They argue that important goals of CRE should include the creation of communities that empower students and promote the development of tolerance that promotes social change and the reduction of oppressive systems. Relationship of CRE to Other Fields One of the difficulties in selecting, implementing, and evaluating a CRE program is the apparent overlap between these efforts and a variety of other initiatives. Understanding the overlap may help you decide on the kind of program you want and on the goals you are most interested in achieving. This, of course, will help clarify the focus of your evaluation process. 1. VP is more limited in scope in that conflict resolution education is concerned with issues and situations beyond violence.
CRE is broader in the sense that it focuses on nonviolent as well as violent episodes.
But, VP is interested in violence that occurs outside of conflict situations. CRE focuses more on the event itself, trying to find alternatives for resolving the conflict and repairing the relationship. VP emphasizes policy change while CR emphasizes individual skill building and community education. Many people have argued convincingly that CRE does and should overlap with anti-bias education because prejudice may be an underlying cause for conflict and we need to realize the impact of prejudice on the school and community. Anti-bias education probably encompasses the broadest mission of the disciplines.