Peace Education and Peace Studies

Programs, Projects & Resources in Peace & Social Justice at The University of Toledo

The University of Toledo offers a wide variety of resources, programs and projects related to peace and social justice.  

 » Dr. Betty A. Reardon Peace Education Resource Center.  The Judith Herb College of Education at The University of Toledo is home to the Dr. Betty A. Reardon Peace Education Resource Center.  "The Reardon Center" houses a collection of more than 5000 books, journals and curricula related to peace education, peace research, human rights, disarmament, conflict transformation, gender and peace and much, much more.

» Online Graduate Certificate in Foundations of Peace Education. The Foundations of Peace Education program is designed for education professionals working in a variety of educational environments ranging from P-12 schools, community colleges, universities, and non-government organizations. The certificate provides students with the concepts, skills, and values to infuse peace education throughout the curriculum, thereby providing them with opportunities to be employed in a variety of educational settings. The program caters to an interdisciplinary and international audience.

» International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) The IIPE is a weeklong residential experience for educators hosted in a different country every summer. The Institute facilitates exchanges of theory and practical experiences in teaching peace education and serves to grow the field. In serving the field, the IIPE operates as an applied peace education laboratory that provides a space for pedagogical experimentation; cooperative, deep inquiry into shared issues; and advancing theoretical, practical and pedagogical applications.  Dr. Betty A Reardon and colleagues established the IIPE in 1982 at Teachers College, Columbia University.  In 2014 the IIPE secretariat established a new home at the Judith Herb College of Education at The University of Toledo. 

» Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE).  Founded in 1999, the GCPE is an international network that promotes peace education among schools, families and communities to transform the culture of violence into a culture of peace.  The GCPE has two goals; 1) to see peace education integrated into all curricula, community and family education worldwide to become a part of life; and 2) to promote the education of all teachers to teach for peace.  In 2014 the GCPE secretariat established a new home at the Judith Herb College of Education at The University of Toledo.  The GCPE produces a monthly newsletter that reaches 5000+ educators around the globe. 

» Betty A. Reardon Archives. In October of 2009, the Betty Reardon Archives opened at The University of Toledo's Canaday Center for Special Collections. Dr. Reardon, founder of the International Institute on Peace Education, is an internationally renowned peace scholar and peace educator who has produced an extensive body of scholarship and curriculum that define the fields of peace studies and peace education. The Reardon Collection consists of publications, unpublished manuscripts, curriculum, reports, scholarly presentations, and correspondence from the 1960s to the present. 

» In Factis Pax.  In Factis Pax is a peer-reviewed online journal of peace education and social justice dedicated to the examination of issues central to the formation of a peaceful society - the prevention of violence, political challenges to peace and democratic societies.  Social justice, democracy, and human flourishing are the core factors that highlight the importance of the role of education in building peaceful societies.  The Editor of In Factis Pax is Dr. Dale Snauwaert, Associate Professor of Educational Theory and Social Foundations of Education at The University of Toledo.

» Center for Nonviolence and Democratic Education.  The purpose of the Center for Nonviolence & Democratic Education (CNDE) is to understand and educate, locally and globally, for a nonviolent, democratic, peaceful, ecologically sustainable, and just society. CNDE provides an interdisciplinary forum for the study of nonviolence and democratic education, within which a number of research initiatives are being undertaken, as well as curriculum development and the organization of seminars, symposia, discussion groups, etc.  CNDE is an expression of The University of Toledo’s mission to “improve the human condition” through research and education.

» Where to Study Peace Education? There is a growing demand for peace education, yet few know of the learning opportunities that exist for gaining knowledge, developing capacities, and building the fundamental pedagogical skills for teaching peace. To address this lack of availability of information, the Peace Education Initiative, in in partnership with the IIPE and GCPE, is conducting a survey to inventory programs, courses, and workshops in peace education.

» Military Violence Against Women (MVAW). Through the IIPE, the Peace Education Initiative is engaged in efforts to illuminate the integral interconnections between violence against women and war/armed conflict and continues to invite endorsements to our Statement on Military Violence against Women addressed to the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, March 4-15, 2013. The Statement is also an educational tool, designating forms of MVAW and recommendations to end violence against women and measures that are steps toward the ending of war as an instrument of state.

» Toledo Truth TellingFor the ninth year, graduate students in RESM 5/7330 “Qualitative Research Methods,” taught by Dr. Lynne Hamer, have conducted participatory action research with the Padua Alliance on Education and Empowerment. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a research approach in which the researchers work with their research participants (“subjects”) to identify a topic that the participants, i.e., community members, think is valuable.  This year’s topic is Truth Telling, and focuses on understanding how people of color experience prejudice and discrimination within dominant culture institutions. The course is an effective way for students to learn about community issues and research methods: the PAR framework allows students to experience a research project from conceptualization to presentation. The graduate students will present their work at the Padua Center, 1416 Nebraska Avenue, Toledo, on Thursday, December 17, from 5-7 pm.  All are welcome.

» Community Conversations for School Success. “Community Conversations for School Success” are biweekly meetings at the Kent Branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library begun in Fall 2014 as a collaboration between the UT Sociology/Anthropology Department, in the College of Language, Literature, and Social Sciences, and UT JHCOE’s Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership.  The purpose of CCSS, coordinated by Dr. Lynne Hamer, is “to bring together citizens and students, K-12 school administrators & teachers, and university faculty and students to pool our knowledge about what is needed for ALL people to succeed in K-12 & university.” Its mission is (1) “to establish shared, inclusive space for dialogue as community members concerned about education”; (2) “to inform ourselves and others about practice and research that help ensure opportunity for optimal and equitable education experiences for all students, P-12 and university”; (3) “to build cultural competence towards contributing to increasing graduation rates and teacher retention rates”; and (4) “to nourish and support the varied actions in which participants are involved outside of the CCSS.”  During the academic year, the group’s UT faculty leaders report on the conversations in a biweekly column for the local newspaper, The Sojourner’s Truth, which serves not only to invite wider community participation but also to create a presence and face of the JHCOE continually in the community. All members of the public are welcome to the biweekly CCSS meetings.

» Teach Toledo. The JHCOE is launching an initiative to address the nationwide shortage of teachers of color with lived urban experience. A collaboration with Toledo Public Schools, “Teach Toledo” will recruit both Toledo Central City residents and others who specifically want to learn to teach effectively in urban schools. The program is a 2+2 design: students will initially work toward an Associate of Arts degree, with a focus on urban education.  The coursework in the Associates degree will be carefully aligned with requirements for teacher licensure.  At least half of the coursework will be on-site at TPS’s Jones Leadership Academy. After earning their Associate’s, students will continue coursework in Education to earn their Bachelor’s degree and become licensed teachers.  The initiative design is based on theUT@TPS program established with a JHCOE Dean’s Innovation Grant in 2011. 

» Student Columnists. UT undergraduate and graduate students are becoming regularly featured columnists in one of Toledo's local newspapers, The Sojourner's Truth. Writing for the newspaper gives students experience with community engagement and "public scholarship," both of which are emerging in higher education as highly valued. The columns allow students to build their resumes in the area of public scholarship, while at the same time serving their community by making valuable knowledge available. Most recently, EDFL Ph.D. candidate Anthony Bouyer published a holiday-themed piece based on part of his dissertation's literature review: "A Thanks Giving for African American Mothers." The piece describes the importance of parental involvement in children's education, and gives research-based advice on the most effective ways to be involved. 

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22