Posted: April 30 2005,18:02 |
If you wrote this report, you will find a button here that you may click in order to make changes in the report.
|
PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Yes,
Living Values Educators around the world have seen progress toward a
culture of peace and nonviolence with the children and youth with whom
we work, and in the variety of educational settings and communities
with which we are involved.
Informal, internal educator
evaluations and anecdotal stories have been collected from teachers
implementing the program in countries around the world. The most
frequent themes noted are positive changes in teacher-student
relationships and in student-student relationships both inside and
outside the classroom. Educators note an increase in respect,
caring, cooperation, motivation, and the ability to solve peer
conflicts on the part of the students. Aggressive behaviors
decline as positive social skills and respect increase.
Interviews with educators implementing Living Values Education
Programme reveal that over time there is a change in how the children,
youth and adults involved perceive and deal with challenges. As
they learn to dialogue and resolve new situations in an open atmosphere
of respect and caring, their comprehension and acceptance of
differences grows and their ability to create positive outcomes; they
become creators of peace. Educators assume more direct
responsibility and create safe, caring, values-based environments for
quality learning and quality education.
|
OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
|
LVEP
could be implemented on a much wider scale, and if so, it would affect
many more children and youth. The obstacles are limited numbers
of volunteer trainers and administrative personnel, and limited funds
for training, related travel, teacher-release time and outreach.
Another funding obstacle, especially in developing countries, is
the lack of funding for books and materials and in some cases the lack
of funds for establishing formal non-profit associations.
|
ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
|
International Usage
Living
Values Education Programme is currently being implemented in 77
countries at over 8,000 sites. While most sites are schools,
other sites are day-care centers, centers for street children, health
centers, refugee camps and drug rehabilitation clinics. The
number of students doing Living Values Education Programme at each site
varies considerably; some involve 10 students while others involve
3,000.
Living Values Education Programme
LVEP is a
comprehensive values education program. This innovative global
program offers training, a practical methodology and a wide variety of
experiential values activities to educators, facilitators, parents and
caregivers to help them provide the opportunity for children and young
adults to explore and develop universal values. Educators are asked to
think about their values, use their creativity to see how they can
incorporate values into their curriculum in a practical way and create
a values-based atmosphere. The curriculum includes Living Values
Activities for peace, respect, love, cooperation, happiness, honesty,
humility, responsibility, simplicity, tolerance, freedom and unity.
Used primarily in schools, both public and private, LVEP is also used
in informal settings. LVEP has special materials for use with
children affected by war, street children, and just recently, youth in
drug rehabilitation and children affected by earthquakes and tsunamis
During
LVEP training, educators are asked to create a values-based atmosphere
in which all students can feel respected, valued, understood, loved and
safe. Part of LVEP educator excellence is viewed as modeling the
values, respecting student opinions, and empowering children and young
adults to enjoy learning and implementing values projects.
Designed to address the whole child/person, Living Values
Activities build intrapersonal and interpersonal social and emotional
skills and values-based perspectives and behaviors. Students are
engaged in reflection, visualization, and artistic expression to draw
out their ideas; cognitive and emotional skills grow as they are
engaged in analyzing events and creating solutions. The approach
is child-centered, flexible and interactive; adults act as
facilitators.
Efforts to Promote a Culture of Peace in Schools and Education Settings
Methods:
LVE Educator Trainings are conducted to help educators establish
a values-based atmosphere consistent with their culture, and facilitate
activities from LVEP’s Living Values Activities books. In Living
Values Activities for Children Ages 3–7, Ages 8–14, and Living Values
Activities for Young Adults, reflective and imagining activities
encourage students to access their own creativity and inner gifts.
Communication activities teach students to implement peaceful
social skills. Artistic activities, songs, and dance inspire
students to express themselves while experiencing the value of focus.
Game-like activities are thought-provoking and fun; the
discussion time that follows those activities helps students explore
effects of different attitudes and behaviors. Other activities
stimulate awareness of personal and social responsibility and, for
older students, awareness of social justice. The development of
self-esteem and tolerance continues throughout the exercises. Educators
are encouraged to utilize their own rich heritage while integrating
values into everyday activities and the curriculum.
Reported
Results: Values education gives teachers new tools for
innovation, in any environment or culture. Educators often
experience their implementation of LVEP as an ongoing learning process
which helps them, and their students, create peace. Educators
report that living the values in the classroom and community allows
those involved to: 1) experience the values in their actions, and
learn about values, every day; 2) adapt to and face complex
situations and the challenges of today as they develop different
perspectives and transformative viewpoints; 3) see the classroom
as an active laboratory of diversity; and 4) create a classroom
environment which allows the participants to deal with
complexity, diversity and differences in a caring and
appreciative interdependent space. All of this helps people
participate actively in building a culture of peace through dialogue,
cooperation, respect and ethical, moral and spiritual principles.
With a variety of methodologies they expand an often cold school
curricula and creatively contribute to a positive process of deepening
in their thoughts, feelings and relationships; they learn how to build
the real processes that are required in order to “be” in the world.
The
vast majority of sites using LVEP are public and private schools.
Results vary with the percentage of educators using the program,
and the dedication and commitment of the staff to modeling and
facilitating the exploration of values. Whole schools using the
program have noted positive changes in the culture of the school, and
the tendency of students to use values to discuss current topics.
Teachers often speak of more caring and respectful relationships
with students. Aggressive behaviors and disciplinary referrals
decrease, and some schools report that attendance increases.
Educators note an increase in cooperation and the ability to use
conflict resolution skills with peers.
A few examples follow:
In Iceland, a veteran first-grade teacher reported seeing
surprising and dramatic improvements in caring, respect, cooperation,
concentration, and learning to read. In Lebanon, second-graders
in a classroom at ACS have learned conflict resolution so well that
they solve all peer conflicts themselves; the teacher reports she is
free to teach. In Australia, a year-nine student reported, “It’s not
just that I like values classes, I really enjoy them. At the start I
was dead against values, I didn’t feel like I got anything out of the
class. I distracted people and didn’t put in any effort. Then I thought
for one lesson I would really contribute. That lesson changed the way I
felt about values. I can relate to everything that we talk about. I
find myself discovering things about myself that I never knew. Values
class is really worthwhile.” In South Africa, formerly violent
secondary students now lead LVEP workshops for their peers and are
leaders for peace. For more information, please visit the Living
Values Education Web site, www.livingvalues.net.
Efforts to Promote a Culture of Peace in Refugee Camps
Methods:
For six years, LVE trainers have conducted annual workshops for
and with Karen Tribe teachers to help them learn to facilitate the LVEP
activities and establish a values-based atmosphere consistent with
their culture. Living Values Activities for Refugees and Children
Affected by War contains activities that give children an opportunity
to begin the healing process while learning about peace, respect and
love. Designed to be implemented by refugee teachers of the same
culture as the children, there are 49 lessons for children three- to
seven-years old and 60 lessons for students eight- to fourteen-years
old. The lessons provide tools to begin to deal with grief while
developing positive adaptive social and emotional skills. A
section on camp-wide strategies offers suggestions for creating a
culture of peace, conducting values education groups for
parents/caregivers, cooperative games, and supporting conflict
resolution monitors. Teachers continue with the regular living values
activities after these lessons are completed.
Reported Results:
One year after implementing LVEP, nine out of 24 Karen
refugee-camp teachers working with children and youth reported
100-percent improvement in violent behavior; the others cited an
80-percent reduction in aggressiveness. Every teacher spoke about the
changes in their students and increases in participation and
expression. Their comments included: • The students now dare to speak. • They share their pictures now, before they would just be quiet. • Before when a camp leader would come to the class they would be quiet, now they not only dare to speak, they ask questions. •
Some students when they saw conflict (in other students), they said,
“Oh, we learned about Living Values – we don’t do that.” and they
taught the other students conflict resolution.
All of the
teachers said the students fought much less frequently, and ten
teachers said that their students now did not fight at all. A woman
teacher who had done the most lessons, said of her twelve to sixteen
year-old students: “Before they had this training they used to
get angry quickly, not forgive each other quickly, and some were cruel.
Now they do not anger easily and forgive each other, and they are not
cruel, they are patient. Now, there are no fights. They try
harder, are friendlier to me, and can solve problems in the classroom.”
Three
years after the program began in the camp in which it was first
implemented, the camp leader shared that the camp section leaders no
longer had to spend so much time on problems caused by gangs of youth
from different sections fighting each other. Indeed, he said,
they did not spend even one minute are there were no longer fights.
The children now engage in positive play. If there is a
problem, they spontaneously conduct their own conflict resolution
sessions. The program has now spread to other camps along the
Thai-Myanmar border.
The refugee and children affected by war materials have also been used in very limited ways in Lebanon and Cambodia.
Efforts to Promote a Culture of Peace with Street Children
Methods:
Six-day LVE Trainings with street educators are conducted to help
them establish a values-based atmosphere consistent with their culture
and facilitate activities from LVEP’s materials for street children.
The Living Values Activities for Street Children (LVASC) books
for ages 3-6, 7-10 and 11-14, contain adapted living values activities
on peace, respect, love and cooperation and a series of stories about a
street children family. The stories serve as a medium to educate
about and to discuss issues related to domestic violence, death, AIDS,
drug sellers, drugs, sexual abuse, physical abuse, hygiene and healthy
eating. LVASC 11–14 also includes the issues of emerging sexuality, sex
and labor trafficking, and a further exploration of human rights. The
stories are combined with discussions, activities, and the development
of positive adaptive social and emotional skills and protective social
skills.
Reported Results: Since November of 2002,
LVEP trainings for street educators and agencies caring for street
children have been conducted in Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa,
Argentina, Brazil, Turkey and Senegal (in chronological order).
In
Vietnam, educators reported considerable decreases in aggression and
at-risk behaviors. Street-children educator Mrs. Tyuet reports a
dramatic change in the students and atmosphere in her class of street
children after implementing LVASC. The children now love being in the
classroom: they work harder, have developed a lot of love for the
teachers and conflict has dramatically reduced. They are also sharing
and helping each other — this is something new as before they used to
fight over toys, etc. Teachers at a centre for sexually abused girls
shared that students have developed their own values by participating
in the LVASC lessons and have greater respect for their friends and
teachers. The students’ attitudes towards each other have also changed
and they have developed greater harmony amongst themselves. They now
study much harder and enjoy their classes more. The previously frequent
conflicts have decreased considerably.
Ms. Kim Anh found the
lessons on love most special and is so grateful to be able to use LVEP
with her students. One day, a boy said in class, “I’m so hungry.” He
said this in slow words, with a white face, because of hunger. A small
boy standing near him replied sweetly and shared some bread with him.
It seems the students have adopted one of the main concepts from
LVASC’s Street Children Family Stories: A street-children family is a
family that loves and cares for each other. 2004 was the first
year of activities in Brazil with the Living Values Activities for
Street Children. Educators of institutions caring of at risk
children, with a strong history of violence in their lives, were
trained. The LVE Coordinator reported: “As first results,
educators report a significant improvement in almost all items about
behavior that are included in the evaluation; groups of teens who,
after a history of permanent conflict, achieve for the first time
discussing their differences, cooperating and loving each other;
interest of the children to continue the program, etc. There was also
an experience with delinquent minors within a specific institution: the
educator who applied the program for a group having the most negative
and aggressive behavior reports that they passed to excel within the
whole group, asked for continuity of the program and one of them wants
the educator, with his help, to apply the program to the people living
on his street, when he is free again. The improvement in self-esteem of
the children and a new look by the educators are very much visible.”
Efforts to Promote a Culture of Peace in the Home and Community
Methods:
A few LVE Teams around the world, provide community values
workshops and training for parent-group facilitators. Some LVE
Teams and schools provide workshops and parent groups to the community
or small groups of parents and caregivers. An LVEP book, Living
Values Parent Groups: A Facilitator Guide offers both process and
content for facilitators interested in conducting Living Values Parent
Groups with parents and caregivers to further understanding and skills
important in encouraging and positively developing values in children.
The first section describes content for an introductory session,
and a six-step process for the exploration of each value. In this
process, parents and caregivers reflect on their own values and how
they "live" and teach those values. The second section offers
suggestions regarding values activities the parents can do in the
group, and ideas for parents to explore at home. In the third section,
common parenting concerns are addressed, as are particular skills to
deal with those concerns.
The Results: Parents and
caregivers report benefiting from LVEP parent workshops. Comments
from parents taking a parenting workshop in Singapore include: It
“helped them revisit their values, reinforced the importance of living
their values, reaffirmed their style of parenting, made them feel
valued as the facilitator showed regard and involved them in the
dialogue, and helped them learn skills such as active listening and
conflict resolution.” A head-teacher in England commented that
doing the LVEP workshops made the parents more appreciative of what the
school was doing!”
Community values workshops have been
done by several LVE Teams in South America for parents, educators and
businesspersons. The programs are very well-received and generate
discussion on values. Each group is encouraged to look at the
effect of values in their own life and how values-based behaviors can
positively impact the local community.
About the Organization
Living
Values Education Programme is coordinated by the Association for Living
Values Education International (ALIVE), a non-profit association of
educators from around the world. It is supported by UNESCO,
sponsored by a wide variety of organizations, institutions and
individuals, and being implemented in all continents of the world.
LVEP is part of the global movement for a culture of peace in the
framework of the United Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence for the Children of the World.
ALIVE is
registered as an association in Switzerland. In some countries
national Living Values Education associations have been formed, usually
comprised of educators, education officials, and representatives of
organizations and agencies involved with student or parent education.
|
ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
The
main advice we would offer would be to promote greater awareness of the
fundamental role that education can play in forming, developing and
moulding society, so both building a culture of peace and preventing
the entrenchment within society of ills requiring more costly and
difficult remedial action. Greater emphasis must therefore be
given to ensuring that basic human values such as peace, respect,
responsibility, honesty and cooperation are accorded their rightful
place at the heart of the learning experience of all people and that
educational processes and curricula both reflect these values and
support their practical expression.
In emphasizing that
education is indispensable in creating a culture of peace we would also
offer the following specific suggestions:
• Strengthen efforts
to emphasize the importance of Quality Education, defining it as
necessarily including peace education and values education both in the
curriculum and as part of the overall educational ethos.
Comprehensive values education must be included at all levels of
learning, as education that educates the heart as well as the head is
an essential pillar of building a culture of peace.
• Increase
training in values education for educators. Creating a
values-based learning environment of peace and respect is a low-cost
yet effective method to enhance the morale and professionalism of
teachers and also nurture their caring capacities. Teaching
teachers to model respect and tolerance, and teach peace, helps
teachers build safe, healthy learning environments, and use the
interpersonal skills that help children develop their potential.
•
Increase the dissemination of parenting information and programmes,
emphasising the needs of children, including health and nutritional
needs, as well as good parenting practices. More values content
within parenting programmes would enhance their effectiveness since as
parents reflect on their own values their understanding of what is
important for children grows. Educating parents increases their
commitment to educating their children, including the education of the
girl child.
• Urge governments to fulfil their commitment to
ensuring children have food, clean water, shelter and health care,
recognising that these are a basic human need and that the lack of them
negates efforts to build a culture of peace.
• Engage all actors
in society in activities for the exploration and development of human
values, drawing attention to the relationship between the values that
characterise their own lives and the prevailing culture within the
larger community. For example, high-level leaders could be
engaged in a brief seminar on the relationship between development,
prosperity, peace and values. Such a seminar would initially
engage participants in reflecting on the effect of values in their own
life. Next, a facilitator would engage participants in
interactively “mind-mapping” the effects of honesty versus corruption
on society, business, government, education and health. This
simple method is a powerful one that highlights the effect on those
around us of our own actions and values, so making clear the ability of
each of us to contribute to building a culture of peace by paying
greater attention to expressing human values in our daily lives at all
times.
• Explore ways of funding education, peace education and
values education by contrasting the amounts governments spend on them
with the amounts spent on military budgets, and then making a
recommendation for the relative allocation of funds between them.
|
PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
The
Association for Living Values Education International (“ALIVE”) is
itself an association or network of national LVE non-profit
organizations and teams in nearly 80 countries around the world.
They work and partner with a wide variety of organizations,
institutions and individuals, including Ministries of Education,
governmental bodies, institutes of education, universities, schools,
religious and spiritual organizations, foundations, refugee camps and
volunteer groups.
While these are too numerous to list, two may
be mentioned as of particular relevance to this report, namely the
Foundation for a Culture of Peace and UNESCO.
With regard
to UNESCO, for example, in May 2000 UNESCO’s Regional Office for
Education in the Arab States collaborated with LVE in the holding of
the Arab Regional Seminar on Quality-Based Education – the Integration
of Social Skills in Classrooms and School Programmes. An
international workshop on Integrating Values in Early Childhood
Programmes/Services was co-organized by UNESCO and LVE and took place
in November 2000 in Paris. An African Regional Conference on
Values Education was held in December 2001 in Mauritius involving
UNESCO-BREDA, Living Values Education and the Mauritius Institute of
Education. UNESCO-BREDA, ALIVE and the Swiss Association
for LVE have worked together to offer values education and LVEP
workshops for primary and secondary educators, early children
development educators and street educators in workshops in November
2003 and March 2004. This cooperative relationship continues with
regard to a Plan of Action to bring LVEP Educator Trainings to many
countries in Central and West Africa and train local educators and
trainers to implement and disseminate LVEP. Living Values
Education has also worked with UNESCO-APNIEVE and APCEIU as well as
field offices in Argentina, China, Senegal and Cambodia.
|
PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
With the recent formation of the Association for Living Values Education International in Switzerland, we hope to: • Form new partnerships; •
Cooperate with eight universities around the world to research the
effects of implementing LVEP in a variety of settings; (a
UNESCO-UNITWIN Chair was recently approved); • Obtain funding for training, related travel, teacher-release time and outreach; •
Increase the availability and number of trainings for educators in both
formal and informal settings, especially in schools, refugee camps and
street children agencies; • Increase the number of whole-school sites that are implementing LVEP; • Help schools increase their involvement with parents and the community regarding a focus on values; • Obtain funding for books and student materials in developing countries; • Develop values-education programs for radio, initially in Africa; • Develop a resource of values-related stories from many cultures around the world; • Develop a tutorial DVD to help with training in remote areas; and • Develop a related series of children’s stories for parents and children.
|
Postal address of organization
|
Case Postale 123 - 1211 Genève 21, Switzerland
|
E-mail address of organization
|
lve@livingvalues.net
|
Website address of organization
|
www.livingvalues.net
|
Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
|
Education for a culture of peace
|
Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
|
Understanding, tolerance and solidarity
|
Highest priority country of action (or international)
|
International
|
Second priority country of action (or international)
|
|
Back to top |
|
|