Supporting Literacy and Peace Education with Youth: A Community Mentorship Study

Alexia Georgakopoulos, Cheryl Lynn Duckworth, Kristie Jo Redfering, Yehuda Silverman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study addressed the issue of early literacy and peace education among community youth (ages six to nine years old) involved in the mentorship program, READING PEACE PALS. 65 mentors engaged with 110 youth from the Boys and Girls Clubs in South Florida to teach peace education through collaborating on creative forms of literacy, art, and writing. The purpose of this study was to discover the effectiveness of the program in terms of how youth and mentors perceived it in relation to cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning of peace education and literacy. Youth positively perceived their mentors, conveyed that what they learned would impact their engagement with others in their community, and perceived enhancement in their literacy skills. Mentors overall also reported positive impact for the children regarding literacy, concepts of peace and peaceful behaviors.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)25-40
JournalPeace Studies Journal
Volume10
Issue number2
StatePublished - Jul 1 2017

Keywords

  • community engagement
  • literacy
  • peace education
  • peace pal program

Disciplines

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences

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