consideration
for the needs and rights of others). Learners
who are frequently involved in victimization
and/or aggression often have faulty methods of
problem solving. CB strategies can teach them how
to identify the problem, assertively communicate
the problem, generate solutions, evaluate
possible solutions and select one, take action on
the chosen solution, and evaluate the outcome.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
School Environment Matters
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Anti-bullying and harassment programs that are
nested within a positive school environment
(characterized by emotionally supportive
peer-peer, staff-learner relations, and
staff-staff relations) have better outcomes.
School culture has been defined as the set of
beliefs and norms shared by learners and staff.
There is variation in the extent to which adults
and young people identify with the school and
accept school values. For example, young children
are more likely than adolescents to accept a
teachers authority and learner codes of conduct.
Adolescents, especially those who are frequently
involved in anti-social behaviour, are likely to
oppose school values and teacher authority. An
important element of school culture is school
membership (learner perceptions about acceptance
and belonging at school).
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE BULLYING IN SCHOOL
Montessori recognized children as the redeeming
factor in the evolution of humankind. In order to
bring about a world of peace and tolerance, where
war is an absurdity, it is important to focus and
teach peace early. Having a peace curriculum in
your Montessori classroom is a sure way to
prepare your children to be peace-seekers. we
must gather together all the elements of the
world and organize them into a science of peace.
MM
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Montessori Methods include
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
3-6 (Preschool) Phase
The Global ViewIntroduction to the worldLand
and water formsGlobesWorld mapsPlants of the
worldAnimals of the worldPeoples of the
worldFundamental needs of humansGlobal
comparisons
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
ElementaryPhase
The Cosmic View The evolution of consciousness
and lovePhysics experiments Cosmic
taleImpressionistic Charts Clock of
erasTimeline of life Evolution of
interdependence of lifeUnconscious
contribution CaringTimeline of early
humans Reflective thoughtCreative
imagination Conscious choiceAltruism Timeline
of BC and ADTimeline of civilizations Progress
of human need fulfillment
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Secondary Phase
The Social ViewHistory timelineTimeline of
great peacemakersGlobal economics and
politicsSocial responsibilityConscious choice
to actResponsibility as co-creators
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Other methods include
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Increase the commitment and leadership of the
principal to reduce school violence, bullying and
harassment. Without the principals investment
and leadership, it is unlikely that any school
intervention will work and be sustained.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Conduct a Needs Assessment A recognition that no
one intervention program fits all school needs
and resources is an important beginning step.
Schools differ and bullying and harassment vary
across schools and grade levels. It is critical
to conduct a Needs Assessment and ongoing
assessment for bullying.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Improve the schools climate and sense of school
belongingness for all learners. There is a need
to first assess your Schools Climate and
discover ways to improve the School Climate and
learner connectedness.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Increase teachers awareness, commitment and
ability to intervene as well as integrate any
intervention program into the curriculum and
school routines. Bullying unfolds in a
relationship characterized by a power imbalance
that makes it increasingly difficult for
victimized learners to end the bullying on their
own. Adults have to play an essential role in
protecting victimized children and reducing
bullying. That teachers buy into the
intervention program is critical.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Implement and evaluate school-wide intervention
programs that are evidence-based. Conduct a
careful review of what has been found to work and
what programs do not work. Implement proven
programs that assess outcomes on a regular
basis. Anticipate possible barriers that will
undermine and interfere with the success of the
program have a plan on how to anticipate and
address these potential obstacles.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
It is not sufficient to work with individual
children. Solutions to bullying need to be both
systemic and evidence-based.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Establish a follow-up intervention with
high-risk learners who do not improve with the
school-wide and classroom-based
interventions. Quite simply, some learners will
require further interventions.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Efforts to bully-proof schools need to include
bystander intervention programs that nurture
learner leadership and involvement. Peers can
play a critical role in supporting bullying and
promoting a culture of aggression. But when peers
intervene to come to the assistance of victims,
they can be equally effective in stopping
bullying. Whether it is in the form of bystander
intervention programs, a peer-warning system or a
peer-mediation program Learners participation
is critical.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Involve parents from the outset and provide
ongoing training and feedback. A school-parent
partnership is the glue that makes bullying
programs work and helps to improve the learners
academic performance. The principal needs to take
the leadership role in making parent
participation a high priority for her school.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Improve school safety by addressing the presence
of gangs. The best-intentioned programs can be
compromised by the presence of gangs and peer
pressure. There is a need to systematically
assess for the presence of gang influences at
school.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Develop school-community partnerships that are
designed to reduce school violence and
bullying. It takes a village to raise a child
this is most important when addressing bullying
and harassment. Whether the member of the wider
community is the School Superintendent, a member
of the media or newspaper reporter who writes
stories about school violence and bullying, there
are a number of ways for the community to join
with schools to reduce bullying.
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
Time and patience.
Anti-bullying interventions are not one-time
initiatives. Instead, evidence-based interventions
are ongoing, and changes in bully/victim
problems often are not evident until well into
the second year of implementation. For example,
it is not uncommon for there to be increased
reporting of bullying by learners over the short
term. This is most likely the result of efforts
to increase awareness and sensitivity within
schools
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
In conclusion
Without explicit and intentional moral and
spiritual education, Montessori believed, mankind
would inevitably revert to its habit of war.
Values such as global citizenship, personal
responsibility, and respect for diversity, she
argued, must be both an implicit and explicit
part of every childs (and adults) education.
These values in Montessori education are every
bit as crucial as the subjects of math, language
or science. Maria Montessori wrote in Education
and Peace Peace is a goal that can only be
attained through common accord, and the means to
achieve this unity for peace are twofold first,
an immediate effort to resolve conflicts without
recourse to violencein other words, to prevent
warand second, a long-term effort to establish a
lasting peace among men (Montessori, 1949, p.
27).
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
List of resources
Teaching peace a dialogue on the Montessori
method. Journal of Peace Education, 3(1), 39-53.
Duckworth, C. (2006). EDUCATION FOR PEACE
CONTENT, FORM, AND STRUCTURE, MOBILIZING YOUTH
FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. Kevin Kester Northwestern
University, Civic Education Project Woosong
University, Department of English Language
Communication Assessment Toolkit for Bullying,
Harassment and Peer Relations at School. Dr. Mark
Totten, Research Consultant. CPHA Project Team
Perpetua Quigley, Project Coordinator Melinda
Morgan, Research Assistant. Canadian Public
Health Association, September 2004. www.anti-bull
yingalliance.org.uk www.centerforcooperativeprinc
iples.org
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist
we must gather together all the elements of the
world and organize them into a science of peace.
MM
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A Carstens Educational
Psychologist