Prevention of School Violence through Civic Education Curricula: Year One of a National Demonstration Program. Policy Research Project Report.

This report examines specific elements of the School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program (SVPDP) of the Center for Civic Education, providing data from an assessment of the first-year SVPDP implementation process. Chapter 1 examines the state of violence prevention and civic education in American schools. Chapter 2 outlines the 1999-00 SVPDP research strategy and design, the program's first-year implementation plan, and the challenges of balancing the SVPDP's implementation and research objectives. Chapter 3 profiles the seven first-year SVPDP pilot districts, highlighting characteristics shaping the program's implementation in each district. Chapters 4-8 assess the seven pilot sites' first year implementation, identifying the influence of several classroom, school, school district, and community factors: SVPDP site coordinators and site evaluators; SVPDP teachers and teacher training workshops; SVPDP curricular materials and culminating activities; the physical, instructional, and policy environments of the SVPDP classrooms and schools; and SVPDP-related school district, parent, and community factors. Chapter 9 concludes by affirming the importance of curriculum-based civic education programs such as the SVPDP, recommending key action steps to support the sound, long-term use of civic education curricular materials for school violence prevention. Five appendixes contain questionnaires and curriculum outlines. (SM)