# Presentation: 104356

## Conflict Resolution Education and Peace Education: Proven Impacts

**Tricia S. Jones, Ph.D.**
**Professor of Education**
**Dept. of Psychological Studies**
**Temple University**
**Philadelphia, PA 19122**
**Tel/fax: 215-204-7261/6013**
**E-mail: tsjones@temple.edu**

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Defining CRE

- Conflict resolution education “models and teaches, in culturally meaningful ways, a variety of processes, practices and skills that help address individual, interpersonal, and institutional conflicts, and create safe and welcoming communities. These processes, practices and skills help individuals understand conflict processes and empower them to use communication and creative thinking to build relationships and manage and resolve conflicts fairly and peacefully” (Association for Conflict Resolution, 2002).

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Introduction to CRE

- CRE programs include a variety of efforts which share various emphases:
- An understanding of conflict
- Social, emotional and cognitive processes related to constructive conflict management
- principles of conflict resolution
- process steps in problem solving
- skills required to use each of the steps effectively

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## CRE Program Models

- Mediation program approach
- Peer mediation, stand alone program
- Process curriculum approach
- Specific curriculum of conflict content, like Workable Peace, PYN
- Peaceable classroom approach
- Whole classroom methodology, curriculum infusion
- Peaceable school approach
- Comprehensive whole school methodology

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Goals of CRE 

- Enhance Students’ Social and Emotional Development
- Create a Safe Learning Environment
- Create a Constructive Learning Environment
- Create a Constructive Conflict Community

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Enhance Students’ Social and Emotional Development

- increase perspective-taking
- increase empathy
- improve emotional awareness and management
- reduce aggressive orientations and hostile attributions
- increase use of constructive conflict behaviors

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Create a Safe Learning Environment

- decrease anti-social behavior that leads to violence
- decrease conflicts between groups of students
- decrease suspensions, absenteeism, and drop out rates
- decrease incidents of violence

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Create a Constructive Learning Environment

- improve school climate
- improve teacher/administrator/student relationships
- increase valuing of diversity and practice of tolerance
- promote a respectful and caring environment

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Create a Constructive Conflict Community

- increase parental and community involvement
- link school CRE with larger commuity CRE efforts
- develop more peaceful/peaceable school community

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Defining Peace Education

- “the process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behavior changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and violence; both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace whether at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-group, national or international level” (Peace Education Working Group –UNICEF)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Goals of Peace Education

- (1) to appreciate the richness of the concept of peace
- (2) to address fears
- (3) to provide information about security
- (4) to understand war behavior
- (5) to develop intercultural understanding
- (6) to provide a “futures” orientation
- (7) to teach peace as a process
- (8) to promote a concept of peace accompanied by social justice
- (9) to stimulate a respect for life
- (10) to manage conflicts nonviolently
- Harris and Morrison 2003

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Relationship between CRE and PE

- Obvious overlap.
- Harris and Morrison consider CRE a component of PE
- Sommers (2001) notes that although both focus on conflict skills, appreciation of difference, nonviolent response, Peace Education is more focused on non-domestic (USA) application and Peace Education has a stronger focus on social justice and war

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## DOES CRE/PE WORK?

- Given the emphasis on proven effectiveness of programs, links to funding and other institutionalization issues, there is a need to review the research in terms of whether CRE  and PE programs achieve their stated goals.

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## General Review Articles 

- CRE
- Jones & Kmitta (2000) (comprehensive)
- Johnson & Johnson (1996) (comprehensive)
- Johnson, Johnson & Tjosvold (2000) (constructive controversy)
- Johnson & Johnson (2001) (Teaching Students to be Peacemakers)
- Burrell et al (2003) (peer mediation)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## General Review Articles 

- SEL
- Greenberg et al (2003)
- Zins et al (in press)
- Weissberg & Greenberg (1998)
- Sandy & Cochran (2000) (preschool)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## General Review Articles 

- PE
- Nevo & Brem (2002)
- Reviewed 1000 publications in peace education between 1981-2000.
- 30% had some effectiveness evaluation
- Only 79 had enough detail for analysis
- Of those, 51 pieces indicated full or partial program effectiveness

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## General Review Articles 

- Intergroup Contact and Prejudice reduction
- Pettigrew & Tropp (2000)
- Metanalysis of 203 studies
- 94% show reduced prejudice from intervention of intergroup contact
- Maoz (2002)
- Analysis of 47 peaceful coexistence programs in Israel 1999-2000

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Bullying Prevention Programs

- Olweus (1991, 1994) –Scandanavia
- Pepler et al (1994) – Canada
- Whitney et al (1994) – England
- Melton et al (1998) – United States
- Horne (2003) – United States
- All show decreases in aggression, bullying and victimization

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Benefits: Enhance Students’ Social and Emotional Development 

- CRE INCREASES
- Perspective taking (Jones et al, 1998; Lane-Garon, 1998 )
- Constructive conflict behavior (Johnson, Johnson, 1996)
- constructive CR at home and school (Johnson & Johnson 2001; Sandy & Cochran, 2000)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

##  Benefits: Enhance Students’ Social and Emotional Development 

- Decreased Aggressiveness
- (Jones et al, 1998)
- 3 x 3 (program model – peer mediation v. peaceable classroom v. control; educational level – elementary, middle, high) in three cities (27 schools, 8500 students, 700 teachers/staff)
- Verbal aggressiveness and aggressive orientation
- (Aber, Brown & Jones, 2003)
- Hostile Attribution and aggressive orientation
- Fast et al (2003)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Benefits: Create a Safe Learning Environment

- CRE decreases
- Discipline referrals/suspensions for violent incidents
- (Shapiro, Burgoon, Welker, & Clough (2002)
- Grades 4-8, n = 2,000, urban, pre-post and control
- 41% decrease in aggression-related disciplinary incidents
- 67% reduction in suspensions for violent behavior
- (Farrell, Meyer, & White, 2001)
- Grade 6, pre-post and control, urban
- Impact on violent behavior was more evident for those with high pretest levels of problem behavior
- Impact maintain at 12 month follow-up
- Discipline Referral in Special Needs Population (Jones & Bodtker, 2000)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Benefits: Create a Constructive Learning Environment

- Increases Academic Achievement
- (Stevahn, Johnson, Johnson, & Shultz, 2002)
- 9th grade, pre-post, randomized assignment, control groups
- Integrating CRE into academic course promoted higher academic achievement, greater long-term retention of academic learning, and greater transfer of academic learning in social studies to language arts
- Increases academic performance and work readiness (Aber, Brown & Jones, 2003; Overall –Zins et al, in press)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Benefits: Create a Constructive Learning Environment

- Improves Classroom Climate
- Jones & Sanford (2003) National Curriculum Integration Project
- 4 middle schools, academic year period, pre-post, control groups
- NCIP had a very strong, positive impact on classroom climate.
- NCIP had a profound influence on students’ perceptions of their learning environment

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Benefits: Create a Constructive Learning Environment

- Improves School Climate
- Jones et al., (1998)
- Using Organizational Health Inventory
- Improvement in school climate different for education levels; elementary schools had greatest increase in climate; but at all levels CRE schools had significantly better, sustained school climate than control schools
- Lane-Garon & Richardson (2003)

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.

## Institutionalization of CRE 

- Teacher training is Critical for Program Fidelity
- Aber, Brown & Jones (2003)
- Poor implementation worse than no implementation
- Van Scholack (2000)
- Teacher practices critical to success
- Jones & Sanford (2003)
- “Expert” teachers gained more significant impacts than “novice” teachers using CRE

- Copyright 2004, Tricia S. Jones. Distribution without alteration is permitted. Alteration for personal use is not permitted.