Interest in civil resistance movements and nonviolent action is rising among high school students.  Whether driven by current events in their country, growing media attention that civil resistance movements are receiving, or other causes, opportunities need to be created for these students to follow their interest and pursue study of this field.

Studying civil resistance movements and nonviolent action as an applied science and creative engagement can have numerous benefits for young students, including:

• Understanding new ways of engagement in making social, political, and economic change in their communities.  This can lead to heightened engagement and a sense of empowerment.
• Preparing students for university-level study.  There is a profusion of scholarly literature, and a growing number of courses on civil resistance offered at various universities in the areas of conflict, peace and security studies, political science, international relations, history, and sociology.
• Offering students general knowledge and skills that are relevant to future advanced studies in any of the broadly understood social sciences.
• For career-oriented students who know they want to pursue work in foreign policy, government, community organizing, journalism, advocacy, or civil society organizations, learning about civil resistance movements and nonviolent action can be a career-oriented learning opportunity.  As this phenomenon increasingly shapes international affairs and domestic politics in countries around the world, government and civic actors are increasingly likely to encounter this phenomenon in their work. In such cases, knowledge about civil resistance movements is an important competency

In Fall 2016, ICNC  launched its first ever grant program for high school educators from around the world to support development and implementation of education on civil resistance movements and nonviolent action for high school students.

The first seven fellows of the program have been selected from the pool of excellent applicants who responded to the call. The fellows came from different parts of the world (Mauritania, Afghanistan, United States, South Africa, Hungary) and developed and thought civil resistance courses for the high school students in Winter, Spring and Summer of 2017.

View last year’s 2018 High School Curriculum Fellows:

View the final evaluations and learning assessments from the 2016 High School Curriculum Fellows:

• Ahmadullah Archiwal, Umara Khan High School: Course evaluation & learning assessment
• Elizabeth “Betsy” Cepparulo, Wilmington Friends School: Course evaluation & learning assessment
• Regina Feldman, Montessori High School at University Circle : Course evaluation & learning assessment