The ultimate goal of peace education is the formation of responsible, committed, and caring citizens who have integrated the values into everyday life and acquired the skills to advocate for them.

Betty A. Reardon (born 1929) is acknowledged worldwide as a founder of peace education. For over 40 years she has developed curricula, taught courses, led teacher-training workshops, and given countless talks to grassroots meetings, university symposia, and international conferences. She founded the Peace Education Center at Teachers College (Columbia University) and has been centrally involved in organizing internationally for peace education. Now retired from Teachers College, she continues to travel widely and to teach about peace education in many settings.

Betty Reardon was brought up in Rye, near New York City. Recalling important influences on her life, she writes: "My mother was a feminist but did not know it and an outspoken antiracist when it was not the norm in the community. I had some wonderful teachers, one of whom taught the realities of racial injustice and 'internationalism' - taking us to sessions at Flushing Meadow where the UN General Assembly met before world headquarters were built." Betty became a teacher, and in 1963, she started full-time in peace education with the Institute of World Order. She was concerned with critical inquiry into war as a system. This was a difficult time to undertake such work in the USA as many people supported the Vietnam War. Betty was subject to "official observation" as were most peace movement people. For over 40 years Betty has developed curricula for peace education, taught courses, led teacher-training workshops, and given countless talks to grassroots meetings, university symposia, and international conferences. She founded the Peace Education Center at Teachers College (Columbia University) and used this institutional niche to organize the International Institute on Peace Education. Betty was centrally involved in the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education. She has been a visiting professor at universities across the USA and abroad, served as a consultant to several UN agencies and education organizations, and published widely on peace, human rights education, and women's issues. She is acknowledged worldwide as a pioneer and founder of peace education, and received the Unesco Honorable Mention Award in 2001. Betty has inspired many people to take peace work and education as their life's endeavor.

Peace Education Center at Teachers College (Columbia University) Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education