Workable Peace Curriculum

Workable Peace is an innovative secondary school curriculum, teaching, and learning project that integrates the study of intergroup conflict and the development of crucial civic and social skills into social studies and humanities classes. Workable Peace provides teachers with academically rigorous training on teaching history and intergroup conflict, and provides extensive curriculum materials and resources. Using a unique combination of content and skill activities, Workable Peace enables students to learn about conflict in ways that enliven the imagination, awaken moral reasoning, and impart social and civic skills that they can use throughout their lives.

About the Workable Peace Curriculum

A decade in development and classroom testing, Workable Peace was developed by the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The Workable Peace Curriculum Units consist of a series of seven curriculum guides for secondary schools and youth programs. Each Curriculum Unit reflects core concepts and content in State and National curriculum standards. They have been been successfully used by middle and high schools across the United States and internationally, as well as by post-secondary institutions ranging from community colleges to the graduate level. 

The Seven Workable Peace Curriculum Units Include:

• Civil Rights and School Integration in the United States
• Managing Conflict in the Middle East
• The Rise of Organized Labor in the United States
• Religion and Nationalism in Northern Ireland
• Indigenous Rights and the Environment in Latin America
• Ethnic Conflict and Genocide in Post-Colonial Africa
• Ancient Greece and the Peloponnesian War

For an overview of the Workable Peace Curriculum in action, watch the videos below:

What Teachers and Students Say About Workable Peace...

“Workable Peace is a program that really does work! My students were involved until the very end and they learned a lot.”

“Performing in this role play gave me a chance to speak in class, and allowed me to have an opinion on what we were working on, which I find I can’t do a lot in my classes.”

“It is imperative that people learn how to deal with conflicts, and how to resolve them appropriately without violence… This simulation is one of the best things that we do in school.”

“Not only did this unit teach me about history, culture, and politics, but about peaceful negotiations and what it takes to create a society in which all members feel accepted and independent.”

Additional Workable Peace Teacher Resources

CBI staff members are available to provide tailored training for teachers and administrators interested in developing conflict resolution and negotiation skills as well as learning to effectively implement Workable Peace in their classrooms.

For more information or to learn about training options contact: 

Stacie Nicole Smith
Director, Workable Peace
Senior Associate, Consensus Building Institute   
Phone: (617) 844-1124