Workable Peace Independent
Evaluation Report: 1998-1999
Executive Summary
Methodology: Our independent evaluation team - consisting of Deborah Donahue-Keegan and Maria LaRusso - was contracted by the Consensus Building Institute, Inc. to evaluate the 1998-99 implementation of Workable Peace at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School (CRLS). Workable Peace is a high school level curriculum that aims to teach students about intergroup conflict management.
The primary goal of this evaluation is to provide CBI with a synthesis of significant qualitative and quantitative research findings, and a list of key recommendations towards further development of the Workable Peace curriculum. Sources of data collection: pre- and post-implementation interviews with student focus groups, and teachers; pre- and post-implementation student survey data; student written work; teacher evaluation reports; classroom observations; and interview meetings with Workable Peace (WP) staff.
Findings: Teachers report that the WP curriculum provides a useful lens for understanding and teaching about historical conflicts and current international crises. The changes teachers perceive to be associated with WP include: building community, applying the framework to other inter-group conflicts, and demonstrating improved listening and perspective-taking skills.
In general, students find the WP framework useful for enhancing their understanding of intergroup conflict. Student reports of the impact of a WP include: increased tolerance for different points of view, improved negotiation skills, an understanding of the importance of perspective-taking, providing actual experience resolving conflict, an understanding of the effectiveness of compromise and the obstacles to negotiation, and a feeling of greater closeness among classmates.
The depth of learning achieved by students required more time than would be permitted by coverage-oriented curricula, but students are more likely to remember what they learned about both content and process from the WP curriculum. Additionally, students have demonstrated an increased ability to develop a deeper understanding of not only of the conflicts presented in the WP curriculum materials, but also of other historical conflicts.
WP is effective at promoting student understanding of why intergroup conflicts develop, and at helping students develop perspective-taking skills. Additional work is needed to make the curriculum more effective in teaching negotiation skills.