"I'm Not White": Anti-Racist Teacher Education for White Early Childhood Educators

Tara Goldstein. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood (Volume 2, Number 1), 2001.

Conceptualising and implementing early childhood teacher education for racial and cultural diversity is a complex task that involves learning about social stratification and race, acknowledging the privileges associated with whiteness, and finding ways to create positive racial teaching identities. This article discusses three ways that teacher educators might prepare white early childhood education students for anti-racist work in their classrooms.

Resource Link: http://www.wwwords.co.uk/ciec/

A Conversation About Conflict

Search for Common Ground's "Conversations About Conflict" are 1.5- to 2-hour workshops that can be run for any given audience interested in conflict resolution. The purpose of the Conversation is to help people develop a new awareness of conflicts in our lives - how we currently respond to them, what they cost us, and the alternative approaches that can be used to deal with them in a more constructive manner. SFCG offers a dialogue guide and other resources to help you lead Conversations About Conflict.

Resource Link: http://www.sfcg.org/resources/training/resources_conversation.html

African Centres for Peace Education and Training

Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace runs this site, which includes (among many other things) links to African centers for peace education and training.

Resource Link: http://www.peace.ca/africa.htm

Antioch University McGregor - Community Change and Civic Leadership

The Individualized Liberal and Professional Studies (ILPS) master's program at Antioch University McGregor offers a concentration in community change and civic leadership. This concentration builds on LeadershipPlenty®, a training program sponsored by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change. This training of trainers program was designed by adult educators to prepare participants to teach the fundamental civic skills needed to effect community change.

Resource Link: http://www.mcgregor.edu/civic/index.html

Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom

Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt.

This book focuses on the task of creating a sense of community among learners. The authors share their insight into what it takes to foster feelings of safety and a sense of shared learning among students and faculty involved in computer-mediated distance education.

Canadian Peace Institute (CPI) Discussion Group

As part of the Canadian Culture of Peace Program (CCOPP), this list is intended to promote networking, communication and information dissemination among all (formal and informal) Canadian Peace Educators.

Resource Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CPIdiscussion

Circles of Change: A Quiet Revolution in Haiti

Produced and directed by Jane Regan and Daniel Morel/Wozo Productions in collaboration with Beyond Borders.

Learn how Beyond Borders promotes participatory learning and leadership by viewing Circles of Change, a 20-minute DVD/VHS video documentary about the grassroots movement that is transforming notions and practices in education and leadership in Haiti and beyond. Through Open Space and Touchstones Discussions (Reflection Circles), the seeds of change are being planted among a new generation of Haitian leaders.

Resource Link: http://www.circlesofchange.com

Civic Reflection

Civic reflection is the practice of bringing together a group of people who are engaged in common civic work to read and talk about fundamental questions of civic life. This form of dialogue draws upon the rich resources of the humanities--using readings of literature, philosophy, and history, and the age-old practice of text-based discussion--to help civic leaders think more carefully and talk more comfortably about their values and choices.

Cooperative Inquiry

Cooperative inquiry is a research method that provides a framework for participants to use their own experience to generate insights around an issue that is of mutual concern. Participants form a group, usually of about 7-8 people, define a pressing question and agree to meet on several occasions over a period of time. During meetings, members reflect together on their work as it relates to the question. Between meetings, members inquire into their own practice, observe their experiences and implement new actions that might help them learn something new about the question.

Democracy as Discussion: Civic Education and the American Forum Movement

William M. Keith, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lexington Books, 2007.

As Americans worry ever more about the effects of media on the quality of public deliberation, they have developed a renewed interest in public discussion, especially face-to-face public discussion. Over a century ago, public forums - organized and widespread - provided a place where citizens could discuss the political issues of the day, and they became a means of adult civic education. In this 378-page book, Keith documents the college course developed by the new field of Speech to teach the skills of discussion, as well as the forum movement, which culminated in the Federal Forum Project.

Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change

Ira Shor. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Ira Shor is a pioneer in the field of critical education who for over twenty years has been experimenting with learning methods. His work creatively adapts the ideas of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire for North American classrooms. In Empowering Education Shor offers a comprehensive theory and practice for critical pedagogy.

Resource Link: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/7893.ctl

Learning Circles

Learning circles are a cooperative teaching and learning method that draws on personal stories and experiences to find creative solutions to community issues and concerns. By emphasizing personal experience over professional know-how, learning circles depend on open dialogue and careful listening. Coming together to explore a common problem or questions, participants in learning circles work closely over the course of two days (or longer) to challenge and develop each other's skills and understandings.

Resource Link: http://www.e4ce.org/LearningCircles/LearningCircles.htm

LearningWare

Founded in 1995, LearningWare develops and markets educational computerized gameshow, quiz, and survey templates. Customizable for any topic, its products are designed to improve retention, enliven presentations and create a fun, risk-free learning environment. The company's products are used by more than 4,000 organizations around the world and may be purchased via GSA Advantage!, Contract # GS 02F-0122N.

Resource Link: http://www.learningware.com

Paulo Freire Institute

Established in 1992 as an international non-profit institution, the Paulo Freire Institute has members from 24 countries, including the US. The Institute is dedicated to the work of Paulo Freire, who promoted a kind of citizen action research in which disempowered people (poor, illiterate, homeless) learn the reasons for their lack of power and learn how to address it through this critical education.

Resource Link: http://www.paulofreire.org

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paulo Freire.

The thought and work of Paulo Freire has had a fundamental impact in the field of education and on the overall struggle for national development in the South. In this landmark account, first published over 20 years ago, Paulo Freire argues that the ignorance and lethargy of the poor are the direct result of the systems of economic, social and political domination.

Society for Philosophical Inquiry

SPI is a grassroots nonprofit organization comprised of philosophical inquirers of all ages and walks of life who form 'communities of philosophical inquiry,' through Socrates Cafe. Cafes take place at coffee houses, libraries, hospices, senior centers, prisons, bookstores, homeless shelters, schools and more. SPI's diverse members are devoted to resuscitating the once time-honored art and skill of Socratic philosophical inquiry.

Resource Link: http://www.philosopher.org

Socrates Café Method

Developed by the Society for Philosophical Inquiry, Socrates Cafés take place at coffee houses, libraries, hospices, senior centers, prisons, bookstores, homeless shelters, schools and more. The Socrates Café® method of dialogue (based on Socrates' ways of facilitating learning through continuous questioning) is spontaneous yet rigorous, and inspires participants to articulate and discover their unique philosophical perspectives and worldview. The Cafés encourage participants to become more autonomous thinkers and more engaged and empathetic citizens.

The New Trivium

The New Trivium is a school dedicated to the application of classical philosophical disciplines to the modern practice of management and organisation. The word "school" derives from the ancient Greek scholè meaning "free space" and used to denote a haven from the cares and obligations of everyday life. The scholè could be located anywhere but was usually found in the marketplace or in the gymnasium and was dedicated to enquiry into the foundations of thought and action. Based in The Netherlands, The New Trivium organizes and leads Socratic Dialogues, and offers training in the Socratic Method. They also run programs in Personal Persuasiveness, Making Words Work, and Developing Personal Mastery.

Training for Transformation: A Handbook for Community Workers

Anne Hope and Sally Timmel. Mambo Press, Zimbabwe, 1991.

This 3-volume handbook is based on Paolo Freire's work with popular education in the Third World. Part 1 covers theory (147 pages), part 2 addresses the skills necessary for participatory education (131 pages), and part 3 includes tools of analysis and vision, building a movement, management, and planning workshops (182 pages).

Voices of Hope: The Story of the Jane Addams School for Democracy

Nan Kari and Nan Skelton, Editors. Kettering Foundation Press, 2007.

The Jane Addams School for Democracy is no ordinary school. Its diverse staff and students include refugee and immigrant adults and children; faculty and students from nine Twin Cities colleges and universities; and community residents. And 10 years after the school opened, more than 1,500 of its participants have become U.S. citizens. Voices of Hope is an engaging account of the Jane Addams School as told through the voices of the school's participants. The 144-page book features 22 essays by 12 writers, including nonnative English speakers, and more than 75 photos.

Resource Link: http://www.kettering.org/readingroom/pub_detail.aspx?pubID=&catID=2&itemID=2611