A USIP Project Fact Sheet
Advancing Global Peacebuilding Education in U.S. Secondary Schools
The U.S. Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Peace Teachers Program is rooted in the conviction that educators can be pivotal in bringing themes of global conflict and peace into their classrooms, schools, and communities. At a time when violent international conflict regularly dominates headlines, teachers are the key to helping young people obtain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to envision their role in creating a more peaceful world and shape new ways to manage violent conflict. While educators often welcome this role, many face challenges — including a lack of information about how to teach global peacebuilding in an approachable format.
The Program
The Peace Teachers Program selects up to one outstanding American middle or high school teacher from each U.S. state and D.C. each year to receive education, resources, and support to strengthen their teaching of international conflict and the possibilities of peace. Over the course of the school year, these teachers:
- Develop their understanding of international conflict management and peacebuilding through online coursework and other USIP opportunities.
- Discover new ways to teach about global conflict and peace and identify concrete actions for integrating these concepts and skills into their classrooms.
- Build connections with like-minded educators and USIP through monthly virtual meetings.
- Serve as ambassadors and models for teaching about global conflict and peace in their schools and broader communities.
The program is part of USIP’s public education work. Grounded in the Institute’s original mandate from Congress, our public education team serves the American people by providing resources and initiatives for K-12 students and educators, as well as others interested in learning about — and working for — peace.
What Peace Teacher Do
USIP’s Peace Teachers advance their students’ understanding of international conflict and the possibilities of peace in diverse ways that align with their content:
- A Colorado teacher’s middle school students used USIP resources to research and write letters to their U.S. senators on peacebuilding solutions to global issues.
- An Oregon high school student was so inspired by his teacher’s lesson on the role of empathy in peacebuilding that he dedicated his regular column in the local newspaper to the subject, spreading the ideas further.
- Students in a high school class in North Carolina spoke with a former Secretary of State about critical world events following a connection made by their teacher at a USIP event.
- A high school social studies teacher from Texas inspired her students to research peacebuilding organizations and design their own to address an international conflict that mattered to them.
- To celebrate the International Day of Peace on September 21, Peace Teachers’ students around the country have held school-wide Peace Weeks, hosted virtual guest speakers on critical international issues, created school artwork, designed a peace quilt, constructed paper cranes to send to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, participated in a social media campaign in solidarity with Afghan peacebuilders, and more.
For more information on the Peace Teachers Program and other USIP resources for educators and students, visit www.usip.org/public-education.
