Empowering Peace and Justice Education: An Actionable Framework for Elementary Educators and Learners

Learn how to thoughtfully embed the tenants of peace education into your own life, classroom, curriculum and school culture with this practical and timely guidebook that features action steps across developmental levels. Rooted in hope, empowerment, culturally relevant pedagogy and trauma informed care, this book provides an overview of peace education and the peace actions; sample lessons and practices; and resources for supporting you in implementing these ideas across content areas, with an emphasis on literacy, language, and social emotional learning. The book details how creating a culture of peace is an opportunity for all students and educators to flourish, to create the space to meet students where they are, bringing their assets to the forefront and building culturally affirming systems. Providing kind, practical recommendations in an accessible and eye-opening way, Empowering Peace and Justice Education is an essential read for any teacher or school leader who wants to move from vision to action in co-creating brave democratic spaces and realizing a more just and peaceful world.

Julie Lillie, M.S., is a peace-centered educator with over fifteen years of experience in diverse preK-12 settings, including as a teacher, instructional leader, literacy specialist, equity coach and curriculum developer.

Carey Seeley Dzierzak, Ed.D., is a dedicated social-justice centered educator involved in education for over twenty-five years working in diverse settings. She has been a first-grade and literacy teacher, instructional coach, curriculum director, assistant principal and principal.