Restorative justice pedagogies, such as dialogue or peacemaking circles, allow students to learn how to share and listen with peers, set boundaries for moral dialogue, and engage constructively with each other's perspectives. This study is part of a larger project focused on teachers' professional development and circle implementation. The focus…

In this appreciative response to Jennifer Hauver's article about elementary children's negotiation of analytic frames in deliberative dialogue during input into a school governance decision, Bickmore argues for the value of such agentic, citizenship-relevant learning opportunities in public schools. She points to their unfortunate infrequency (to…

Schools can play an important part in helping diverse young people see themselves as citizens. This paper examines a broad range of school-based learning opportunities that influence young people's development of knowledge and inclinations for handling conflict. The ingredients for conflict resolution can be taught. Like violence, nonviolence is a…

This paper explores the ways diverse elementary school students may be taught to understand and respond constructively to social and interpersonal conflict, by studying the implemented curriculum in one public elementary classroom. In this urban Canadian classroom, well over half of the 33 students were recent immigrants with diverse language and…

Social studies education in the United States has been viewed by many as a forum in which to socialize new citizens, to ensure that people of differing backgrounds have a history and ideals that they can share. Social studies also is perceived by some as a vehicle through which students can learn the value of conflict and difference, in the…