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Lions-Quest developed the Working Toward Peace (WTP) curriculum for classroom teachers to teach anger management and conflict resolution skills to students ages 10–14. WTP contains both primary and secondary prevention strategies to decrease violence and promote positive social behaviors. Based primarily on social learning theory, the WTP curriculum teaches students to a) manage their own anger, b) understand conflict, c) manage conflict appropriately, and d) use problem-solving techniques to resolve conflicts peacefully.
The curriculum concentrates on five key components: a classroom curriculum, a guide to safe schools for teachers and administrators, family involvement, community involvement, and professional development for implementers. The curriculum has 22 core sessions and a Skills Bank with 6 basic life-skills sessions. Multidisciplinary extensions link sessions with other related content areas: art, computer technology, drama, health, language arts, math, music, physical education, science, and social studies. The program is structured to change students’ attitudes about how to interact with others, increase their knowledge about nonviolent techniques, and foster the behaviors that will help young people apply this knowledge. Designed for delivery by the classroom teacher once a week, each lesson is 40–50 minutes long.
The WTP program was evaluated with an untreated control-group quasi-experimental design, with pretest and posttest measures. The program was tested in 1994 in 26 middle schools (grades 6–8). Principals from each school randomly assigned classes in their schools into one of three conditions. The first experimental group participated only in the Lions-Quest Working Toward Peace violence prevention program (n=163). The second experimental group participated only in the Lions-Quest Skills for Adolescence (SFA) life skills program (n=151). The third group was the control, and it received no intervention (n=176). Teachers used the curriculum (either WTP or SFA) 1 day a week during the 1st intervention semester. Teachers taught the material twice a week the following semester. Each session was 40–50 minutes long. Each student was asked to fill out questionnaires that included anger management knowledge tests both before the program implementation and after program completion. The school system also collected data on selected academic measures such as grades, attendance, achievement test scores, and teachers’ reports of violent behavior, misconduct, and prosocial behavior. Posttests were given following each semester as well as 4–5 months following the end of the intervention. Finally, teachers were trained by Lions-Quest to rate behavior, such as prosocial interactions, on a daily basis. In addition to objective testing, teachers evaluated portfolio items such as worksheets, notebook entries, television anger logs, and written and oral reports on the biography of a peacemaker.
The evaluation findings suggest that students who participated in the WTP program demonstrated the highest increase in knowledge about anger resolution and conflict management. Violent activities decreased among WTP students and remained low for 4–5 months after the intervention, while control group students doubled their violent events. Cases of classroom misconduct among WTP students decreased by 50 percent, and prosocial interaction occurred at twice the rate when compared with control group students. Truancy was more prevalent among non-WTP students. The grade point average of WTP students increased in all subject areas, while the grades of control group students showed no appreciable change.
Laird, Molly, Michael Syropoulos, and Steven Black. 1996. What Works in Violence Prevention: Findings From an Evaluation Study of Lions-Quest “Working Toward Peace” in Detroit Schools. Newark, Ohio: Quest International.
Lions-Quest. 1999. Evaluation Report: The Impact of Lions-Quest Programs. Newark, Ohio: Quest International.
Greg Long
Lions-Quest
1984 Coffman Road
Newark, OH 43055
Phone: (740) 522-6404
Fax: (740) 522-6580
E-mail: gregorylong@alltel.net
Web site: http://www.lions-quest.org
Mark Bularzik
Lions Clubs International Foundation
300 West 22nd Street
Oak Brook, IL 60523–8842
Phone: (630) 571-5466
Fax: (630) 571-5735
E-mail: Mark.Bularzik@lionsclubs.org
Web site: http://www.lions-quest.org
