Conflict Resolution Education A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings.
Program Report
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Education: Front
Matter
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
11 pages
19,455 bytes
Conflict Resolution Education
A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools,
Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and
Juvenile Justice Settings
Program Report
Donna Crawford and Richard Bodine
October 1996
Shay Bilchik, Administrator
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention
U.S. Department of Justice
Gerald N. Tirozzi, Assistant Secretary
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
U.S. Department of Education
-------------------------------
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the
National Institute of Justice, and the Office for
Victims of Crime.
The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is
a component of the U.S. Department of Education.
Among the programs within the Office of Elementary
and Secondary Education is the Safe and Drug-Free
Schools Program.
-------------------------------
Conflict is a natural, vital part of life. When
conflict is understood, it can become an
opportunity to learn and create. The challenge for
people in conflict is to apply the principles of
creative cooperation in their human relationships.
Richard Bodine, Donna Crawford, and Fred Schrumpf
Creating the Peaceable School: A Comprehensive
Program for Teaching Conflict Resolution
-------------------------------
Foreword
Safe and orderly environments in our Nation's
schools are essential to promoting high standards
for learning and ensuring that all children have
the opportunity to develop to their fullest
potential. No teacher should ever fear to walk into
a classroom, and no child should ever stay home
from school because he or she is afraid. Too often,
however, young people face conflicts before,
during, and after school. They are subjected to
bullying, teasing, and senseless, sometimes fatal,
disputes over clothing and other possessions. Many
of these conflicts either begin at school, or they
are brought into school from the home or the
community.
A growing body of evidence suggests that we are not
powerless to prevent these destructive behaviors.
We can intervene successfully to prevent conflicts
from escalating into violent acts by providing
young people with the knowledge and skills needed
to settle disputes peacefully. Conflict resolution
education can help bring about significant
reductions in suspensions, disciplinary referrals,
academic disruptions, playground fights, and family
and sibling disputes. It is important to understand
that conflict resolution education is a critical
component of comprehensive, community-based efforts
to prevent violence and reduce crime.
Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to
Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving
Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice
Settings was developed for educators, juvenile
justice practitioners, and others in youth-serving
organizations to heighten awareness of conflict
resolution education and its potential to help
settle disputes peacefully in a variety of
settings. A joint project of the U.S. Department of
Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, this
Guide provides background information on conflict
resolution education; an overview of four widely
used, promising, and effective approaches; and
guidance on how to initiate and implement conflict
resolution education programs in various settings.
As adults, we cannot solve young people's problems
for them. We can, however, provide them with the
knowledge, skills, and encouragement to resolve
conflicts in a nonviolent manner, using words
instead of fists or weapons. Conflict resolution
education includes negotiation, mediation, and
consensus decisionmaking, which allow all parties
involved to explore peaceful solutions to a
conflict. When these problem-solving processes to
conflict and strife become a way of life, young
people begin to value getting along instead of
getting even or getting their way.
We urge you to help make our schools and our
communities safer places. We invite you to use this
Guide as a means of working with your schools,
community organizations, and other youth-serving
and juvenile justice settings to give our youth the
skills, techniques, and tools they need to learn
and to resolve disputes in a safe and nonviolent
environment.
Janet Reno
Attorney General
Richard W. Riley
Secretary of Education
-------------------------------
Acknowledgments
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S.
Department of Education (ED) recognize the
dedication and commitment of Donni LeBoeuf, Senior
Program Manager, Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs,
DOJ; and Charlotte Gillespie, Group Leader, Program
Service Team, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program,
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, ED.
Their diligence, work, and enthusiasm for this
project have helped to bring the vision of this
Guide to fruition.
We are indebted to Donna Crawford and Richard
Bodine of the Illinois Institute for Dispute
Resolution who spent countless hours writing and
refining the manuscript to convey the variety of
approaches within the field of conflict resolution
education and the potential of all these approaches
for bringing about peaceful resolution of disputes
in a number of settings.
We also thank Judith Filner of the National
Institute for Dispute Resolution for her work in
drafting an initial outline for the manuscript and
providing her knowledge of effective and promising
programs. In addition, we thank the following
members of the Conflict Resolution Education
Planning Committee whose ideas and expertise helped
bring this project to its completion: Lee Arbetman,
Margery Baker, Shay Bilchik, Noel Brennan, Eileen
M. Garry, George Henderson, Emily Martin, William
Modzeleski, Gail Padgett, John J. Wilson, and
Judith Zimmer.
We are grateful to the following individuals for
their counsel, guidance, and support throughout
this project: Terry Amsler, Ron Ativissimo, Rebecca
Atnafou, Vicki Baldwin, Linda Barnes-Robinson,
Marcia Choo, Richard Cohen, Irene Cooper-Basch,
Jared Curhan, Mary Czajkowski, Robin
Delany-Shabazz, Larry Dieringer, Dennis D. Embry,
Lucy Friedman, Lynn Glassman, Barbara Greenberg,
Mark Greenberg, J. David Hawkins, Shelia Heen,
Patti Holman, David Johnson, Ted Johnson, Marianne
Klink, Nancy Langan, Linda Lantieri, Linda Lausell,
Ray Leal, Raul Martinez, John Mazzarella, Pamela
Moore, Marilyn Moses, Cheryl Niro, Dennis Noonan,
Gayle Olson-Raymer, Laura Otey, Kenneth E. Powell,
Ellen Raider, Tom Roderick, Laura Parker Roerden,
David Roush, Melinda Smith, Ronald Stephens, Susan
Stroud, Marcia Sweedler, Annette Townley, Lloyd H.
Van Bylevelt, Martin Walsh, and Terry Wheeler. This
Guide would not have been possible without the
steadfast effort and careful review provided by all
of these experts and practitioners.
Finally, we wish to express our appreciation to the
staff of the Juvenile Justice Resource Center,
especially Laurie Shah and Janet McNaughton, who
gathered information, edited the manuscript, and
prepared the document for publication.
Additionally, the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse,
under the guidance of Catherine Doyle, deserves our
thanks for their work in bringing the final
manuscript through the publication process.
-------------------------------
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Introduction
 Purposes of Conflict Resolution Education
  Responsible Citizenship
  Violence Prevention and Safe Schools
  Systemic Change
 Rationale for Establishing Conflict Resolution
 Programs
 How the Guide Is Organized
Chapter 1: Understanding Conflict Resolution
 Origins of Conflict
  Basic Psychological Needs
  Limited Resources
  Different Values
 Responses to Conflict
  Outcomes of Soft, Hard, and Principled Responses
 Problem-Solving Processes
 Principles of Conflict Resolution
 Foundation Abilities for Conflict Resolution
 Steps in the Problem-Solving Process
 Approaches to Conflict Resolution Education
Chapter 2: Process Curriculum Approach
 The Program for Young Negotiators
  Teacher Training and Community Involvement
  Negotiation Curriculum
  Followup Opportunities
  Ongoing Curriculum Development and Innovation
 The Peace Education Foundation
  Mediation
  Parent Involvement
 National Institute for Citizen Education in the
 Law
  Middle and High School Programs and Curricular
  Materials
  Elementary Programs and Curricular Materials
  Process Curriculum in Juvenile Justice Settings
Chapter 3: Mediation Program Approach
 The Mediation Process
 Peer Mediation Programs
  Peer Mediation Training
  Peer Mediation Opportunity
 Peer Mediation in Schools Program From the New
 Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution
  Teacher Modeling
  Curriculum Component
  Mediation Component
 Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution
  Phase I: Develop the Program Team and
  Commitment
  Phase II: Design and Plan the Program
  Phase III: Select and Train the Mediators
  Phase IV: Educate a Critical Mass
  Phase V: Develop and Execute a Promotional
  Campaign
  Phase VI: Program Operation and Maintenance
Chapter 4: Peaceable Classroom Approach
 Curriculum Integration and Classroom Management
 Cooperative Learning and Academic Controversy
 Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers Program
  Faculty Create a Cooperative Environment
  Faculty Teach Students To Be Peacemakers
  Faculty Implement the Peacemaker Program
  Faculty Refine and Upgrade the Students' Skills
 Educators for Social Responsibility
  ESR Core 4-Day Training Model
  Ongoing Followup and Support
Chapter 5: Peaceable School Approach
 Peaceable School Transformation
 Systemic Change
 Resolving Conflict Creatively Program
  Professional Development for Teachers and Other
  Staff
  K-12 Curriculum
  Peer Mediation
  Administrator Training
  Parent Training
 Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution
  Fundamental Skill Areas
   Building a Peaceable Climate
   Understanding Conflict
   Understanding Peace and Peacemaking
   Mediation
   Negotiation
   Group Problem Solving
  Other Areas of Development
   Professional Development
   Parent Education
   Community Initiatives
Chapter 6: Juvenile Justice and Alternative
Education Initiatives
 Juvenile Justice Facilities
 The Community Board Program
  Voluntary Participation
  Types of Disputes Handled by Conflict Managers
  Types of Conflicts Not Handled
  Conflict Manager Selection
  Conflict Manager Training
  Conflict Manager Supervision
  Potential Benefits of Conflict Manager Programs
 Alternative Schools
 International Center for Cooperation and Conflict
 Resolution
  Training Components
  Impact of the ICCCR Conflict Resolution Project
Chapter 7: Parent and Community Initiatives
 Parent Education
  Primary Prevention
  Early Intervention
   Parents as Teachers Program
   Parents Anonymous, Inc.
   Franklin Mediation Services and Head Start of
   Franklin County, Massachusetts
 Community Programs
  Community Mediation Programs
  Lawyers Adopt-a-School Program
  East Cleveland Youth Services Mobile Mediation
  Project
  Roxbury Conflict Resolution Project
   Community Component
   Recruitment and Selection of Community Youth
   Community Outreach Component
   Community-to-School, School-to-Community
   Component
   Community Buy-In and Implications for
Replication
  The Community Board Program
   Parental Involvement in Whole-School Work
   Partnerships Between School and Community
   Mediation Programs
  Boys & Girls Clubs of America
  AmeriCorps Conflict Resolution Training Project
  Community Relations Service
 The Arts and Conflict Resolution
  Urban smARTS Program
  Pathways to Success Program
  Arts and Prevention Projects
  California Lawyers for the Arts
Chapter 8: Conflict Resolution Research and
Evaluation
 Early Research
 Studies on the Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers
 Program
 Other Research
 Implications of Research on Risk Factors and
 Resilience
  Risk Factors for Violent and Antisocial Behavior
  Protective Factors
  The Relation Between Resilience and Conflict
  Resolution
Chapter 9: Developmentally Appropriate Practice
 Age-Appropriate Instruction
Chapter 10: Establishing Conflict Resolution
Education Programs
 Analyzing School Conflict: Needs Assessment
 Selecting Conflict Resolution Education
 Programs/Curriculums
 Implementing Conflict Resolution Education
 Selecting Staff Development Providers/Trainers
 Important Factors for Successful Implementation
  Administrative Commitment and Support
  Faculty Commitment and Support
  Parent Involvement and Support
 Program Evaluation
Appendices
Appendix A: Contact Information
 Conflict Resolution Consultation and Training
 Resources
 Programs Cited in This Guide
Appendix B: Conflict Resolution Curriculum
Resources
 Foundation Abilities
 Process Curriculum
 Mediation
 Peaceable Classroom
 Peaceable School
Appendix C: Conflict Resolution Reading List
Appendix D: Conflict Resolution Glossary
NOTE: Because of the limitations of the ASCII
plain-text format, Appendixes E, F, and G were
omitted from this file. They can be found in the
Adobe Acrobat and hardcopy versions of this
document.
Appendix H: Strategic Planning Process
Appendix I: The Story of Little Red Riding Hood
and the Wolf, Retold Through Negotiation
List of Figures
Figure 1: Understanding Conflict
Figure 2: Seven Elements of Negotiation
Figure 3:The Six Developmental Phases of the
Mediation Program of the Illinois Institute for
Dispute Resolution
Figure 4: The Problem-Solving Negotiation Procedure
Figure 5: C.H.O.I.C.E.S. for Managing Conflict
Figure 6: Risk Factors for Health and Behavior
Problems
Figure 7: Sample Needs Assessment Questionnaire
Figure 8: Sample Conflict Resolution Survey
List of Tables
Table 1: Recommended Time for Peer Mediation
Training
Table 2: Punishment Versus Discipline
Table 3: Characteristics of Resilient Children
Table 4: Age-Appropriate Sequence for Acquiring the
Foundation Abilities of Conflict Resolution
Table 5: Age-Appropriate Sequence for Acquiring the
Problem-Solving Processes of Conflict Resolution
-------------------------------
Prologue
Grandmother," she said, "what big arms you have!"
"The better to hug you with, my dear."
"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"
"The better to run with, my child."
"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"
"The better to see, my child."
"Grandmother, what big teeth you have!"
"They're to eat you with!" And at these words, the
wicked wolf pounced on Little Red Ridinghood and
ate her up.
--"Little Red Ridinghood"[1]
Wolf: Now wait a minute, Red. I know your granny. I
thought we should teach you a lesson for prancing
on my pine trees in that get-up and for picking my
flowers. I let you go on your way in the woods but
I ran ahead to your granny's cottage.
When I saw Granny, I explained what happened, and
she agreed that you needed to learn a lesson.
Granny hid under the bed, and I dressed up in her
nightgown.
When you came into the bedroom, you saw me in the
bed and said something nasty about my big ears.
I've been told my ears are big before, so I tried
to make the best of it by saying big ears help me
hear you better.
Then you made an insulting crack about my bulging
eyes. This one was really hard to blow off, because
you sounded so nasty. Still, I make it a policy to
turn the other cheek, so I told you my big eyes
help me see you better.
Your next insult about my big teeth really got to
me. You see, I'm quite sensitive about my teeth. I
know that when you made fun of my teeth I should
have had better control, but I leaped from the bedand growled that my teeth would help me to eat you.
But, come on, Red! Let's face it. Everyone knows no
Wolf could ever eat a girl, but you started
screaming and running around the house. I tried to
catch you to calm you down.
All of a sudden the door came crashing open, and a
big woodsman stood there with his ax. I knew I was
in trouble . . . there was an open window behind
me, so out I went.
I've been hiding ever since. There are terrible
rumors going around the forest about me. Red, you
called me the Big Bad Wolf. I'd like to say I've
gotten over feeling bad, but the truth is I haven't
lived happily ever after.
I don't understand why Granny never told you and
the others my side of the story. I'm upset about
the rumors and have been afraid to show my face in
the forest. Why have you and Granny let the
situation go on for this long? It just isn't fair.
I'm miserable and lonely.
Red: You think that I have started unfair rumors
about you, and you are miserable and lonely and
don't understand why Granny didn't tell your side
of the story.
Well, Granny has been sick--and she's been very
tired lately. When I asked her how she came to be
under the bed, she said she couldn't remember a
thing that had happened. Come to think of it, she
didn't seem too upset . . . just confused.
--"The Story of Little Red Riding Hood and the
Wolf, Retold Through Negotiation"[2]
Fairytales and folktales are read to children to
entertain them, but these stories also communicate
common ideas and modes of thinking about
relationships, morals, values, and how to get along
in the world. Fairytales present children with a
model of how to think and act. In the original
story of Little Red Riding Hood, one of the morals
is to beware of strangers. The two sides in this
fairytale are sharply drawn--one good, one bad; one
innocent, one cunning; one right, one wrong. If the
retelling of the tale seems odd, it is because it
challenges the stereotype of the "Big Bad Wolf" and
asks us to consider his side of the story.
The tenets of conflict resolution present a new
model of interacting with and thinking about other
people--one that challenges us to go beyond
stereotypes, to consider the other's point of view,
and to reach mutually satisfactory agreements in
which all parties win. "The Story of Little Red
Riding Hood and the Wolf, Retold Through
Negotiation," which is reprinted in its entirety in
appendix I, is an illustration of one of the
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution.
If we can succeed in teaching our youth this
framework for resolving their disputes, the results
for them and for our society could be profound.
-------------------------------
Notes
1. Bierhorst, J. (translator). 1981. The Glass
Slipper: Charles Perrault's Tales of Times Past.
New York: Four Winds Press.
2. Bodine, R., D. Crawford, and F. Schrumpf. 1994.
Creating the Peaceable School: A Comprehensive
Program for Teaching Conflict Resolution.
Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc.
 MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Introduction, Chapters 1-3
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
48 pages
107,654 bytes
Introduction
-------------------------------
"We have a juvenile justice system that in many
states is bankrupt and is starting too late. You
cannot start with a 16- or 17-year-old who has
dropped out of school and who was the drug dealer's
gofer when he was 13. You've got to start earlier.
. . . We can do tremendous amounts of good through
conflict resolution programs in our public
schools."
-- Attorney General Janet Reno[1]
-------------------------------
This Guide was developed through a collaboration of
the Departments of Justice and Education to advance
the development of conflict resolution education
programs in schools, youth-serving organizations,
and community and juvenile justice settings. It is
designed to be a reference tool that offers both
basic information and the experience of experts in
the field of conflict resolution to assist
educators and other youth-serving professionals in
building effective conflict resolution education
programs. The Guide is based on a shared vision
that youth of all ages can learn to deal
constructively with conflict and live in civil
association with one another. Its goal is to build
the capacity of educators in a variety of
youth-serving settings to understand and act on the
knowledge that conflict resolution skills are
essential to successful relationships in all facets
of our lives.
Purposes of Conflict Resolution Education
To fulfill their mission of educating youth and
preparing them to function effectively in adult
society, American schools* must first be safe
places. Our schools are challenged to provide an
environment in which:
o Each learner can feel physically and
psychologically free from threats and danger and
can find opportunities to work and learn with
others for the mutual achievement of all.
o The diversity of the school's population is
respected and celebrated.
Conflict resolution programs can help schools
promote both the individual behavioral change
necessary for responsible citizenship and the
systemic change necessary for a safe learning
environment.
Responsible Citizenship
The ability to resolve disputes effectively and
nonviolently is central to the peaceful expression
of human rights. Conflict resolution can be viewed
as a responsibility of law-abiding members of our
society. Responsible citizens in a democracy
express their concerns peacefully and seek
resolutions to problems that take into account
common interests and recognize the human dignity of
all involved.
Schools can be places where children learn to live
in civil association with one another and prepare
to assume their future roles as parents, as
community members and leaders, and as productive
members of the workforce. Conflict resolution
skills are essential to public life in schools,
communities, and workplaces. These skills encompass
more than a set of complex problem-solving
processes. The ability to resolve larger issues
depends, at least to some extent, on how people
deal with each other daily. Building effective
relationships among citizens is important not just
for reaching agreements, but for shaping how people
choose to disagree.[2]
Education can be turned into a force for reducing
intergroup conflict. It can emphasize common
characteristics and goals and can broaden our
understanding of diverse cultures, even in
circumstances of conflict. The question is whether
human beings can develop a constructive orientation
toward those outside their group while maintaining
the values of group allegiance and identity. It
seems reasonable to believe that, in spite of very
bad habits from the past and very bad models in the
present, we can indeed learn new habits of mind:
"It is not too late for a paradigm shift in our
outlook toward human conflict. Perhaps it is
something like learning that the earth is not flat.
Such a shift in child development and education . .
. might at long last make it possible for human
groups to learn to live together in peace and
mutual benefit."[3]
Many conflicts in schools arise out of differences.
Cultural conflicts are based on differences in
national origin or ethnicity. Social conflicts are
based on differences in gender, sexual orientation,
class, and physical and mental abilities. Personal
and institutional reactions to differences often
take the form of prejudice, discrimination,
harassment, and even hate crimes. These conflicts
are complex because they are rooted not only in
prejudice and discrimination related to cultural
and social differences but also in the resulting
structures and relationships of inequality and
privilege. Conflict resolution education programs
provide a framework for addressing these problems.
The programs promote respect and acceptance through
new ways of communicating and understanding.
Conflict resolution education offers schools
strategies for responding affirmatively to the
following questions:[4]
o Do members of school communities possess the
skills and knowledge to create an environment in
which diversity thrives and in which tolerance of
differences is encouraged?
o Do members share a cultivated willingness to
accept the inevitable conflict that arises from
differing values and cultures within the school
community?
o Are the participants in the school community
convinced that conflict is an opportunity for
growth, self-awareness, and development of
understanding and respect for others?
o Do the participants in the school community
articulate a shared vision that conflicts are
inevitable and that they enrich and strengthen
school communities?
o Young people must be challenged to believe and to
act on the understanding that a nonviolent,
multicultural society is a desirable, realistic
goal.[5]
-------------------------------
The best school-based violence prevention programs
seek to do more than reach the individual child.
They instead try to change the total school
environment, to create a safe community that lives
by a credo of nonviolence.
-- William DeJong, Harvard School of Public
Health[6]
-------------------------------
Violence Prevention and Safe Schools
Strategies that empower students to deal
constructively with interpersonal conflicts,
cultural differences, and the violence embedded in
American culture need to be grounded in day-to-day
experience. The fundamental challenge is to engage
young people in learning the skills and processes
that will enable them to manage and resolve
conflict constructively. When youth experience
success with negotiation, mediation, or consensus
decisionmaking in school or other youth-serving
settings, they are more likely to use these
conflict resolution processes elsewhere in their
lives.
Schools alone cannot change a violent society;
however, they can:
o Teach alternatives to violence.
o Teach students to act responsibly in social
settings.
o Teach students to understand and accept the
consequences of their behavior.
Conflict resolution education provides youth with
the knowledge, abilities, and processes needed to
choose alternatives to self-destructive, violent
behavior when confronted with interpersonal and
intergroup conflict. The expectation is that when
youth learn constructive ways to address what leads
to violence, the incidence and intensity of that
conflict will diminish.
Systemic Change
A conflict resolution program provides an effective
alternative to a traditional discipline program.
Youth who grow up in circumstances in which they
are socialized to violence, physical abuse, or even
death will not be brought readily into submission
by such punishments as lowered grades, time out,
detention, suspension, or even expulsion.
Alternatives that lead to long-term changes in
attitudes and behavior are needed. Conflict
resolution programs are an important part of those
alternatives because they invite participation and
expect those who choose to participate to plan more
effective behavior and then to behave
accordingly.[7]
To realize maximum results from conflict resolution
education programs, schools need to examine their
systems and, if necessary, reform them to create a
context that facilitates the development and
support of the program. Systemic change calls for
cooperation to be the normative expectation, both
behaviorally and academically, and for adults to
interact noncoercively with youth. The goal of
making school a safe haven in which youth can gain
respite from violence in order to think and learn
is a good one. However, it cannot be realized apart
from creating an antiviolent vision shared by
everyone in the building.[8]
Conflict resolution, when implemented not only as a
curriculum to be taught but as a lifestyle to be
lived by both adults and youth, fosters continuous
academic and social growth. Implementation of a
conflict resolution program can help schools create
their governance structures, develop policies,
identify goals, make curriculum decisions, and plan
for assessment of learning. Faculty and students
work and learn together while supporting one
another. When conflict resolution is practiced by
all, respect, caring, tolerance, and community
building become "the way we do things around
here."[9]
-------------------------------
The significant problems we face cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking we were at when we
created them.
-- Albert Einstein
--------------------------------
Rationale for Establishing Conflict Resolution
Programs
There are compelling, valid reasons for every
school to implement a program to teach youth
conflict resolution:[10]
o The problem-solving processes of conflict
resolution (negotiation, mediation, and consensus
decisionmaking) can improve the school climate.
o Conflict resolution strategies can reduce
violence, vandalism, chronic school absence, and
suspension.
o Conflict resolution training helps students and
teachers deepen their understanding of themselves
and others and develops important life skills.
o Training in negotiation, mediation, and consensus
decisionmaking encourages a high level of
citizenship activity.
o Shifting the responsibility for solving
nonviolent conflicts to students frees adults to
concentrate more on teaching and less on
discipline.
o Behavior management systems that are more
effective than detention, suspension, or expulsion
are needed to deal with conflict in the school
setting.
o Conflict resolution training increases skills in
listening, critical thinking, and problem solving -
- skills basic to all learning.
o Conflict resolution education emphasizes seeing
other points of view and resolving differences
peacefully -- skills that assist one to live in a
multicultural world.
o Negotiation and mediation are problem-solving
tools that are well suited to the problems that
young people face, and those trained in these
approaches often use them to solve problems for
which they would not seek adult help.
How the Guide Is Organized
This Guide is designed to provide sufficient
information and tools to initiate the development
of comprehensive youth-centered conflict resolution
programs. It provides a framework for making
informed decisions to implement conflict resolution
education programs and select resources to support
program development.
Chapter 1, "Understanding Conflict Resolution,"
defines conflict as a natural condition and
examines the origins of conflict, responses to
conflict, and the outcomes of those responses. It
presents the essential principles, foundation
abilities, and problem-solving processes of
conflict resolution; discusses the elements of a
successful conflict resolution program; and
introduces four approaches to implementing conflict
resolution education.
Each of the next four chapters discusses one of
these four approaches and presents examples of
programs that use the approach. Chapter 2, "Process
Curriculum Approach," describes an approach to
conflict resolution education characterized by
devoting a specific time to teaching the foundation
abilities, principles, and one or more of the
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution in
a separate course or distinct curriculum. Chapter
3, "Mediation Program Approach," describes an
approach in which selected individuals who have
been trained in the principles and foundation
abilities of conflict resolution and in the
mediation process provide neutral, third-party
facilitation to help those in conflict to reach
resolution. Chapter 4, "Peaceable Classroom
Approach," presents an approach that incorporates
conflict resolution education into the core subject
areas of the curriculum and into classroom
management strategies. Chapter 5, "Peaceable School
Approach," presents a comprehensive whole-school
methodology that builds on the peaceable classroom
approach, using conflict resolution as a system of
operation for managing the school as well as the
classroom.
The next two chapters address conflict resolution
education in settings other than traditional
schools. Chapter 6, "Juvenile Justice and
Alternative Education Initiatives," discusses
conflict resolution education in juvenile justice
facilities and alternative schools. Chapter 7,
"Parent and Community Initiatives," examines
linkages between conflict resolution education
programs in schools and the greater community,
including programs for parents and youth.
The final three chapters address more overarching
topics. Chapter 8, "Conflict Resolution Research
and Evaluation," reviews research findings on
conflict resolution education programs in schools
and considers the value of conflict resolution
education in the light of developmental research on
resilience and risk factors. Chapter 9,
"Developmentally Appropriate Practice," presents a
developmental sequence of behavioral expectations
intended to provide guideposts for developing and
assessing proficiency in conflict resolution from
kindergarten through high school. Chapter 10,
"Establishing Conflict Resolution Education
Programs," discusses the process of developing,
implementing, and sustaining a conflict resolution
program.
The appendices to the Guide offer a variety of
resources for those establishing conflict
resolution education programs. Appendix A, "Contact
Information," lists addresses and telephone numbers
of organizations that provide national leadership
in the field of conflict resolution education.
Appendix B, "Conflict Resolution Curriculum
Resources," is an annotated compilation of conflict
resolution curriculums and texts. Appendix C,
"Conflict Resolution Reading List," presents the
titles of recommended articles and books on
conflict resolution. Every program, resource, or
text mentioned in the Guide is referenced either in
one of these three appendices or in a chapter
endnote. A glossary of conflict resolution
terminology is given in appendix D. Appendices E
through G contain sample forms, including forms for
assessing staff and programs/curriculums. Appendix
H presents the components essential to a strategic
plan for implementing a conflict resolution
program. The complete text of the Little Red Riding
Hood story retold through negotiation, excerpted in
the prologue, is found in appendix I.
-------------------------------
Notes
1. Goldberg, S.B., and H.J. Reske. 1993. "Talking
with Attorney General Janet Reno." American Bar
Association Journal 79:46.
2. Amsler, T. 1994 (March). "Educating for
Citizenship: Reframing Conflict Resolution Work in
K-12 Schools." Paper presented at the Coulson
Festshrift Meeting, Aspen Institute, Wye Conference
Center, Queenstown, Maryland, March 13-14, 1994.
3. Hamburg, D. 1994. Education for Conflict
Resolution. Report of the President of the Carnegie
Corporation of New York, p. 15.
4. Adapted from Townley, A. "Introduction: Conflict
Resolution, Diversity and Social Justice."
Education and Urban Society 27(1), pp. 5-10,
copyright  1994 by Corwin Press. Reprinted by
permission of Corwin Press, Inc.
5. Moore, P., and D. Batiste. 1994 (Spring).
"Preventing Youth Violence: Prejudice Elimination
and Conflict Resolution Programs." Forum, no. 25,
p. 18.
6. DeJong, W. 1994 (Spring). "School-Based Violence
Prevention: From the Peaceable School to the
Peaceable Neighborhood." Forum, no. 25, p. 8.
7. Bodine, R., and D. Crawford. In press.
Developing Emotional Intelligence Through Classroom
Management: Creating Responsible Learners in Our
Schools and Effective Citizens for Our World.
Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc.
8. Haberman, M., and V. Schreiber Dill. 1995.
"Commitment to Violence Among Teenagers in
Poverty." Kappa Delta Pi Record 31(4):149.
9. Adler, A. 1995. "Implementing District-Wide
Programs: If I Knew Then What I Know Now." The
Fourth R 57:5.
10. Adapted from Davis, A., and K. Porter. 1985
(Spring). "Dispute Resolution: The Fourth R."
Journal of Dispute Resolution, 1985:121-139.
Reprinted with permission of the authors and of the
Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution,
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.
*Throughout this Guide, the term "school" is
intended to encompass youth-serving organizations
and programs in community and juvenile justice
settings in addition to traditional schools.
-------------------------------
Chapter 1: Understanding Conflict Resolution
-------------------------------
Learning can take place only when schools are safe,
disciplined, and drug free. Schools in all types of
communities -- urban, rural, and suburban -- are
taking steps to be free of violent and disruptive
behavior. Incorporating conflict resolution
education into the curriculum can be an important
step in ensuring a safe and healthy learning
environment.
-- Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley
-------------------------------
Conflict arises from a discord of needs, drives,
wishes, and/or demands. Conflict in and of itself
is not positive or negative. Rather, it is the
response to conflict that transforms it into either
a competitive, destructive experience or a
constructive challenge offering the opportunity for
growth. Since conflict is an inevitable part of
life, learning how to respond to it constructively
is essential. Constructive conflict resolution
begins with developing an understanding of conflict
and the principles of conflict resolution (see
figure 1).
Origins of Conflict
Almost every conflict involves an attempt by the
disputants to meet basic needs that, if not
satisfied, cause the conflict to persist, even when
an agreement is reached about the subject of the
dispute.[1]
Basic Psychological Needs
All individuals are motivated by needs. Dr. William
Glasser identifies four basic psychological needs
that motivate behavior:[2]
o Belonging: Fulfilled by loving, sharing, and
cooperating with others.
o Power: Fulfilled by achieving, accomplishing, and
being recognized and respected.
o Freedom: Fulfilled by making choices.
o Fun: Fulfilled by laughing and playing.
Conflicts may occur, for example, when two
individuals in a relationship have different ideas
about how to belong or because one is more
concerned with building the relationship and the
other with maintaining a sense of freedom. When
conflict arises, individuals have essentially two
choices: to continue the conflict or to
problem-solve. The problem-solving strategies of
conflict resolution address needs and create
opportunities for those needs to be satisfied. When
individuals choose to continue the conflict, no
one's basic needs are fulfilled. Basic
psychological needs are at the root of almost all
conflict.
Limited Resources
Conflicts may arise over limited resources.
Conflict resolution principles suggest that when
limited resources are at issue, individuals' best
interests lie in cooperating, not competing. In
cooperating, disputants share in the process of
problem solving, recognize each other's interests,
and create choices. This process usually provides
satisfaction because the psychological needs of
belonging and power, and perhaps even of freedom
and fun, are addressed in the fair allocation of
limited resources.
Conflicts over limited resources may not be
resolved if basic needs are not addressed along
with the resource issue. The resource issue by
itself may not define the problem. When solutions
deal only with the limited resource that appears to
be the source of the conflict without addressing
other underlying interests, conflict between the
parties will likely occur again.
Different Values
Conflicts involving different values (beliefs,
priorities, principles) tend to be more difficult
to resolve. When an individual holds a value, he or
she has an enduring belief that a specific action
or quality is preferable to another action or
quality. Many times disputants think in terms of
"right/wrong" or "good/bad" when values are in
opposition. Even conflicts over differing goals can
be viewed as value conflicts. The source of a goal
conflict relates either to the goal's relative
importance for each disputant or to the fact that
the disputants value different goals.
Resolving a values conflict does not mean the
disputants must change or agree on their values.
Often a mutual acknowledgment that each person
views the situation differently is the first step
toward resolution. If the disputants can learn not
to reject each other because of differences in
beliefs, they will be better able to deal with the
problem on its own merits. One of the fundamental
principles of conflict resolution is to address
separately the relationship issues and the
substantive issues involved in the conflict. To
resolve values conflicts, the disputants must look
for interests that underlie the conflicting values.
Again, psychological needs are enmeshed in values
conflicts, and those needs likely frame the
interests of each disputant.
Values disputes may be rooted in issues of social
diversity (differences in cultural, social, and
physical/mental attributes), which are often
expressed as different beliefs, convictions, and/or
principles. Issues of social diversity also often
involve prejudice. Although complex, these
conflicts can be resolved by increased awareness,
understanding, and respect. When a conflict is
rooted in prejudice or bias against another,
ignorance, fear, and misunderstanding often guide
behavior toward that person.
Responses to Conflict
Responses to conflict can be categorized into three
basic groups: soft, hard, and principled
responses.[3] In both soft and hard responses,
disputants take positions or stands relative to the
problem. They negotiate these positions by trying
either to avoid or to win a contest of wills. Soft
and hard negotiations either bring about one-sided
losses or demand one-sided gains. In principled
responses, disputants use conflict resolution
strategies to produce lasting "wise agreements"
that address the legitimate interests of both
parties, resolve conflicting interests fairly, and
take into account how others will be affected by
the agreement.
Soft responses such as avoidance, accommodation,
and compromise usually occur between individuals
who are friends or who want to be pleasant to each
other because they will continue to have contact in
the future. Individuals may attempt to avoid
conflict altogether by withdrawing from the
situation, ignoring it, or denying that the
conflict even matters. Accommodation involves one
disputant giving in to the position of the other
without seeking to serve his or her interests.
Disputants who compromise agree to something that
does not really address the interests of either one
in order to end the dispute. Soft responses
typically result in feelings of disillusionment,
self-doubt, fear, and anxiety about the future.
Hard responses to conflict usually occur between
individuals who are adversaries and whose goal is
victory. Hard responses to a conflict are
characterized by confrontations that involve force,
threats, aggression, and anger. Hard negotiators
demand concessions as a condition of the
relationship and insist on their position. They
often search for a single answer to the problem --
namely, the one the other side will give in to.
Hard negotiators frequently apply pressure, trying
to win a contest of wills. They use bribery and
punishments such as withholding money, favors, and
affection. Hard responses are detrimental to
cooperation and relationships and often result in
hostility, physical damage, and violence.
Principled responses occur between individuals who
view themselves as problem solvers and whose goal
is a wise outcome reached efficiently and amicably.
Principled negotiators understand that
communication is fundamental to cooperative
interaction, and they understand what it means to
participate in developing a common understanding.
Principled negotiators are skilled, active,
empathic listeners. They attempt to see the problem
from different perspectives. Principled responses
to conflict create the opportunity for the needs of
both disputants to be met through an agreement that
addresses the interests of both. Principled
responses to conflict preserve relationships.
Outcomes of Soft, Hard, and Principled Responses
The three types of responses to conflict produce
different outcomes. Soft responses typically result
in two types of outcomes. In situations in which
individuals give in on their positions for the sake
of the relationship, with the result that no one's
interests are met, lose-lose outcomes result. In
situations in which one side accommodates the
other, lose-win outcomes occur. Individuals who
avoid conflict by accommodating others lose, in the
sense that their basic needs are not acknowledged
or met. Often, individuals who avoid conflict see
themselves as victims, and their relations with
others suffer.
Hard responses also typically result in two types
of outcomes. Win-lose outcomes occur when the more
aggressive party wins and the adversary loses. Hard
responses to conflict often lead to a situation in
which the desire to punish or get even provokes
adversaries to take vindictive actions that harm
themselves as well as their opponents. This results
in a lose-lose outcome. Stressful situations follow
when these adversaries are required to continue to
interact in some manner.
Principled responses to conflict typically lead to
a win-win outcome. Using a problem-solving process
based on principled negotiation theory, individuals
in conflict come to consensus on a joint resolution
without locking into positions or destroying
relationships. The interests and needs of each
party in the dispute are met.
Problem-Solving Processes
The structured problem-solving processes of
conflict resolution are negotiation, mediation, and
consensus decisionmaking.[4] All problem-solving
processes in conflict resolution are based on
integrated negotiation theory. In conflict
resolution literature and practice, the terms
"negotiation" and "mediation" are often used
interchangeably. In this Guide, the three
structured problem-solving processes are defined as
follows:
o Negotiation is a problem-solving process in which
either the two parties in the dispute or their
representatives meet face to face to work together
unassisted to resolve the dispute between the
parties.
o Mediation is a problem-solving process in which
the two parties in the dispute or their
representatives meet face to face to work together
to resolve the dispute assisted by a neutral third
party called the "mediator."
o Consensus decisionmaking is a group
problem-solving process in which all of the parties
in the dispute or representatives of each party
collaborate to resolve the dispute by crafting a
plan of action that all parties can and will
support. This process may or may not be facilitated
by a neutral party.
Principles of Conflict Resolution
Effective implementation of the conflict resolution
processes of negotiation, mediation, or consensus
decisionmaking requires an understanding of the
following four essential principles:
o Separate people from the problem. Every problem
involves both substantive issues and relationship
issues. By separating these issues, individuals
come to see themselves as working side by side,
attacking the problem, not each other. Fisher and
colleagues state, "Where perceptions are
inaccurate, you can look for ways to educate. If
emotions run high, you can find ways for each
person involved to let off steam. Where
misunderstanding exists, you can work to improve
communication."[5]
Focus on interests, not positions. Understanding
the difference between positions and interests is
crucial to problem solving. Interests, not
positions, define the problem. Positions are
something that individuals decide they want;
interests are the underlying motivations behind the
positions they take. Fisher and colleagues note
that "compromising between positions is not likely
to produce an agreement which will effectively take
care of the human needs that led individuals to
adopt those positions."[6] Where such interests are
not identified, temporary agreements may be
reached, but typically do not last because the real
interests have not been addressed.
o Invent options for mutual gain. Disputants focus
on identifying options for resolving the conflict
without the pressure of reaching a decision. A
brainstorming process is used to invent a wide
range of options that advance shared interests and
creatively reconcile differing interests. The key
ground rule to brainstorming is to postpone
criticism and evaluation of the ideas being
generated. To broaden their options, those in a
dispute think about the problem in different ways
and build upon the ideas presented.
o Use objective criteria. Using objective criteria
ensures that the agreement reflects some fair
standard instead of the arbitrary will of either
side. Using objective criteria means that neither
party needs to give in to the other; rather, they
can defer to a fair solution. Objective criteria
are determined by disputants based on fair
standards and fair procedures.[7]
Foundation Abilities for Conflict Resolution
Effective implementation of the problem-solving
processes of conflict resolution requires various
attitudes, understandings, and skills for dealing
with a problem or dispute. Conflict resolution
occurs when individuals change from being
adversaries in a face-to-face confrontation to
being partners in a side-by-side search for a fair
agreement that is advantageous to both. Training in
the six foundation abilities of conflict resolution
helps to promote the effective use of the four
principles of conflict resolution. The six
foundation abilities are as follows:
o Orientation abilities encompass values, beliefs,
attitudes, and propensities that are compatible
with effective conflict resolution. Orientation
abilities include:
-- Nonviolence.
-- Compassion and empathy.
-- Fairness.
-- Trust.
-- Justice.
-- Tolerance.
-- Self-respect.
-- Respect for others.
-- Celebration of diversity.
-- Appreciation for controversy.
o Perception abilities encompass the understanding
that conflict lies not in objective reality, but in
how individuals perceive that reality. Perception
abilities include:
-- Empathizing in order to see the situation as the
other side sees it.
-- Self-evaluating to recognize personal fears.
-- Suspending judgment and blame to facilitate a
free exchange of views.
o Emotion abilities encompass behaviors to manage
anger, frustration, fear, and other emotions
effectively. Emotion abilities include:
-- Learning language for communicating emotions
effectively.
-- Expressing emotions in nonaggressive,
noninflammatory ways.
-- Exercising self-control in order not to react to
the emotional outbursts of others.
o Communication abilities encompass behaviors of
listening and speaking that allow for the effective
exchange of facts and feelings. Communication
abilities include:
-- Listening to understand by using active
listening behaviors.
-- Speaking to be understood.
-- Reframing emotionally charged statements into
neutral, less emotional terms.
o Creative thinking abilities encompass behaviors
that enable individuals to be innovative in
defining problems and making decisions. Creative
thinking abilities include:
-- Contemplating the problem from a variety of
perspectives.
-- Approaching the problem-solving task as a mutual
pursuit of possibilities.
-- Brainstorming to create, elaborate, and enhance
a variety of options.
o Critical thinking abilities encompass the
behaviors of analyzing, hypothesizing, predicting,
strategizing, comparing/contrasting, and
evaluating. Critical thinking abilities include:
-- Recognizing existing criteria and making them
explicit.
-- Establishing objective criteria.
-- Applying criteria as the basis for choosing
options.
-- Planning future behaviors.
Although these foundation abilities are necessary
to the successful implementation of the
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution,
programs that teach only these skills are not
genuine conflict resolution programs.
Steps in the Problem-Solving Process
Genuine conflict resolution programs require two
major components: the principles of conflict
resolution (separate the people from the problem;
focus on interests, not positions; invent options
for mutual gain; and use objective criteria as the
basis for decision-making) and a problem-solving
process (negotiation, mediation, or consensus
decisionmaking). The conflict resolution processes
are characterized by a series of steps that enable
the disputants to identify their own needs and
interests and to work cooperatively to find
solutions to meet those needs and interests. Each
process gives support and direction to the
cooperative effort, assisting the parties to stay
focused on the problem rather than on each other
and to find a mutually acceptable resolution. In
addition, genuine conflict resolution education
programs include extensive training and practice
using the principles and problem-solving processes
of conflict resolution.
The six steps in each problem-solving process are:
o Set the stage.
o Gather perspectives.
o Identify interests.
o Create options.
o Evaluate options.
o Generate agreement.
Approaches to Conflict Resolution Education
There are four basic approaches to conflict
resolution education in operation across the
country:
o Process Curriculum: An approach to conflict
resolution education characterized by devoting a
specific time to teaching the foundation abilities,
principles, and one or more of the problem-solving
processes of conflict resolution as a separate
course, distinct curriculum, or daily lesson plan.
o Mediation Program: A conflict resolution
education program in which selected individuals
(adults and/or students) are trained in the
principles and foundation abilities of conflict
resolution and in the mediation process in order to
provide neutral third-party facilitation to assist
those in conflict to reach a resolution.
o Peaceable Classroom: A whole-classroom
methodology that includes teaching students the
foundation abilities, principles, and one or more
of the three problem-solving processes of conflict
resolution. Conflict resolution education is
incorporated into the core subjects of the
curriculum and into classroom management
strategies. Peaceable classrooms are the building
blocks of the peaceable school.
o Peaceable School: A comprehensive whole-school
methodology that builds on the peaceable classroom
approach by using conflict resolution as a system
of operation for managing the school as well as the
classroom. Conflict resolution principles and
processes are learned and utilized by every member
of the school community -- librarians, teachers,
counselors, students, principals, and parents.
The lines dividing these four approaches are
sometimes difficult to draw in practice, but the
categories can be useful in describing the focus of
each approach. The strength of each approach lies
in its application of the conflict resolution
principles and problem-solving processes. Some of
the best programs have evolved in schools where the
principles and problem-solving processes of
conflict resolution allowed for gradual expansion
from one approach to another.
Each of these approaches to conflict resolution
education is described in detail in the next four
chapters. Operational examples of each approach are
included to illustrate the variety of options for
program implementation. These representative
programs were selected through a nomination process
by national leaders in the field of conflict
resolution education. Programs were chosen for
their advancement of knowledge, teaching, and
comprehensive support for the peaceful resolution
of disputes among all people, regardless of age,
race, ethnic background, or socioeconomic status.
Their selection does not constitute an endorsement
by either the Department of Justice or the
Department of Education. Readers are encouraged to
inform themselves about the range of programs
available and the purposes of these programs.
-------------------------------
Notes
1. The discussion in this section is adapted, with
the permission of the authors and of Research
Press, Inc., from Bodine, R., D. Crawford, and F.
Schrumpf. 1994. Creating the Peaceable School: A
Comprehensive Program for Teaching Conflict
Resolution. Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc.,
pp. 52-53.
2. Glasser, W. 1984. Control Theory. New York, NY:
Harper & Row.
3. The discussion in this section is adapted, with
the permission of the authors and of Research
Press, Inc., from Bodine et al., Creating the
Peaceable School, p. 54.
4. The discussion in this section is adapted, with
the permission of the authors and of Research
Press, Inc., from Bodine et al., Creating the
Peaceable School, pp. 56-57.
5. Fisher, R., W. Ury, and B. Patton. 1991. Getting
To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In.
New York, NY: Penguin Books, p. 21.
6. Ibid., p. 11.
7. Ibid., p. 15.
-------------------------------
Figure 1: Understanding Conflict
Origins of Conflict
o Limited Resources
-- Time
-- Money
-- Property
o Unmet Basic Needs
-- Belonging
-- Power
-- Freedom
-- Fun
o Different Values
-- Beliefs
-- Priorities
-- Principles
Conflict
Responses to Conflict
o Soft
-- Withdrawing
-- Ignoring
-- Denying
-- Giving In
o Hard
-- Threatening
-- Pushing
-- Hitting
-- Yelling
o Principled
-- Listening
-- Understanding
-- Respecting
-- Resolving
Outcomes to Conflict
o Soft
-- Lose-Lose
-- Lose-Win
o Hard
-- Lose-Lose
-- Win-Lose
o Principled
-- Win-Win
Source: Bodine, R., D. Crawford, and F. Schrumpf.
1994. Creating the Peaceable School: A
Comprehensive Program for Teaching Conflict
Resolution. Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc., p.
92. Reprinted with permission of the authors and
Research Press.
-------------------------------
Chapter 2: Process Curriculum Approach
-------------------------------
Have you not learned great lessons from those who
braced themselves against you, and disputed the
passage with you?
-- Walt Whitman
-------------------------------
Process Curriculum: An approach to conflict
resolution education characterized by devoting a
specific time to teaching the foundation abilities,
principles, and one or more of the problem-solving
processes of conflict resolution as a separate
course, distinct curriculum, or daily lesson plan.
Teachers who use the process curriculum approach
teach conflict resolution through a time-limited
course, daily lessons over the length of a
semester, or a series of workshops, perhaps
conducted during the homeroom advisory period in
middle and high schools. The daily lesson method is
most often part of elementary school offerings.
Although the process curriculum could be integrated
into the existing curriculum, teachers usually
present it separately. The lessons, which cover the
principles and problem-solving processes of
conflict resolution, are unified in scope and
sequence, taking place through structured
activities such as simulations, role-plays, group
discussions, and cooperative learning activities.
This chapter describes three examples of the
process curriculum approach.
The Program for Young Negotiators
The Program for Young Negotiators (PYN), a process
curriculum program developed by Jared Curhan, aims
to teach individuals how to achieve their goals
without violence.[1] Participating students,
teachers, and administrators are taught a means of
goal achievement and dispute resolution that has at
its heart the practice of principled negotiation.
This type of negotiation challenges the notion that
disputes are resolved only when one side wins at
the other's expense, and it helps students envision
scenarios and generate options in which both sides
are satisfied with the outcome and both are able to
achieve their goals. The foundation abilities of
perception and thinking that are taught in
negotiation courses help students learn that, to
satisfy their own interests, they must empathize
with the interests of others.
PYN consists of four components:
o Teacher training and community involvement.
o Negotiation curriculums.
o Followup opportunities.
o Ongoing curriculum development and innovation.
Teacher Training and Community Involvement
The program first trains schoolteachers and
administrators to negotiate their own issues.
During a training seminar, participants learn
negotiation from professionals such as negotiation
professors and practicing negotiators. After
teachers begin teaching negotiation concepts to
their students, they continue to attend regular
curriculum implementation meetings and are provided
with ongoing technical support.
Each teacher may request up to three community
volunteers, who are recruited by the program, to
help implement his or her first negotiation course.
A diverse corps of volunteer teaching assistants
includes professional negotiators, graduate
students, parents, and community leaders. Volunteer
teaching assistants make a commitment to attend
training seminars and learn and teach negotiation
techniques with their partner teachers.
Negotiation Curriculum
The PYN curriculum is based on the seven basic
elements of negotiation that have been developed by
the Harvard Negotiation Project (figure 2). The
curriculum presents negotiation skills not simply
as an alternative to violence, but as a necessary
condition for a successful and meaningful life. As
in successful adult negotiation courses, the
curriculum relies heavily on experiential learning.
The courses begin with cases that highlight basic
principles, but as the curriculum unfolds, examples
are increasingly drawn from the lives of teenagers.
The students actively participate in games and
role-play exercises. Through mock negotiations,
they experience empowerment first hand as they
learn to collaborate, communicate carefully, and
think in a win-win manner.
-------------------------------
Now, because of PYN, I don't have to argue with my
brother -- we can sit down and talk.
-- Seventh grader, Charlestown, Massachusetts
The results of the program were dramatic. The class
we targeted for the PYN course had a history of
being the most disruptive in the seventh grade.
Those same students have internalized the skills
they learned in PYN, resulting in a marked change
in behavior. Students think before they speak,
dialog using negotiation, and offer negotiation to
other students as an acceptable option for solving
conflicts.
-- Principal, Roxbury, Massachusetts
-------------------------------
Followup Opportunities
When teachers complete the basic curriculum in the
classroom, they are presented with a number of
followup opportunities. Each teacher receives a
list of the following options:
o Training a new group of students with the same
curriculum.
o Integrating the negotiation concepts into a
subject area.
o Arranging negotiation workshops for parents and
community members.
o Developing a Young Negotiators Club.
o Training student council members.
o Holding weekly or monthly negotiation periods in
which students help each other with their personal
conflicts.
o Organizing student focus groups to develop new
teaching cases.
Ongoing Curriculum Development and Innovation
Throughout each semester, PYN collects feedback
from teachers and other training participants. New
cases are developed for the curriculum, and
existing ones are modified as part of the ongoing
curriculum development and revision process. Each
year, teachers receive revisions or newly submitted
cases developed during the previous year. For
example, one teacher developed a negotiation case
in his history class to present the issue of Mayan
farmers and landholding; he submitted this case to
PYN for history teachers to use.
Violence prevention is an important benefit of PYN
courses, but negotiation theory can also be applied
in circumstances where violence is not imminent.
From inner-city neighborhoods to small country
towns, negotiation skills are universally
applicable and essential to effective
communication. The PYN course emphasizes the
futility of adversarial aggression and the utility
of collaboration.
The Peace Education Foundation
The Peace Education Foundation (PEF), based in
Miami, Florida, offers a grade-level-specific,
classroom-tested curriculum for prekindergarten
through grade 12.[2] The curriculum has a unified
scope, sequence of content, and sequence of skills.
PEF views conflict resolution as a body of
knowledge and skills that equips individuals with
the ability to use a nonviolent, constructive
approach when dealing with life's inevitable
conflicts. PEF focuses on children and the adults
who facilitate children's social, emotional, and
intellectual growth. Since much of this growth
occurs in schools, PEF's goals are to make schools
safe and more disciplined, improve school climate,
make instructional strategies more effective, and
foster resiliency in children. To make conflict
resolution "standard operating procedure" in
schools, PEF programs are purposefully linked to
school improvement and related initiatives.
The content of the PEF conflict resolution
curriculum encompasses a range of social competency
skills that are grouped into five components:
o Community building: Establishing trust, exploring
common interests, and respecting differences.
o Understanding conflict: Identifying conflict, the
elements of conflict, escalation and deescalation,
and different conflict management styles.
o Perception: Understanding different points of
view, enhancing empathy, and increasing tolerance.
o Anger management: Understanding the pros and cons
of anger, anger triggers, and anger styles;
increasing tolerance for frustration; and learning
anger management plans.
o Rules for Fighting Fair: Learning the rules that
provide a framework for appropriate behavior and
the associated skills, such as identifying and
focusing on the problem; attacking the problem, not
the person; listening with an open mind; treating a
person's feelings with respect; and taking
responsibility for one's actions.
o These rules are central to the PEF conflict
resolution program because they are the principles
of nonviolent conflict resolution that promote a
peaceful, disciplined environment. The rules also
provide a constructive alternative to "fouls" --
inappropriate behaviors that attack the dignity of
others and escalate conflict, such as putting the
other down, being sarcastic, bringing up the past,
hitting, not taking responsibility, getting even,
not listening, and making excuses. All PEF
curriculums include an age-appropriate poster of
the rules, a helpful visual reminder for all
members of the school community.
Once the rules have been mastered, more
sophisticated content and skills from the PEF
components can be added to enhance students' social
competency. These additional components include
affirming self-identity, refusing peer pressure,
acting in a self-empowering way, dealing with
bullies, establishing self-control, setting goals,
acting with courage and conviction, understanding
violence, having healthy relationships with
boyfriends/girlfriends, and being a peacemaker.
Teachers facilitate the process of the PEF conflict
resolution curriculum by using five strategies:
o Model: Profess the attitudes expected of students
and practice the associated behaviors. The goal is
to let students know how, in "real life," to use
the Rules for Fighting Fair and skills such as
reflective listening, "I" statements, and problem
solving.
o Teach: Teach the students what to do and why.
Break the skills into understandable parts and give
them the chance to practice through role-play. The
goal is for students to learn the techniques so
they can repeat the vocabulary and techniques when
prompted.
o Coach: Assist students in using the techniques
appropriately in real-life situations. Offer
support and corrective feedback when needed. The
goal is for students to practice what they have
learned.
o Encourage: Remind students to use their skills.
Express confidence in their ability to succeed.
Recognize students' appropriate use of skills. The
goal is for students to behave appropriately
without depending on adults.
o Delegate: After students become proficient, let
them teach or coach less experienced students. The
goal is for students to demonstrate their
competence and acknowledge the value of habitual
use of the skills.
-------------------------------
When I was in the fifth grade, I was always
fighting and always bad, and sixth grade, too. When
I moved to Charlestown and came to the Edwards
School, I learned how to negotiate, and I have not
had a fight since then. I want to tell you that if
I can do it, you can all do it, too.
-- Seventh grader, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Our partnership with the Peace Education Foundation
has reduced the number of referrals and improved
the classroom climate in our schools.
-- Safe Schools Program Director, Palm Beach County
--------------------------------
Schools
Mediation
Schools report that, as the number of students and
adults skilled in mediation increases in a school,
the incidence of conflict in the school decreases.
The mediation curriculum, therefore, is the next
step in a well-implemented conflict resolution
program. The PEF program includes mediation
curriculums for grades 4 though 7 and 8 through
12.[3] These curriculums provide step-by-step
instructions for training peer mediators and
monitoring a school-based mediation program.
Parent Involvement
Parent involvement in and support for a
school-based conflict resolution program is
critical. PEF's text Fighting Fair for Families
offers families a chance to reinforce conflict
resolution at home.[4] The text covers
communication skills, anger management techniques,
and basic mediation skills in English, Spanish,
French, and Haitian Creole.
PEF has devised a variety of implementation models
that can be used in a classroom, school, or school
district. PEF conflict resolution components may be
incorporated into traditional academic lessons. In
addition, the conflict resolution components or
specific PEF curriculum lessons may be taught with
subject areas. Drop Everything for Peace is a PEF
approach that sets aside time on a regular basis to
teach only PEF components and curriculums.
-------------------------------
I learned how to keep calm and keep the disputants
calm -- to help them solve their problems and not
to solve the problem for them.
-- Student, North Carolina
-------------------------------
National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law
To promote cooperation instead of competition, the
National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law
(NICEL), a grantee of the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), has
interwoven strategies for conflict management and
mediation into many of its programs and curriculum
materials. NICEL's text Street Law: A Course in
Practical Law is used in schools, juvenile justice
settings, and communities nationwide and has been
adapted for use in other countries.[5]
Middle and High School Programs and Curricular
Materials
In 1985, NICEL, in partnership with the National
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), formed the Teens,
Crime, and the Community (TCC) program, which is
funded by OJJDP. The TCC program helps teens
understand how crime affects them and their
families, friends, and communities, and involves
them in a service focused on making their
communities safer. Conflict management lessons are
a key student activity. This program includes
comprehensive program design, teacher and community
resource training and preparation, and student and
teacher materials development.
With funding from OJJDP, NICEL and NCPC produced
conflict resolution education curriculums designed
for specific student audiences: We Can Work It Out!
Problem Solving Through Mediation (elementary and
secondary school editions) and The Conflict Zoo. We
Can Work It Out! Problem Solving Through Mediation
for secondary schools involves a step-by-step
design to teach the skills of personal conflict
management and the process of mediation.[6] Through
these lessons, teachers can impart valuable skills
in analytical reasoning, active listening,
patience, empathy, and generating opinions. The
curriculum teaches students key terms and concepts
and allows them to learn experientially. Students
apply the skills they learn in scenarios in which
they assume the roles of disputants and mediators.
An outgrowth of We Can Work It Out! is the
Mediation Showcase. NICEL, in partnership with the
National Institute for Dispute Resolution (NIDR),
designed mediation showcases to popularize conflict
management skills. At these showcases, students are
given conflict scenarios where they role-play the
disputants and mediators. Community resource
people, including community mediators and other
volunteers who use skills involved in conflict
management, provide feedback to the students on
their ability to resolve the conflicts presented to
them. This forum provides an opportunity for
students to celebrate their newly learned skills
and interact with adults in a constructive and
affirming environment. In turn, these events
provide an excellent opportunity for authentic
assessment.
Elementary Programs and Curricular Materials
After its initial secondary school curriculum,
NICEL developed two elementary curriculums. The
Conflict Zoo is a curriculum for the third and
fourth grades designed to teach the building blocks
of conflict resolution and the concepts of justice
and fairness.[7] The lessons are given at the
beginning of the school year to help students
understand conflict management and develop fair
rules to live by. The lessons begin with the story
of a junior zoo where baby animals play together.
To do this, the baby animals must resolve their
conflicts nonviolently and build a sense of
community. The students experience these everyday
conflicts through the eyes of the animals. The
philosophy, principles, and skills of conflict
resolution are interwoven in role-plays about
junior zoo conflicts. Students gradually move from
helping the animals resolve their conflicts to
resolving conflicts in their own lives. Over the
course of the lessons, children learn important
terms, create journals, and apply these new ideas
to their lives. Role-plays, art, and journal
keeping are used to keep the children interested
and provide ways for them to internalize and apply
the skills they learn in a range of situations.
Another curriculum, We Can Work It Out! Problem
Solving Through Mediation for elementary schools,
follows the same format as We Can Work It Out! for
secondary schools, except that the terminology used
and the scenarios created are appropriate for
elementary school students.[8] Elementary mediation
showcases parallel the secondary ones described
above. Scenarios for students often involve fairy
tales, cartoons, and interpersonal conflicts.
Process Curriculum in Juvenile Justice Settings
NICEL's lessons for juvenile justice settings focus
on developing an understanding of practical law.
Life skills like anger management, communication,
and the problem-solving processes of conflict
resolution are at the heart of every lesson. The
interactive strategies and real-world scenarios
keep participants engaged in applying newly learned
information. NICEL provides training and materials
for juvenile justice professionals in prevention,
intervention, and youth development under an OJJDP
grant.
NICEL programs can be used separately or integrated
into existing curriculums and programs. Schools
that have a peer mediation program can use the We
Can Work It Out! curriculum to extend the
philosophy and skills to the rest of the school
population. If a school has not yet developed a
conflict resolution education program, a logical
first step might be to teach the philosophy and
skills of conflict resolution to the entire school
community and then to set up a mediation program.
The use of these programs and curriculums can help
develop a corps of trained practitioners in the
school community who have the skills to handle
everyday conflicts.
-------------------------------
I learned that you can work out problems without
going to the principal's office.
-- Student, North Carolina
-------------------------------
Notes
1. Curhan, J.R. 1996. Life Negotiations: The PYN
Curriculum for Middle Schools. Cambridge, MA:
Program for Young Negotiators, Inc.
2. Some of the curriculums available from PEF are
Peacemaking Skills for Little Kids, Pre K-K (F.
Schmidt and A. Friedman, 1993), Peacemaking Skills
for Little Kids, Grade One (D. Berkell, K. Kotzen,
and S. Rizzo, 1996), Peacemaking Skills for Little
Kids, Grade Two (E. Brunt, A. Friedman, F. Schmidt,
and T. Solotoff, 1996), Peace Scholars: Learning
Through Literature, Grade Three (D. Carlebach,
1996), Creative Conflict Solving for Kids, Grade
Four (F. Schmidt and A. Friedman, 1991), Creative
Conflict Solving for Kids, Grade Five (F. Schmidt
and A. Friedman, 1985), Creating Peace, Building
Community, Grade Six (J. Bachoy, 1996), and
Creating Peace, Building Community, Grade Seven (J.
Bachoy, 1996). For more information on these
curriculums, see the section "Process Curriculum"
in appendix B.
3. The PEF mediation curriculums include Mediation
for Kids (F. Schmidt, A. Friedman, and J. Marvel,
1992) and Mediation: Getting to Win/Win! (F.
Schmidt and J. Burke, 1994). For more information
on these curriculums, see the section "Mediation"
in appendix B.
4. Schmidt, F., and A. Friedman. 1994. Fighting
Fair for Families. Miami, FL: Peace 10 Education
Foundation.
5. Arbetman, L.P., E.T. McMahon, and E.L. O'Brien.
1994. Street Law: A Course in Practical Law, 5th
edition. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company.
6. Glickman, S., and J. Zimmer. 1993. We Can Work
It Out!: Problem Solving Through Mediation,
Secondary Edition. Washington, DC: National
Institute for Citizen Education in the Law. See
"Process Curriculum," appendix B, for more
information.
7. Glickman, S., N. Johnson, G. Sirianni, and J.
Zimmer. 1996. The Conflict Zoo. Washington, DC:
National Institute for Citizen Education in the
Law. See "Process Curriculum," appendix B, for more
information.
8. Barnes-Robinson, L., S. Jewler, and J. Zimmer.
1996. We Can Work It Out!: Problem Solving Through
Mediation, Elementary Edition. Washington, DC:
National Institute for Citizen Education in the
Law. See "Process Curriculum," appendix B, for more
information.
-------------------------------
Figure 2: Seven Elements of Negotiation
Harvard Negotiation Project
o Communicate unconditionally both ways.
o Build a relationship in which you work side by
side.
o Clarify everyone's underlying interests.
o Without commitment, generate options to meet the
interests.
o Find external standards of legitimacy by which to
evaluate and improve options.
o Think about the walk-away alternatives if no
agreement is reached.
o Carefully draft terms that are better than the
best alternatives. Then make commitments.
Program for Young Negotiators
o Understand their perceptions and communicate your
own.
o Be trustworthy all the time and collaborate.
o Explore their underlying interests, as well as
your own.
o Brainstorm options without criticizing each
other.
o Identify fair reasons for choosing options.
o Know your backup plan.
o Package options based on both of your interests.
Source: Adapted with permission from materials of
the Harvard Negotiation Project, Harvard Law
School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and of the
Program for Young Negotiators, Inc., Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
-------------------------------
Chapter 3: Mediation Program Approach
-------------------------------
We help kids who are fighting talk about their
problems. Some people think kids can't help other
kids solve their problems. But we can. It's real
neat because we don't work out things for kids who
are fighting. They solve their own problems and we
help.
-- Fourth-grade mediator, Wilmette, Illinois
-------------------------------
Mediation Program: A conflict resolution education
program in which selected individuals (adults
and/or students) are trained in the principles and
foundation abilities of conflict resolution and in
the mediation process in order to provide neutral
third-party facilitation to assist those in
conflict to reach a resolution.
The mediation process is a mechanism for resolving
conflicts that can be used within schools, the
community, youth-serving organizations, and
juvenile justice settings. Within these settings,
mediation programs are established to:
o Reduce the number of disciplinary actions, such
as detentions, suspensions, and lockdowns.
o Encourage more effective problem solving.
o Reduce the time adults or youth leaders spend
dealing with conflicts between youth.
o Improve school or agency climate.
o Provide youth and staff with an alternative forum
for problem solving.
Mediation programs can help manage and resolve
conflicts between young people, between young
people and adults, and between adults. The
principal, teachers, or other adults can be trained
as mediators to help young people and adults
resolve their disputes. For example, an adult
mediator can assist adults in resolving conflicts
such as work problems between staff members,
disciplinary actions disputed by parents, and
disputes over the development of appropriate
programs for children with special needs.
Youth mediators help resolve disputes between peers
involving jealousies, rumors, misunderstandings,
bullying, fights, personal property, and damaged
friendships. In addition, youth and adults may
co-mediate conflicts such as personality clashes,
issues of respect and behavior, and other conflicts
that damage youth-adult relationships. Youth-adult
mediations are usually an outgrowth of established
peer mediation programs or adult mediation
programs.
The Mediation Process
Mediation is a process in which one or more
mediators serve as neutral facilitators to help
disputants negotiate an agreement. In this process,
the mediator creates and maintains an environment
that fosters mutual problem solving. During
mediation, the mediator uses the six
problem-solving steps of conflict resolution:
o Set the stage -- establish ground rules for
problem solving.
o Gather perspectives -- listen to each disputant's
point of view.
o Identify interests contributing to the conflict.
o Create options that address the interests of both
disputants.
o Evaluate these options according to objective
criteria.
o Generate an agreement satisfactory to each
disputant.
Although the mediator controls the process, the
disputants control the outcome. Participation in
mediation is voluntary, and the mediator does not
judge, impose an agreement, or force a solution.
Mediation is powerful because conflicts can only be
resolved if the disputants choose to resolve them.
Disputants can judge best what will resolve the
conflict and are more likely to execute the terms
of an agreement if they have authored them.
Peer Mediation Programs
Peer mediation programs are among the most widely
chosen types of conflict resolution programs in
schools. Young people can become effective
mediators because they understand their peers, make
the process age appropriate, empower their peers
and command their respect, and normalize the
conflict resolution process.[1]
Young people can connect with their peers in ways
that adults cannot. Peer mediators can frame
disputes in the perspective, language, and
attitudes of youth. Young people perceive peer
mediation as a way to talk out problems without the
fear of an adult judging their behavior, thoughts,
or feelings. Peer mediators are respected because
they uphold the problem-solving process and honor
the disputants in the way they conduct the
mediation sessions. The self-empowering process
appeals to youth and fosters self-esteem and
self-discipline. When young people solve their own
problems, they feel they are in control and can
make a commitment to the solutions they have
created.
Peer Mediation Training
In schoolwide peer mediation programs, a cadre of
students is trained in conflict resolution. Peer
mediation training is flexible and accommodates the
school's schedule and resources and the
developmental level of the students involved. For
example, training for elementary students might be
conducted in 2-hour sessions over several weeks,
whereas training for high school students might be
done in full-day sessions. Peer mediation training
takes a minimum of 12 to 20 hours with ongoing
opportunities to develop the skills of the
mediators (see table 1).
Respect for diversity and cultural competency are
also taught to peer mediators. Incorporating
simulations with cross-cultural themes and social
justice issues into training activities effectively
prepares peer mediators for conflicts deriving from
diversity.
Developing skill in the mediation process is a
lifelong activity. Peer mediators are encouraged to
practice and use their training in conflict
resolution as often as possible and to take
refresher classes.
Peer Mediation Opportunity
Peer mediation programs offer all young people
constructive means of resolving conflicts. Peer
mediators who are properly trained acquire and
internalize conflict resolution skills that can
benefit them in many different ways throughout
their lives. For this reason, many experts believe
that peer mediation programs should be implemented
not as a solitary entity, but as an integral part
of a total school conflict resolution program that
offers mediators and others the opportunity to
develop conflict resolution skills. In the
following sections, two mediation programs are
described.
Peer Mediation in Schools Program From the New
Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution
The Peer Mediation in Schools Program developed by
the New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution
(NMCDR) is designed to train staff and the entire
student body in the mediation process, with
selected students trained as peer mediators. The
program has three components -- teacher modeling, a
curriculum, and mediation -- and is intended for
use in a wide range of contexts and settings, which
are described in detail on the following pages.
Teacher Modeling
The program's success depends on the support and
commitment of the entire school staff. At an
orientation meeting, staff are presented with
several options. They can:
o Pledge general support for the program.
o Refer students to mediation and encourage
participation in the process.
o Agree to participate in mediation with a student
if appropriate.
o Take part in conflict resolution training if
training is offered at the school.
o Participate in mediation training and serve as a
staff mediator.
o Serve as a member of the mediation implementation
team.
o Serve as a program coordinator.
In any of these roles, teachers demonstrate the
value and importance of problem solving and
communication by applying these skills in the
classroom, the hallway, the office, and in
interactions with colleagues and with parents.
Curriculum Component
Teaching the curriculum is mandatory at the
elementary level and optional at the middle and
secondary levels. At the elementary level, the
curriculum is designed to teach and reinforce
communication, develop vocabulary and concepts
related to conflict, and develop problem-solving
skills. Two manuals are used: Resolving Conflict:
Activities for Grades K-3 and Lessons in Conflict
Resolution for Grades 4-6.[2] The curriculum is
used in all class settings, allowing all students
to develop conflict resolution skills. At the
secondary level, a 15-lesson curriculum, Managing
Conflict: A Curriculum for Adolescents, is used in
homeroom and social studies, civics, language, and
English classes.[3] The curriculum teaches and
reinforces skills in communication, problem
solving, and anger management.
Mediation Component
Selection of peer mediators is similar at the
elementary, middle, and secondary levels. Students
and staff nominate potential mediators, and a
committee of teachers makes the final selection
based on a balance of "negative" and "positive"
factors. Selected staff and students are then
trained in the mediation process.
At the elementary level, selected mediators from
grades 4 through 6 receive an additional 9 hours of
training after they complete the mediation
curriculum. After a publicized graduation ceremony,
student mediators in teams of two watch the
playground for developing conflicts and offer their
help in resolving them. Some schools also use a
classroom referral system. The NMCDR Training and
Implementation Guide for Student Mediation in
Elementary Schools provides a detailed description
of program implementation.[4]
At the secondary level, selected teacher and
student mediators receive 12 hours of training
after they complete the mediation curriculum. After
training, students and staff refer conflicts to the
program coordinator for mediation; participation is
voluntary. Disputes between two students are
handled by a team of two student mediators, and
disputes between a staff member and a student are
handled by a student and staff mediator team. The
NMCDR Training and Implementation Guide for Student
Mediation in Secondary Schools contains information
on training mediators and implementing the
program.[5]
NMCDR initially conducts district staff orientation
workshops to discuss the philosophical and
organizational realities of conflict resolution.
Thereafter, NMCDR and the school district enter
into an agreement that specifies the
responsibilities of each party. NMCDR's
responsibilities are to:
o Help create district implementation teams
composed of teachers, parents, community youth
workers, juvenile probation officers, and students.
o Provide onsite training; each district receives a
number of service days based on the district team's
plan.
o Provide technical assistance that includes
training students and staff in mediation and
conflict resolution skills; giving presentations to
school board members, parents, administrators, and
staff to build program support; planning program
development; providing program management
assistance to district team members and school
program coordinators; and providing other
assistance identified by the district.
o Supply implementation manuals and curriculum
materials with permission to duplicate as needed
for the school district's use.
o Work on site with the district team to assess
district needs, exchange information that defines
services to be provided, plan strategies for
problem-solving or development activities, develop
long-term plans for program implementation, and
mentor district trainers for up to 2 years.
o Conduct an annual evaluation examining the
strengths and weaknesses of all new and ongoing
NMCDR programs.
The school district's responsibilities over a
period of 3 to 5 years are to:
o Maintain a district implementation team that
includes a district-level administrator and
community members and meets at least twice a year.
o Maintain programs at all schools where a program
has been implemented.
o Provide substitute and inservice time for staff
and coordinator training.
o Develop a written plan that includes a 3- to
5-year plan and goals for districtwide expansion,
annual district goals, and a list of services
needed for the year.
o Identify new schools for program implementation
in the following academic year.
o Maintain originals of curriculum materials and
mediation training manuals provided by NMCDR and
provide and distribute copies to schools.
o Select four to six candidates to be trained as
internal district trainers and provide support such
as release time and substitute salary to allow them
to train within the district.
o Support programs during transitions (e.g., during
changes of staff).
o Establish policies for mediation programs.
o Integrate mediation into the schools' and the
district's disciplinary policies.
o Build connections with the community, including
private and public agencies such as juvenile
probation and social services.
By training educators to become conflict resolution
trainers, NMCDR helps districts become independent,
thereby ensuring a smooth transfer of
responsibility. The district trainers assume
responsibility for creating and maintaining
mediation and conflict resolution programs and for
conducting training in the schools. At that point,
NMCDR staff withdraw from the school district's
program.
-------------------------------
I have been through student-teacher mediation this
semester and found it to be a positive, equitable
method of achieving conflict resolution. The
student and I had repeated confrontations about
attitude and academic performance. Through the
mediation the student felt more at ease -- less
pressured. I became aware of my own actions and his
concerns and modified my behavior accordingly. The
student has become less disruptive and
confrontational.
-- Teacher, Ortiz Middle School
We need to face the reality that what we are doing
is not working. We must do something different.
This is different and I believe it will work!
-- Assistant principal, Chicago, Illinois
My first-grade son came home the other day and told
me, "Mom, I have a problem with Jessica. We need to
talk." I came in to ask the teacher what was going
on because he usually says that she's mean and he
hates her. I was excited about the change in his
way of talking. The teacher told me he was having a
class in conflict resolution.
-- Parent, Bayard Elementary School
-------------------------------
Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution
The Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution
(IIDR) implements and operates its peer mediation
program in six developmental phases (figure 3).
During the first phase, the conflict resolution
program team is created and trained, the program
coordinators are designated, a needs assessment is
conducted, and faculty consensus for program
development is built. IIDR is actively involved
with the school or district in this phase,
providing technical assistance and training for the
program team. Throughout all six phases, IIDR
provides technical assistance to the program team,
including first-time training to other staff,
community members, parents, and student peer
mediators. In any of these trainings conducted by
IIDR, program team members always participate and
provide followup training after the program's first
year.
Phase I: Develop the Program Team and Commitment
A peer mediation program must be perceived as
fulfilling the needs of both faculty and students.
A broad-based coalition of administrators,
classroom teachers, special educators, counselors,
deans, social workers, and health educators
interested in developing a conflict resolution
program is necessary for a successful program. This
team may also include parents, students, or
community members. The team is the key to a
successful program because the members initiate the
program and are charged with gaining the support of
the entire school staff.
After the team is formed, it must build its
capacity to develop a quality peer mediation
program. The program team must be trained to become
informed decisionmakers, effective implementers,
and strong advocates for the program. Since the
program team will be responsible for the
supervision and training of student mediators, the
team members must be trained in the principles of
conflict resolution and mediation and methods for
mediation training. Content for the training
includes:
o Understanding conflict.
o Principles of conflict resolution.
o Social and cultural diversity and conflict
resolution.
o Mediation process and skills.
o Program organization and operation.
o Role of peer mediation in the school.
o Rationale for peer mediation.
IIDR believes that trainers should have mediation
experience. The team members should therefore be
involved in mediation training and continue to
increase their skills through practice.
During phase I the program coordinators are
designated. The effectiveness of the peer mediation
program is strongly linked to the quality of
program coordinators, who are responsible for the
ongoing organization and operation of the peer
mediation program and must personify the conflict
resolution principles they promote. Program
coordinators:
o Facilitate the program team in designing and
planning the peer mediation program.
o Plan and conduct orientation sessions for
faculty, students, families, and the community.
o Coordinate the selection of peer mediators and
the training of students.
o Establish and facilitate the advisory committee.
o Promote the program.
o Receive requests for mediation and schedule
mediators and mediations.
o Arrange for supervision of mediators and provide
for ongoing mediator training and support.
o Facilitate ongoing communication with the program
team.
o Develop parent and community participation.
o Collect mediation data and evaluate the program.
This phase also includes a needs assessment
conducted to establish school and community support
for a conflict resolution program. Broad-based
support is essential to sustaining a school
conflict resolution program. Faculty consensus on
the program's development must also be built.
Without shared vision among faculty, the program
will not grow and is not likely to survive.
-------------------------------
Mediation met a deep-seated need. . . . Conflict is
resolved on a verbal level and does not get to the
physical. . . . Peer mediation teaches that
different is not necessarily bad. . . . We tend to
realize that the other person is just like us.
-- Teacher, Rockford, Illinois
The training was great. . . . Everybody left the
training so enthused and committed to developing
the program. . . . Never before had anything been
done districtwide, and we wanted to do it with this
type of program so the students would get the same
message across grades. . . . We had a vision that
we could make this work in Freeport.
-- Counselor and program team member, Freeport,
Illinois
-------------------------------
Phase II: Design and Plan the Program
Following phase I, IIDR encourages the school to
establish an advisory committee of 10 to 12 members
representing the varied interests of the school and
community, including parents, teachers, school and
district administrators, students, support staff,
community representatives, and corporate sponsors.
The advisory committee oversees the development of
the program, including the role of mediation within
the school's discipline program; assists the
program team in developing timelines for
implementation; and identifies and develops funding
sources.
Phase III: Select and Train the Mediators
Phase III encompasses recruiting, selecting, and
training student mediators. IIDR suggests that
nominations be broadly solicited from staff and
students, including self-nominations. Several
processes may be used to select mediators, but IIDR
believes that one of the more effective is a
lottery. Selection by lottery is preferable because
interested students will take the risk of applying
when they do not fear rejection. It is also
important that students not have a negative
experience with the peer mediation program. Lottery
selection is perceived as an opportunity, whereas
selection by criteria can be perceived as a
personal risk. A student rejected as a peer
mediator may reject the mediation process if he or
she later experiences a conflict. This attitude can
potentially spread from one individual to groups of
peers, who would then also refuse to participate in
the mediation. The lottery must also provide for
the proper representation of the school's diverse
groups if it is to work well.
The IIDR program for student mediation training
involves 12 to 15 hours of basic training and 12 to
15 hours of additional advanced training. The basic
training activities include understanding conflict,
responses to conflict, sources of conflict,
communication skills, the role of the mediator, and
the mediation process. The advanced training
includes bias awareness, social/cultural diversity,
advanced communication, uncovering hidden
interests, dealing with anger, caucusing,
negotiation, and group problem solving.
Students who complete the basic training can
mediate most disputes between peers. The advanced
training strengthens their abilities to use the
mediation process and expands their understanding
of diversity with regard to conflict resolution.
Phase IV: Educate a Critical Mass
The fourth phase of the program focuses on
educating a critical mass about conflict, conflict
resolution, and the mediation process via workshops
for faculty, students, parents, and the community.
In the IIDR program, the staff inservice training
is a minimum of 6 hours. The purpose of the
inservice training is to help the staff develop a
common understanding of conflict, learn the
principles of conflict resolution, develop an
understanding of the mediation process, learn how
to support the development of the peer mediation
program through curriculum integration and referral
of conflicts to mediation, and prepare to conduct
student workshops.
Workshops for students last about 5 hours and are
designed to develop an understanding of conflict,
peace, and peacemaking; communication and
negotiation skills; and an understanding of peer
mediation and procedures for requesting peer
mediation services. Student peer mediators are
often used to provide orientation programs for and
assist in training faculty, students, parents, and
community groups.
-------------------------------
Even some of the tougher kids are starting to see
fighting as pretty stupid.
-- Middle school mediator, Champaign, Illinois
There are so many more problems today that they
naturally affect our kids. They need ways to deal
with their own problems.
-- Parent, Chicago, Illinois
I don't have nearly the number of conflicts to deal
with as I used to. A referral must be pretty
serious now for it to come to me. My playground
supervisors also see a big difference. School
peacemakers (peer mediators) aren't enough.
Mediation must get into the classrooms.
-- Principal, Mt. Carmel, Illinois
-------------------------------
Phase V: Develop and Execute a Promotional Campaign
The fifth phase consists of developing and
executing a promotional campaign. Like many new
ideas, peer mediation can be greeted with
skepticism. Students may be reluctant to try a new
approach. Many students may feel as if they are
backing down or losing face if they talk problems
through. Promoting the program among the student
population is crucial to its success, but the
campaign activities must be revived periodically
and continue through the life of the program.
Phase VI: Program Operation and Maintenance
Phase VI encompasses every aspect of program
operation and maintenance -- requesting mediation,
scheduling mediations and mediators, supervising
mediators, recording mediation data, providing
ongoing training and support, and evaluating
programs. Conducting a program evaluation builds a
solid case for ongoing support for peer mediation
and provides information to improve the program and
change the school system.
IIDR promotes peer mediation as a way to establish
conflict resolution programs in schools and works
with schools in the process of developing and
implementing peer mediation programs to extend
conflict resolution training to a broader
constituency within the school than the few who are
trained as peer mediators.[6]
-------------------------------
Notes
1. Cohen, R. 1995. Students Resolving Conflict:
Peer Mediation in Schools. Glenview, IL: GoodYear
Books, pp. 44-45.
2. Copeland, N., and F. Garfield. 1989. Resolving
Conflict: Activities for Grades K-3. Albuquerque,
NM: New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution.
Lessons in Conflict Resolution for Grades 4-6.
1994. Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Center for
Dispute Resolution. For more information on both
curriculums, see "Mediation," appendix B.
3. Copeland, N.D., and M. Smith (editors). 1989.
Managing Conflict: A Curriculum for Adolescents.
Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution. For more information, see "Mediation"
in appendix B.
4. Keeney, S., and J. Sidwell. 1990. Training and
Implementation Guide for Student Mediation in
Elementary Schools. Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico
Center for Dispute Resolution. For more
information, see the section "Mediation" in
appendix B.
5. Smith, M., and J. Sidwell. 1990. Training and
Implementation Guide for Student Mediation in
Secondary Schools. Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico
Center for Dispute Resolution. For more
information, see "Mediation," appendix B.
6. Schrumpf, F., D. Crawford, and R. Bodine. 1996.
Peer Mediation: Conflict Resolution in Schools.
Revised edition. Champaign, IL: Research Press,
Inc.
-------------------------------
Table 1: Recommended Time for Peer Mediation
Training
Grade Level: Elementary school
Minimum Number of Hours of Training: 12-16
Grade Level: Middle school
Minimum Number of Hours of Training: 12-16
Grade Level: High school
Minimum Number of Hours of Training: 15-20
Source: National Association for Mediation in
Education. 1995. Standards for Peer Mediation
Programs. Washington, DC: National Institute for
Dispute Resolution.
-------------------------------
Figure 3: The Six Developmental Phases of the
Mediation Program of the Illinois Institute for
Dispute Resolution
Phase I: Develop the Program Team and Commitment
o Create program team.
o Train program team.
o Designate program coordinators.
o Conduct needs assessment.
o Build faculty consensus for program development.
Phase II: Design and Plan the Program
o Develop timeline for implementation.
o Establish advisory committee.
o Develop policies and procedures.
o Identify and develop funding sources.
Phase III: Select and Train the Mediators
o Conduct student orientation.
o Select peer mediators.
o Train mediators.
o Recognize peer mediators.
Phase IV: Educate a Critical Mass
o Conduct faculty inservice training.
o Conduct student workshops.
o Provide family and community orientation.
o Offer parent workshops.
Phase V:  Develop and Execute a Promotional
Campaign
o Execute initial campaign.
o Develop ongoing promotion.
Phase VI: Program Operation and Maintenance
o Request mediation process.
o Schedule mediations and mediators.
o Supervise mediation session.
o Provide mediators ongoing training and support.
o Evaluate program.
Source: Schrumpf, F., D. Crawford, and R. Bodine.
1996. Peer Mediation: Conflict Resolution in
Schools. Revised edition. Champaign, IL: Research
Press, Inc. Reprinted with permission of the
authors and Research Press.
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Chapters 4-7
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
59 pages
125,276 bytes
Chapter 4: Peaceable Classroom Approach
------------------------------
Each of us must be the change we want to see in the
world.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
------------------------------
Peaceable Classroom: A whole-classroom methodology
that includes teaching students the foundation
abilities, principles, and one or more of the three
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution education is incorporated into
the core subjects of the curriculum and into
classroom management strategies. Peaceable
classrooms are the building blocks of the peaceable
school.
Peaceable classrooms are initiated on a
teacher-by-teacher basis. The peaceable classroom
approach integrates conflict resolution into the
curriculum and into the management of the classroom
and uses the instructional methods of cooperative
learning and academic controversy.
Curriculum Integration and Classroom Management
Curriculum integration occurs when the skills and
concepts needed to resolve conflicts constructively
are incorporated into core subject areas. Teachers
who integrate conflict resolution into their
curriculums help create classroom environments that
support conflict resolution and prosocial behavior.
William Kreidler, a pioneer of the peaceable
classroom, views the classroom as a caring and
respectful community having five qualities:
cooperation, communication, emotional expression,
appreciation for diversity, and conflict
resolution.1 Peaceable classrooms incorporate
learning activities and teachable moments that
encourage youth to recognize and choose nonviolent
options in conflict situations, meet the needs of
the individuals involved, and improve
relationships.
Cooperative Learning and Academic Controversy
Teachers in peaceable classrooms extensively use
the cooperative learning and academic controversy
methods developed by David Johnson and Roger
Johnson. In cooperative learning, students work in
small groups to accomplish shared learning goals.
Students have the responsibility to learn the
assigned material and ensure that other group
members learn it.2 Academic controversy methods are
used when one student's ideas, information,
conclusions, theories, and opinions are
incompatible with those of another and the two seek
to reach an agreement. Controversies are resolved
through deliberate discourse -- the discussion of
the advantages and disadvantages of proposed
actions. Such discussion is aimed at creative
problem solving by synthesizing novel solutions.3
In peaceable classrooms, youth learn to take
responsibility for their actions and develop a
sense of connectedness to others and their
environment. Peaceable classrooms build the
capacity of youth to manage and resolve conflict on
their own by learning to:
o Understand and analyze conflict.
o Understand peace and peacemaking.
o Recognize the role of perceptions and biases.
o Identify feelings.
o Identify factors that cause escalation.
o Handle anger and other feelings appropriately.
o Improve listening skills.
o Improve verbal communication skills.
o Identify common interests.
o Brainstorm multiple options that address
interests.
o Evaluate the consequences of different options.
o Create a win-win agreement.
The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution's
Conflict Management Resource Guide for Elementary
Schools suggests the following ways to incorporate
conflict and conflict resolution into the core
areas of the curriculum:4
o Art: Study contrast, perspective, and feeling in
the production or study of art.
o Health: Recognize and evaluate the consequences
of unhealthy behavior and brainstorm alternative
choices.
o Language Arts:
-- Reading: Analyze factual or fictional stories to
identify the causes of conflicts and their
solutions while discussing additional options for
resolving them.
-- Writing: Use story starters to provide
opportunities for students to think about and apply
conflict resolution skills in their creative
writing.
o Mathematics: Ask students to develop a plan for a
city park that meets a variety of community
interests and budget constraints.
o Music: Reinforce the principles of harmony and
discord and their similarity to the problem-solving
processes of conflict resolution.
o Physical Education: Discuss the differences
between competitive and cooperative games and
ground rules that encourage or discourage a
peaceful sports climate.
o Science: Discuss and analyze the symbiotic
relationships found in nature.
o Social Studies: Analyze past or present local,
State, national, and international conflicts and
discuss various conflict resolution strategies to
resolve them.
The Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR)
curriculum Making Choices About Conflict, Security,
and Peacemaking offers other examples for
incorporating conflict resolution into primary and
supplementary lessons for the secondary level:5
o Literature: Explore the concept of conflict
escalation in novels and short stories, or read
selections about American and global peacemakers
whose life work has made a positive difference for
others, for example, Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar
Chavez, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ralph Bunche, and Jane
Addams.
o Science: Introduce the concept of global ecology
by examining environmental problems that require
international cooperation.
o Civics: Explore tools of public policy and
political pressure that are employed at local,
State, national, and international levels. Study
State and Federal legislation or international
policies on controversial issues.
o Introduction to the Law: Explore the tuna fish
controversy (drift net fishing and the Law of the
Seas) as a way to understand the impact of change
in the law on local and national economies and
international relations.
o World Geography: Compare different nations to
identify how geographic features influence economy
and quality of life.
o American History: Study the successes and
failures of international peacekeeping in the 20th
century, specifically contrasting the League of
Nations and the United Nations.
Two examples of peaceable classroom programs
follow.
Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers Program
The Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers (TSP)
program offered by the Cooperative Learning Center
of the University of Minnesota is a 12-year spiral
program for schools in which students learn
increasingly sophisticated negotiation and
mediation procedures each year.6 In the TSP
program, the school's faculty create a cooperative
environment, teach students to be peacemakers,
implement the peacemaker program, and refine and
upgrade the students' skills.
Faculty Create a Cooperative Environment
Cooperative learning creates a context for the
constructive resolution of conflicts. It also
reduces the factors that place students at risk for
using violence, such as poor academic performance
(with an inability to think decisions through) and
alienation from schoolmates. Cooperative learning,
compared with competitive or individualistic
learning, results in higher academic achievement
and increased use of higher level reasoning
strategies, more caring and supportive
relationships, and greater self-esteem.
Faculty Teach Students To Be Peacemakers
Under TSP, all students receive 30 minutes of
training per day for approximately 30 days and then
30 minutes of training approximately twice a week
for the rest of the school year. The training
includes:
o Understanding the Nature of Conflict. Learning
includes recognizing conflicts by focusing
attention on problems, clarifying disputants'
values, revealing how disputants need to change,
increasing higher level cognitive and moral
reasoning, increasing motivation to learn,
providing insights into other perspectives and life
experiences, strengthening relationships, adding
fun and variety to life, and increasing disputants'
ability to cope with stress and be resilient in the
face of adversity.
o Choosing an Appropriate Conflict Strategy.
Students, faculty, and administrators learn that
they have two concerns when facing a conflict:
achieving their goals and maintaining a good
relationship with the other person. The balance
between the two determines whether they should:
-- Withdraw, giving up both the goals and the
relationship.
-- Force, achieving the goal at the other person's
expense, thereby giving up the relationship.
-- Smooth, giving up the goal to enhance the
relationship.
-- Compromise, giving up part of the goal at some
damage to the relationship.
-- Negotiate, solving the problem, thus achieving
the goal and maintaining the relationship.
Participants are taught that in long-term
relationships, such as those with schoolmates and
faculty, the most important strategy is the
problem-solving process of negotiation.
o Negotiating To Solve the Problem. It is not
enough to tell students to "be nice," or "talk it
out," or "solve your problem." They must be taught
specific procedures for resolving conflicts. This
part of the training teaches students, faculty, and
administrators specific procedures for negotiating
agreements that result in all disputants achieving
their goals while maintaining or even improving the
quality of their relationships (see figure 4).
o Mediating Others' Conflicts. Participants are
taught the four-step mediation procedure:
-- Ending hostilities. The mediator ensures that
disputants end hostilities and cool off. If the
disputants are too angry to solve their problems,
they must cool down before mediation begins.
-- Ensuring disputants are committed to the
mediation process. The mediator introduces the
process of mediation and sets the ground rules.
-- Helping disputants successfully negotiate with
each other. The mediator carefully takes the
disputants through the negotiation procedure.
-- Formalizing the agreement. The mediator
formalizes the agreement by completing a report
form and having disputants sign it as a commitment
to implement the agreement and abide by its
conditions.
Faculty Implement the Peacemaker Program
When the students have completed the initial
training, the teachers implement the program. Every
day the teacher selects two class members to serve
as official mediators of any conflicts students
cannot resolve themselves. The mediators work in
pairs. They wear official T-shirts, patrol the
playground and lunchroom, and mediate conflicts.
The role of class mediator is rotated throughout
the class or school so that all students have an
equal chance to serve as class mediator. Teachers
and adults who are trained mediators may also
mediate student disputes.
Faculty Refine and Upgrade the Students' Skills
Under the TSP program, students receive training
every year from the 1st through the 12th grades.
Each year, the training becomes more complex and
complete, and the faculty teach negotiation and
mediation skills weekly throughout the school year
to refine and upgrade the students' skills.
Students practice the procedures over and over
again until they become automatic. Teachers can
enhance the TSP program through academic
controversy procedures to create intellectual
conflicts that increase learning and higher level
reasoning and let students practice their conflict
resolution skills.
The TSP program is implemented through a
combination of bottom-up and top-down strategies.
Teams of faculty members are trained to implement
the TSP program through 30 to 40 hours of training
given throughout the school year or in an intensive
summer session. Following the training sessions,
trainers provide support to the teaching teams by
giving demonstration lessons, helping members
prepare lessons, observing their implementation
efforts, and providing feedback.
Educators for Social Responsibility
Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), based in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, promotes children's
ethical and social development through its programs
in conflict resolution, violence prevention,
intergroup relations, and character education. ESR
helps create peaceable classrooms in schools by
providing onsite professional development training
with followup support for the schools. By the term
"peaceable," ESR means a safe, caring, respectful,
and productive learning environment. ESR provides
workshops, curriculums, and ongoing support to help
educators develop instructional and management
practices that foster skill in cooperation, caring
communication, appreciation of diversity,
expression of feelings, responsible decisionmaking,
and conflict resolution.7
ESR first conducts a needs assessment of a school
or district to help the institution more clearly
define the problems it seeks to address, current
program strengths, specific needs, and short- and
long-term goals. At this stage, ESR recommends the
creation of a program steering committee, multiyear
planning, voluntary staff participation in
training, and the development of local leadership
capacity.
------------------------------
Since implementing the Peaceable Classroom
approach, I can spend my time doing what I love to
do. Teach!
-- Kindergarten teacher, Brookline, Massachusetts
------------------------------
------------------------------
We attended two ESR conflict resolution institutes
and brought one of their trainers into our school
for 3 days. Since we started this work, so many
wonderful things have been happening.
-- High school English teacher, South Bend, Indiana
------------------------------
ESR Core 4-Day Training Model
The ESR model provides a theoretical background on
key topics such as social and emotional learning
and developmentally appropriate classroom teaching
activities. Woven throughout the training are
direct instruction strategies, ideas for
incorporating conflict resolution into the
curriculum, classroom management ideas, and
discipline applications.
This training is participatory and experiential,
placing emphasis on community building.
Participants in workshops develop action plans
appropriate to their classrooms and schools. A
major premise is that teachers are taught to model
the behavior they seek to teach through direct
instruction, and schools develop and reflect the
values they seek to nurture among young people in
all facets of their program.
ESR recommends that students and teachers make
decisions together about classroom norms and
guidelines at the beginning of the school year and
that teachers provide early instruction in problem
solving and decisionmaking so that the skills can
be used and reinforced throughout the year.
Ongoing Followup and Support
A staff development specialist provides onsite
followup. The activities offered include
demonstrations of teaching, coaching, planning, and
problem solving. For many teachers, seeing is
believing, and the opportunity to watch a staff
development specialist model the teaching of
conflict resolution for their students is
essential. Colleagues who go through the training
together are encouraged to meet, share ideas, and
discuss difficulties on a periodic basis.
Interviews 6 to 18 months after conflict resolution
education training and followup sessions have
revealed that participants bring new ways of
thinking about teaching and learning to their
classrooms. Teachers transform their classrooms,
empowering young people to help create a caring
classroom community in which they use conflict
resolution skills daily. Even more significant
change results when a critical mass of teachers
engaged in creating and sustaining peaceable
classrooms is joined by counselors, administrators,
parents, and others to forge a peaceable school and
connections to other conflict resolution
initiatives in the community.
The ESR peaceable classroom model helps teachers
naturally integrate conflict resolution and
intergroup relations into their classrooms through
direct instruction and reinforcement of skills. It
also helps them foster desired behavior through
teachable moments and institute systematic
classroom management practices.
Notes
1. Kreidler, W. 1990. Elementary Perspectives I:
Teaching Concepts of Peace and Conflict. Cambridge,
MA: Educators for Social Responsibility, p. 43.
2. Johnson, D., and R. Johnson. 1995. Reducing
School Violence Through Conflict Resolution.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervisors and
Curriculum Development, p. 25.
3. Ibid., pp. 104-105.
4. Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Commission
on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management.
1995. Conflict Management Resource Guide for
Elementary Schools. Columbus, OH: Ohio Commission
on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, pp.
7-8.
5. Miller-Lieber, C. 1994. Making Choices About
Conflict, Security, and Peacemaking--Part I:
Personal Perspectives. Cambridge, MA: Educators for
Social Responsibility, p. 11.
6. Johnson, D.W., and R.T. Johnson. 1987, 1991,
1995. Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers. Edina,
MN: Interaction Book Company. For more information,
see the section "Peaceable Classroom" in appendix
B.
7. Several ESR curriculums are listed under
"Peaceable Classroom" in appendix B.
------------------------------
Figure 4: The Problem-Solving Negotiation Procedure
Describe what you want. "I want to use the book
now." This involves using good communication skills
and defining the conflict as a small and specific
mutual problem.
Describe how you feel. "I'm frustrated." Disputants
must understand how they feel and communicate it
accurately and unambiguously.
Describe the reasons for your wants and feelings.
"You have been using the book for the past hour. If
I don't get to use the book soon, my report will
not be done on time. It's frustrating to have to
wait so long." This step includes expressing
cooperative intentions, listening carefully,
separating interests from positions, and
differentiating before trying to integrate the two
sets of interests.
Take the other's perspective and summarize your
understanding of what the other person wants, how
the other person feels, and the reasons underlying
both. "My understanding of you is . . . ." This
includes understanding the perspective of the
opposing disputant and being able to see the
problem from both perspectives simultaneously.
Invent three optional plans to resolve the conflict
that maximize joint benefits. "Plan A is . . . .
Plan B is . . . . Plan C is . . . ." These are
creative optional agreements that maximize the
benefits for all disputants and solve the problem.
Choose the wisest course of action and formalize
the agreement with a handshake. "Let's agree on
Plan B!" A wise agreement is fair to all
disputants, maximizes joint benefits, and
strengthens disputants' ability to work together
cooperatively and resolve future conflicts
constructively. It specifies how each disputant
should act and how the agreement will be reviewed
and renegotiated if it does not work.
Source: Johnson, D.W., and R.T. Johnson. 1991.
Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers. Edina, MN:
Interaction Book Company, pp. 3:52-3:60. Used with
permission of the authors and Interaction Book
Company.
------------------------------
Chapter 5: Peaceable School Approach
------------------------------
In the peaceable school, the pervasive theme
touching the interactions between students, between
students and adults, and between adults is the
value of human dignity and self-esteem.1
------------------------------
Peaceable School: A comprehensive whole-school
methodology that builds on the peaceable classroom
approach by using conflict resolution as a system
of operation for managing the school as well as the
classroom. Conflict resolution principles and
processes are learned and utilized by every member
of the school community -- librarians, teachers,
counselors, students, principals, and parents.
The peaceable school approach integrates conflict
resolution into the operation of the school. Every
member of the school community learns and uses
conflict resolution concepts and skills. Peaceable
school climates reflect caring, honesty,
cooperation, and appreciation for diversity. As
comprehensive whole-school programs, peaceable
schools incorporate:
o Cooperative learning environments.
o Direct instruction and practice of conflict
resolution skills and processes.
o Noncoercive school and classroom management
systems.
o Integration of conflict resolution concepts and
skills into the curriculum.
Peaceable school programs challenge youth and
adults to believe that a nonviolent, diverse
society is a realistic and desirable goal.
Peaceable schools value and encourage diversity and
promote peacemaking as the normative behavior of
adults and students. Participants in the peaceable
school apply conflict resolution skills to address
interpersonal and intergroup problems and issues
that confront students, faculty, administrators,
and parents. The objectives of peacemaking are to
achieve personal, group, and institutional goals
and to maintain cooperative relationships.
The Community Board Program (CBP) was one of the
first to recognize the value of moving beyond the
peer mediation approach to a whole-school approach
to conflict resolution education within schools and
across school districts. Recognizing that practice
in communication and problem-solving skills in the
classroom would better prepare students to deal
constructively with conflict and to use existing
peer mediation programs, CBP developed elementary
and secondary classroom curriculums, shifting from
an approach that reacts to school conflicts (peer
mediation) to one that seeks to prevent them. To
change fundamental beliefs about conflict and
systems for dealing with conflict, CBP sought to
introduce as many school-related personnel as
possible to conflict resolution education and to
train them in conflict resolution concepts and
skills.
The peaceable school approach incorporates the
process curriculum, mediation, and peaceable
classroom approaches. The peaceable classroom is
the unit block of the peaceable school because it
is where students gain the knowledge and skills
needed to resolve conflicts creatively and where
the majority of conflicts are addressed.2
The success of conflict resolution in the peaceable
school program depends on the school's social
climate. Peaceable school programs offer all
members of the school community training in the
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution.
Consensus decisionmaking characterizes each
classroom, and negotiation is used by all members
of the school community to resolve conflicts
equitably. Peer mediation can be applied schoolwide
and as a service in the classroom to help disputing
students settle their differences constructively.
Peaceable school programs incorporate conflict
resolution into the school's operations, affecting
relationships between all members of the school
community, including parents. Effective conflict
resolution behavior requires participants to
develop mutual appreciation and respect. The
successful development of conflict resolution
skills depends above all on the absence of
coercion.3
Peaceable School Transformation
The peaceable school approach supports the school
community in addressing specific elements that will
transform the school. These elements are not a
developmental sequence but entry points to
initiating a peaceable school program. The
peaceable school emerges in stages, coming to
fruition once all transformations have taken place.
The elements of transformation include:
o Instituting conflict resolution training for
adults.
o Designing behavior expectations and management
systems in concert with conflict resolution theory.
o Building cooperation by incorporating cooperative
learning and interaction activities into the
classroom.
o Developing the scope and sequence of conflict
resolution skills taught to students.
o Providing opportunities for an age-appropriate
understanding of conflict -- definitions, origins,
needs, resources, values, choices for response,
consequences of choices, and opportunities -- and
of peace and peacemaking.
o Providing opportunities for an age-appropriate
understanding of the principles of conflict
resolution based on integrative negotiation theory.
These principles include separating people from the
problem; focusing on interests, not positions;
inventing options for mutual gain; and using fair
criteria.
o Providing opportunities for each student to learn
and practice problem-solving strategies of
negotiation and/or consensus decisionmaking within
the classroom.
o Providing opportunities for students to serve as
mediators in their classrooms to help peers resolve
issues that they choose not to resolve or cannot
resolve through negotiation or consensus
decisionmaking.
o Providing mediation training for those who want
to become mediators in the schoolwide program.
o Developing an evaluation process to reach the
goal of becoming a peaceable school.
Systemic Change
Typical school academic and disciplinary policies
and practices often contradict the peaceful
resolution of conflicts. Peaceable schools have
reviewed and rethought such operations. Unless the
operation of the system corresponds to the desired
behavior of the individuals within the system, the
contradictory messages will result in confusion and
unclear expectations. As David Johnson and Roger
Johnson, co-directors of the Conflict Resolution
and Cooperative Learning Center of the University
of Minnesota, point out:
It makes no sense to talk of constructive conflict
management in schools structured competitively. The
first step in teaching students the procedures for
managing conflicts, therefore, is creating a
cooperative context in which conflicts are defined
as mutual problems to be resolved in ways that
benefit everyone involved.4
In competitive systems, individuals usually focus
on short-term self-interests and try to maximize
their own goals at the expense of others. In
cooperative systems, individuals focus on
long-term, mutual interests and try to maximize
joint solutions. When cooperation is promoted
throughout the school, the problem-solving
processes of conflict resolution seem natural,
logical, and desirable. Cooperative systems create
a context in which conflicts can be resolved
constructively and reduce the factors that place
individuals at risk for using violence.
Many methods of school behavior management are
based on punishment rather than discipline. Such
programs gain student compliance through externally
imposed behavior expectations that are enforced
through coercion. In schools that function in this
way, the most significant observable behavior --
the adult model -- is contrary to conflict
resolution principles -- respect, tolerance, and
appreciation for differences. Gisela Konopka has
commented that:
Obedience is demanded to achieve a person with
discipline, but this is a discipline that comes
from the outside and works only when one is afraid
of someone who is stronger than oneself. We do need
discipline, an inner discipline to order our life.
What is inner discipline? To my thinking it is the
opposite of blind obedience. It is the development
of a sense of values.5
Table 2 contrasts punishment practices with
discipline practices.
The goal of the peaceable school is to create a
schoolwide discipline program focused on
empowering students to regulate and control their
own behavior. The program allows educators to model
an orderly, productive system accomplished through
cooperation and persistent pursuit of constructive
behavior. Students are provided alternative ways to
behave, not just told to refrain from behaving in a
particular manner. The behavior management program
thus becomes an educational program. The
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution
enable students to achieve principled responses.
The following sections present two examples of
peaceable school approaches.
Resolving Conflict Creatively Program
The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) is
one of the initiatives of Educators for Social
Responsibility (ESR -- see chapter 4). In RCCP,
adults reach young people by relating to them daily
in their homes, schools, and communities. RCCP
requires the support of the highest levels of the
school's administration before the program is
implemented. A participating school district must
make RCCP part of its vision for change and commit
to multiyear involvement to ensure proper
institutionalization of the program. The RCCP
approach involves five components: professional
development for teachers and other staff, regular
classroom instruction based on a kindergarten
through 12th grade (K-12) curriculum, peer
mediation, administrator training, and parent
training.6
------------------------------
It was a whole different philosophy for me -- the
way I looked at the world. Children taking
responsibility for themselves; that was very
different for me. For the first time in my life, I
was hearing people say in a school setting: "It's
okay to be different." All of a sudden here was a
program saying: "You are all good people. You all
have something to contribute." I was exposed to a
rainbow coalition of children who were learning how
to get along. It was just wonderful.
-- Teacher, Anchorage, Alaska
------------------------------
Professional Development for Teachers and Other
Staff
A 25-hour introductory course is provided for
teachers interested in implementing RCCP in their
classrooms. This training presents the theory and
methods of conflict resolution, intercultural
understanding, and emotional and social literacy;
prepares participants to model and teach these
skills in their classrooms; illustrates ways to
incorporate conflict resolution strategies and
skills into academic subjects; and demonstrates
creative teaching techniques such as role-playing,
interviewing, brainstorming, small-group sharing,
and cooperative learning teams.
The staff development component gives teachers the
opportunity to receive feedback on lessons that
they teach and see skilled practitioners give
demonstration lessons in the classroom. They can
also plan classroom activities and find resources
in collaboration with an RCCP consultant. RCCP
staff developers visit newly trained teachers 6 to
10 times during their first year and varying
numbers of times in subsequent years. The staff
developer conducts bimonthly followup meetings
after school so that teachers can receive
additional training, share their experiences and
concerns, problem-solve, and plan schoolwide
events.
K-12 Curriculum
Teachers use the K-12 curriculum to demonstrate
that there are other ways to deal with conflict
than passivity or aggression, to develop skills to
make those choices in real-life situations, to
increase understanding and appreciation of
different cultures, and to empower youth to play a
significant role in creating a more peaceful world.
RCCP developed the curriculum in collaboration with
participating teachers. It provides effective
teaching strategies on the elementary, middle, and
high school levels. Curriculum themes include peace
and conflict, communication, affirmation, fostering
cooperation, working with feelings, negotiation and
mediation, appreciating diversity, bias awareness,
countering bias, peacemakers, and envisioning a
positive future. Some individual skills integrated
into these themes include active listening,
perspective taking, dealing with anger,
assertiveness, win-win negotiation, understanding
cultures, and avoiding expressions of bias.
RCCP encourages teachers to set aside 30 to 45
minutes at least once a week throughout the school
year for a specific workshop in conflict resolution
prepared from the curriculum guide. Teachers also
integrate conflict resolution lessons, strategies,
and skills into the regular academic program.
------------------------------
I've seen changes in some of the kids at school
since we started this program. They look at things
differently now. They don't act the same; they try
to be more peaceful now. I think we are really
changing the gangs on this campus. There used to be
a lot of gangs before, writing in the bathrooms and
all that, but it's sort of stopped. It's more
peaceful now.
-- Ninth grade student, Vista, California
------------------------------
Peer Mediation
The school must implement the RCCP curriculum for
at least a year before beginning peer mediation.
Peer mediation reinforces the emerging
problem-solving skills students learn through the
curriculum. The students and teachers select a
cadre of students representative of the school's
diverse cultures and backgrounds to be peer
mediators. Once trained, elementary students take
turns being "on duty" on the playground during
recess. Wearing special mediator T-shirts and
working in teams with their adult advisors nearby,
they help students talk out their disputes. Middle
school and high school peer mediators do not work
on the playground but listen to disputes in a room
designated for mediation.
Administrator Training
Training is provided for administrators to
introduce the concepts of conflict resolution and
bias awareness and encourage them to embrace and
model the humane and creative approaches to dealing
with conflict that teachers are implementing
through the classroom curriculum.
Parent Training
Parents participate in a 12-hour training in the
skills and concepts of conflict resolution and
intergroup relations so they can make their homes
more peaceful and help their children become adept
at using the conflict resolution skills learned at
school. As they learn ways of dealing with conflict
and prejudice at home, they become more effective
leaders in their schools and communities. Parents
may become trainers of other parents by
participating in a district-level 60-hour training
program.
------------------------------
The primary impetus for starting the program in my
school was to reduce violence, but it goes beyond
that because there is a strong preventive measure.
By teaching conflict resolution skills, we're
creating an environment that says it's OK to have
anger and conflict, which are a natural part of
life. We're saying that you can have these emotions
and these conflicts and not have violence, which
our culture glamorizes.
-- Principal, Brooklyn, New York
------------------------------
Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution
The Creating the Peaceable School (CPS) program of
the Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution (IIDR
-- see also chapter 3) focuses on applying conflict
resolution principles to school and classroom
management in order to encourage enduring systemic
changes vital to the success of a peaceable school
approach.7 The CPS program may be implemented
within a school or school district. IIDR helps
schools and school districts develop a
comprehensive plan for program development based on
their identified needs and resources.
Fundamental Skill Areas
Six skills are fundamental to the achievement of a
peaceable school: building a peaceable climate,
understanding conflict, understanding peace and
peacemaking, mediation, negotiation, and group
problem solving. The IIDR curriculum provides the
educator with a theoretical overview of the skill
area and then gives a number of activities and
strategies to engage students in developing a
knowledge base and in acquiring these skills. Each
activity contains step-by-step procedures to be
followed with the students and can be used in a
class workshop, team project, learning center,
cooperative learning situation, or class meeting.
The skill areas are described below.
Building a Peaceable Climate. Responsibility and
cooperation are the foundation for all other skills
in the peaceable school. To manage student behavior
without coercion, adults must take the perspective
that effective behavior is the responsibility of
the student and strive to develop a sense of
responsibility in each. Students then begin to make
responsible choices guided by their rights and
corresponding responsibilities.
Understanding Conflict. For students to engage in
successful conflict resolution, they must have a
shared understanding of the nature of conflict. The
program provides information and activities that
instill a shared understanding of the nature and
causes of conflict, the possible responses to
conflict, and its potential benefits. The idea that
psychological needs are the underlying cause of
conflict is useful to students as they seek to
resolve disputes through common interests.
Understanding Peace and Peacemaking. Students are
taught to observe peacemaking and peacebreaking
behaviors within the school and classroom.
Peacemaking activities help students understand and
practice the concept of peace. Students learn that
specific behaviors are associated with peacemaking,
namely, appreciating diversity, understanding
perceptions, empathizing, dealing with emotions,
managing anger, countering bias, and communicating.
The principles of conflict resolution are also
taught as peacemaking behaviors.
Mediation. Mediation is defined as assisted
conflict resolution between disputants for use
within the classroom and as a schoolwide vehicle
for resolving conflicts. Training activities cover
a mediation process that allows students to gain
the skills to act as neutral third parties when
facilitating conflict resolution between
disputants.
Negotiation. Disputants learn to resolve their
conflicts unassisted by stating their individual
needs, focusing on their interests rather than
their positions, and generating options for mutual
gain.
Group Problem Solving. Group problem solving is
taught as a creative strategy for dealing with
conflicts that involve a number of students within
the classroom, within groups, and between groups in
the school. The group's responsibility is to
achieve a consensus decision that, when
implemented, will resolve the conflict.
------------------------------
I have a habit of finishing sentences for my older
daughter. While she talks, I sit there nodding
impatiently and then I finish her thought for her.
After the workshop last weekend, I decided to try
to stop doing that. It wasn't long before she put
me to the test. But this time, I was patient. I
gave her my attention. I didn't interrupt her. And
when she was done, I actually paraphrased what I
heard her saying. She was shocked. She just stood
there. I could see tears in her eyes. "Mommy," she
said, "you really listened to me."
-- Parent, New York City
------------------------------
------------------------------
When you talk it out, like when you can sit down
and talk about it, you're not as mad. That's the
way I see it. When you start talkin' about it, the
anger just dies down. You just become more
civilized; you go back into your regular state of
mind.
-- Student, Alternative High School, Baltimore,
Maryland
------------------------------
------------------------------
The conflict resolution training provided our staff
with skills and processes for real and effective
collaboration. I do not think we have ever worked
together so well. We are able to make decisions
that address our goals and interests without
feeling threatened or angered by change. We are
reaching consensus and making new commitments.
-- Principal, Chicago, Illinois
------------------------------
Other Areas of Development
The CPS program includes three additional areas of
outreach: (1) intensive professional development
(training, coaching, and technical assistance for
administrators, teachers, and support staff), (2)
parent education, and (3) community initiatives.
Professional Development. IIDR approaches
professional development as an opportunity to
create a learning community among teachers,
administrators, and support staff in which members
help and support each other. Part of this process
includes examining their handling of conflict in
their private and public lives, particularly in
their relationships with students.
The CPS program emphasizes the need for
introductory workshops with followup strategic
planning and technical support. IIDR consultants
provide onsite followup in schools to support
school staff -- teachers, administrators, and
support personnel -- as the peaceable school
program is being implemented. Professional
development includes a range of activities such as
demonstrating teaching methods in classrooms,
helping teachers plan, observing classes, providing
feedback, and coaching.
Parent Education. The peaceable school is brought
to parents through Peaceable Home workshops, which
are given at locations such as public, private, and
alternative schools; public housing projects; and
community centers. These workshops teach parents
the skills and concepts of conflict resolution.
Parents learn to apply these concepts in their
homes, schools, and communities.
Community Initiatives. In creating peaceable
schools, school administrators and teachers play a
critical role in reaching out to leaders and
families in the community to engage them in
conflict resolution strategies. The peaceable
school expands into the peaceable neighborhood
through extension to parents, police, churches, and
neighborhood coalitions. The following IIDR youth
and community activities mobilize youth, parents,
community activists, agencies, and organizations to
help create peaceable schools and neighborhoods:
o Peer education. High school youth are recruited
to form a Youth Peace Corps trained to teach
conflict resolution strategies, including anger
management, to their peers and to middle and
elementary school students. This group must
represent a cross section of the entire student
body. These highly trained youth provide strong
role models for younger students because they teach
these skills in the school and use their skills in
the neighborhood.
o Community training. Positive youth development is
supported by the establishment of partnerships with
youth-serving organizations and those who encounter
youth in conflict. Conflict resolution training may
be provided for police departments, park districts,
Boys & Girls Clubs, the Urban League, and other
interested agencies and organizations that work
with youth. The program recruits specific personnel
from these agencies and organizations to attend
community training.
o Police-youth-community dialogs. Afterschool
sessions on site and Saturday retreats in the
country bring youth, police, and community members
together to learn about one another and practice
conflict resolution skills. In working sessions,
participants play a series of team games designed
to demonstrate how teams can solve problems
together. These activities lead to a common vision
and allow participants to confront their
differences as well as their interdependency.
Through its CPS program, IIDR builds a shared
vision that is a foundation for change among all
members of the school community. The curriculum
guides schools toward a systemic transformation.
Schools build the capacity to manage conflict and
change as they develop and implement a peaceable
school program.
------------------------------
I was so impressed with how seriously the kids took
the training and how well they did. They were very
much taken by the whole notion of conflict
resolution. We adults that assisted with training
got caught up in the simulations and resorted to
our "old ways." The students seemed able to see the
problems much more simply. It was not difficult for
them at all.
-- Parent, Wilmette, Illinois
------------------------------
Notes
1. Bodine, R., D. Crawford, and F. Schrumpf. 1994.
Creating the Peaceable School: A Comprehensive
Program for Teaching Conflict Resolution.
Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc., p. 2.
2. Ibid, p. 3.
3. Ibid, p. 29.
4. Johnson, D., and R. Johnson. 1993. "Cooperative
Learning and Conflict Resolution." The Fourth R
42:8.
5. Konopka, G. 1985. "A Renewed Look at Human
Development, Human Needs, and Human Services."
Proceedings of the Annual Gisela Konopka
Lectureship. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota
Center for Youth Development and Research, p. 186.
6. The RCCP curriculums include Resolving Conflict
Creatively: A Teaching Guide for Grades
Kindergarten Through Six, 1993, and Resolving
Conflict Creatively: A Teaching Guide for Secondary
Schools, 1990. New York, NY: RCCP National Center.
For more information, see "Peaceable School" in
appendix B.
7. Bodine et al., Creating the Peaceable School,
1994. For more information, see "Peaceable School,"
appendix B.
------------------------------
Table 2: Punishment Versus Discipline
Punishment
o Expresses power of an authority; causes pain to
the recipient; based on retribution or revenge;
concerned with actions in the past.
o Arbitrary -- probably applied inconsistently and
unconditionally; does not accept or acknowledge
exceptions or mitigating circumstances.
o Imposed by an authority with responsibility
assumed by the one administering the punishment and
responsibility avoided by the one receiving the
punishment.
o Closes options for the punished individual, who
must pay for a behavior that has already occurred.
o As a teaching strategy, usually reinforces a
failure identity. Essentially negative and
short-term, without sustained personal involvement
of either teacher or learner.
o Characterized by open or concealed anger; easy
and expedient; a poor model of expectations.
o Focuses on strategies intended to control
behavior of learner; rarely results in positive
changes in behavior; may increase subversiveness or
result in temporary suppression of behavior; at
best, produces compliance.
Discipline
o Based on logical or natural consequences that
embody the reality of a social order (rules that
one must learn and accept to function productively
in society); concerned with actions in the present.
o Consistent; accepts that the behaving individual
is doing the best he or she can do for now.
o Comes from within, with responsibility assumed by
the disciplined individual who desires that
responsibility; presumes that conscience is
internal.
o Opens options for the individual, who can choose
new behavior.
o As a teaching strategy, is active and involves
close, sustained, personal involvement of both
teacher and learner; emphasizes the development of
more successful behavior.
o Friendly and supportive; provides a model of
quality behavior.
o Usually results in a change in behavior that is
more successful, acceptable, and responsible;
develops the capacity for self-evaluation of
behavior.
Source: Crawford, D., R. Bodine, and R. Hoglund.
1993. The School for Quality Learning. Champaign,
IL: Research Press, Inc., p. 187. Reprinted with
permission of the authors and Research Press.
------------------------------
Chapter 6: Juvenile Justice and Alternative
Education Initiatives
------------------------------
Peacemaking is not easy. In many ways, it is much
more difficult than making war. But its great
rewards cannot be measured in ordinary terms.
-- Former President Jimmy Carter1
------------------------------
For juvenile justice facilities and alternative
schools, implementing conflict resolution means
changing the institution's approach to internal
conflicts from a punitive one to one that uses
problem-solving methods. In these settings,
conflict resolution programs are introduced to
supplement, not replace, existing disciplinary
policies and procedures. Given opportunities for
positive expression and problem resolution, youth
learn alternatives to violent and self-defeating
behavior.
Conflict resolution programs for juvenile justice
facilities and for alternative schools serving
delinquent and at-risk youth address similar
issues. These youth tend to demonstrate
self-destructive, antisocial, or violent behavior
to a greater degree than even the more behaviorally
challenged youth in regular schools. In both cases,
an effective conflict resolution program must
address the psychological needs and the
developmental stage of the youth.
The impediments to behavioral self-awareness in
delinquent and at-risk youth are considerable and
pervasive. Typically, their ability to evaluate
their own behavior is underdeveloped, and they are
seriously deficient in the foundation abilities of
conflict resolution, especially orientation,
perception, and emotional abilities. Many have an
ingrained sense of failure and view success as
beyond their reach and ability.
These problems often go beyond the purview of
conflict resolution programs, which do not offer
therapy. However, young people who need therapy can
still participate in and profit from conflict
resolution programs. At issue is whether the
behavioral challenges faced by these youth can be
addressed while they are receiving conflict
resolution education or whether their problems
require initial attention. A benefit of conflict
resolution education is the development of the
youth's ability to apply the training in
appropriate situations. The extent of therapy
needed will be determined by how well the youth
applies the conflict resolution training. The
greater the gap between the youth's standard
behavior and the desired behavior of conflict
resolution, the greater the demand for practice and
coaching.
Juvenile Justice Facilities
The juvenile justice correctional facility provides
opportunities over alternative education settings,
because the students live and attend school within
the facility. Programs taught in these facilities
allow more time for training and practice in
conflict resolution.
Many juvenile offenders have deficits in cognitive
skills. They tend to be undersocialized and lack
the values, attitudes, reasoning abilities, and
social skills required for positive social
interaction. These individuals have not acquired
the skills and strategies for constructive
relationship building and problem solving, nor have
they bonded with anyone who exhibits these
behaviors. By teaching the foundation abilities and
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution
(see chapter 1), the juvenile justice facility can
facilitate the development of social competency in
these youth, so that they no longer alienate
themselves from mainstream culture. The following
section describes a conflict resolution program in
a juvenile justice setting in California.
The Community Board Program
In 1987, with support from California's Office of
Criminal Justice Planning, the Community Board
Program began to explore how the Conflict Manager
(peer mediation) program might be implemented in
juvenile treatment facilities, known in some
jurisdictions as "ranches." In California and other
States, these county-operated facilities are the
last opportunity for the rehabilitation of serious
and violent juvenile offenders before they enter
the Youth Authority, the juvenile equivalent of the
adult prison system.
Over time, unresolved conflicts can affect the
entire facility. They consume the time and energy
of counselors, extend the sentences of wards, lower
the morale of counselors and wards, and make the
atmosphere tense and anxious. The Conflict Manager
program helps everyone involved deal with conflict
more effectively.
The heart of a Conflict Manager program is a
face-to-face meeting between the disputants in
which they talk about their problems with the help
of conflict managers, who are wards of these
facilities selected and trained to serve as
mediators for their peers. Throughout the conflict
management process, the disputants are required to
take responsibility for the problem and its
solution. The conflict manager's responsibility is
to help the disputants communicate more effectively
and understand one another's point of view. The
disputants then come to their own agreement, one
they are more likely to keep. The objectives of
conflict management are to rebuild or establish a
positive relationship between the disputants and
gradually spread the belief in and use of peaceful
and constructive conflict resolution skills
throughout the facility.2
------------------------------
Our wards are here in part because they have
experienced conflict in their lives and did not
know how to resolve it appropriately. The Conflict
Manager program teaches these young men the skills
to approach a conflict in a mature manner and
resolve it in a socially acceptable fashion.
-- Superintendent, Harold Holden Ranch for Boys,
Morgan Hill, California
-----------------------------
Voluntary Participation
Participation in the program is voluntary. Wards
may be referred by a counselor to see the conflict
managers, but once there, they have the choice not
to participate, with no penalty for their decision.
Wards have this choice because conflict management
requires the active participation of both
disputants. If both are committed to finding a
resolution to their problem, both will work hard to
express their points of view and listen to each
other. This is impossible if one party does not
want to participate.
Because conflict management is voluntary, it is
never a replacement for disciplinary action. If
wards are offered conflict management as an
alternative to punishment, their motives for
participating may be clouded and the process
ineffective. The goal is to provide early
intervention for peaceful problem solving before
rules are broken or conflicts escalate. When wards
break facility rules, staff take the usual
disciplinary steps. Afterward, they can suggest
meeting with conflict managers to express and
resolve core issues and avoid further conflict. In
this way, the Conflict Manager program supplements
rather than replaces the regular disciplinary
system.
Types of Disputes Handled by Conflict Managers
Conflict managers are equipped to handle many of
the day-to-day disputes that arise in a juvenile
facility setting, such as name calling, serious
"horseplay," and conflicts over things in short
supply -- time at the pool table or in the weight
room, a chance to watch a favorite television
program, the attention of a popular counselor, or
access to supplies such as toiletries.
Low self-esteem, which is common among youth in
juvenile facilities, is often the source of these
conflicts. For many of these youth, bullying or
"putting down" someone is the only means of
achieving status among peers. As a counselor in a
juvenile facility remarked, "These kids don't know
how to walk away from a fight without losing face."
------------------------------
Virtually all of our young men are gang affiliated
and come from families where conflict was resolved
through abuse or violence. . . . Conflict
management goes beyond stabilizing the institution;
it gives the youth a chance to take on a positive
role, learn verbal skills, and overcome violent
tendencies. It not only benefits the kids, but also
the community to which they will return.
-- Juvenile facility director, Camp Miller, Los
Angeles County
------------------------------
Types of Conflicts Not Handled
Conflict managers are not asked to intervene in a
violent confrontation, especially when weapons are
involved. After the heat of the battle has passed,
the disputants may meet with conflict managers to
find ways to avoid further violence.
Other matters typically excluded from conflict
manager attention are disputes between staff and
wards. Handling such conflicts may raise staff
objections and other programmatic challenges,
especially in the case of new programs. However,
because some high school mediation programs have
successfully handled teacher-student conflicts, it
may be possible for juvenile facility programs to
expand into this area.
Conflict Manager Selection
Conflict managers are selected jointly by staff and
wards to ensure they will have the respect and
support of both groups. Generally, the members of
each group are asked to make nominations. Staff
then review the list of wards who have received the
greatest number of nominations and select 12 to 15
out of this group to enter training. The wards who
become conflict managers are seen as leaders by
their peers, but frequently "negative" leaders are
nominated by their peers and approved by staff.
This is done because experience as a conflict
manager often draws out the talent of negative
leaders, allowing them to make a positive
contribution to the facility.
Conflict Manager Training
Because of ward turnover, training for new conflict
managers is conducted every few months. Often
current conflict managers are asked to assist in
training those who are new. Ongoing meetings among
conflict managers are held to provide further
training, assessment of the program, and group
discussions.
During their training, conflict managers learn
basic communication skills, such as helping
disputants feel comfortable in talking, listening
in a way that will defuse anger, and speaking to
disputants in a direct but diplomatic way. They
also learn about the three-stage conflict
management process -- the goals of each stage, the
questions to ask at each stage, and methods of
handling common problems.
Conflict Manager Supervision
Because training in this model should be considered
an ongoing process, staff coordinators for the
Conflict Manager program meet with the managers for
at least 1 hour every week so that they can share
their experiences and talk about problems they have
encountered in their work. If time allows, conflict
managers are asked to role-play a difficult case
and discuss it together.
Potential Benefits of Conflict Manager Programs
Conflict Manager programs reduce tensions and save
staff time by taking care of conflicts that would
otherwise absorb hours of their day. At the same
time, wards who participate in conflict management
sessions are positively affected because they have
the opportunity to experience new ways of dealing
with conflict. Also, by resolving conflict
constructively before it escalates or requires a
counselor, wards can avoid consequences that could
lengthen their stay at the facility. The program
has a significant impact on conflict managers,
helping them to increase their self-esteem, learn
to resolve conflicts peacefully, and improve
academic achievement.
Working with facilities in three Bay Area counties
of California, the Community Board conducted
extensive staff development work that included
building and training a Site Leadership Team,
developing online counselors as conflict manager
trainers, and developing a program plan based on
the facilities' needs and staff input. Within a
period of 9 months to a year, the Community Board
staff trained at least 3 groups of 15 young men as
conflict managers at each facility, leaving each
with a solid, well-prepared team of trainers to
continue periodic training of new conflict
managers.
After 3 years, Conflict Manager programs in
juvenile facilities are ongoing, and trained youth
are helping to resolve disputes for their peers
every day. Peer mediation programs have reduced the
number and seriousness of conflicts and rule
infractions and have limited staff time spent on
discipline.
A survey completed at the end of their training
asked conflict managers where they thought they
might be able to use their new skills other than
participating in the Conflict Manager program.
Nearly every ward wrote that the skills would be
useful in other settings -- with family, at a job,
or with neighborhood friends. At Holden Ranch, a
conflict manager who graduated from the facility
called a counselor several months later to say that
conflict resolution skills had helped him change
his difficult relationship with his mother.
Studies of recidivism have found that wards are
less likely to return to the correctional system if
they have steady employment. Other studies show
that graduates of juvenile facilities often lose
jobs not because they lack technical skills, but
because they are unable to resolve problems with
co-workers, supervisors, or employers. Thus, it is
likely that conflict managers will stay out of the
correctional system after they leave the facility.
This may be the most important long-term impact of
the conflict manager training program.
------------------------------
Learning mediation has helped me to realize that
there are other methods of solving your problems
other than violence. It has also helped me to deal
with different types of people.
-- 16-year-old resident, Youth Diagnostic and
Development Center
------------------------------
Alternative Schools
Students in most alternative schools do not differ
substantially from students in other schools when
it comes to conflict and do not need to be treated
differently when developing and implementing a
conflict resolution program. Some alternative
schools enroll youth with behavioral/emotional
disorders, including students who have dropped out
or are at risk of dropping out. Many of these youth
are involved in the court system and may be in an
alternative school because of court dictates. Some
are teen parents; some are homeless; others are
involved in substance abuse. Although many of these
students are intellectually capable, they have
often failed academically.
These alternative schools offer a place for
students who have demonstrated, in one or many
ways, that their behavior is unacceptable in a
regular school. Often the participants in these
alternative schools have demonstrated the potential
for self-destructive, antisocial, or violent
behavior. Most students placed in such alternative
schools need conflict resolution education because
they have experienced numerous conflicts involving
other youth, school staff members, and school
expectations or rules. They are often in these
alternative schools because they escalated rather
than deescalated a dispute. These students are
clearly prime candidates for conflict resolution
education. The following section describes a
conflict resolution program in an alternative
school in New York.
International Center for Cooperation and Conflict
Resolution
The International Center for Cooperation and
Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Columbia University
initiated a conflict resolution project at an
alternative high school (AHS) in New York City.3
The goal of the project was to determine the
effects of cooperative learning and conflict
resolution training on AHS students.
This AHS was established in 1971 as part of a
network of alternative high schools in New York
City. It has approximately 180 students and 14
teachers, including a site coordinator, at each of
its 4 campuses. Anyone under the age of 19 living
anywhere in New York City may apply to any campus
of the school. Students may be admitted to the AHS
in several ways. Students who have already dropped
out or are at risk of dropping out of another
school may apply voluntarily, while others are
referred by high school counselors or the court
system.
Applicants have a broad range of academic skills
and poor attendance records. The demographic
portrait of the AHS student population at the
beginning of the project was striking. The racial
composition was 56.9 percent African American, 40.5
percent Hispanic, 2.2 percent white, 0.4 percent
Asian, and 0.1 percent Native American; 5.1 percent
of the students had limited proficiency in English.
There were equal numbers of female and male
students, and the average age was 17 years.
One-third of the female students were teen parents.
The majority of the students came from
disadvantaged households, and increasing numbers
came from families with risk factors such as drug
abuse and homelessness. The achievement rate was
well below that of other New York City high
schools: the average number of previously acquired
high school credits was 20, and dropouts had been
out of school for periods ranging from 6 months to
7 years.
Training Components
Initial training of the administrators,
coordinators, teachers, and paraprofessionals took
place in August 1988; almost all who were eligible
participated in the training. The training usually
involves afterschool training workshops with the
trainer on campus for individual staff development.
ICCCR used the training model for cooperative
learning developed by David Johnson and Roger
Johnson of the Cooperative Learning Center at the
University of Minnesota. Five key elements are
involved in cooperative learning.4 The most
important is positive interdependence, meaning that
students must perceive that it is to their
advantage if other students learn well and to their
disadvantage if others do poorly. This can be
achieved through mutual goals (goal
interdependence), division of labor (task
interdependence), and joint rewards (reward
interdependence).
In addition, cooperative learning requires
face-to-face interaction among students in which
they express their positive interdependence. This
method also requires individual accountability;
that is, each member of the cooperative learning
situation is responsible to the others for
mastering the material, analyzing the group's
performance, and making suggestions for improving
cooperation.
ICCCR's conflict resolution training draws upon
several sources: Deutsch's theoretical model, which
articulates a number of basic principles of
conflict resolution training;5 Raider's training
model, which has been widely used by conflict
resolution training managers and teachers;6
Prothrow-Stith's curriculum on violence
prevention;7 and the Community Board Program's
curriculums for conflict resolution and mediation.8
Conflict resolution training is implemented in a
variety of ways, depending on the context in which
it is to be employed -- orientation sessions for
new students, family groups, or vocational classes,
for example. Role-playing, group activities, and
discussion groups are used to apply negotiation
skills to the students' lives in home, school, and
work settings.
Impact of the ICCCR Conflict Resolution Project
ICCCR results indicate that the positive effects on
students trained in conflict resolution and
cooperative learning include improved conflict
management, social support, and fewer feelings of
victimization. As their relations with others
improved, these youth experienced increased
self-esteem, decreased feelings of anxiety and
depression, and more frequent positive feelings of
well-being. Greater self-esteem produced a greater
sense of control over their fate, which in turn led
to higher academic performance. Indirect evidence
indicated that the students' work readiness and
performance also improved.
The ICCCR project was initiated with the strong
support of the principal and assistant principal
and the voluntary cooperation of the staff. The
conflict resolution training combined resources
from a number of curriculums to address the needs
of the student population. This project was
successfully conducted under considerably more
problematic conditions than those most schools
experience. The students at this AHS are
significantly at risk and face more difficult life
circumstances, and their teachers work in an
extremely challenging environment, such as within
older buildings equipped with fewer resources. The
positive results produced by the training under
these conditions indicate the significance of
administrative support, voluntary cooperation, and
relevant learning experiences. These results also
suggest that cooperative learning and conflict
resolution training are valuable in a wide range of
settings.
Notes
1. Carter, J. 1993. Talking Peace: A Vision for the
Next Generation. New York, NY: Dutton Children's
Books, p. xiv.
2. See Holmberg, M., and J. Halligan. 1992.
Conflict Management for Juvenile Treatment
Facilities: A Manual for Training and Program
Implementation. San Francisco, CA: Community Board
Program, Inc.
3. Deutsch, M., V. Mitchell, Q. Zhang, N. Khattri,
L. Tepavac, E.A. Weitzman, and R. Lynch. 1992. The
Effects of Training in Cooperative Learning and
Conflict Resolution in an Alternative High School.
New York, NY: Columbia University.
4. Johnson, D., R. Johnson, and E. Holubec. 1986.
Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom.
Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.
5. Deutsch, M. 1991 (August). "Educating for a
Peaceful World." Presidential address to the
Division of Peace Psychology, presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Psychological
Association, San Francisco, CA.
6. Raider, E. 1987. Conflict Resolution. New Paltz,
NY: Ellen Raider International, Inc.
7. Prothrow-Stith, D. 1987. Violence Prevention:
Curriculum for Adolescents. Newton, MA: Education
Development Center.
8. Sadalla, G., M. Henriquez, and M. Holmberg.
1987. Conflict Resolution: A Secondary Curriculum.
San Francisco, CA: Community Board Program, Inc.
------------------------------
Chapter 7: Parent and Community Initiatives
------------------------------
The circle is a sacred symbol of life. . . .
Individual parts within the circle connect with
every other; and what happens to one, or what one
part does, affects all within the circle.
-- Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve1
------------------------------
The impact of school-based conflict resolution
programs increases when they are linked with
community and parent education programs that allow
students to apply their skills in productive ways
in a variety of settings. This linkage is important
because young people face a challenge in applying
conflict resolution training in the community and
in the home, especially with others who are not
similarly trained.
Parent Education
Children must possess a secure and positive sense
of their own identity and their place in the world,
and they must acquire character and skills that
enable them to live in harmony with their families
and the larger community. Development of these
skills depends upon trusting and loving
relationships, the first and most fundamental of
which is between children and their parents.
Families are the settings where children's basic
needs are met and where they learn lessons about
personal relationships and problem solving. For
children, families are the basic training ground
for developing the capacity to function responsibly
and to solve problems peacefully. Educating parents
in conflict resolution is essential.
According to Brendtro and Long, any comprehensive
effort to eliminate disputes and violence will
require a full range of services, including, but
not limited to, school-based programs.2 If patterns
of conflict and aggression are to be reversed,
primary prevention and early intervention must be
priorities.
Primary Prevention
Troubled behavior, once launched, perpetuates
itself throughout a person's life. Therefore,
interventions that affect the lives of young
children in families and schools deserve the
highest priority. These interventions include:3
o Strengthening parenting bonds. Children are less
prone to violence when their basic needs are met
and they are reared in consistent, safe, and loving
environments.
o Teaching children self-discipline. Beginning in
elementary school, all children should be given
"basic training" in self-discipline. Teachers can
be trained to use naturally occurring discipline
problems to create school cultures of nonviolence.
o Teaching conflict resolution. Students need to be
competent in resolving both conflicts with peers
and authority problems with adults. This competence
forms the basis for lifelong survival skills.
Early Intervention
It is important to recognize that some youth are at
risk for violence in their early years and should
be provided with effective, comprehensive
experiences in school, at home, and in the
community. The following research-validated
interventions should be part of a logical system
for reducing delinquent and self-defeating
behavior:4
o Mentoring at-risk youth. Every child needs at
least one adult who provides unconditional love.
Many children suffer from attention deprivation.
When parents are unable or unavailable to provide
the consistent nurturing and support that children
need, mentors can have a profound impact in
fulfilling that role.
o Mentoring and training parents. Since much early
antisocial behavior is caused by inconsistent and
harsh discipline, parent training curriculums are
important tools for breaking cycles of coercion
(abuse and/or violence) and instilling positive
parent-child interactions.
o Targeting bullies. Peer harassment is an early
indicator of lifelong antisocial problems. Without
intervention, childhood bullies often develop into
violent adults.
Educating parents in conflict resolution is a
natural way to bring children's experiences at home
and at school closer together. Helping families
deal constructively with the inevitable conflicts
of family living allows parents to disengage from
inconsistent and harsh, punitive behaviors. When
parents model effective behaviors in conflict
situations, they present powerful teaching examples
to children. In their book, Battles, Hassles,
Tantrums & Tears, Beekman and Holmes offer parents
strategies for coping with conflict and making
peace at home.5 Their program, C.H.O.I.C.E.S. for
Managing Conflict, offers guidelines for adult
responses to conflict (see figure 5).
Although vital to early childhood education, parent
initiatives are a potential link between schools
and homes, regardless of the age of the youth
involved. The more youth experience constructive
approaches to conflict, especially at school or at
home, the more likely they will internalize these
behaviors.
Parents as Teachers Program. Most early childhood
education programs include parent involvement and
parent education components for intervening in
behaviors that promote a cycle of violence. The
Parents as Teachers program, which originated in
St. Louis, Missouri, is based on the idea that
early childhood experiences are critical in laying
the foundation for success in school and life, and
that parents are children's first and most
influential teachers. Parents as Teachers is a
home-school-community partnership designed to
provide parents with information and support in the
development of prosocial skills. The goal is to
help parents prepare their children for success in
school and life throughout the critical years from
birth to entry into kindergarten. Through personal
home visits by child development professionals,
group meetings with other parents, and play groups
for parents and children together, parents are
given alternatives to corporal punishment along
with developmental information that promotes
realistic expectations for their children's
behavior. This program provides a foundation of
sharing, empathy, and accountability in young
children that prepares them for conflict resolution
education when they are older.
Parents Anonymous, Inc. Recognizing the link
between child abuse and juvenile delinquency, the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP) began to support Parents
Anonymous, Inc. (PA), in 1994. Because minority
children are overrepresented in the juvenile
justice system, this collaborative effort between
OJJDP and PA focuses on bringing PA's comprehensive
model of neighborhood-based, shared leadership to
families in low-income, high-crime areas. This
national initiative is being implemented in 11
States by PA organizations dedicated to serving a
range of ethnic groups, including Native Americans,
African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and
Appalachians.
Conflict resolution is one of the elements of PA's
multifaceted program. Parents are given the
opportunity to observe, practice, and learn
conflict resolution skills and problem-solving
processes. These skills and processes are taught in
the context of family life, the worksite, and
personal friendships. They are practiced in weekly
group sessions as conflicts occur.
Franklin Mediation Services and Head Start of
Franklin County, Massachusetts. These two agencies
joined to create a project providing comprehensive
direct services in the form of mediation, parent
and staff mediation training, and bias awareness
training. Parents of Head Start pupils, Head Start
staff, and community residents attend workshops to
learn conflict resolution techniques. In addition,
Head Start clients receive direct mediation
services that help resolve conflicts between
children and parents, couples, and tenants and
landlords. Program staff also developed a mediation
curriculum for use in Head Start classrooms.
Advocates who regularly work with Head Start
families report that the concepts and skills
learned in the program become part of family
conflict management. The consistent use of
negotiation skills helps families resolve problems
without third-party intervention and without
violence.
Community Programs
Some youth-centered conflict resolution programs
have originated in the community rather than in
schools. Both community-to-school and
school-to-community programs make critical linkages
that enhance the quality of life in each arena.
Community programs provide a common conflict
resolution vocabulary. The focus of many of these
programs is to provide youth with conflict
resolution training through youth clubs, churches,
court referral services, and other youth-service
organizations, and to reinforce the lessons learned
through followup training at school.
The advantages of community-based conflict
resolution programs linked with a school program
are access to common trainers and volunteers such
as youth, parents, and teachers; increased
cooperation between schools and communities; and an
institutional base for long-term conflict
resolution training in a given area. Additionally,
community-to-school cooperation provides an ongoing
laboratory for refining conflict resolution theory
and for finding a balance between theory and
practice that encourages youth to apply their
training in the local living environment. Profiles
of a variety of community-based programs are
presented in the following sections.
Community Mediation Programs
Community mediation centers, located in more than
600 communities in the United States, have
initiated the community-to-school link in
developing and implementing conflict resolution
programs for children, youth, and families. These
centers, which are typically nonprofit,
community-based agencies, use trained community
volunteers to provide a wide range of mediation
services to youth and adults. The majority of these
centers have initiated mediation and conflict
resolution programs for youth in schools and other
settings. Mediation centers have pioneered
applications of mediation for youth and families,
including truancy, parent/child, gang, and
suspension mediation, as well as applications in
juvenile correctional settings. In addition,
centers have collaborated with other youth-serving
agencies and schools in the development of
prevention and intervention strategies and
initiatives to prevent youth violence.
Community mediation centers provide an
institutional base for long-term conflict
resolution training in the communities in which
they are located. When conflicts flow from the
school to the community and from the community to
the school, the mediation center provides the
appropriate links and continuum of services. The
National Association for Community Mediation,
listed in appendix A, can provide information about
local services.
Lawyers Adopt-a-School Program
The Lawyers Adopt-a-School Program of the American
Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution,
encourages the establishment of mediation programs
in elementary, middle, and high schools. A law firm
becomes a sponsor of a school peer mediation
program by helping to provide training and
financial and moral support. The law firm works
with the school to develop and maintain a school
mediation program, to provide resources for the
initial training of the mediators and for continued
support of the program, to enrich the school by
involving the community and the business sector, to
provide role models, and to assist teachers in
developing ways to expand the curriculum. The
school and the law firm enter into an agreement
that identifies the aims of the partnership, the
activities each partner will undertake, the
resources to be provided, and the length of time
the partnership will last. After an agreement is
reached, the mutual relationship is ongoing for the
duration of the school year.
East Cleveland Youth Services Mobile Mediation
Project
One of the purposes of this project is to address
the afterschool conflicts that tend to boil over
into violence on East Cleveland's inner-city
streets. Project staff (parents, youth, teachers,
and principals) who travel the neighborhood in a
mobile home are highly visible and offer
alternatives for settling fights between volatile
groups of youth. Staff are trained to recognize
signs of imminent conflict and to apply the skills
of mediation. The mobility of the project makes
mediation more accessible. Mediation is conducted
in the mobile home, and sometimes the disputing
parties are taken to the community mediation
center. The East Cleveland Youth Mediation Services
program estimates that the mobile mediation project
serves between 2,000 and 3,000 people a year by
conducting community and school conflict resolution
education workshops and mediations.
Roxbury Conflict Resolution Project
The Conflict Management Group (CMG), the Unitarian
Universalist Urban Ministry (UUUM), the First
Church Program of Boston, and the Program for Young
Negotiators (PYN) are partners in the Roxbury
Conflict Resolution Project in Massachusetts. This
community-based conflict resolution training
program has three primary goals:
o Joining with community youth in working from the
ground up to develop new ways of understanding
conflict, its causes, and its consequences.
o Assisting youth to learn effective skills and
techniques to deal proactively with conflict.
o Teaching conflict resolution skills to youth and
developing a corps of qualified peer trainers to
transfer their learning through a comprehensive
community outreach program.
Community Component. Conflict resolution programs
for youth provide a range of functions and meet
both educational and environmental needs. An
important aspect of the environmental function is
to seek out youth and give them a voice in
developing such a program. CMG and UUUM have
devoted significant time and resources to giving
youth a voice in designing this program. The
project is deeply committed to the idea that when
young people have a role in building a program,
their sense of program ownership increases, and
with it their sense of responsibility, because they
have a stake in the program's outcome.
As one example, the organizers initially held a
curriculum development workshop that included
youth, parents, adults, and community leaders.
Following the workshop, four high-school-age youth
were brought into the planning process as project
peer leaders to ensure that future curriculums both
addressed their fears and concerns about dealing
with conflict and dealt with the needs of youth.
Project peer leaders also act as teaching
assistants. In this role, peer leaders work with
the CMG training team to master group facilitation
skills while leading discussions and presentations.
As peer leaders become proficient in these skills,
they play an increasingly prominent role in leading
workshops for their peers and middle school youth
in the community's clubs, service organizations,
churches, and housing districts. They also
participate in the community outreach and
community-to-school components of the project. Over
time, the youth become leaders in partnership with
the adults.
Recruitment and Selection of Community Youth.
Networking is perhaps the most important key to
developing a community-based program. In this
project, CMG and UUUM formed an alliance because
they shared similar goals in community work.
Additionally, UUUM had an existing youth program
whose leaders were willing to participate in the
project.
Youth were recruited from other organizations such
as Boys & Girls Clubs, church programs, court
referral programs, and other self-esteem programs
for youth in the area. The goal was to reach a
broad cross section of community youth. The initial
program included 20 participants in addition to the
peer leaders.
Community Outreach Component. The community
outreach goals of this project are aimed at
spreading conflict resolution beyond the First
Church in Roxbury to the larger Roxbury community,
including the adjoining communities of Dorchester
and Mattapan. While in-school programs reach a
select audience, this program reaches youth who are
not included in traditional school-based conflict
resolution programs.
Community-to-School, School-to-Community Component.
In this component of the project, CMG and PYN are
collaborating to:
o Develop a high-school-age conflict resolution and
negotiation curriculum.
o Train teachers, youth, and community members to
teach the curriculum.
o Design a model program (including training and
curriculum) for replication in other communities.
Conflict resolution training must be comprehensive
to be effective in changing the way young people
respond to conflict. Therefore, school-based
programs need the reinforcement of community-based
programs whenever possible to help young people see
that conflict resolution measures can be
implemented at home and on the street as well as at
school. The social network in which youth live and
work often presents mixed messages about how to
deal proactively with conflict. For example, if
youth learn problem-solving processes in the school
environment and a competitive "winner-take-all"
approach at home or on the street, they will resort
to the method that is reinforced and addresses
their needs for safety and security.
A community-based program can resolve this dilemma
by building on conflict resolution training in
school and reinforcing it in other settings. Such a
community-based program offers a common vocabulary
and common values in the resolution of conflicts.
Community Buy-In and Implications for Replication.
Adequate funding and community support are critical
to a project of this type. A careful, systematic
approach that identifies unmet community needs and
builds cooperative support from the ground up in
existing programs is crucial. Some of the steps
taken to develop the Roxbury Conflict Resolution
Project may be useful in evaluating the potential
for similar programs elsewhere. The following steps
have proved essential to the program:
o Conducting a needs assessment for conflict
resolution training in the community.
o Developing a program that builds on existing
programs and fills gaps in conflict resolution
training.
o Creating and implementing a fundraising plan.
------------------------------
Change has been difficult for me and I'm still a
work in process. But if I can change, you can
change, and if you can change, we all can change
the way we deal with conflict and violence.
-- Project peer leader, Funderburg Youth Program
------------------------------
------------------------------
This was the most helpful training in conflict
resolution and mediation I have ever received. . .
. We learned things while we were having fun, and
we didn't even know we were learning at the time.
-- Streetworker, Boston Police Department
------------------------------
The Community Board Program
Community mediation programs throughout the United
States have been at the forefront of bringing
conflict resolution services and programming to
schools, families, and other youth settings. The
Community Board Program (CBP), an organization
established in 1976 to provide neighborhood-based
mediation services, began work with San Francisco
schools in 1980 at the urging of the Program's
volunteer mediators, many of whom were educators.
Over time, CBP has developed a whole-school
approach that focuses on introducing conflict
resolution concepts and skills to as many members
of the school community as possible -- students,
teachers, staff, administrators, and parents. The
goal is to change individuals' beliefs about
conflict resolution and to provide a system for
dealing with conflict.
This whole-school implementation method corresponds
to the Community Board's vision of a harmoniously
functioning school community that is able to
resolve conflicts, prevent violence, and create a
peaceful and equitable atmosphere conducive to
learning.6
Because youth spend time in both schools and
communities, strong connections between the two can
benefit them in many ways. Resources can be
maximized and services to youth enhanced. When
schools and communities are more aware of each
other, young people in need of neighborhood-based
services receive more effective referrals. The
following examples illustrate the Community Board's
experience in connecting whole-school and community
efforts.
Parental Involvement in Whole-School Work. Parental
involvement is an integral component of the
Community Board whole-school approach. When
students are encouraged and expected to use
conflict resolution skills for handling disputes at
school, they find it confusing and difficult to
return home to a completely different approach. CBP
educators express frustration when they hear a
student say, "My dad says if somebody hits me, I
can hit them back." By incorporating parents into
the whole-school project, schools provide youth and
parents with effective alternatives for dealing
with conflicts peacefully on school grounds and at
home.
Parents are encouraged to become involved in a
variety of ways. They can begin by creating a core
committee -- a planning and implementation team
comprising teachers, counselors, administrators,
students, and parents. Based on the needs of the
school, the committee develops an action plan and
timeline and oversees the project. Depending on the
parents' time and availability, they can help by
participating in outreach and publicity, training
new student mediators, taking referrals, scheduling
mediation sessions, keeping records, facilitating
biweekly student mediator meetings, following up
cases, and fundraising. Parents can perform some
functions with limited training, but certain
duties, such as training conflict managers and
facilitating biweekly meetings, require intensive
training. Parents may join teachers in a 2-day
mediation training or attend a series of workshops
introducing them to effective family communication
and problem-solving skills for use in the home.
Some schools create a parent support group to
discuss concerns and participate in ongoing skills
training and practice.
Parents can assist schools in securing support for
a whole-school conflict resolution project by
presenting information at parent-teacher
association meetings, student and/or parent
assemblies, staff meetings, town meetings, and
students' classes. A well-informed parent group
also serves as an important referral source. It can
refer school-related conflicts to the peer
mediation program and family- and community-related
disputes to a community mediation program. CBP
provides free outreach presentations to parent
groups on methods for referring cases to the
program.
Partnerships Between School and Community Mediation
Programs. Partnerships between school-based
mediation programs and their community-based
counterparts strengthen and benefit both programs.
The Community Board of San Francisco and the San
Francisco Unified School District foster their
strong relationship by using the following
strategies:
Sharing Mediators. Youth as young as age 14 are
trained to become community mediators. If students
are already trained as peer mediators in schools,
they only need to participate in an orientation
session to join the pool of community mediator
volunteers. Such student mediator "sharing"
provides important additional resources for the
community mediation program. The youth involved
learn valuable lessons about effective citizenry
and advanced conflict resolution skills.
Cross-Referral System. Even if a school has no peer
mediation program, educators can benefit from
understanding the sorts of disputes that might be
referred to community mediation programs. These
include serious incidents involving nonschool youth
or a range of parent, educator, and community
issues. Certain complex disputes may benefit from
both school-based and community-based mediation
sessions. Volunteer community mediators and
"shared" student peer mediators perform outreach to
schools by distributing fliers and making
presentations.
Parent-Child Mediation. Youth who may be having
attendance or behavioral problems can benefit from
a parent-child mediation session from the community
mediation program. This service is especially
useful for youth who are making the transition from
special schools that deal with behavioral
difficulties to traditional school settings. School
districts that use local community mediation
programs may find that these free services are
valuable in improving or reestablishing
parent-child communication and in helping the
family understand rules, behavior, and other
mediation issues. This work in turn leads to
improved social behavior and academic success.
Training Youth as Trainers. Young people who are
trained as trainers to help prepare new mediators
for school and community settings are a natural
source of talent for peer mediation programs.
Students are encouraged to participate in the free
neighborhood "Training of Trainers" offered each
year. CBP also finds it valuable to have student
mediators demonstrate the mediation process as part
of its annual community mediation training. This
reinforces the benefits and underscores the
intergenerational, communitywide aspects of
conflict resolution. School and community mediation
programs may also want to explore the possibility
of compensating mediators and trainers for their
training work by marketing the training to
youth-serving agencies and other groups in the
local community. The Effective Alternatives in
Reconciliation Services (EARS) program in the
Bronx, New York, has carried out ground-breaking
work in this area.
Youth Clubs/Youth Councils. If community and school
mediation programs wish to develop joint
strategies, they may consider developing a youth
club or council. Community mediation programs
benefit from youth groups that provide a focus for
young mediators, help the program retain youth
volunteers, recruit new youth, and provide
leadership opportunities for young people to direct
the program's youth agenda. A youth club also
provides a forum for developing and undertaking
special youth-initiated projects. Programs might
find it helpful to offer stipends to youth
participating in the club or council.
Encouraging Youth-Initiated Cases in Community
Mediation. Most programs strongly desire more youth
to come forward as "first parties" in the community
mediation process. Typically, youth are involved as
"second parties," with adults bringing concerns and
complaints as the first parties in the case. This
situation represents a failure to recognize and
respond to the needs of young people. CBP staff and
volunteers are performing outreach to youth-serving
organizations and schools to inform students about
ways to refer disputes they experience to the local
Community Board Program.
Youth-initiated referrals can be increased by
developing working relationships with youth-serving
organizations involved in efforts to organize
youth. The work of these groups can create, in
effect, collective first parties of young people
for mediation. A youth organization would identify
and analyze their issues, such as the lack of
afterschool programs or jobs, school policies, and
the like; consider who their allies might be; and
identify the second parties of the dispute. The
needs of young people are better met when youth
organizations reach out in a proactive manner to
work with community groups to resolve issues before
they become conflicts.
------------------------------
Our youth usually deal with violence by reacting to
it . . . or giving in to it. Conflict resolution
training gives them new choices to deal with it
positively. . . . This is exactly the type of
training we need in this community.
-- Director, Funderburg Youth Program
------------------------------
------------------------------
Conflict resolution is what I need and I won't quit
until all my friends know about it.
-- Student, Funderburg Youth Program
------------------------------
------------------------------
The use of conflict management skills by everyone
in our school community is the key component of our
district's efforts to become a multicultural
organization.
-- School superintendent, Ann Arbor, Michigan
------------------------------
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America recognizes that
many of its young members live in communities where
conflict and violence are daily occurrences.
Conflicts in the lives of many youth -- whether
experienced personally or vicariously in school, at
home, in the neighborhood, on television, in the
movies, or in a computer game -- may often lead to
or result in violence.
Through a grant from the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S.
Department of Justice, the Boys & Girls Clubs of
America has developed a violence prevention program
that includes the Second Step foundation skills
curriculum developed by the Committee for Children.
The program teaches club members the
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution,
anger management, impulse control, and empathy.
Also, the Boys & Girls Clubs provides information
and training on peer mediation through the
Community Board's Conflict Managers program. These
programs have been implemented in more than 60 Boys
& Girls Clubs located in public housing
developments across the country.7
Each program presents the message "Conflicts are
natural daily occurrences that can have nonviolent
resolutions" in a variety of situations to help
youth see a range of contexts in which conflicts
can arise and be settled without violence. The Boys
& Girls Clubs has provided the staff and members of
its affiliated clubs across the country with the
opportunity to receive training and practice in the
peaceful resolution of conflicts. These training
programs are also open to parents and other
interested adults in the community. The clubs
expect that nonviolent skills and strategies for
settling interpersonal disputes will begin to be
practiced on a regular basis through the many club
activities on site and in the home and community.
------------------------------
These programs have assisted our members in
reducing the level of interpersonal violence and in
supporting a positive peaceful environment in their
respective communities. We look forward to their
important message reaching all our youth members in
all our Boys & Girls Clubs.
-- James D. Cox, Vice President of Urban Services,
Boys & Girls Clubs of America8
------------------------------
AmeriCorps Conflict Resolution Training Project
Through a partnership with the National Association
for Community Mediation (NAFCM), AmeriCorps, the
national service program, has offered training in
conflict resolution to its members since September
1995. NAFCM has provided specialized training in
the skills and strategies of conflict resolution to
more than 9,000 AmeriCorps members in 46 States,
American Samoa, and the District of Columbia.9 Many
of the AmeriCorps members who have been trained as
a result of this partnership are working directly
in kindergarten to grade 12 classrooms, using their
training to help teach students conflict resolution
and to set up peer mediation programs in schools.
The AmeriCorps trainings have been conducted using
NAFCM's national membership network of community
mediation centers and a special modular curriculum
designed specifically for this project. Each of the
three modules of the curriculum focuses on a
different aspect of conflict awareness and
management. The professional trainers at each
center work with the AmeriCorps programs in their
area to provide flexible scheduling and a training
curriculum that is tailored to the needs,
background, and experience of each particular
training group. Community mediation centers are
also available for further training and technical
assistance, because addressing local needs has been
the hallmark of their contribution to this national
service program.
Community Relations Service
This unique component of the Department of Justice
seeks to prevent or resolve community conflicts and
tensions arising from actions, policies, and
practices perceived to be discriminatory on the
basis of race, color, or national origin. The
Community Relations Service (CRS) works to bring
awareness, education, and action into communities
throughout the United States that are experiencing
conflicts resulting from a multicultural
environment. In these communities, insensitivity to
different racial or cultural groups may generate
friction and, possibly, disruptions between groups
at school. However, the diversity found in school
communities offers opportunities for individuals to
learn more about one another and to enhance their
global awareness.
Conflicts may arise in schools when different
student groups "stake out turf" in certain areas of
the school -- for example, the cafeteria, the
resource room, or the athletic fields -- or during
school dances and sports events; when they leave
racist graffiti in the rest rooms or other parts of
the campus; and when they form gangs on campus.
Conflicts also arise when parents feel that their
children's race or ethnicity is not being treated
sensitively by teachers, counselors, and
administrators.
When disruptions and violence are racially
motivated, the shock waves threaten the whole
fabric of the community. All who are responsible
for school safety and security must keep abreast of
demographic changes in the community that will
alter the pattern of student interaction in a
school. Conflicts that take place outside school,
in the community and in the students'
neighborhoods, may affect the relationships between
students at school. In nearly every major racial
disruption in elementary, middle, and secondary
schools, warning signs were present well in advance
of the incident. The conflict and/or violence might
have been avoided had someone recognized that
tension was building and taken positive steps to
address it. The answers to the following questions
will help to identify the warning signs of tension
building in the community and school:
o What racial and ethnic groups attend the school?
o Where do they live in relation to one another?
o How do these groups get to and from school?
o Do school activities such as sporting events and
dances bring together diverse groups that do not
ordinarily meet, creating an environment of
competition or tension?
o What has been the history of interaction among
these various groups?
CRS casework shows that in nearly every school
disruption based on race, color, or national
origin, at least one group perceived that the
school's standards were being unfairly applied to
them alone. When school administrators and law
enforcement officers meet regularly with local
community and civil rights groups to discuss
community problems, they can develop and support
appropriate responses to community conflict through
negotiation, mediation, and consensus
decisionmaking.
CRS services can also be requested by community
groups, school officials, or school support groups
such as parent, teacher, and student associations.
When a request comes from a recognized party and
involves a dispute related to race, CRS initiates
its involvement by conducting an assessment of the
perceived problem through a series of interviews
with the key leaders of the groups involved. After
an assessment is completed, CRS meets with the
complainant to provide feedback on the perceptions
of all parties regarding the problem. At that
point, depending on the assessment, CRS may offer
to provide a number of services to assist the
parties to the dispute to resolve their problem
with win-win outcomes for all involved.
To help manage and prevent school and community
racial and ethnic disruptions, CRS has developed
several programs that can be implemented in
individual schools or throughout a school district.
Among them are:
o Student conflict resolution teams. CRS provides
training to students in the mediation process and
facilitates the establishment of student response
teams. These teams are designed to mediate
disputes, serve as racial advisory boards, and
defuse student-related racial tensions.
o Student problem identification/resolution
program. CRS presents training in this
problem-solving approach to address conflict in
multiracial schools and districts. The program is a
2-day process in which students develop
recommendations and a workplan to improve racial
harmony. A principal's student advisory council is
also established as an ongoing mechanism to work
directly with school administrators and faculty to
address racial and ethnic issues both preventively
and reactively.
o Conflict management and cultural awareness
training for staff. CRS provides training in
conflict management within multicultural settings
for administrators, faculty, security personnel,
building staff, and bus drivers.
o Management of school disruption and violence. CRS
provides training through a video instruction
program covering control of the learning
environment, isolation of disputing parties,
recognition of the disputants' issues, and
implementation of the problem-solving processes of
conflict resolution.
o School site coordination. CRS can assist a school
in setting up a committee of appropriate community
service providers and agencies to coordinate
services and focus resources on the needs and
problems of the school and community members.
These CRS programs are offered and implemented in
an open and fair manner that gives all members of
the school and neighboring community a role in
resolving the conflict peacefully. As a result,
cooperation increases among the parties and
overshadows the differences that initially caused
the tensions to build, thereby helping to bring
about a win-win outcome for all parties. A list of
CRS offices is included in appendix A.
The Arts and Conflict Resolution
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a
Federal agency, is dedicated to fostering
excellence, diversity, and vitality in the arts in
the Nation's communities while helping to broaden
their availability and appreciation. NEA encourages
use of the arts as a vehicle to address social
problems in our communities and schools by
supporting programs in arts organizations, local
arts agencies, and the Institute for Community
Development and the Arts of the National Assembly
of Local Arts Agencies.
The Institute was established to assist local arts
agencies, elected and appointed municipal
officials, and community leaders in using the arts
to address social issues in the community. The
Institute's information and technical assistance
services provide local arts agencies with the tools
necessary to develop innovative community
partnerships that use the arts to address social
and educational problems. In conjunction with
national networks including the Boys & Girls Clubs
of America, the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the National Recreation and Park
Association, social service and child advocacy
networks, local arts agencies, and national arts
service organizations, the Institute has researched
more than 600 arts programs for youth at risk.
Many of these programs are reaching disenfranchised
youth who are living in violent neighborhoods with
little opportunity for healthy activities.
Innovative partnerships of arts organizations and
social service and youth-serving agencies provide
at-risk youth with opportunities to learn conflict
resolution education as an integral component in
the study and/or practice of music, dance, theater,
literature, and the visual arts. These programs are
taking place in public housing facilities, schools,
recreation centers, churches, libraries, teen
centers, Boys & Girls Clubs, local arts and
cultural centers, museums, and performing arts
organizations. The most effective arts programs
recognize the risk factors in the lives of at-risk
youth and teach them the abilities and
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution to
help them live and thrive in a chaotic world. The
arts help youth learn to express their joy,
disappointment, anger, and fear through the
meaningful use of words, music, drawing, sculpture,
painting, and performance rather than with fists,
knives, and guns.
The arts are uniquely effective in engaging at-risk
youth in conflict resolution education. The arts
provide creative and emotional outlets that also
teach these youth different ways to view the world;
foster creativity; teach life skills of effective
communication and conflict resolution education;
encourage participation among youth who may not be
inclined to become engaged; strengthen basic and
advanced thinking skills; develop problem-posing
and problem-solving processes; and promote better
understanding and tolerance between different
racial and ethnic groups. The arts reach students
who are disenfranchised by providing diverse routes
to academic and personal achievement, enhancing
self-discipline, teaching perseverance and hard
work, and providing gateways to other learning.
The following sections present brief descriptions
of arts programs that incorporate conflict
resolution education. Resource information on these
and other such programs is included in appendix A.
------------------------------
The most important learning takes place when
several subjects are taught simultaneously in the
context of a larger theme -- works of art can
provide such themes.
-- Brent Wilson, School of Visual Arts,
Pennsylvania State University10
------------------------------
Urban smARTS Program
In many community-based arts programs, conflict
resolution training is a critical component to help
address an increase in juvenile crime, violence,
and gang activity. For example, San Antonio
provides funding for Urban smARTS, an afterschool
program in 7 schools designed to divert from the
juvenile justice system 420 at-risk youth in grades
6 through 8. The program's partnerships bring
together the San Antonio Departments of Arts and
Cultural Affairs, the Youth Services Division of
Community Initiatives, the Southwest Independent
School District, and the law enforcement and higher
education communities. The collaboration of the
various city agencies and community resources has
resulted in a multidisciplinary program that
combines innovative arts activities with conflict
resolution and social skills training and the
delivery of social services. NEA and the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
have entered into a collaborative evaluation of
this program to determine its effectiveness in
decreasing juvenile adjudication and delinquency,
increasing academic performance and school
attendance, developing the problem-solving
processes of conflict resolution, and improving the
self-esteem, social skills, and family
relationships of at-risk youth.
In the Urban smARTS program, each school is
assigned a team of three professional artists, four
caseworkers, several volunteers, and one
teacher/counselor who work with the youth for the
14-week program. Program goals include:
o Diverting at-risk youth from the juvenile justice
system through the arts and conflict resolution
education.
o Improving social behavior and skills through the
arts and case management teamwork.
o Improving academic performance and commitment to
school through the arts.
o Developing art skills and providing art
opportunities for performance and exhibitions.
Pathways to Success Program
A collaboration of OJJDP, the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, and NEA, the Pathways to Success
Program promotes vocational skills, entrepreneurial
initiatives, recreation, and arts education during
afterschool, weekend, and summer hours by making a
variety of opportunities available to at-risk
youth. Under this program, 2-year grants have been
awarded to five sites. The four listed below
include arts and conflict resolution education:
o The Stopover Services (SOS) Playback Arts-Based
Delinquency Prevention program in Newport, Rhode
Island, provides an afterschool arts program for
youth ages 13 to 18 from local public housing. The
youth participate in peer-to-peer support and
youth/adult partnerships that help build healthy
family relationships and a sense of community
through the media of visual arts, dance, and drama.
o Project CLEAR (Collaboration Leads to Enhanced
Achievement and Resiliency), located in New York
City, provides extended day programs to students
and their families in two elementary schools with
activities including the arts, recreation, and
academic tutoring.
o The Anchorage School District and the Out-North
Theater have collaborated to work with students to
write, produce, and perform plays for the community
based on their life experiences.
o The Aspira Youth Sanctuary program addresses the
problems of Latino youth ages 12 to 14 residing in
migrant camps through the teaching of art,
folklore, dance, recreation activities, and parent
workshops.
Conflict resolution education is incorporated into
each of these programs, because many of the youth
live in neighborhoods characterized by poverty,
drugs, and crime where even minor disputes often
escalate to violence. These programs lend
themselves to a discussion of other ways to resolve
disputes, which are a normal part of life and will
occur naturally during interactions with other
individuals, both within and outside the program.
Arts and Prevention Projects
The Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free
Schools Program funded the development of several
arts and prevention projects. Developed by the
Learning Systems Group, these projects have
incorporated many building blocks that strengthened
young people's ability to work together and to
learn and practice the conflict resolution
processes of negotiation, mediation, and consensus
decisionmaking. Following are descriptions of
several arts and prevention activities.
The Mural Reflecting Prevention project provides
educators and youth leaders with resource materials
and suggestions on engaging youth in the
collaborative process of creating a mural on a drug
and violence prevention theme. Through this group
work, youth learn negotiation skills and gain an
appreciation for different perspectives and for the
need to work as a team. In Indianapolis, Indiana, a
group of young people worked with a local mural
artist, their school, and the city's parks and
recreation department to create a powerful and
colorful mural on the side of a community park
building. Youth in a Dade County, Florida, public
housing development worked with a student from a
local college of art during spring break to create
a mural in their new community center. In
contributing to the design and production of the
artwork, youth of different ages and ethnic
backgrounds developed their patience, listening
skills, and creativity and also improved their
problem-solving skills. In both cases, the works
were celebrated in public events that enabled
parents, teachers, and other members of the
community to express their support and appreciation
of the young people's artwork.
The Art of Prevention project is designed to help
teachers expand their school's existing drug
prevention curriculum by integrating arts
activities centered on prevention themes. The
program materials include a 64-page handbook with
14 detailed lesson plans incorporating dance,
drama, visual arts, music, language arts, and media
arts along with a 13-minute video showing how the
arts can be used to teach prevention and prosocial
skills. Activities in this resource package cover
topics such as decisionmaking, understanding
consequences of actions, and identifying healthy
ways to cope with feelings and emotions. The sample
activities address these and other drug and
violence prevention issues through various art
forms and the foundation abilities of conflict
resolution education.
Using the arts to teach the message that conflicts
can be resolved without violence is exciting and
offers many opportunities to bring teachers,
parents, and other members of the community into
the process. Although varied in scope and focus,
these projects share the goal of demonstrating the
potential for addressing social problems through
the arts. Students learn not only the process of an
art form, but also nonviolent alternatives to
conflicts. Working together as a team brings
results: completed art projects through peaceful
conflict resolution.
California Lawyers for the Arts
As an outgrowth of its mediation program, and with
support from the National Endowment for the Arts,
California Lawyers for the Arts (C.L.A.) uses the
arts to address the effect on youth of such social
issues as unemployment, violence, and gangs.
Through grants from the San Francisco Mayor's
Office of Children, Youth, and Their Families and
the Office of Community Development, C.L.A.
facilitated the placement of 50 low-income youth in
summer jobs at 17 San Francisco arts organizations.
This project was followed by an afterschool
cultural enrichment program coordinated with 6
collaborating arts education providers who are
serving more than 600 at-risk youth from diverse
ethnic communities. C.L.A. provides the youth with
seminars on life skills that include conflict
resolution education, communication skills, and job
readiness.
Conflict resolution training for youth involved in
art enrichment activities is specific for each site
and age group. For example, a session recognizing
emotions and feelings was developed for 6- to
8-year-olds involved in afterschool movement and
performance classes. After a brief exercise using
their newly expanded vocabulary to describe
emotions and feelings, the children developed and
acted out short skits to display what they had
learned regarding their own and others' feelings.
In contrast, the focus of a session for youth ages
9 to 14 years involved developing a showcase
production on how to work together as a group,
listen to each other, and use problem-solving
processes rather than argue, name-call, and
disagree. For older teens placed in summer jobs at
arts organizations, a workshop was provided to
develop communication and basic employment and
negotiation skills through the role-playing of
art-related problems. Similar programs are in
operation in Southern California and in the
Washington, D.C., area.
Notes
1. Sneve, V.D.H. 1987. "Women of the Circle." In H.
Thompson, A. Huseboe, and S. Looney (eds.), A
Common Land, A Diverse People. Sioux Falls, SD:
Nordland Heritage Foundation.
2. Brendtro, L., and N. Long. 1993 (Spring).
"Violence Begets Violence: Breaking Conflict
Cycles." Journal of Emotional and Behavioral
Problems, p. 5.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., pp. 5-6.
5. Beekman, S., and J. Holmes. 1993. Battles,
Hassles, Tantrums & Tears: Strategies for Coping
with Conflict and Making Peace at Home. New York,
NY: Hearst Books, William Morrow & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, p. 90.
6. Wong, P., M. McLaughlin, and M. Moore. 1995
(July). Evaluation of Phase 1 of the Whole School
Conflict Resolution Project. Final report.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University School of
Education.
7. The Second Step and Conflict Managers programs
are available for use in local Boys & Girls Clubs
by contacting the Boys & Girls Clubs National
Headquarters (see appendix A under "Community-Based
Programs").
8. Cox, J.D. 1996 (May). Personal communication.
9. Contact information for the AmeriCorps Conflict
Resolution Training Project and the National
Association for Community Mediation is included in
appendix A under "Community-Based Programs."
10. Wilson, B. In press. The Quiet Evolution:
Implementing Discipline-Based Art Education in Six
Regional Professional Development Consortia. Santa
Monica, CA: Getty Center for Education in the Arts.
------------------------------
Figure 5: C.H.O.I.C.E.S. for Managing Conflict
o Command: Give clear directions and specifically
state what you want the child to do in a
nonhumiliating manner -- "Clean up your room before
visiting your friend."
o Humor or surprise: Use nonsarcastic humor or do
the unexpected to defuse an explosive situation.
For example, channel kids who are bickering over a
toy into a different activity -- "Let's pretend
we're robots and clean up the family room."
o Offer choices: Give a choice between two options
-- "You can ______ or ______," or "When you ______,
then you can ________."
o Ignore: Choose not to address the conflict or
unacceptable behavior by withholding attention.
o Compromise: Seek a middle ground by finding a
solution that partially satisfies both parties --
"If you ____, then I'll _____."
o Encourage problem solving: Work together to
explore the disagreement, generate alternatives,
and find a solution that satisfies the needs of
both parties -- "What can we do to meet everyone's
needs?"
o Structure the environment: Rearrange people, room
structure, or objects to reduce conflict. For
example, separate kids who are fighting in the car
by moving them to different seats.
Source: Beekman, S., and J. Holmes. 1993. Battles,
Hassles, Tantrums & Tears: Strategies for Coping
with Conflict and Making Peace at Home. New York,
NY: Hearst Books, William Morrow & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, p. 90. Reprinted with permission of the
authors and William Morrow & Company, Inc.
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Chapters 8-
10
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
40 pages
72,848 bytes
Chapter 8: Conflict Resolution Research and
Evaluation
-------------------------------
Research in this field indicates that conflict
resolution and mediation programs show positive
effects in reducing violence.[1]
-------------------------------
Research on conflict situations within schools and
on the impact of conflict resolution education
programs provides strong support for establishing
these programs in schools. Many of the studies
conducted to date have focused on mediation
programs, which are distinctive and perhaps more
prevalent in schools than programs employing one of
the other three approaches to conflict resolution
education. Because the peaceable classroom and
process curriculum approaches integrate conflict
resolution education into the normal curriculum,
evidence of the success of these approaches has
been somewhat difficult to document. However, the
positive outcomes associated with mediation
programs hold promise that broader based conflict
resolution programs that use mediation will be
successful as well. Comprehensive studies to
evaluate the two peaceable school programs
highlighted in chapter 5 are under way.
Early Research
In 1974, DeCecco and Richards published the results
of one of the most comprehensive studies on
conflict within schools.[2] They interviewed more
than 8,000 students and 500 faculty members in more
than 60 junior and senior high schools in New York
City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco and found
that more than 90 percent of the conflicts reported
by students were perceived to be either unresolved
or resolved in destructive ways. Moreover,
negotiation of conflicts was practically
nonexistent.
Studies on the Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers
Program
More recently, David Johnson and Roger Johnson
conducted 11 research studies to examine the
effectiveness of the Teaching Students To Be
Peacemakers program.[3] Results demonstrate the
impact that conflict resolution training programs
have on the ability of students to manage their
conflicts constructively. Johnson and Johnson
conducted carefully controlled studies in
inner-city and suburban school districts throughout
the United States and Canada. The grade level of
the students involved in the research ranged from
the 1st through the 10th grades. Two approaches to
training in peer mediation were studied. In one,
the total student body received the training; in
the other, a small group of teachers and students
received the training. Students were randomly
assigned to one of these approaches, while teachers
were rotated across approaches. The following is a
summary of the questions asked by these studies and
their findings:
o How often do conflicts among students occur, and
what are the most commonly occurring conflicts?
The findings indicated that students engaged in
conflicts daily. In the suburban schools studied,
the majority of reported conflicts resulted from
the possession of and access to resources, choice
of available activities, playground issues, and
turn-taking. Some conflicts involved physical and
verbal aggression. In one urban elementary school
studied, the vast majority of conflicts referred to
mediation involved physical and verbal violence.
o What strategies did students use to manage
conflicts prior to program training?
Before training, students generally managed their
conflicts in one of three ways: verbal or physical
abuse, teacher intervention, or withdrawal from the
conflict and the other person. A teacher stated in
her log, "Before training, students viewed conflict
as fights that always resulted in a winner and a
loser. To avoid such an unpleasant situation, they
usually placed the responsibility for resolving
conflicts on me, the teacher." Students did not
know how to engage in problem resolution or
integrative negotiations.
o Did the program training successfully teach
students negotiation and mediation procedures?
After the training ended, students knew the
negotiation and mediation procedures and retained
this knowledge.
o Could students apply the negotiation and
mediation procedures to conflicts?
For the three measures used (written responses to
conflict scenarios, oral responses to conflict
scenarios given in an interview, and role-playing
responses to conflict scenarios that were
videotaped), students were able to apply the
negotiation and mediation procedures to various
conflicts.
o Did students transfer the negotiation and
mediation procedures to nonclassroom and nonschool
situations?
The findings showed that students used the
negotiation and mediation procedures in the
hallways and lunchroom as well as on the
playground. They also used the procedures in family
settings.
o Did students rely on "win-lose" strategies or
negotiation strategies when presented with an
option?
After completing the program training, students
were placed in a negotiation situation that
presented the opportunity either to win or to
maximize joint outcomes. Although untrained
students frequently tried to win, the majority of
trained students focused on maximizing joint
outcomes.
o Did the program training increase overall
academic achievement?
In three of the studies, the training was
integrated into English literature units. While
studying a novel, students learned the negotiation
and mediation procedures, which were applied to the
dynamics among the major characters. At the
conclusion of the unit, students were given an
achievement test, and several months later they
were retested. The results indicated that the
students who received the integrated training
earned significantly higher achievement and
retention test scores than the students who studied
the novel but did not learn conflict resolution
procedures.
o Did the program training result in fewer
discipline problems that required teacher and
administration management?
During the studies, the number of discipline
problems requiring teacher management decreased by
approximately 80 percent, and referrals to the
principal were reduced to zero.
o Did the program training create more positive
attitudes toward conflict?
Untrained students uniformly had negative attitudes
toward conflict. After training, students developed
more positive attitudes toward conflict. Teachers,
administrators, and parents believed that the
Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers program was
constructive and helpful. Many parents whose
children did not participate in the project
requested that their children receive the training
in the upcoming year. A number of parents also
asked if they could receive the training to improve
conflict management within the family.
Other Research
Additional assessment of the conflict resolution
education field supports the need for conflict
resolution programs and legitimizes the contention
that effective programs must be based on proven
negotiation theory, which can be translated into
instructional procedures that educators can use in
the classroom. The following items highlight some
of the findings of this research:
o The Ohio School Conflict Management Demonstration
Project, conducted in 17 schools between 1990 and
1993, improved student attitudes toward conflict,
increased understanding of non-violent
problem-solving methods, and enhanced communication
skills.[4]
o During the 1992-1993 school year, the Clark
County Social Service School Mediation Program in
Nevada reduced the amount of conflict among
students in the two participating elementary
schools and helped prevent fights among students.
Peer mediators mediated 163 conflicts and resolved
138 (85 percent). Peer mediators demonstrated a
significant increase in conflict management skills,
self-esteem, and assertiveness. After the program,
the number of teachers who spent less than 20
percent of their time on discipline increased by 18
percent. Similar results were reported for the
1993-1994 school year.[5]
o Evaluation of a mediation program in a suburban
Chicago high school indicated positive results.
Researchers testing the hypothesis that "mediation
is an effective alternative to traditional
discipline" found that mediation was more effective
than traditional discipline in reducing the number
of interpersonal conflicts. The researchers also
reported that the majority of disputants and
student mediators were very satisfied with all
aspects of the mediation.[6]
o Evaluation of the impact of the Resolving
Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) in four
multi-racial, multi-ethnic school districts in New
York City showed that 84 percent of teachers who
responded to a survey reported positive changes in
classroom climate; 71 percent reported moderate or
significant decreases in physical violence in the
classroom; and 66 percent observed less
name-calling and fewer verbal insults. Similar
percentages of teachers characterized students as
demonstrating improved perspective-taking skills, a
greater willingness to cooperate, and more "caring
behavior." More than 98 percent of respondents said
that the mediation component gave children an
important tool for handling conflicts. Other
changes reported included spontaneous usage of
conflict resolution skills, improved self-esteem
and sense of empowerment, increased awareness and
articulation of feelings, and greater acceptance of
differences.[7]
o Five of the six New York City high schools
participating in Project S.M.A.R.T. (School
Mediator Alternative Resolution Team) experienced a
45- to 70-percent reduction in suspensions for
fighting during the program's first year of
operation.[8]
An evaluation report of the Mediation in Schools
Program of the New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution (NMCDR) reported that teachers in
program schools noticed less violence and harmful
behavior among students, whereas teachers in
nonprogram schools noticed more violence. One
Albuquerque elementary school principal reported
that "We were having 100 to 150 fights every month
on the playground before we started the program. By
the end of the school year, we were having maybe 10
[fights]." Other elementary schools using the same
NMCDR program reported that playground fighting had
been reduced to such an extent that peer mediators
found themselves out of a job.[9]
Program teachers frequently used positive,
non-coercive conflict resolution strategies --
especially mediation -- when responding to
"hurtful" behavior among students. On the other
hand, non-program teachers often used coercive,
win-lose, adult-authored strategies -- especially
detention and referrals to the principal's office -
- when responding to problem behavior.
Students successfully operated the peer mediation
process initiated through the program. In a total
of more than 2,300 mediations, only 250 required
adult intervention. Students trained as mediators
had clearer definitions of mediation and conflict
resolution strategies and skills than their
untrained peers. Untrained students did not fully
understand the benefits of win-win situations or
specific and creative conflict resolution
strategies. In addition, untrained students neither
showed the levels of self-esteem and confidence nor
felt as positive about school as trained students.
The amount of time staff members in program schools
spent handling conflicts was reduced, as was the
number of violent incidents among students.[10]
o The International Center for Cooperation and
Conflict Resolution at Columbia Teachers College in
New York initiated a conflict resolution research
project at a New York City alternative high school.
Results from the program indicated positive effects
on the students trained in conflict resolution.
These students improved their ability to manage
conflicts while experiencing more social support
and less victimization from others than before.
Improving relations with others led to increased
self-esteem, more positive feelings of well-being,
and decreased feelings of anxiety and depression.
Along with more self-esteem, students perceived
themselves as having greater personal control over
their fates. The increased sense of personal
control and positive feelings of well-being led to
improved academic performance. Indirect evidence
suggested that exposure to the training also
enhanced work readiness and performance.[11]
o The Harvard Graduate School of Education is
systematically evaluating the impact of the Program
for Young Negotiators (PYN). Preliminary findings
from the evaluation team suggest that the majority
of participating students are learning and using
the basic techniques taught by the program. Most
interviewed participants were able to discuss in
depth the importance of "talking it out" to avoid
fights and accomplish goals. They stated that the
program taught them that they have options for
dealing with conflicts with peers, parents, and
teachers. Reports from parents and teachers
confirmed that the youth did change their behavior
and handled conflicts without resorting to
violence. Participants also stated that the program
taught them skills for how to get ahead in life,
such as making plans and learning how to state what
they want and what they really mean. The majority
also described the experience as fun because it
used games and role-plays. This point is important,
because the fun experience keeps students engaged
in the training process and facilitates their
recall of the basic messages.
Interviews revealed that most students could cite
concrete examples of using their negotiation skills
with peers and parents. Several students reported
that the practice of negotiation at home surprised
their parents, but generally the parents responded
positively to the switch from arguing, complaining,
and resisting to negotiating. Parents have reported
that the use of negotiation has created
opportunities for positive parent-child
discussions.
Teachers who taught the curriculum evaluated the
training as useful to their work both in the PYN
and in their other classes. They reported that the
curriculum content and structure -- particularly
the role-plays and negotiation games -- promoted
important discussion of topics such as
decisionmaking, planning for the future, and
conflict resolution. The teachers also reported
seeing changes in the communication and conflict
resolution styles of many of the students
participating in the program. The benefits cited by
the six principals interviewed included an
improvement in the students' ability to talk
through disagreements and an opportunity for
teachers to think through their own conflict
management style.[12]
o In 1991, the Peace Education Foundation (PEF)
Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation programs
were initiated throughout the region II public
schools in Dade County, Florida. School staff were
trained to establish classroom-based and schoolwide
student mediation programs and to incorporate
conflict resolution instruction into school
curriculums.
A review of mediator reports showed that 86 percent
of mediated conflicts were resolved. Student Case
Management Systems, a system used to report
incidents, showed a significant reduction in the
rate of referrals for general disruptive behavior
in the elementary schools that had the highest
levels of implementation. Furthermore, the PEF
conflict resolution model affected student
attitudes toward resolving conflicts positively.
Student surveys indicated that those who received
training were more willing to resolve conflict
situations through actions other than threats and
violence.[13]
In 1994, staff teams from seven alternative and two
middle schools with a high percentage of at-risk
students received training in the PEF Conflict
Resolution model. Postintervention surveys showed
that students significantly changed their attitudes
toward conflict after learning the PEF model.
Students were more inclined to explain, reason,
compromise, or share in an effort to resolve their
conflicts. Students were less likely to involve
authority figures or to use aggression and threats
when resolving conflicts. Additional surveys
indicated that teachers felt more respected and
less frustrated after the implementation of the PEF
model.[14]
o Evaluations of a conflict resolution initiative
in the Palm Beach County school district showed a
considerable reduction in student referrals and
suspensions. For example, after the Safe School
Center initiated a conflict resolution program
using the PEF curriculum at Spady Elementary
School, the number of referrals at the school
dropped from 124 between September and December
1992 to 5 during the same period in 1994.
Between January and June 1995, the Safe School
Center sponsored 49 Fighting Fair for Families
workshops throughout the Palm Beach County school
district. Parents who attended one of these
workshops, which used PEF materials, noticed
favorable results. In a 2-month followup survey of
163 participants, 79 percent reported improving how
conflicts were handled at home, 76 percent reported
improving how feelings were treated at home, and 70
percent reported improving how people listened to
each other at home. In addition, 80 percent still
displayed the Rules for Fighting Fair poster in
their homes.[15]
o During the 1992-1993 school year, a middle school
with an enrollment of more than 700 students in
Orange County, North Carolina, initiated a conflict
resolution program that included a combination of
components from various conflict resolution
projects. Nine teachers and 391 sixth-grade
students were taught about conflict resolution
through lectures, discussion groups, and
role-playing. The students were taught about
individuality, anger, and power. The project also
taught the students the PEF Rules for Fighting Fair
from the same Fighting Fair curriculum used in the
Florida study described above. Twenty-six students
were selected by their peers to be trained in peer
mediation. After four 4-hour training sessions, the
peer mediators provided mediation when needed.
Mediation sessions lasted up to 1 hour and took
place in a counselor's office or a conference room.
Adults were nearby if requested.
The outcomes of this conflict resolution project
were significant. The sixth-grade students'
behavior patterns exhibited a marked change from
the 1991-1992 school year to the 1992-1993 school
year. Disciplinary referrals to the principal's
office dropped from 150 to 27 (82 percent),
in-school suspensions decreased from 52 to 30 (42
percent), and out-of-school suspensions decreased
from 40 to 1 (97 percent). The reduced number of
disciplinary actions suggests that the conflict
resolution project had a beneficial effect, but it
is not clear whether the 1991-1992 school year was
atypical with regard to behavior problems, and it
is not known whether the decreases represented
specific disciplinary actions or all kinds of
actions. Nevertheless, the reductions are
impressive.[16]
o The Mediation Project of the Public Justice
Department of St. Mary's University in San Antonio,
Texas, has provided middle and high school students
with conflict resolution training through a
school-university-community project. Preliminary
studies of the first schools trained have shown
significant reductions in disciplinary problems and
in student violence on school campuses. Smithson
Valley Middle School recorded a 57-percent decrease
in disciplinary actions during the first year of
its peer-based mediation program.[17]
o Through the Lawyers Adopt-a-School Program of the
American Bar Association, Section of Dispute
Resolution, lawyers have successfully adopted
several schools in Montgomery County, Maryland:
Bradley Hills Elementary School, Springbrook High
School, Francis Scott Key Middle School, and White
Oak Middle School. After 1 year of operation, the
program reported the following middle school
results: office referrals were reduced from 384 to
67, suspensions for disruptive behavior were
reduced from 54 to 14, and fights were reduced from
52 to 9. The disputes were usually mediated during
lunch break, with the average mediation lasting 22
minutes. As a result of the program's success, the
Lawyers Adopt-a-School Program is being replicated
in sites across the country.[18]
Further research and evaluation of conflict
resolution education programs are needed for
comprehensive identification of the strengths and
weaknesses of program elements and strategies.
Research should address cultural issues and
developmentally appropriate practices for conflict
resolution education. The body of research on
conflict resolution education is expected to grow
along these lines. This type of information will be
invaluable to program administrators and
practitioners. The findings will help strengthen
the adoption and implementation of conflict
resolution education and foster sustained support
in schools, youth-serving organizations, and
community and juvenile justice settings. In
addition, data from future studies may illuminate
lessons learned from successful use of conflict
resolution skills by young people in all aspects of
their lives.
Implications of Research on Risk Factors and
Resilience
Research on social development indirectly supports
the value of conflict resolution education,
particularly for at-risk youth. Some youth whose
social and economic circumstances place them at
risk for violent or self-destructive behavior are
able to avoid outcomes such as dropping out of
school, using drugs, getting pregnant, or
participating in gang activities. These youth have
been identified as possessing "resilience" derived
from factors such as a sense of belonging, the
ability to communicate effectively, flexibility,
and good problem-solving skills. Resilience has
been defined as "the ability to overcome the
effects of [a] high-risk environment and to develop
social competence despite exposure to severe
stress."[19] Resilient youth are able to overcome
risk factors such as inadequate bonding or caring,
low expectations, a negative school climate,
academic failure, and economic or social
deprivation. Table 3 lists the characteristics
found in resilient children.
-------------------------------
"Mom, can I tell you something? I'm worried. All of
the boys I grew up with are dead. I lie awake at
night and think about it. What am I supposed to
do?" The question was from a thirteen-year-old boy
in New Orleans and caused his mother to realize
that, of a group of six-year-olds who started
school together seven years earlier, only her son
was still living. All the others had met violent
deaths.[20]
-------------------------------
Risk Factors for Violent and Antisocial Behavior
In their work on social development, Catalano and
Hawkins have identified four major categories of
risk factors that consistently predict delinquent
or antisocial behavior among youth. Figure 6 lists
these risk factors identified in longitudinal
studies as predictors of health and behavior
problems. The specific problems predicted by each
risk factor are checked in the figure.[21] (Because
of the limitations of the ASCII plain-text format,
figure 6 could not be displayed in checklist
format.)
Although the presence of these risk factors does
not guarantee violent or antisocial behavior in the
future, it increases the probability of such
behavior. Awareness of risk factors can alert
teachers, counselors, and others to the need for
early intervention. For example, bullying is an
early indicator of lifelong antisocial problems, so
intervening at the preschool and early elementary
school levels is a logical step to help prevent
these outcomes.
Protective Factors
Protective factors are conditions or influences
that mitigate risk factors and promote resilience.
On the basis of the evidence concerning protective
factors, Hawkins, Doucek, and Lishner have
formulated a theory of social development that
identifies bonding -- the feeling of being
connected to others -- as the overarching
protective factor in the development of healthy
behavior. Early in life, resilient children often
establish positive adult and peer relationships
that bond them to family, school, and community.
Hawkins and colleagues outline three protective
processes necessary for the development of strong
bonds: opportunities, skills, and recognition.[22]
o Opportunities. Children must have the opportunity
to contribute to their family, school, and
community. The goal is to provide children with
meaningful, challenging, developmentally
appropriate opportunities that help them feel
responsible and significant. Research shows that
bonding to school occurs when instructional methods
emphasize proactive classroom management,
interactive teaching, and cooperative learning.
o Skills. Students need opportunities to learn the
cognitive and social skills that are necessary to
solve problems and interact with others. If they
lack the appropriate skills, children will
experience frustration and failure and their
opportunities to bond will be limited.
o Recognition. Children feel potent and powerful
when their contributions are valued by their peers,
teachers, and families. Children must be recognized
for their capabilities and for their participation.
The Relation Between Resilience and Conflict
Resolution
The relation between resilience and conflict
resolution is clear and significant. The
characteristics of resilience listed in table 3 are
essentially the same as the foundation abilities of
conflict resolution (orientation, perception,
emotion, communication, and creative and critical
thinking).[23] In developing a conflict resolution
education program, a school creates an environment
that fosters the development of resilience in
children in three ways. First, resolving conflicts
in principled ways promotes and preserves
relationships, thereby facilitating the bonding
that is essential to the development of resilience.
Second, conflict resolution education develops
resilience by showing youth that they can control
their behavior by making choices that satisfy their
needs. Finally, in offering youth the opportunity
to resolve conflicts peacefully, conflict
resolution education sends an empowering message of
trust and perceived capability in which the
characteristics of resilience can thrive.
Notes
1. Hechinger, F. 1994. "Saving Youth From
Violence." Carnegie Quarterly 39(1):7.
2. DeCecco, J., and A. Richards. 1974. Growing
Pains: Uses of School Conflict. New York, NY:
Aberdeen Press.
3. Johnson, D., and R. Johnson. 1995. "Teaching
Students To Be Peacemakers: Results of Five Years
of Research." Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace
Psychology 1(4):417-438. See also Johnson, D., and
R. Johnson. 1995. Teaching Students To Be
Peacemakers. 3d edition. Edina, MN: Interaction
Book Company.
4. Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and
Conflict Management. 1994. Conflict Management in
Schools: Sowing Seeds for a Safer Society.
Columbus, OH: Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution
and Conflict Management, p. 11.
5. Carpenter, J. 1993, 1994. Clark County Social
Service School Mediation Program Evaluation
Reports. Clark County, NV: Clark County Social
Service.
6. Tolsen, E.R., S. McDonald, and A. Moriarty.
1990. Peer Mediation Among High School Students: A
Test of Effectiveness. Chicago, IL: Center for
Urban Research and Development, University of
Illinois.
7. Resolving Conflict Creatively Program: 1988-89
Summary of Significant Findings. 1990 (May). New
York, NY: Metis Associates, Inc.
8. Lam, J. 1989. The Impact of Conflict Resolution
Programs on Schools: A Review and Synthesis of the
Evidence. 2d edition. Amherst, MA: National
Association for Mediation in Education.
9. Smith, M. 1996. "Strategies to Reduce School
Violence: The New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution." In A.M. Hoffman (ed.), Schools,
Violence, and Society. Westport, CT: Praeger, p.
256.
10. Carter, S. 1994. Evaluation Report for the New
Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution: Mediation in
the Schools Program, 1993-1994 School Year.
Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution.
11. Deutsch, M., V. Mitchell, Q. Zhang, N. Khattri,
L. Tepavac, E.A. Weitzman, and R. Lynch. 1992. The
Effects of Training in Cooperative Learning and
Conflict Resolution in an Alternative High School.
New York, NY: Columbia University.
12. Nakkula, M., and C. Nikitopoulos. 1996 (May).
Preliminary Evaluation Findings for the Fall 1995
Implementation of the Program for Young
Negotiators. Harvard University Graduate School of
Education, Cambridge, MA. Photocopy. Note: The
findings in this report are extracted from a longer
evaluation document that is updated monthly and is
available from the Program for Young Negotiators
(see appendix A for contact information).
13. Hanson, M.K. 1994 (Fall). "A Conflict
Resolution/Student Mediation Program: Effects on
Student Attitudes and Behaviors." ERS Spectrum
12(4):9-14.
14. Hanson, M.K. 1995 (September). Conflict
Resolution Training at Selected Middle and
Alternative Schools, 1994-1995, Dade County Public
Schools, Office of Educational Accountability
(personal communication).
15. Lewis, R. 1996 (May). Results from a telephone
survey conducted by the Safe School Center, 330
Forrest Hill Boulevard, Suite B-121, West Palm
Beach, FL 33406 (personal communication).
16. Powell, K.M., L. Muir-McClain, and L.
Halasyamani. 1995. "A Review of Selected
School-Based Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation
Projects." Journal of School Health 65(10):426-431.
17. Leal, R. 1993 (August). "The Next Generation of
Campus Mediation Programs." Paper presented at the
regional meeting of the Society of Professionals in
Dispute Resolution, San Antonio, Texas. See also
Leal, R., P. Hollis, and D. Cole. 1996 (April). "A
Collaborative School-University Mediation Program."
Paper presented at the Second Annual Alternatives
to Violence Conference, Sam Houston University,
Galveston, Texas.
18. Dabson, J. 1994. "Internal Report: Youth At
Risk." Washington, D.C.: American Bar Association,
Section of Dispute Resolution, p. 3.
19. Wright, N.D. 1994. From Risk to Resilience: The
Role of Law-Related Education. Chicago, IL:
American Bar Association, p. 2.
20. Hechinger, p. 1.
21. Catalano, R., and J.D. Hawkins. 1995.
Communities That Care: Risk-Focused Prevention
Using the Social Development Strategy. Seattle, WA:
Developmental Research and Programs, Inc., p. 10.
22. Hawkins, J.D., H. Doucek, and D. Lishner. 1988
(Spring). "Changing Teaching Practices in
Mainstream Classrooms To Improve Bonding and
Behavior of Low Achievers." American Research
Journal 25(1):31-50.
23. Bodine, R., and D. Crawford. In press.
Developing Emotional Intelligence Through Classroom
Management: Creating Responsible Learners in Our
Schools and Effective Citizens for Our World.
Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc.
-------------------------------
Table 3: Characteristics of Resilient Children
Social Competence
o Responsiveness to others.
o Conceptual and intellectual flexibility.
o Caring for others.
o Good communication skills.
o Sense of humor.
Problem-Solving Skills
o Ability to apply abstract thinking.
o Ability to engage in reflective thought.
o Critical reasoning skills.
o Ability to develop alternative solutions in
frustrating situations.
Sense of Autonomy
o Positive sense of independence.
o Emerging feelings of efficacy.
o High self-esteem.
o Impulse control.
o Planning and goal setting.
o Belief in the future.
Source: Benard, B. 1993 (November). "Fostering
Resiliency in Kids." Educational Leadership, pp.
44-48. Reprinted with permission of the Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
-------------------------------
Figure 6: Risk Factors for Health and Behavior
Problems
Community
Risk Factor: Availability of drugs.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse.
Risk Factor: Availability of firearms.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Delinquency,
violence.
Risk Factor: Community laws and norms favorable
toward drug use, firearms, and crime.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, violence.
Risk Factor: Media portrayals of violence.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Violence.
Risk Factor: Transitions and mobility.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, school dropout.
Risk Factor: Low neighborhood attachment and
community organization.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, violence.
Risk Factor: Extreme economic deprivation.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Family
Risk Factor: Family history of the problem
behavior.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout.
Risk Factor: Family management problems.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Risk Factor: Family conflict.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Risk Factor: Favorable parental attitudes and
involvement in the problem behavior.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, violence.
School
Risk Factor: Early and persistent antisocial
behavior.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Risk Factor: Academic failure beginning in
elementary school.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Risk factor: Lack of commitment to school.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout.
Individual/Peer
Risk Factor: Rebelliousness.
Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Substance abuse,
delinquency, school dropout.
Risk Factor: Friends who engage in the problem
behavior.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Risk Factor: Favorable attitudes toward the problem
behavior.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout.
Risk Factor: Early initiation of the problem
behavior.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, school dropout,
violence.
Risk Factor: Constitutional factors.
Adolescent Problem Behavior(s): Substance abuse,
delinquency, violence.
Source: Catalano, R., and J.D. Hawkins. 1995.
Communities That Care: Risk-Focused Prevention
Using the Social Development Strategy. Seattle, WA:
Developmental Research and Programs, Inc., p. 10.
Reprinted with the permission of the authors and of
Developmental Research and Programs, Inc.
-------------------------------
Chapter 9: Developmentally Appropriate Practice
-------------------------------
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the
ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at
the same time, and still retain the ability to
function.
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald
-------------------------------
This chapter presents a developmental sequence of
behavioral expectations associated with the
foundation abilities and practice of conflict
resolution. The expectations are reasonable for the
general age groupings if learning opportunities and
ample practice have been provided. This
developmental sequence (tables 4 and 5) is based on
an examination of the literature in the field of
conflict resolution and an examination of school
practices that offer conflict resolution training
to students. It is intended to provide guideposts
for developing proficiency in conflict resolution.
It is not intended to cover every aspect of
conflict resolution.
As with any educational program, the outcome of a
conflict resolution program will be optimal when it
is designed to meet the specific needs of the
students enrolled in it. Best practice suggests
that to develop the proficiency expected at any
given age level, students must already have
developed the proficiency expected at all the
preceding age levels. Students cannot be expected
to use behaviors they have not yet been taught. For
example, if a conflict resolution program is
initiated for high school students, that program
must address more than just the developmental
sequence targeted to high school students. Because
all students cannot be presumed to have developed
proficiency in the foundation abilities and
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution,
the program must provide them with age-appropriate
opportunities to learn and demonstrate the
proficiencies that appear in the sequence for all
prior age levels. The developmental continuum in
tables 4 and 5 suggests what to assess to determine
a youth's proficiency level.
Finally, any definitive developmental sequencing
should be subordinate to consideration of the
individual. Although every individual experiences
conflict, each individual enters and exits
conflicts differently.
Age-Appropriate Instruction
If conflict resolution is to be taught
successfully, the curriculum and program must
include practice both in building the foundation
abilities and in using the problem-solving
processes. First, students need to learn the
intellectual framework for conflict resolution and
to develop the tools to think systematically about
conflict. They must then be given the opportunity
to practice these skills in a real-life context.
The emphasis must be on practice. To complete the
transition from learning about the processes of
conflict resolution to using those processes in
actual situations, the processes must be
"overlearned." Sufficient and diverse
age-appropriate activities that give students the
opportunity for practice, evaluation, and further
practice are crucial to the success of any conflict
resolution program.
The following learning tools and activities are
suggested for use at each developmental level:
o Early childhood education (kindergarten through
grade 2): Using stories, role-plays, games that
promote cooperation, classroom projects, field
trips involving the greater community, activity
cards, posters, puppets, skits, demonstrations, and
activities that encourage interaction with older
children.
o Elementary school (grades 3-5): Integrating
problem-solving analysis into the standard
curriculum and using role-plays, classroom projects
and class meetings, school-based peer mediation
programs, videos, games, school assemblies,
classroom demonstrations, and student presentations
to parent and community groups.
o Middle school (grades 6-8): Teaching students to
train younger students in the problem-solving
strategies of conflict resolution by helping them
to negotiate or by facilitating consensus
decision-making sessions, integrating conflict
resolution into the regular school curriculum,
holding school assembly demonstrations, having
students create role-play exercises, having
students perform informational demonstrations or
skits for the parents and community, and having
students provide actual conflict resolution
services to community organizations.
o High school (grades 9-12): Establishing peer
mediation programs; teaching students to train
other students as peer mediators; holding school
assemblies and demonstrations; creating role-play
exercises; producing videos; having students and
school professionals provide conflict resolution
training to the community; letting students assist
schools with the development of conflict resolution
programs for younger children; having students
serve as mediators or facilitators for community
programs for younger children, senior citizens, and
other community-based groups; and having students
serve as mediators in local school and community
disputes. In the departmental framework of most
secondary schools, conflict resolution education
can be offered as a specific course in the general
curriculum, integrated into other courses, or
organized as a special instructional unit within
appropriate subject matter courses.
In summary, the developmental sequence presented in
tables 4 and 5 is valid for educating youth,
regardless of the setting. If the youth has not
developed the proficiency expected of someone
younger, that proficiency must be developed through
age-appropriate instruction and activities.
-------------------------------
Table 4: Age-Appropriate Sequence for Acquiring the
Foundation Abilities of Conflict Resolution
Early Childhood to Grade 2
Orientation Abilities
o Understands that having conflicts is natural and
knows that involvement in conflicts is all right.
o Knows that conflicts can be solved through
cooperation.
o Views peace as a desired condition and identifies
several peacemaking and peacebreaking behaviors.
o Differentiates between prejudice and a dislike.
Perception Abilities
o Accepts that he or she is not always "right."
o Accepts that others may see things differently.
o Describes a conflict from own perspective and
from the perspective of others.
o Withholds blame.
Emotion Abilities
o Knows that feeling anger, frustration, and fear
is all right.
o Controls anger.
o Expresses feelings in language that expands
beyond happy, sad, glad, or mad.
o Hears and acknowledges the feelings of others.
o Does not react to emotional outbursts of others
by elevating own emotional response.
Communication Abilities
o Listens without interruption while another person
describes an incident and summarizes what that
person has said.
o Describes an incident intelligibly using "I"
statements.
o Uses questions such as "How did that make you
feel?" and "What happened next?"
o Answers questions about a conflict.
o Uses a conflict resolution vocabulary (such as
"interests," "options," "brainstorm," "negotiate,"
and "point of view").
Creative Thinking Abilities
o Describes what is wanted and why it is wanted.
o Generates ideas for solving a problem.
o Improves a simple idea.
Critical Thinking Abilities
o Chooses from multiple ideas.
o Understands when something is fair to self and
fair to another person.
o Explains why something is not fair.
o Expresses a realistic and workable plan for
resolving a conflict.
o Understands the meaning of committing to a plan
and being trustworthy.
Grades 3-5
Orientation Abilities
o Understands that conflict is inevitable and that
it can be a positive force for growth.
o Understands that conflicts can become better or
worse, depending on the chosen response.
o Understands and recognizes soft, hard, and
principled responses to conflicts.
o Participates in cooperative endeavors.
o Recognizes prejudice in self and in the actions
of others.
o Understands own behavior in terms of the need for
belonging, power, freedom, and fun.
o Understands peace as a personal action and
differentiates between peace-making and
peacebreaking behaviors in self and others.
Perception Abilities
o Identifies and checks own assumptions about a
situation.
o Understands how others perceive words and
actions.
o Empathizes and accepts the feelings and
perceptions of others.
o Analyzes a conflict from the perspective of unmet
basic psychological needs.
o Understands friendships and good working
relationships and strives to build and maintain
them.
o Understands the effects of blaming and accusing
behaviors and chooses not to act in that manner.
Emotion Abilities
o Understands own emotions.
o Understands that others have emotional responses
and that those responses may be different from his
or her own.
o Expresses emotions effectively and appropriately.
o Disagrees without being disagreeable.
Communication Abilities
o Summarizes the facts and feelings of another
person's perspective.
o Asks specific, clarifying questions to gather
more information.
o Uses appropriate problem-solving phraseology
(e.g., "and" rather than "but" and "we" instead of
"me" or "you").
o Makes "I" statements rather than "you" statements
when expressing perspective.
o Recognizes nonverbal communication by self and by
others, especially communication related to
feelings.
o Communicates desire for cooperative working
relationships.
Creative Thinking Abilities
o Distinguishes between positions and interests.
o Identifies interests beyond own position in any
situation.
o Separates inventing options from making
decisions.
o Identifies mutual and compatible interests and
creates behavioral options to satisfy those
interests.
Critical Thinking Abilities
o Evaluates realistically the risks and
consequences of "flight or fight" in conflict.
o Identifies best self-help alternative in a
conflict situation.
o Chooses to work toward mutual fairness in
resolving a dispute rather than to accomplish
self-imposed will.
o Evaluates interests of self and others according
to fairness standards.
o Crafts win-win resolutions.
o Specifies clear agreement by stating who, what,
when, and how.
Grades 6-8
Orientation Abilities
o Recognizes that the sources of conflict and the
problem-solving processes of conflict resolution
are applicable to all types of conflicts --
interpersonal, intergroup, and international.
o Diagnoses conflicts appropriately and selects
conflict resolution strategies for conflicts in
various settings (such as school, home, and
neighborhood).
o Exhibits effective responses to another person
who, in a shared conflict, chooses a soft or hard
response.
o Takes action to inform when prejudice is
displayed.
o Suggests a peacemaking action as an alternative
to a displayed peacebreaking action.
Perception Abilities
o Recognizes the limitations of own perceptions and
understands that selective filters affect seeing
and hearing.
o Identifies and checks assumptions that self and
others make about a situation.
o Possesses a rudimentary understanding of how
problem-solving strategies can be influenced.
o Recognizes the prevalence and glamorization of
violence in society.
o Recognizes that conflicts can escalate into
violence.
Emotion Abilities
o Takes responsibility for emotions.
o Accepts and validates emotions and perceptions of
others.
o Possesses effective strategies for "cool down"
and uses them at appropriate times.
Communication Abilities
o Uses summarizing and clarifying to defuse anger
and deescalate conflict.
o Withholds judgment and listens to persuasive
discussions.
o Is productively persuasive.
o Tests understanding, listens to understand, and
speaks to be understood.
o Reframes own statements using unbiased and less
inflammatory language.
Creative Thinking Abilities
o Understands that underlying interests, not
positions, define the problem in conflict
situations.
o Understands that multiple, unclear, or
conflicting interests often coexist.
o Understands and uses analytical tools to diagnose
problems.
o Uses problem solving for conflicting as well as
common or compatible interests.
Critical Thinking Abilities
o Challenges assumptions about what is possible.
o Thinks about short- and long-term consequences of
proposed options.
o Negotiates without conceding.
o Identifies outside standards and criteria for
fairness (such as legal standards and school rules)
when evaluating interests and solutions.
o Recognizes the efficacy of committing only to
solutions that are fair, realistic, and workable.
o Endeavors to fulfill commitments.
Grades 9-12
Orientation Abilities
o Maintains various good working relationships with
parents, family, siblings, boyfriends, girlfriends,
teachers, and bosses.
o Analyzes conflict in the context of a present
relationship and uses an appropriate
problem-solving strategy.
o Recognizes patterns in his or her responses to
conflict and strives for positive growth and change
in those patterns.
o Understands that conflict resolution skills are
life skills.
o Confronts prejudice effectively in self and
others and in the school as an institution.
o Promotes equal access and opportunity on many
fronts.
o Seeks diverse and multi-cultural experiences and
relationships.
o Works actively to promote peace in the school and
in the community.
Perception Abilities
o Critically analyzes own perceptions and modifies
understanding as new information emerges.
o Articulates how own words, actions, and emotions
are perceived by others.
o Analyzes how perceptions of others relate to
probable intent or purpose.
o Understands how problem-solving strategies can be
influenced and regularly chooses to exercise
positive influence.
o Prevents escalation of conflicts, even with
adults.
o Helps others recognize the potential for violence
and for nonviolent conflict resolution.
Emotion Abilities
o Remains calm and focused on problem solving when
confronted by a strong emotional display from
another person, including an adult.
o Prevents conflict escalation and violence
effectively by using communication-based conflict
resolution strategies.
Communication Abilities
o Summarizes positions and interests of others in
conflict situations efficiently and accurately.
o Acknowledges the validity of emotions and
perspectives of others.
o Reframes statements of others, removing biased or
inflammatory messages to capture the underlying
meaning.
o Expresses interests explicitly.
o Uses clarifying questions to uncover hidden
interests of others.
o Possesses a conflict resolution vocabulary (e.g.,
"position," "interests," "options," "alternatives,"
"consensus," "commitment," "legitimacy," and
"brainstorm") and uses it appropriately.
Creative Thinking Abilities
o Evaluates and reconciles positions and interests
of self and others in most situations.
o Prioritizes interests and develops a strategy for
working toward agreement, focusing on easier issues
first (those of mutual concern) and more difficult
issues last (those of conflicting concerns).
o Articulates mutual interests and reconciles
conflicting interests.
o Switches perspectives to generate new options.
o Manages brainstorming effectively, separates
inventing from deciding, and advocates options for
mutual gain.
o Brainstorms multiple options in any situation,
improving, refining, embellishing, and expanding on
current options.
o Uses analytical tools to diagnose problems,
develop new approaches, and evaluate those
approaches.
Critical Thinking Abilities
o Uses problem-solving processes when engaging in
difficult conversations.
o Speculates as to best alternatives to negotiated
agreement for self and others.
o Analyzes ways to improve best alternatives to
negotiated agreement.
o Analyzes willingness and ability of self and
other person to honor a plan of action in any
situation.
o Identifies uncontrollable factors that might
impact the ability of the parties to fulfill an
agreement.
o Identifies external standards of fairness and
uses those to resolve conflicts.
o Honors commitments and encourages others to do
the same.
Negotiation Process
o Negotiates with difficult parties effectively.
o Teaches negotiation process to peers and adults.
o Enjoys negotiation process.
Mediation Process
o Mediates an array of disputes involving various
disputants.
o Trains others in the mediation process.
Consensus Decisionmaking Process
o Manages consensus problem solving in various
groups.
o Facilitates consensus decisionmaking as a member
of a group.
-------------------------------
Table 5: Age-Appropriate Sequence for Acquiring the
Problem-Solving Processes of Conflict Resolution
Early Childhood to Grade 2
Negotiation Process
o Cooperates with a peer in unassisted problem
solving -- each cools off, tells what happened,
imagines ways to problem-solve, and chooses a
solution.
o Participates in a negotiation session coached by
an adult or older child.
Mediation Process
o Participates in a mediation facilitated by an
adult or older student mediator.
Consensus Decisionmaking Process
o Engages in group problem-solving discussions and
processes facilitated by a teacher or other adult.
Grades 3-5
Negotiation Process
o Manages the negotiation process without
assistance.
Mediation Process
o Participates in the mediation process facilitated
by another student or an adult.
o Serves as peer mediator in a classroom program or
a schoolwide program.
Consensus Decisionmaking Process
o Participates in classroom sessions designed to
resolve group conflicts and problems.
Grades 6-8
Negotiation Process
o Performs principled negotiation with peers and
adults.
o Involves a peer who has little or no conflict
resolution training in the negotiation process.
o Understands that nearly every interaction is a
negotiation.
o Teaches younger students the negotiation process.
Mediation Process
o Mediates disputes among peers.
o Co-mediates disputes between peers and adults.
o Coaches younger students and peers as they learn
to mediate.
Consensus Decisionmaking Process
o Manages consensus problem-solving sessions for
classroom groups of younger students.
o Manages consensus decisionmaking in a small group
of peers (such as classroom work group or student
council committee).
Grades 9-12
Negotiation Process
o Negotiates with difficult parties effectively.
o Teaches negotiation process to peers and adults.
o Enjoys negotiation process.
Mediation Process
o Mediates an array of disputes involving various
disputants.
o Trains others in the mediation process.
Consensus Decisionmaking Process
o Manages consensus problem solving in various
groups.
o Facilitates consensus decisionmaking as a member
of a group.
-------------------------------
Chapter 10: Establishing Conflict Resolution
Education Programs
-------------------------------
Many minor arguments become deadly confrontations
because many young people only know how to use
violence to solve their problems. Conflict
resolution education shows them another way.
-- Attorney General Janet Reno[1]
-------------------------------
Although there is no set formula for how to
implement conflict resolution programs in schools,
youth-serving organizations, or community and
juvenile justice settings, most successful programs
begin with an extensive needs assessment and
planning process. This chapter will use the school
setting as an example of developing and
implementing a conflict resolution education
program, but this information is transferable to
settings in youth-serving organizations, community
programs, and juvenile justice facilities.
To develop, implement, and sustain a successful
conflict resolution program, participants must
embrace the belief that conflicts can be resolved
peacefully. Many adults in schools and other
youth-serving settings are familiar with and most
comfortable using conflict resolution that is
grounded in methods such as the exercise of adult
authority, reliance on school rules, discipline
hearings, and other administrative procedures.
Moving from these methods to one that encourages
people to talk about their interests and needs and
to work collaboratively to come up with solutions
requires a major paradigm shift.
It is important to realize that students' success
in developing an awareness of the positive
potential of conflict resolution is an outgrowth of
the endeavors and commitment exhibited by the
adults in the school to approach conflict in a
positive way. Educators who bring positive ways of
resolving conflict into their classrooms will see
results that will have a powerful effect on their
own lives and work as well as on the lives and work
of their students and on the communities in which
they live.
A successful conflict resolution education program
is the product of a continuous process that begins
by organizing a planning team with broad
representation of the school community, including
parents, teachers, administrators, and community
representatives. Many schools will be able to use
the school advisory committees or site-based
councils that are already in place as a planning
team. The planning team is responsible for
conducting a needs assessment and for facilitating
the process of planning the implementation of the
program. An example of a process for planning is
provided in appendix H.
Analyzing School Conflict: Needs Assessment
A needs assessment is critical to establishing a
conflict resolution education program that moves
beyond the efforts of individual staff toward a
united effort of the entire school community. The
assessment surveys teachers, students, parents, and
administrators to determine the nature of conflict
in the school and how conflict is addressed.
Support for the introduction of any new program
into a school depends to a large extent on:
o The degree to which the school staff see that the
program addresses current needs.
o The degree to which the program is incorporated
into existing school improvement plans and extends
or embellishes the school mission.
Figure 7 presents a sample of a needs assessment
questionnaire. These questions are intended to help
the planning team think about the kind of
information needed to develop an action plan for
establishing a conflict resolution program. A
sample conflict resolution survey is presented in
figure 8. A needs assessment form is provided in
appendix E.
Selecting Conflict Resolution Education
Programs/Curriculums
Once the goals and desired outcomes are clearly
identified, the planning team is ready to explore
various programs and curriculums that could be
implemented to achieve the outcomes. Many program
and curriculum resources are available (see
appendix B for a representative list). A form to
help school personnel determine whether a conflict
resolution program or curriculum meets the criteria
set forth in this Guide and how well it matches the
needs and resources of the school is provided in
appendix F. Specifically, the form facilitates
assessment of:
o The extent to which the concept of conflict
resolution is advanced.
o The extent to which the foundation abilities for
conflict resolution are developed.
o The extent to which the fundamental principles of
conflict resolution are incorporated into the
curriculum.
o The extent to which problem-solving strategies
are used and modeled by adults.
o The kinds of learning strategies that deliver the
conflict resolution program to students.
o The various implementation components of conflict
resolution.
In addition to a written assessment, it may be
helpful to talk with individuals who have used the
programs and curriculums being considered. Asking
questions about what has worked, what has not
worked, and why can provide information that will
focus the selection process. Also, materials should
be previewed to be sure that they are age
appropriate. Often schools combine various
curriculums or portions of curriculums to create
their own programs.
Implementing Conflict Resolution Education
There are many ways to introduce conflict
resolution education. Students tend to learn to
resolve conflicts best through experiential
learning activities incorporated into specific
curriculum areas (English or social studies, for
example) and through seeing adults model conflict
resolution successfully. An individual classroom
teacher can provide conflict resolution training
for the students of that classroom through a
process curriculum or a peaceable classroom
approach. Several staff can develop and implement a
schoolwide peer mediation program. All staff
members can agree to implement one of the
problem-solving strategies of conflict resolution -
- perhaps negotiation or consensus decisionmaking -
- in every classroom of the school. The entire
school community can decide to commit to the
long-term development of a peaceable school, with
the commitment eventually reaching beyond the
school to the creation of peaceable homes and a
peaceable community.
A high school can decide that all ninth grade
students will be taught conflict resolution skills
over a 10-week period. English teachers can
integrate conflict resolution into their curriculum
during one class per week and then expand the
weekly lesson into their other lessons during the
week. School counselors and administrators often
co-teach with the classroom teacher to provide
mutual support for the teaching of conflict
resolution skills and strategies.
Selecting Staff Development Providers/Trainers
Regardless of which program or curriculum is
chosen, it is important to select staff development
providers carefully. Quality trainers are
experienced in resolving conflicts in schools and
in implementing programs in schools. The forms in
appendix G can help school personnel to assess the
offerings and competency of providers of conflict
resolution training and to determine how well they
meet the training needs the school has identified.
Before contracting the services of a staff
development provider, a school should interview the
provider and contact references to obtain
information on the provider's performance in
various school settings. Clearly, quality staff
development programs include ways to build the
capacity of the school to do its own training in
the future.
Important Factors for Successful Implementation
Both research findings and practitioner experience
support the idea that tailoring a program to a
given site strengthens the probability of its
success. Programs that are designed to address
specific concerns, use existing resources, and
build the capacity of staff are more likely to be
sustained over time. However, the commitment and
support of the administration, faculty, and parents
appear to be universal success factors for conflict
resolution education programs.
Administrative Commitment and Support
Every successful conflict resolution education
program enjoys leadership and support from both the
school's and the school district's administration.
Administrators provide leadership and support for
programs in a variety of ways:
o Using staff meetings and parent meetings to
discuss programs and their benefits in relation to
student/adult outcomes.
o Participating in training and staff development
programs.
o Leading staff meetings and problem-solving
sessions using conflict resolution processes.
o Recognizing program success during assemblies,
schoolwide announcements, parent-teacher
association meetings, school board meetings, and on
other occasions.
o Making use of effective conflict management and
the language of conflict resolution in the school
and on the playground.
o Teaching or co-teaching conflict resolution
lessons in the classroom.
Faculty Commitment and Support
When the faculty have little knowledge of the
principles and the processes of conflict
resolution, a conflict resolution program is not
likely to be sustained. If faculty are not involved
in training and program development, they are not
likely to accept responsibility for achieving the
program's goals. Behind every successful program is
a core of faculty who believe passionately in the
value of having students and adults resolve their
differences through conflict resolution processes.
These people are typically the driving force of the
program through their enthusiasm, problem-solving
skills, support for others in trying something new,
and refusal to give up.
Successful programs involve the faculty in program
planning and give them adequate initial and ongoing
training. Programs implemented without adequate
planning and training are not usually sustainable.
A shared vision among faculty is a fundamental
building block of program success. One way to
ensure faculty commitment is to involve them in
program development through a strategic planning
process. Appendix H provides a brief description of
the essential components of a strategic plan.
Parent Involvement and Support
Parents, like administrators and faculty, need to
understand the programs that are being implemented
in their children's school. Their support is
important to the success of those programs and can
be built through presentations at parent meetings
in the school and in the community. Presentations
in which students demonstrate the conflict
resolution process provide an excellent forum for
discussion. Parents can serve as volunteers helping
to implement the program or can attend conflict
resolution training designed especially for them.
Involving parents extends conflict resolution
beyond the classroom.
Program Evaluation
Any program in schools today needs to establish
performance goals and to measure progress toward
achieving those goals. An evaluation must show
whether the program is reaching its goals (student
and adult outcomes) and how it is enhancing the
learning process. Program evaluation also provides
valuable data for continuous improvement. Programs
that are unable to report progress, outcomes, and
impact rigorously are not likely to survive.
Implementing a conflict resolution program is an
extremely complex process that demands considerable
energy and time from the adults involved. The
impact of conflict resolution programs occurs over
time. It is important to remember that conflict
resolution education is not a "quick fix." The
initial time invested eventually pays off in time
gained when students resolve their own problems
without the intervention of the adults in the
school.
-------------------------------
Pitfalls To Avoid
Going Too Fast
Eagerness to implement a program can lead to
beginning without adequate discussion and
preparation. Successful programs develop from
careful planning and training before implementation
is begun. Programs implemented without adequate
preparation tend to be less successful and to
hinder the implementation of future programs.
People say, "We tried that one time but it didn't
work, so let's not try now."
Going Without Support
Programs usually fail when administrators and
faculty have no knowledge of or do not support
"interest-based" conflict resolution approaches.
Administrators and faculty who feel no
responsibility for achieving the program's goals
will not help support the program.
Selecting the Wrong Program and Trainers
Failure to match the program to the school's
particular needs will result in problems.
Successful implementation of a program at one
school does not mean it will be the right program
for every school. Selecting a trainer who is not
qualified or who will not build the school's
training capacity will also create future problems
in implementing and, more importantly, in
sustaining a program.
Failing To "Hang In There" for the Long Haul
Abandoning a program when it gets difficult or
seems to be in a logjam is a mistake. With so many
other demands on teachers, counselors, and
administrators, it is tempting to stop some of the
more time-consuming activities that are not
specifically academic in nature. However, true
results from conflict resolution programs are seen
only after some time has elapsed.
-- Laura Otey, Administrator, K-12
Austin Independent School District, Austin,
Texas[2]
-------------------------------
Notes
1. Reno, J. 1996. "Attorney General Announces New
Effort To Prevent School Violence." U.S. Department
of Justice press release, May 29, 1996.
2. Otey, L. 1996 (May). Personal communication.
-------------------------------
Figure 7: Sample Needs Assessment Questionnaire
o To what extent are conflicts interfering with
teaching and learning processes within the school?
o What percentage of conflicts is attributable to:
-- The competitive atmosphere of the school or
classroom?
-- An intolerant atmosphere in the school or
classroom?
-- Poor communication?
-- Inappropriate expression of emotion?
-- Lack of conflict resolution skills?
-- Adult misuse of authority in the school or
classroom?
o To what extent are diversity issues manifested as
conflicts in the school community?
o To what extent is representation in
decisionmaking an issue manifested in the conflicts
observed in the school?
o What percentage of the conflicts arising in the
school is:
-- Between students?
-- Between teachers and students?
-- Between teachers?
-- Between students and school expectations, rules,
or policies?
-- Between teachers and administrators?
-- Between school staff and parents?
-- Between other groups specific to the school?
o What procedures are followed when conflicts cause
disruption of teaching and learning processes? Who
administers which procedures?
o Who are the sources of referrals to these
procedures?
o How effective are these procedures according to
the perceptions of students? parents? teachers?
administrators? others?
o What existing attitudes or behavior will
facilitate the implementation of a conflict
resolution program in the school? Who exhibits
these?
o What existing attitudes or behavior will impede
the implementation of a conflict resolution program
in the school? Who exhibits these?
o Which foundation skills for conflict resolution
are now included in the school curriculum? When are
they developed? Who provides the training in these
skills? Which students receive this training?
o Which staff members have training in conflict
resolution? How many hours of training?
o What staff development opportunities in conflict
resolution are available? What opportunities are
desired?
o What present and future monetary resources are
available to support implementation of a conflict
resolution program?
o What conflict resolution processes currently
exist within the school? Within the school
community?
o What community resources exist to assist the
school in designing and implementing a conflict
resolution program?
-------------------------------
Figure 8: Sample Conflict Resolution Survey
The following items appeared in a survey that was
included in the hardcopy version of this document.
Readers were instructed to respond to the
statements by circling a number from 1 (Strongly
Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Because of the
limitations of the ASCII plain-text format, the
survey could not be duplicated as it appeared in
the hardcopy.
1. There are conflicts interfering with the
educational process within the school.
2. There is an atmosphere of intolerance within the
school.
3. There is a lack of a process for dealing with
conflicts within the school.
4. Student-student conflicts are a problem within
the school.
5. Student-teacher conflicts are a problem within
the school.
6. Teacher-teacher conflicts are a problem within
the school.
7. The school does not have adequate procedures for
handling conflicts within the school.
8. Current procedures for conflict resolution are
effective.
9. The school would benefit from a conflict
resolution program.
10. Additional Comments:
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Appendix A
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
8 pages
55,102 bytes
Appendix A: Contact Information
The first section of this appendix, "Conflict
Resolution Consultation and Training Resources,"
supplies contact information for a number of
organizations that provide national leadership in
the field of conflict resolution education through
their efforts to promote, develop, implement, and
institutionalize conflict resolution education
programs. This list is not intended to be
comprehensive.
The second section of the appendix, "Programs Cited
in This Guide," provides contact information for
the community programs described in chapter 7.
Community mediation centers are an excellent
initial resource for information about local
programs on conflict resolution education.
Conflict Resolution Consultation and Training
Resources
American Bar Association
Section of Dispute Resolution
740 15th Street NW., Ninth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202-662-1680
202-662-1032 (fax)
Anti-Defamation League
A World of Difference Program
823 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
212-885-7810
212-490-0187 (fax)
Children's Creative Response to Conflict
P.O. Box 271
Nyack, NY 10960
914-353-1796
914-358-4924 (fax)
Community Board Program, Inc.
Conflict Resolution Resources for Schools and Youth
1540 Market Street, Suite 490
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-552-1250
415-626-0595 (fax)
Conflict Resolution and Cooperative Learning Center
Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers Program
University of Minnesota
College of Education and Human Development
60 Peik Hall
159 Pillsbury Drive SE.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-7031
612-626-1395 (fax)
Educators for Social Responsibility
23 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-492-1764
617-864-5164 (fax)
Harvard Negotiation Project
500 Pound Hall
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-1684
617-495-7818 (fax)
Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution
National Peaceable School Project
110 West Main Street
Urbana, IL 61801
217-384-4118
217-384-8280 (fax)
International Center for Cooperation and Conflict
Resolution
Teachers College at Columbia University
525 West 120th Street
Box 53
New York, NY 10027
212-678-3402
212-678-4048 (fax)
Iowa Peace Institute
917 10th Avenue
P.O. Box 480
Grinnell, IA 50112
515-236-4880
515-236-6905 (fax)
National Association for Community Mediation
1726 M Street NW., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036-4502
202-467-6226
202-466-4769 (fax)
National Crime Prevention Council
1700 K Street NW., Second Floor
Washington, DC 20006-3817
202-466-6272
202-296-1356 (fax)
National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law
711 G Street SE.
Washington, DC 20003
202-546-6644
202-546-6649 (fax)
National Institute for Dispute Resolution
National Association for Mediation in Education
1726 M Street NW., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036-4502
202-466-4764
202-466-4769 (fax)
National School Safety Center
4165 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Suite 290
Westlake Village, CA 91362
805-373-9977
805-373-9277 (fax)
New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution
National Resource Center for Youth Mediation
800 Park Avenue SW.
Albuquerque, NM 87102
800-249-6884 (publications)
505-247-0571 (information)
505-242-5966 (fax)
Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict
Management
77 South High Street, 24th Floor
Columbus, OH 43266
614-752-9595
614-752-9682 (fax)
Peace Education Foundation
1900 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33132
800-749-8838
305-576-5075
305-576-3106 (fax)
Program for Young Negotiators, Inc.
20 University Road
Cambridge, MA 02138
888-832-2479 [888-TEACH-PYN (toll free)]
617-354-8467 (fax)
Resolving Conflict Creatively Program
National Center
163 Third Avenue
P.O. Box 103
New York, NY 10003
212-387-0225
212-387-0510 (fax)
Programs Cited in This Guide
The Arts and Conflict Resolution
Arts and Prevention Projects
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program
1250 Maryland Avenue SW.
Washington, DC 20202-6123
202-260-3954
202-260-3748 (fax)
California Lawyers for the Arts
 Northern California Program
 Fort Mason Center, Building C, Room 255
 San Francisco, CA 94123
 415-775-7200
 415-775-1143 (fax)
 Southern California Program
 1641 18th Street
 Santa Monica, CA 90404
 310-998-5590
 310-998-5594 (fax)
National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies
927 15th Street NW., 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202-371-2830
202-371-0424 (fax)
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Room 726
Washington, DC 20506
202-682-5537
202-682-5613 (fax)
Pathways to Success Program
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention
633 Indiana Avenue NW.
Washington, DC 20531
202-307-1150
202-514-6382 (fax)
Urban smARTS
Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs
222 East Houston, Suite 500
San Antonio, TX 78205
210-222-2787
210-228-0263 (fax)
Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts
410 Eighth Street NW., Suite 601
Washington, DC 20004
202-393-2826
202-393-4444 (fax)
Community-Based Programs
AmeriCorps Conflict Resolution Training Project
National Association for Community Mediation
1726 M Street NW., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036-4502
202-467-6226
202-466-4769 (fax)
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
National Headquarters
1230 West Peachtree Street NW.
Atlanta, GA 30309-3447
404-815-5781
404-815-5757 (fax)
Conflict Managers Program
Community Board Program, Inc.
1540 Market Street, Suite 490
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-552-1250
415-626-0595 (fax)
East Cleveland Youth Services Mobile Mediation
Project
14801 Shaw Avenue
East Cleveland, OH 44112
216-681-7526
216-681-5733 (fax)
Effective Alternatives in Reconciliation Services
3319 Rochambeau Avenue
Bronx, NY 10467
718-654-4931
718-654-4942 (fax)
Lawyers Adopt-a-School Program
American Bar Association
Section of Dispute Resolution
740 15th Street NW., Seventh Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202-662-1687
202-662-1683 (fax)
Roxbury Conflict Resolution Project
The Conflict Management Group
20 University Road
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-354-5444
617-354-8467 (fax)
Second Step Program
Committee for Children
2203 Airport Way South, Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98134-2027
206-343-1223
206-343-1445 (fax)
Parent Education
Franklin Mediation Service
97 Franklin Street
Greenfield, MA 01301
413-774-7469
413-773-3834 (fax)
Parents Anonymous, Inc.
675 West Foothill Boulevard, Suite 220
Claremont, CA 91711
909-621-6184
909-625-6304 (fax)
Parents as Teachers National Center
10176 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 230
St. Louis, MO 63132
314-432-4330
314-432-8963 (fax)
Community Relations Service, U.S. Department of
Justice
Regional Offices
Region I: New England (Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
Vermont)
99 Summer Street, Suite 1820
Boston, MA 02110
617-424-5717
617-424-5727 (fax)
Region II: Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Puerto
Rico, Virgin Islands)
26 Federal Plaza, Room 3402
New York, NY 10278
212-264-0700
212-264-2143 (fax)
Region III: Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, District of
Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
Virginia)
Room 208 Custom House
Second and Chestnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106
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Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee)
75 Piedmont Avenue NE., Room 900
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-331-6883
404-331-4471 (fax)
Region V: Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin)
55 West Monroe Street, Suite 420
Chicago, IL 60603
312-353-4391
312-353-4390 (fax)
Region VI: Southwest (Arkansas, Louisiana, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas)
1420 West Mockingbird Lane, Suite 250
Dallas, TX 75247
214-655-8175
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Region VII: Central (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska)
323 West Eighth Street, Suite 301
Kansas City, MO 64105
816-374-6522
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North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming)
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Denver, CO 80204-3584
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Hawaii, Nevada)
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Seattle, WA 98174
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Detroit, MI 48226
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MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Appendix B
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
28 pages
55,098 bytes
Appendix B: Conflict Resolution Curriculum
Resources
The intent of this appendix is to illustrate some
of the most current and readily available conflict
resolution curriculum resources. These
representative materials were selected through a
nomination process by national leaders in the field
of conflict resolution education. This list is
neither exhaustive nor intended as a recommendation
of these curriculums by the U.S. Department of
Justice or the U.S. Department of Education. The
materials have been categorized into five groups:
Foundation Abilities, Process Curriculum,
Mediation, Peaceable Classroom, and Peaceable
School.
Many of the publications listed here are available
through the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention's Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse, a component of the National Criminal
Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). An NCJ (National
Criminal Justice) number after a citation indicates
that the publication is available from the
Clearinghouse on microfiche or through paper
reproduction or interlibrary loan. For further
information, contact the Clearinghouse by telephone
at 800-638-8736; or through the Internet at
askncjrs@ncjrs.org.
Foundation Abilities
Aggressors, Victims, & Bystanders: Thinking and
Acting to Prevent Violence. 1994. Ronald Slaby,
Renee Wilson-Brewer, and Kimberly Dash, Education
Development Center, 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA
02160.
Phone: 800-225-4276
Audience: Grades 6-9.
Focus: To develop skills in solving social problems
nonviolently and in evaluating beliefs regarding
violence.
Key Teaching Strategies: Full-class and small-group
discussions, games, role-playing, and
skill-building exercises.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide and handouts.
Cost: $45.
Anti-bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young
Children. 1989. Louise Derman-Sparks and the ABC
Task Force, National Association for the Education
of Young Children, 1509 16th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20036-1426. NCJ 160365.
Phone: 202-232-8777
Audience: Ages 2-5.
Focus: To promote critical thinking regarding
cultural bias and diversity and problem-solving
processes to resolve conflict.
Key Teaching Strategies: Activities and
discussions.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide.
Cost: $17.
Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom.
1984, 1986, 1990, 1993. David W. Johnson, Robert T.
Johnson, and Edythe Holuhec, Interaction Book
Company, 7208 Cornelia Drive, Edina, MN 55435.
Phone: 612-831-9500
Audience: Grades K-8.
Focus: To teach students to work cooperatively to
achieve mutual learning goals. Program is research
and theory based.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential/cooperative
learning, simulations, role-playing, and
perspective taking.
Type of Material: Book, videos, student manual, and
audiocassettes.
Cost: Book, $10; video, $25; audiocassette, $10.
Conflict Management: Middle School Curriculum.
1990. Elizabeth Loescher, The Conflict Center, 2626
Osceola Street, Denver, CO 80212.
Phone: 303-433-4983
Audience: Grades 6-8.
Focus: To reduce levels of physical, verbal, and
emotional violence through skill building.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, interactive
lessons, self-evaluations, and small- and
large-group discussions.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide and handouts.
Cost: $20.
Dealing With Anger: Givin' It, Takin' It, Workin'
It Out. A Violence Prevention Program for African
American Youth (female or male version). 1991.
Research Press, Inc., P.O. Box 9177, Champaign, IL
61821.
Phone: 217-352-3273
Audience: African-American youth in grades 6-12
(each set is specific for males or females).
Focus: To teach students ways to express angry
feelings, accept criticism, and negotiate a
solution.
Key Teaching Strategies: Videos, discussion, and
role-playing.
Type of Material: Video and discussion guide.
Cost: Each set of videos, $495; both sets, $740.
Discover the World: Empowering Children to Value
Themselves, Others, and the Earth. 1990. Susan
Hopkins and Jeffery Winters, New Society
Publishers, 4527 Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia,
PA 19143.
Phone: 800-333-9093
Audience: Infants, toddlers, and grades pre-K
through 5; especially geared toward young children.
Focus: To teach respect for oneself and others.
Key Teaching Strategies: Activities and lesson
plans that include art, music, movement, and
language.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide.
Cost: $14.95.
Everyone Wins! Cooperative Games and Activities.
1990. Sambhava and Josette Luvmour, New Society
Publishers, 4527 Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia,
PA 19143.
Phone: 800-333-9093
Audience: Grades pre-K through 4.
Focus: To increase self-esteem and
interconnectedness with others through the
interaction of game-playing.
Key Teaching Strategies: Playing games.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide.
Cost: $8.95.
The Giraffe Classroom. 1990. Nancy Sokol Green,
Center for Non-Violent Communication, 3468
Meadowbrook Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, OH
44118-3660.
Phone: 216-371-1123
Audience: Grades 1-8.
Focus: To promote caring, cooperative, and safe
schools through teaching nonviolent communication
skills that empower children and others to get
their needs met in mutually satisfying ways.
Key Teaching Strategies: Cooperative pairs and
small-group work integrated into language, social
studies, art, and music.
Type of Material: Teacher's manual.
Cost: $14.
Keeping the Peace: Practicing Cooperation and
Conflict Resolution with Preschoolers. 1989.
Susanne Wichert, New Society Publishers, 4527
Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143.
Phone: 800-333-9093
Audience: Preschool children and adults who live
and work with preschool children.
Focus: To increase altruistic behavior, decrease
aggressive behavior, and enhance a greater
tolerance among children for the differences in
others.
Key Teaching Strategies: Activities and games.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide.
Cost: Paperback, $12.95; hardcover, $34.95.
The Mayor at Kackal Heights. 1987. Rita Herzog and
Kathy Smith, Center for Non-Violent Communication,
3468 Meadowbrook Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, OH
44118-3660.
Phone: 216-371-1123
Audience: Grades K-8.
Focus: To teach a nonviolent communication approach
for solving school conflicts between
children/teachers/parents that includes stating
one's own position and appreciating the positions
of others.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing with puppets,
class meetings, and other experiential learning
techniques.
Type of Material: Book, lesson plans, and resource
materials.
Cost: Book, $10; curriculum guide, $10; puppets,
$40.
The PATHS Curriculum: Promoting Alternative
Thinking Strategies. 1994. Carol A. Kusche and Mark
T. Greenberg, Developmental Research and Programs,
130 Nickerson Street, Suite 107, Seattle, WA 98109.
Phone: 800-736-2630
Audience: Grades K-5.
Focus: To improve the social and emotional
competence and behavior of children, reduce peer
and classroom conflict, and improve both student
thinking skills and classroom climate.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, stories, and
other language arts activities; problem-solving
meetings; peer discussions; cooperative learning;
and artistic and other creative activities.
Type of Material: Scope and sequence instructional
manual, lessons, pictures, and photographs.
Cost: PATHS basic kit, $550 (includes curriculum,
instruction manual, materials, photographs, and
posters).
Personal and Social Responsibility. 1988. Constance
Dembrowsky, Institute for Affective Skill
Development, P.O. Box 880, La Luz, NM 88337.
Phone: 800-745-0418
Audience: Grades 9-12.
Focus: To teach students to develop critical
concepts and behavioral skills in the areas of
self-esteem, responsibility, relating effectively,
conflict resolution, problem solving, and goal
setting.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experientially based,
scoped, and sequenced one-semester course using
role-playing, games, and small-group activities.
Type of Material: Teacher manual, student activity
book, parent leader manual, parent activity book,
and two videos.
Cost: Teacher manual, student activity book, parent
leader manual, parent activity book, and two
videos, $299; student activity book, $14.95; parent
leader manual, $59.95; parent activity book, $7.95;
videos, $59.95 each.
Productive Conflict Resolution. 1996. Colorado
School Mediation Project, 3970 Broadway, Suite B3,
Boulder, CO 80304.
Phone: 303-444-7671
Audience: Grades K-2, 2-5, 5-8, and high school.
Focus: To reduce violence and antisocial behavior;
develop long-term change in students' and teachers'
attitudes and behavior toward conflict, diversity,
and decisionmaking; promote greater academic
achievement and emotional intelligence; and promote
a caring, cooperative, disciplined school
environment where learning and creativity take
place.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, discussion,
brainstorming, journaling, and other experiential
learning.
Type of Material: Curriculums for grades K-12,
videos, and mediation training manuals.
Cost: Grades K-2, $20; grades 2-5, 5-8, and high
school, $25; manuals, $9.95.
Saturday Institute for Manhood, Brotherhood
Actualization (SIMBA) Replication Manual. 1996.
Jennie C. Trotter and SIMBA Coalition Members,
WSCI-C/O SIMBA Project, 3480 Greenbriar Parkway,
Suite 310 B, Atlanta, GA 30331.
Phone: 404-699-6891
Audience: Ages 8-18.
Focus: To teach conflict resolution through the
Saturday school program for juveniles. Manual
includes program overview, curriculum on
African-American history, program implementation
steps, procedures, and schedules. The model is
adaptable for community settings.
Key Teaching Strategies: Art, music, group
discussions, drama, role-playing, photography, and
video production.
Type of Material: Curriculum, training manuals, and
videos.
Cost: Manual, $50; videos, $25.
Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum,
Grades PreK-K; Grades 1-3; Grades 4-5; Grades 6-8.
1992. Kathy Beland, Committee for Children, 172
20th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122.
Phone: 800-634-4449
Audience: Grades pre-K through 8.
Focus: To reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior
by teaching students foundational skills in
empathy, impulse control, problem solving, and
anger management.
Key Teaching Strategies: Stories/discussions,
teacher modeling of behaviors and skills,
activities, and role-playing.
Type of Material: 11- x 17-inch photo lesson cards,
teacher guide, posters, film strip, puppets, and
song tape.
Cost: Grades pre-K-K, $245; grades 1-3, $255;
grades 4-5, $235; grades 6-8, $285.
Violence: Dealing with Anger. 1994. Thomas Crum,
Centre Communication, 1800 30th Street, No. 207,
Boulder, CO 80301.
Phone: 303-444-1166
Audience: Grades 4-6.
Focus: To teach new skills to replace violent
reactions in problem situations through student
role-playing.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing interspersed
with teaching exercises.
Type of Material: 25-minute video with teaching
guide included.
Cost: $69.95.
Violence in the Schools: Developing Prevention
Plans. 1994. Center for Civic Education, 5146
Douglas Fir Road, Calabasas, CA 91302-1467.
Phone: 800-350-4223
Audience: Grades 6-9.
Focus: To develop students' commitment to active
citizenship and governance by teaching the
knowledge and skills required for effective
participation.
Key Teaching Strategies: Reading, directed
discussions, writing, role-playing, small-group
problem solving, cooperative learning techniques,
and critical thinking exercises.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student text,
and staff development training manual.
Cost: Teacher's guide, $10; student text, $5.50 ($5
each for orders of 10 or more); set comprising a
teacher's guide and 30 student texts, $150.
Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents.
1987. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Education Development
Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02160.
Phone: 617-969-7100
Audience: Grades 9-12.
Focus: To increase students' awareness of the
causes and effects of violence; illustrate that
violence is preventable; teach that anger is a
normal part of life that can be expressed and
channeled in healthy, constructive ways; and
encourage students to think about alternatives to
violence in conflict situations.
Key Teaching Strategies: Minilectures, facilitated
class discussions, role-playing, and observation
and analysis.
Type of Material: 110-page teacher's guide, student
handouts, and video.
Cost: Teacher's guide, $30 ($25 each for orders of
10 or more); video rental, $60; teacher's guide and
video, $150.
A World of Difference Institute: A National
Education and Diversity Training Program of the
Anti-Defamation League. Elementary Guide, Secondary
Guide, and Youth Services and Pre-School Activity
Guides. Anti-Defamation League, 823 United Nations
Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
Phone: 212-490-2525
Audience: Grades preschool-12.
Focus: To promote positive self-concept while
recognizing and appreciating diversity in all
forms, and to raise awareness and understanding of
the detrimental effects of racism, prejudice,
anti-Semitism, and discrimination.
Key Teaching Strategies: Activities, discussion,
role-playing, and readings.
Type of Material: Resource guides, audiovisual
materials, and articles.
Cost: Elementary and secondary guides, $35;
activity guide, $25. (Guides are only sold through
teacher training sessions.)
A Year of SCRC: 35 Experiential Workshops for the
Classroom. 1992. Kinshasha Nia Azariah, Frances
Kern-Crotty, and Louise Gomer Bangel, Center for
Peace Education, 103 William Howard Taft Road,
Cincinnati, OH 45219. NCJ 160380.
Phone: 513-221-4863
Audience: Grades K-6.
Focus: To promote the attitudes of inclusion and
respect for self and others and teach the skills
needed for problem solving.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential learning
activities, including games, role-playing, and
group dialog.
Type of Material: Program guide and workshop
manual.
Cost: Program guide, $15; workshop manual, $23.
Process Curriculum
Conflict Resolution: An Elementary School
Curriculum. 1990. Gail Sadalla, Meg Holmberg, and
Jim Halligan. NCJ 138316.
Conflict Resolution: A Secondary School Curriculum.
1987. Gail Sadalla, Meg Holmberg, and Jim Halligan.
NCJ 138329.
Community Board Program, Inc., 1540 Market Street,
Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Grades K-7 and 7-12.
Focus: To help students become aware of their
choices in conflict situations. Elementary
curriculum includes more than 80 activities
focusing on building effective communication and
problem-solving skills. Secondary curriculum
focuses on enabling students to reduce the tensions
and hostilities associated with conflict.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing,
recordkeeping, group discussions, brainstorming,
demonstrations, small- and large-group work, and
experiential practice of skills.
Type of Material: Classroom curriculum of more than
300 pages in a three-ring binder for easy copying
of handout materials.
Cost: $44 each.
Conflict Resolution for Kindergarten through Grade
3. 1995. Linda Dunn, Pat Lewis, Lynda Hall, Eileen
McAvoy, and Cynthia Pitts, Mediation Network of
North Carolina, P.O. Box 241, Chapel Hill, NC
27514-0241.
Phone: 919-929-6333
Audience: Grades K-3.
Focus: To teach the basics of listening skills,
"I"-messages, anger management, choice and
consequences, feelings, perception, diversity, and
negotiation. Includes a section on how to make
conflict resolution part of regular classroom
activities.
Key Teaching Strategies: Discussion/dialog,
simulation games, role-playing, and interactive
activities.
Type of Material: 191-page teaching curriculum,
scoped and sequenced.
Cost: $20.
Conflict Resolution in the Schools: A Manual for
Educators. 1996. National Institute for Dispute
Resolution and the National Association for
Mediation in Education, 1726 M Street NW., Suite
500, Washington, DC 20036.
Phone: 202-466-4764
Audience: Educators.
Focus: To show educators how to diagnose conflicts,
handle difficult confrontations, and implement
appropriate mediation and problem-solving
strategies for classroom conflicts, violence, and
community divisiveness.
Key Teaching Strategies: Introduces the concepts
and skills of conflict resolution that can be
practiced in the classroom and throughout the
school community.
Type of Material: Book.
Cost: $35.
Conflict Resolution: Strategies for Collaborative
Problem Solving. 1992. Ellen Raider and Susan
Coleman, International Center for Cooperation and
Conflict Resolution, Teacher's College, Columbia
University, Box 53, New York, NY 10027.
Phone: 212-678-3402
Audience: Educators, parents, and youth leaders.
Focus: To teach adults conflict resolution skills
that will enable them to work collaboratively to
resolve disputes within their homes, communities,
and workplaces, so that they can become role models
for their children and colleagues.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential exercises and
role-playing with audio/video feedback geared for
the adult reader.
Type of Material: Participant manuals and
train-the-trainer guide.
Cost: Not available for purchase without training
within school system or at a teacher's college.
The Conflict Zoo. 1996. Suzin Glickman, Natalie
Johnson, Gina Sirianni, and Judith Zimmer, National
Institute for Citizen Education in the Law, 711 G
Street SE., Washington, DC 20003.
Phone: 202-546-6644
Audience: Grades 3 and 4.
Focus: To teach students to identify words and
actions that can lead to conflict, to understand
the perspectives of all parties involved in a
conflict, and to develop skills for conflict
management.
Key Teaching Strategies: Critical thinking, problem
solving, cooperative learning, role-playing,
interviews, group dialog, brainstorming, and other
experiential learning strategies.
Type of Material: Elementary curriculums.
Cost: Not available.
Creative Conflict Solving for Kids, Grade Four.
1991. Fran Schmidt and Alice Friedman. NCJ 160386.
Creative Conflict Solving for Kids, Grade Five.
1985. Fran Schmidt and Alice Friedman.
Creating Peace, Building Community, Grade Six.
1996. Judy Bachoy.
Creating Peace, Building Community, Grade Seven.
1996. Judy Bachoy.
Peace Education Foundation, 1900 Biscayne
Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132-1025.
Phone: 800-749-8838
Audience: Grades 4-7.
Focus: Creative Conflict Solving for Kids, Grade
Four, introduces the Rules for Fighting Fair and
the fouls, the mediation process, empowerment
skills such as peer refusal and assertive language,
and ways to enhance conflict resolution skills and
communication techniques. Creative Conflict Solving
for Kids, Grade Five, focuses on students'
perceptions of conflict by using news clippings and
real-life conflicts and encouraging them to employ
conflict resolution skills using goal-setting
techniques. Creating Peace, Building Community,
Grade Six, and Creating Peace, Building Community,
Grade Seven, are designed to help students gain a
strong sense of self-worth, values, and the ability
to empathize with others as they learn conflict
resolution skills. The sixth-grade materials focus
on character development, cultural awareness,
community building, conflict analysis, and
aggression control. The seventh-grade materials
address effective communication and empathy
development; bully, victim, and bystander issues;
self-empowerment; and applying peacemaking skills
in the real world.
Key Teaching Strategies: Brainstorming, cooperative
activities, problem solving, role-playing,
simulation, and experiential learning.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student
handbooks, and poster.
Cost: Complete set of materials for each title,
$89.95; teacher's guide including student pages,
$23.95.
Fighting Fair: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For
Kids, Grade Eight. 1990. Fran Schmidt and Alice
Friedman. Peace Education Foundation, 1900 Biscayne
Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132-1025.
Phone: 800-749-8838
Audience: Grade 8.
Focus: To teach nonviolent techniques for solving
conflicts. Combines conflict resolution with the
history of the civil rights movement.
Key Teaching Strategies: Brainstorming, cooperative
activities, problem solving, role-playing,
simulation, and experiential learning.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student
handbooks, poster, and video.
Cost: Complete set of materials, $139.95; teacher's
guide including student pages, $23.95.
Helping Kids Handle Conflict: A Guide for Those
Teaching Children. 1995. National Crime Prevention
Council, 1700 K Street NW., Second Floor,
Washington, DC 20006. NCJ 158977.
Phone: 202-466-6272
Audience: Adults working with youth ages 5-12.
Focus: To provide classroom-based activities that
supplement conflict management sessions and to
introduce the philosophy of conflict management to
a school or community.
Key Teaching Strategies: Short-term, self-contained
activities for teachers of young persons.
Type of Material: Book, activities, followup
activities, related children's books, worksheets,
and standard letters to parents.
Cost: $24.95.
Life Negotiations: The PYN Curriculum for Middle
Schools. 1996. Jared R. Curhan. Program for Young
Negotiators, 20 University Road, Cambridge, MA
02138.
Phone: 888-832-2479
Audience: Grades 6-9.
Focus: To promote the use of collaboration,
communication, and empathy, and foster an
environment in which individuals can learn to cope
with differences in a productive manner.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, case
studies, games, performances, reading and writing
assignments, videos, and classroom discussions.
Type of Material: Teacher's manuals, student
activity books, and videos.
Cost: Not available for purchase without first
attending the Program for Young Negotiators'
training seminar on negotiation.
Peacemaking Skills for Little Kids, Pre K-K. 1993.
Fran Schmidt and Alice Friedman.
Peacemaking Skills for Little Kids, Grade One.
1996. Doris Berkell, Karen Kotzen, and Sandy Rizzo.
Peacemaking Skills for Little Kids, Grade Two.
1996. Elyse Brunt, Alice Friedman, Fran Schmidt,
and Theresa Solotoff.
Peace Scholars: Learning Through Literature, Grade
Three. 1996. Diane Carlebach.
Peace Education Foundation, 1900 Biscayne
Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132-1025.
Phone: 800-749-8838
Audience: Grades pre-K through 3.
Focus: Peacemaking Skills for Little Kids, Pre K-K,
teaches listening and communication skills,
explores emotions, and stresses cooperation and
cultural tolerance, introducing students to the
I-Care Rules and the PEF's conflict resolution
model. Peacemaking Skills for Little Kids, Grade
One, focuses on giving students a more indepth
understanding of the I-Care Rules, stressing
cooperative learning and reading, writing, and
problem-solving skills. Peacemaking Skills for
Little Kids, Grade Two, continues to build on the
skills begun in the previous books, providing
lessons and extension activities that can be
incorporated into traditional academic subjects.
Peace Scholars: Learning Through Literature, Grade
Three, uses a collection of ethnically diverse
stories and folk tales to enhance students'
conflict resolution competency and teach
cooperation, self-esteem, empathy, and other life
skills.
Key Teaching Strategies: Puppetry, discussion,
music, experiential learning, cooperative
activities, role-playing.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student
handbooks, poster, puppets, audiocassettes, and
buttons.
Cost: Complete set of materials for each title,
$119.95; teacher's guide including student pages,
$23.95.
Time Out To Resolve It! A School-Based Conflict
Resolution Program. 1994. Citizenship & Law-Related
Education Center, 9738 Lincoln Village Drive,
Sacramento, CA 95827.
Phone: 916-228-2322
Audience: Grades K-12.
Focus: To teach decisionmaking, problem-solving,
and communication skills that help students resolve
their own conflicts peacefully.
Key Teaching Strategies: Individual, small- and
large-group work, practice, and discussions;
role-playing; active, cooperative learning
activities; performance-based assessment.
Type of Material: Student and adult training
manuals, implementation manual, classroom lesson
plans linked to middle and high school subject
matter, and videotapes.
Cost: Currently available only in conjunction with
training.
TRIBE: Conflict Resolution Curriculum for Middle
School. 1994. Dee Edelman, Copper Coggins, Debbie
Rios, and Kathryn Liss, The Mediation Center, 189
College Street, Asheville, NC 28801.
Phone: 704-251-6089
Audience: Grades 6-8.
Focus: To reduce violence and promote cooperative
problem solving through win/win strategies, anger
management, and communication and decisionmaking
skills.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, cooperative
learning, metaphorical activities, group dialog,
and simulations.
Type of Material: Sequential curriculums for grades
6-8 and classroom poster.
Cost: Teacher manual, $20; classroom poster, $8.
Violence Intervention Curriculum for Families.
1996.Violence Intervention Curriculum for
Juveniles. 1996.
New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution, 620 Roma
NW., Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: High-risk youth ages 12-18.
Focus: To give youth strategies to control
impulsive behaviors, manage personal behavior, make
informed choices, and acknowledge the consequences
of their own actions for themselves and for others.
Violence Intervention Curriculum for Families
incorporates lessons for parents alone and for
parents and youth together, based on the belief
that healthy interaction between parents/adults and
children is essential to improve family functioning
and reinforce the skills taught. Violence
Intervention Curriculum for Juveniles is directed
to those who work with high-risk youth in schools
and community, probation, detention, and
correctional settings.
Key Teaching Strategies: Exercises in anger
management, consequential thinking, problem
solving, communication, conflict management, and
negotiation skills. The curriculum reflects varied
approaches that emphasize individual learning
styles and also encourage participants to integrate
concepts through active learning.
Type of Material: 200- to 225-page curriculum and
30-minute instructional videocassette (in color or
black and white).
Cost: Violence Intervention Curriculum for
Families, $109; Violence Intervention Curriculum
for Juveniles, $99.
We Can Work It Out!: Problem Solving Through
Mediation, Elementary Edition. 1996. Linda
Barnes-Robinson, Sue Jewler, and Judith Zimmer.
We Can Work It Out!: Problem Solving Through
Mediation, Secondary Edition. 1993. Suzin Glickman
and Judith Zimmer. National Teens, Crime, and the
Community Program, c/o National Institute for
Citizen Education in the Law, 711 G Street SE.,
Washington, DC 20003.
Phone: 202-546-6644
Audience: Grades 5-12.
Focus: To promote cooperation over competition
while pursuing a nonadversarial method of conflict
resolution. The lessons teach students to generate
nonviolent options when faced with conflict;
develop critical thinking, questioning, and active
listening skills; analyze and solve problems; find
common ground when they disagree; and manage
conflict in their daily lives. Lessons culminate in
a mock mediation where students role-play the parts
of disputants and mediators and are evaluated by
members of the community involved in related
fields.
Key Teaching Strategies: Critical thinking, problem
solving, cooperative learning, role-playing,
interviews, group dialog, brainstorming, and other
experiential learning strategies.
Type of Material: Curriculums for grades 5-7
(elementary edition) and 7-12 (secondary edition).
Cost: Elementary edition, $40; secondary edition,
$40.
Winning Against Violent Environments (W.A.V.E.)
Program. Cleveland Public Schools Center for
Conflict Resolution, 1651 East 71st Street,
Cleveland, OH 44103.
Phone: 216-432-4605
Audience: Students grades K-12, staff, and
families.
Focus: To teach young people to create peaceful and
healthy environments in which to live through
problem solving, respect for cultural diversity,
and communication.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential and
cooperative learning activities, group interaction,
team-building activities, and role-playing.
Type of Material: Student training, handbooks,
handouts, organizational development, classroom
management, curriculum infusion, and other resource
materials.
Cost: $75 per student for training and all
materials. Materials are available only with the
training.
WinWin! 1994. Fran Schmidt. Peace Education
Foundation, 1900 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL
33132-1025.
Phone: 800-749-8838
Audience: Grades 9-12.
Focus: To tackle tough problems like violence,
anger, cultural differences, and sexual harassment
while teaching conflict resolution skills.
Presented in a magazine format.
Key Teaching Strategies: Brainstorming, cooperative
activities, problem solving, role-playing,
simulation, reading, and experiential learning.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student
handbooks (magazine format), poster, and video.
Cost: Complete set, $214.95.
Mediation
Arizona Department of Education Peer Mediation
Video. 1992.
On-Going Training Activities for Student Mediators.
1990, revised 1995.
School Mediation Project, Our Town Family Center,
P.O. Box 26665, Tucson, AZ 85726.
Phone: 520-323-1708
Audience: Student mediators, grades 3-12.
Focus: To review, sharpen, and extend student
mediators' skills.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing,
brainstorming, group dialog, games, and worksheets.
Type of Material: Instructor's manual and
orientation videos for elementary, middle, and high
school.
Cost: Manual, $20.50; video, $28.
Classroom Conflict Resolution Training for Grades
3-6. 1995. Community Board Program, Inc., 1540
Market Street, Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Grades 3-6.
Focus: To introduce conflict management concepts
and skills to third through sixth grade classes
before a selected group of students is trained as
Conflict Managers.
Key Teaching Strategies: Activities to build
communication and problem-solving skills.
Type of Material: Manual.
Cost: $13.
Conflict Management for Juvenile Treatment
Facilities: A Manual for Training and Program
Implementation. 1992. Meg Holmberg and Jim
Halligan. Community Board Program, Inc., 1540
Market Street, Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.
NCJ 138326.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Juvenile justice facility professionals.
Focus: To provide a complete overview of a program
to reduce conflict and tension in juvenile
treatment facilities through conflict resolution.
Includes a full curriculum for training juvenile
facility residents as conflict managers and also
covers staff development and program evaluation.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, small-group
discussion, journal keeping, cooperative games,
experiential practice of skills, recordkeeping,
simulations, and demonstrations.
Type of Material: Training manual and
implementation guide.
Cost: $27.
Conflict Manager Training for Elementary School
Students. 1995. Nancy Kaplan.
Mediation Training for Middle School Students.
1995. Nancy Kaplan.
Mediation Training for High School Students. 1995.
Nancy Kaplan.
Conflict Resolution Unlimited, 845 106th Avenue
NE., Suite 109, Bellevue, WA 98004.
Phone: 206-451-4015
Audience: Grades K-6, 6-9, and 9-12.
Focus: To create a comprehensive conflict
resolution program for the entire school and parent
community.
Key Teaching Strategies: Demonstrations, exercises,
and role-playing.
Type of Material: Curriculum manual, video and
leader's guide, classroom teacher's manual, and
training aids. Videos and student handouts also
available in Spanish.
Cost: Elementary edition: curriculum manual, $200;
classroom teacher's manual, $150; video and
leader's guide, $95; package consisting of all
manuals, video, and teaching aids, $295. Middle
school and high school editions: curriculum manual,
$250; classroom teacher's manual, $200; video and
leader's guide, $150; package consisting of all
manuals, video, and teaching aids, $395.
Conflict Managers in Action. 1987. Community Board
Program, Inc., 1540 Market Street, Suite 490, San
Francisco, CA 94102.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Grades 3-12.
Focus: To introduce the program. Student conflict
managers in action are highlighted, and national TV
coverage of these programs in elementary, middle,
and high schools is featured.
Key Teaching Strategies: Models and profiles
effective peer mediation programming.
Type of Material: Video.
Cost: $30.
Conflict Managers Training Manual for Grades 3-6.
1995. Community Board Program, Inc., 1540 Market
Street, Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Grades 3-6.
Focus: To foster enhanced cooperation and reduce
violence through peer mediation, effective
communication, and peaceful problem-solving skills
and processes.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, group
discussion, experiential practice of skills,
recordkeeping, and demonstrations.
Type of Material: Training and implementation
manual.
Cost: $17.
Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation for Grades 4
& 5. 1995. Linda Dunn, Pat Lewis, Lynda Hall,
Eileen McAvoy, and Cynthia Pitts, Mediation Network
of North Carolina, P.O. Box 241, Chapel Hill, NC
27514-0241.
Phone: 919-929-6333
Audience: Grades 4 and 5.
Focus: To introduce students to the mediation
process and teach the skills needed to mediate.
Mediation skills are reviewed and refined in the
fifth grade. Can be used to train student mediators
in an individual class or for a schoolwide
mediation program.
Key Teaching Strategies: Discussion/dialog,
simulation games, role-playing, and interactive and
experiential activities.
Type of Material: 135-page scoped and sequenced
curriculum.
Cost: $20.
Establishing a Viable and Durable Peer Mediation
Program -- From "A" to "Z." 1995. Louis A. Siegal
and Lorraine M. Lopez, The Institute for Violence
Prevention, Inc., 155 Landor Drive, Athens, GA
30606.
Phone: 706-548-4932
Audience: Grades 4-12.
Focus: To establish peer mediation programs;
logistics, goals, mediator and adviser selection,
training, publicity, and evaluation.
Key Teaching Strategies: Brainstorming, vocabulary
games, simulation exercises, role-playing,
team-building, theory, and mediation practicum.
Type of Material: Program coordinator's manual and
training guide, including sample forms, overheads,
and list of resources.
Cost: All materials, $199.
Fuss Busters Teacher's Guide: For Elementary School
Peer Mediation. 1994. Barbara A. Davis and Paul
Godfrey, The Mediation Center, 189 College Street,
Asheville, NC 28801. NCJ 160364.
Phone: 704-251-6089
Audience: Grades 3-6.
Focus: To improve students' and teachers'
communication and conflict resolution skills
through a series of experiential activities and
discussion.
Key Teaching Strategies: Interactive group and
paired activities, role-playing, simulations, and
experiential learning games.
Type of Material: Teacher's manual with lesson
plans, ABC's of mediation poster.
Cost: Student manual, $18; three-color poster, $8.
Implementing Mediation in Youth Corrections
Settings. 1992. Jean Sidwell and Melinda Smith, New
Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution, 620 Roma NW.,
Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87102. NCJ 156847.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades 6-12.
Focus: To implement the mediation process in youth
corrections settings and a training curriculum to
train staff and youth mediators.
Key Teaching Strategies: Small- and large-group
cooperative activities, brainstorming,
role-playing, and other experiential learning
activities.
Type of Material: Implementation guide and
mediation training curriculum.
Cost: $35.
Implementing Parent-Child Mediation in Youth
Corrections Settings. 1989. Jean Sidwell and
Melinda Smith, New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution, 620 Roma NW., Suite B, Albuquerque, NM
87102. NCJ 156847.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades 6-12.
Focus: To implement parent-child mediation for
families of youth returning from correctional or
residential settings. Includes a curriculum to
train parent-child mediators.
Key Teaching Strategies: Small- and large-group
activities and experiential learning strategies.
Type of Material: Implementation guide and
mediation training curriculum.
Cost: $35.
Lesson Plans for Peer Mediation Training. 1995.
Daniel Joyoe, Etta Smith, and Jo Ezzo, Cleveland
Mediation Center, 3000 Bridge Avenue, Cleveland, OH
44113.
Phone: 216-771-7297
Audience: Grades K-12.
Focus: To teach communication skills, especially
"listening" and mediation skills.
Key Teaching Strategies: Games, exercises in
awareness of self and others, and small-group
role-playing.
Type of Material: Detailed lesson plans, including
materials, objectives, and time needed.
Cost: $150 per set. Not available for purchase
without training within the school system.
Lessons in Conflict Resolution for Grades 4-6.
1994. New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution, 620
Roma NW., Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades 4-6.
Focus: To develop an understanding of conflict,
styles of conflict, feelings, anger management,
communication skills, and problem solving.
Key Teaching Strategies: Small- and large-group
cooperative activities, brainstorming,
role-playing, personal reflection, and other
experiential learning strategies.
Type of Material: Booklet.
Cost: $20.
Managing Conflict: A Curriculum for Adolescents.
1989. Noreen Duffy Copeland and Melinda Smith
(editors). New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution, 620 Roma NW., Suite B, Albuquerque, NM
87102.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades 7-12.
Focus: To teach communication, problem-solving, and
anger management skills to youth in residential or
correctional settings. This is the first in a
series of three publications designed to implement
mediation and conflict resolution for youth
involved in the juvenile justice and corrections
systems.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing,
self-reflection, small- and large-group activities,
and some written exercises.
Type of Material: Fifteen-lesson curriculum with
student handouts.
Cost: $35.00
Mediation and Conflict Resolution for Gang-Involved
Youth. 1992. Sara Keeney, Jean Sidwell, and Melinda
Smith, New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution,
620 Roma NW., Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87102. NCJ
141474.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades 6-12.
Focus: To provide training for those working with
gang-involved youth. Contains mediation training
activities, lessons in conflict resolution for
youth, and recommendations for conducting
multiparty youth mediation.
Key Teaching Strategies: Small- and large-group
activities, role-playing, and other experiential
learning strategies.
Type of Material: Standard school materials.
Cost: $35.
Mediation for Kids. 1992. Fran Schmidt, Alice
Friedman, and Jean Marvel, Peace Education
Foundation, 1900 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL
33132-1025. NCJ 160389.
Phone: 800-749-8838
Audience: Grades 4-7.
Focus: To improve communication skills and
understand the causes of conflict as students learn
the mediation process.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, discussion,
and cooperative activities.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student
handbooks, and posters.
Cost: Complete set, $74.95; teacher's guide
including student pages, $23.95.
Mediation: Getting to Win/Win! 1994. Fran Schmidt
and James Burke, Peace Education Foundation, 1900
Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132-1025. NCJ
160387.
Phone: 800-749-8838
Audience: Grades 8-12.
Focus: To teach the mediation process and advanced
mediation techniques such as caucusing. Video
contains a demonstration of each step of the
mediation process.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, discussion,
reading, video, and cooperative activities.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide, student
handbooks, posters, and video.
Cost: Complete set, $159.95; teacher's guide
including student pages, $29.95.
Peace by Peace. 1995. The Bureau for At-Risk Youth,
645 New York Avenue, P.O. Box 670, Huntington, NY
11743. NCJ 160362.
Phone: 516-673-4584
Audience: Grades 6-12.
Focus: To teach students how to resolve student
disputes by communicating, negotiating, and showing
mutual respect.
Key Teaching Strategies: Guided discovery
techniques, role-playing, and group discussion.
Type of Material: Student workbook and
facilitator's guide.
Cost: Complete program, $179.95.
Peer Mediation: Conflict Resolution in Schools.
1996. Revised edition. Fred Schrumpf, Donna
Crawford, and Richard Bodine, Research Press, Inc.,
P.O. Box 9177, Champaign, IL 61826. NCJ 160449.
Phone: 217-352-3273
Audience: Grades 6-12.
Focus: To develop a peer-based mediation program
for faculty, student body, and peer mediators
through basic and advanced training and through
strategic program implementation guidelines.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential learning
activities, simulations, group discussions, and
schedule options for training.
Type of Material: Program guide with forms, student
manual, and video.
Cost: Program guide, $25.95; student manual,
$10.95; video, program guide, and student manual,
$365; video rental, $55.
Peer Mediation Manual for Middle Schools and High
Schools. 1995. Cynthia Joyce, Community Mediation,
Inc., 134 Grand Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513.
Phone: 203-782-3500
Audience: Grades 5-12.
Focus: To implement peer mediation training and
school-based peer mediation programs.
Key Teaching Strategies: Interactive training for
extracurricular peer mediation program.
Type of Material: Manual includes exercises, games,
and role-playing.
Cost: $45.
Peer Mediator Training Manual for Elementary School
Students. 1995. Cheryl Cutrona, Devonne
Coleman-White, Mary Beth Flynn, Anna Beale, Bob
Napper, and Troy Martin, Good Shepherd Mediation
Program, 5356 Chew Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138.
Phone: 215-843-5413
Audience: Grades 4 and 5.
Focus: To offer students training in peer mediation
and an understanding of the role that conflict
plays in their own lives.
Key Teaching Strategies: Brainstorming, cooperative
games, role-playing, group dialog, and
team-building exercises.
Type of Material: Training manual, handouts, and
interactive exercises.
Cost: Manual, handouts, and exercises, $20.
Resolving Conflict: Activities for Grades K-3.
1989. Noreen Copeland and Faith Garfield, New
Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution, 620 Roma NW.,
Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades K-3.
Focus: To integrate the teaching of communication
and conflict resolution skills into language arts
or social studies curriculums.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, group
dialog, brainstorming, learning centers, affective
art activities, and other experiential learning
strategies.
Type of Material: Booklet.
Cost: $15.
Starting a Conflict Manager Program. 1992.
Community Board Program, Inc., 1540 Market Street,
Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Grades 3-12.
Focus: To provide a complete overview of
implementing the Conflict Manager program in
elementary, middle, or high schools.
Key Teaching Strategies: Five-step implementation
process to secure support, train teachers, plan
implementation, train students, and maintain a
successful program.
Type of Material: Manual.
Cost: $25.
Student Mediator Manual for Middle and High
Schools. 1995. Pat Lewis, Eileen McAvoy, Pamela
Sherman, and Shelvia Whitehurst. Mediation Network
of North Carolina, P.O. Box 241, Chapel Hill, NC
27514-0241.
Phone: 919-929-6333
Audience: Student mediators in middle and high
school.
Focus: To serve as a guide for student mediators
during training and as a reference after they
become practitioners. Topics include mediator
responsibilities, confidentiality, stages of
mediation, preparing for the mediation session,
staying in control of the mediation, a checklist
for a good resolution, and samples of helpful
forms.
Key Teaching Strategies: Practice exercises to
develop reflective and active listening skills and
communication skills; reminder forms.
Type of Material: Manual (32 pages, soft-cover,
spiral-bound).
Cost: $7.
Students Resolving Conflict: Peer Mediation in
Schools. 1995. Richard Cohen, GoodYear Books, Scott
Foresman and Company, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, IL 60025. NCJ 160061.
Phone: 617-876-6074
Audience: Grades 6-12.
Focus: To guide educators in implementing peer
mediation programs in their schools. Theory and
practice of mediation, including overview of
conflict resolution and mediation theory, technical
assistance for implementing a program, conflict
resolution lessons for delivery to all students,
program forms, and mediation transcripts.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, discussion,
brainstorming, games, worksheets, and group dialog.
Type of Material: Text.
Cost: $14.95.
Training and Implementation Guide for Student
Mediation in Elementary Schools. 1990. Sara Keeney
and Jean Sidwell. NCJ 160378.
Training and Implementation Guide for Student
Mediation in Secondary Schools. 1990. Melinda Smith
and Jean Sidwell. NCJ 160379.
New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution, 620 Roma
NW., Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Phone: 800-249-6884
Audience: Grades K-5 and 6-12.
Focus: To prepare school staff to implement a
schoolwide mediation program.
Key Teaching Strategies: Small- and large-group
activities, brainstorming, and other experiential
learning strategies.
Type of Material: Step-by-step staff implementation
guide and mediation training curriculum.
Cost: $35.
Training Middle School Conflict Managers. 1996.
Training High School Conflict Managers. 1996.
Community Board Program, Inc., 1540 Market Street,
Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Phone: 415-552-1250
Audience: Grades 6-9 and 9-12.
Focus: To prepare high school students to be
conflict managers who will help their peers resolve
disputes peacefully.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, simulations,
group discussion, experiential practice of skills,
and recordkeeping.
Type of Material: Training and implementation
manual.
Cost: $17.
Peaceable Classroom
Conflict Resolution in the Middle School. 1994.
William Kreidler, Educators for Social
Responsibility, 23 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA
02138.
Phone: 617-492-1764
Audience: Grades 6-8.
Focus: To teach conflict resolution skills.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, writing a
journal, minilectures, brainstorming, microlabs,
and small-group discussion.
Type of Material: Curriculum and teaching guide,
and student handouts.
Cost: $35.
Creative Conflict Resolution: More than 200
Activities for Keeping Peace in the Classroom.
1984. William J. Kreidler, GoodYear Books, Scott
Foresman and Company, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, IL 60025. NCJ 160369.
Phone: 800-628-4480
Audience: Grades K-6.
Focus: To teach conflict resolution techniques.
Key Teaching Strategies: Discussion, example,
activity, and worksheet.
Type of Material: Resource and workbook.
Cost: $12.95.
Creative Controversy: Intellectual Challenge in the
Classroom. 1987, 1992, 1995. David W. Johnson and
Roger T. Johnson, Interaction Book Company, 7208
Cornelia Drive, Edina, MN 55435.
Phone: 612-831-9500
Audience: Grades K-12 and adults.
Focus: To increase students' motivation to learn,
academic achievement, creative thinking, and higher
level reasoning. Students research a position,
present it persuasively, try to refute the opposing
position, and synthesize the two positions into
their "best reasoned judgment."
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential/cooperative
learning, simulations, role-playing, and
perspective taking.
Type of Material: Book, video, and audiocassette.
Cost: Book, $25; video, $25; audiocassette, $10.
Elementary Perspectives: Teaching Concepts of Peace
and Conflict. 1990. William J. Kreidler, Educators
for Social Responsibility, 23 Garden Street,
Cambridge, MA 02138. NCJ 160426.
Phone: 800-370-2515
Audience: K-6 educators.
Focus: To help students acquire the concrete
cooperative and conflict resolution skills needed
to become caring and socially responsible citizens.
Contains more than 80 activities designed to help
teachers and students define peace, explore
justice, and learn the value of conflict and its
resolution.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, songs,
writing, discussions, and cooperative activities.
Type of Material: Curriculum.
Cost: $28.
The Friendly Classroom for a Small Planet: A
Handbook on Creative Approaches to Living and
Problem Solving for Children. 1988. Priscilla
Prutzman, Lee Stern, M. Lenard Burger, and Gretchen
Bodenhamer, Children's Creative Response to
Conflict, P.O. Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960. NCJ
160383.
Phone: 914-353-1796
Audience: Grades pre-K through 6.
Focus: To teach conflict resolution skills to those
who work with young people.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential activities,
including role-playing and small-group work.
Type of Material: Handbook.
Cost: $14.95.
Making Choices about Conflict, Security, and
Peacemaking -- Part I: Personal Perspectives. 1994.
Carol Miller-Lieber, Educators for Social
Responsibility, 23 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA
02138. NCJ 160430.
Phone: 800-370-2515
Audience: Grades 9-12.
Focus: To explore with high school students the
nature of conflict and its relation to public
policy; to build a "conflict toolbox" to help
students resolve their conflicts without resorting
to violence; and to provide practical classroom
management tools.
Key Teaching Strategies: Hands-on activities,
role-playing, group brainstorming, innovative
projects, and problem-solving activities.
Type of Material: Curriculum.
Cost: $25.
Peacemaking Made Practical: A Conflict Management
Curriculum for the Elementary School. 1991.
Elizabeth Loescher, The Conflict Center, 2626
Osceola Street, Denver, CO 80212.
Phone: 303-433-4983
Audience: Grades pre-K through 6.
Focus: To reduce levels of physical, verbal, and
emotional violence by raising students' awareness
of conflict in our lives and teaching practical
ways to make it productive.
Key Teaching Strategies: Modified lecture, group
discussions, role-playing, written exercises, and
games.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide.
Cost: $25.
Talk It Out: Conflict Resolution for the Elementary
Teacher. 1996. Barbara Porro, Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1250 North
Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
Phone: 703-549-9110
Audience: Elementary teachers.
Focus: To incorporate conflict resolution training
into a daily program at the moment when students
disagree.
Key Teaching Strategies: Uses 54 children's
problems to teach them the skills of managing
anger, listening, oral communication, and critical
thinking.
Type of Material: Book.
Cost: $18.95.
Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers. 1987, 1991,
1995. David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson,
Interaction Book Company, 7208 Cornelia Drive,
Edina, MN 55435. NCJ 160422.
Phone: 612-831-9500
Audience: Grades K-12 and adults.
Focus: To create a cooperative learning community,
teach all students how to negotiate and mediate,
rotate the responsibility of mediator so that all
students have their turn, and continue to teach
students negotiation and mediation skills
throughout the school year. Research base is
presented.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential/cooperative
learning, simulations, role-playing, and
perspective taking.
Type of Material: Book, student manuals, video, and
audiocassettes.
Cost: Book, $25; video, $25; audiocassettes, $10.
Teaching Young Children in Violent Times. 1994.
Diane Levin, Educators for Social Responsibility,
23 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Phone: 800-370-2515
Audience: Grades pre-K through 3.
Focus: To teach young children to develop the
understanding and skills for living peacefully with
others.
Key Teaching Strategies: Teacher-led discussions,
role-playing, class games, and rituals.
Type of Material: Teacher's guide.
Cost: $16.95.
Peaceable School
Creating the Peaceable School: A Comprehensive
Program for Teaching Conflict Resolution. 1994.
Richard Bodine, Donna Crawford, and Fred Schrumpf,
Research Press, Inc., P.O. Box 9177, Champaign, IL
61826. NCJ 154760.
Phone: 217-352-3273
Audience: Grades 3-12.
Focus: To create a cooperative school environment
through the institution of a rights and
responsibilities approach to discipline where both
adults and students learn to manage and resolve
conflicts using the strategies of negotiation,
mediation, and group problem solving.
Key Teaching Strategies: Experiential learning
activities, learning centers, cooperative learning,
simulations, and class meetings.
Type of Material: Program guide, student manual,
and video.
Cost: Program guide, $35.95; student manual,
$14.95; video, program guide, and student manual,
$365; video rental, $55.
Resolving Conflict Creatively: A Teaching Guide for
Grades Kindergarten Through Six. 1993. NCJ 160361.
Resolving Conflict Creatively: A Teaching Guide for
Secondary Schools. 1990.
RCCP National Center, 163 Third Avenue, No. 103,
New York, NY 10003.
Phone: 212-387-0225
Audience: Grades K-6 and 7-12.
Focus: To reduce violence and promote caring and
cooperative schools and communities through showing
children that they have many choices for dealing
with conflict other than through passivity or
aggression, through teaching them skills to make
real choices in their own lives, and through
increasing their understanding and appreciation of
their own culture and other cultures.
Key Teaching Strategies: Role-playing, interviews,
group dialog, brainstorming, and other affective
experiential learning strategies.
Type of Material: Curriculum, videos, resource
material.
Cost: Curriculum not available for purchase without
a 3- to 5-year commitment to the program within a
school system. Videos are available from $24 to
$40.
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Appendix C
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
8 pages
13,956 bytes
Appendix C: Conflict Resolution Reading List
Many of the publications listed in this appendix
are available from the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention's Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse, a component of the National Criminal
Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). An NCJ (National
Criminal Justice) number after a citation indicates
that the publication is available from the
Clearinghouse on microfiche or through paper
reproduction or interlibrary loan. For further
information, contact the Clearinghouse by telephone
at 800-638-8736; or through the Internet at
askncjrs@ncjrs.org.
American Psychological Association. 1993. Violence
and Youth: Psychology's Response. Volume I: Summary
Report on the American Psychological Association
Commission on Violence and Youth. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association. NCJ 160391.
Arbetman, L.P., E.T. McMahon, and E.L. O'Brien.
1994. Street Law: A Course in Practical Law, 5th
edition. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company.
Banks, J. 1993. Multi-Cultural Education: Issues
and Perspectives, 2d edition. Des Moines, IA:
Longwood Division, Allyn & Bacon.
Banks, J. 1994. Multi-Ethnic Education: Theory and
Practice, 3d edition. Des Moines, IA: Longwood
Division, Allyn & Bacon.
Blechman, F. 1996. Evaluating School Conflict
Resolution Programs. Fairfax, VA: Institute for
Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR), George
Mason University.
Bodine, R., and D. Crawford. 1995 (March). "Our
School's Choice: Creating Peace or Struggling with
Violence." Illinois Principals Association Building
Leadership Practitioners Bulletin 2:1-2, 5-6. NCJ
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MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Appendix D
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
5 pages
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Appendix D: Conflict Resolution Glossary
Active listening: A communication procedure wherein
the listener uses nonverbal behavior, such as eye
contact and gestures, as well as verbal behavior,
including tone of voice, open-ended questions,
restatements, and summaries, to demonstrate to the
speaker that he or she is being heard.
Agenda: A list of items for discussion; issues or
problem statements assembled in a sequence that
facilitates efficient discussion and problem
solving.
Aggression: Forceful action or attack.
Arbitration: Intervention into a dispute by an
independent third party who is given authority to
collect information, listen to both sides, and make
a decision as to how the conflict should be
settled.
Avoidance: The practice of nonengagement.
Basic needs: Needs that underlie all human
behavior, such as survival, self-esteem, belonging,
self-actualization, power, freedom, and fun. Like
individuals, groups have basic needs, including the
need for identity, security, vitality, and
community.
BATNA: An acronym for Best Alternative To
Negotiated Agreement, the standard against which
any proposed agreement is measured.
Bias: A preconceived opinion or attitude about
something or someone. A bias may be favorable or
unfavorable.
Brainstorming: A storm of ideas. A group thinking
technique for helping disputants create multiple
options for consideration in solving a problem.
Brainstorming separates the creative act from the
critical one -- all criticism and evaluation of
ideas are postponed until later.
Caucus: A private meeting held with mediator(s) and
disputant(s) to discuss needs and interests, the
negotiating plan, and ways to make the procedure
more productive.
Clarify: To make clearer or to enhance
understanding. During a conflict resolution
procedure, open-ended questions are often used for
clarification.
Collaboration: Working with the other to seek
solutions that completely satisfy both parties.
This involves accepting both parties' concerns as
valid and digging into an issue in an attempt to
find innovative possibilities. It also means being
open and exploratory.
Common interests/common ground: Needs and/or
interests that are held jointly by the parties in a
negotiation.
Community: A social group having common interests,
identity, and customs.
Competition: A strategy in which one pursues the
satisfaction of his/her own interests at the
expense of others -- a win-lose approach.
Compromise: Seeking an expedient settlement that
only partially satisfies both people. Compromising
does not dig into the underlying problem, but
rather seeks a more superficial arrangement, e.g.,
"splitting the difference." It is based on partial
concessions -- giving up something to get something
-- and may have an underlying competitive attitude.
Conflict: An expressed struggle between at least
two interdependent parties who perceive themselves
as having incompatible goals, view resources as
being scarce, and regard each other as interfering
with the achievement of their own goals; a
controversy or disagreement; coming into opposition
with another individual or group.
Conflict resolution: A spectrum of processes that
all utilize communication skills and creative
thinking to develop voluntary solutions that are
acceptable to those concerned in a dispute.
Conflict resolution processes include negotiation
(between two parties), mediation (involving a
third-party process facilitator), and consensus
decisionmaking (facilitated group problem solving).
Consensus: An agreement reached by identifying the
interests of all concerned parties and then
building an integrative solution that maximizes
satisfaction of as many of the interests as
possible; a synthesis and blending of solutions.
Consequence: A result that logically follows an
action.
Cooperation: Associating for mutual benefit;
working toward a common end or purpose.
Culture: That part of human interactions and
experiences that determines how one feels, acts,
and thinks. It is through one's culture that one
establishes standards for judging right from wrong,
for determining beauty and truth, and for judging
oneself and others. Culture includes one's
nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual
orientation, socioeconomic background, physical and
mental ability, and age.
Deescalate: To engage in actions that decrease the
intensity of a conflict.
Disputant: One who is engaged in a disagreement or
conflict.
Diversity: The fact or quality of being distinct.
Empowerment: A method of balancing power in a
relationship wherein the lower party acquires more
power by gaining expertise, obtaining extra
resources, building interpersonal linkages, and/or
enhancing communication skills.
Escalate: To engage in actions that increase the
intensity of a conflict.
Evaluation: The assessment of an option or possible
conflict solution.
Facilitation: The use of a third party or parties
to provide procedural assistance to a group
attempting to reach consensus about a problem.
Framing: The manner in which a conflict solution or
issue is conceptualized or defined.
Ground rule: A basic rule of behavior spelled out
and agreed to at the beginning of a conflict
resolution procedure.
Hidden interest: A basic need or want that is not
immediately evident in a conflict situation, but
that must be recognized and addressed before
meaningful dialog can occur.
Integrative bargaining: The process of attempting
to address and satisfy as many interests or needs
as possible.
Interest: A substantive, procedural, or
psychological need of a party in a conflict
situation; the aspect of something that makes it
significant.
Mediation: Intervention in a dispute by an
impartial third party who can assist the disputants
in negotiating an acceptable settlement.
Mediator: An invited intervener in a dispute whose
expertise and experience in conflict resolution
techniques and processes are used to assist
disputants in creating a satisfactory solution. The
mediator is a process guide whose presence is
acceptable to both disputants and who has no
decisionmaking power concerning the issues in the
dispute.
Negotiation: An interaction between two or more
parties who have an actual or perceived conflict of
interest. In a negotiation, the participants join
voluntarily in a dialog to educate each other about
their needs and interests, to exchange information,
and to create a solution that meets the needs of
both parties.
Option: An alternative course of action; a possible
solution that may satisfy the interests of a party
to a dispute.
Peace: A process of responding to diversity and
conflict with tolerance, imagination, and
flexibility; fully exercising one's
responsibilities to ensure that all fully enjoy
human rights.
Position: A point of view; a specific solution that
a party proposes to meet his/her interests or
needs. A position is likely to be concrete and
explicit, often involving a demand or threat and
leaving little room for discussion. In conflict
resolution, an essential activity is for
participants to move beyond positions in order to
understand underlying interests and needs.
Power: The ability to act or perform effectively.
Reframing: The process of changing how a person or
party to a conflict conceptualizes his/her or
another's attitudes, behaviors, issues, and
interests, or how a situation is defined. Reframing
during conflict resolution processes helps to
mitigate defensiveness and deescalate tension.
Resolution: A course of action agreed upon to solve
a problem.
Restraint: A method of balancing power in a
relationship wherein the party with more power
voluntarily refuses to use some of the power at his
or her disposal.
Summarize: To restate in a brief, concise form.
Summarizing is an aspect of active listening
utilized by both disputants and mediators to
increase common understanding.
Synergy: Cooperative thought and/or action of two
or more people working together to achieve
something neither could achieve alone.
Trust: To have confidence in or feel sure of;
faith.
Value: A principle, standard, or quality considered
worthwhile or desirable.
Violence: Psychological or physical force exerted
for the purpose of injuring, damaging, or abusing
people or property.
Sources: Schrumpf, F., D. Crawford, and R. Bodine.
1996. Peer Mediation: Conflict Resolution in
Schools, revised edition, Champaign, IL: Research
Press, Inc. Reprinted with permission from the
authors and Research Press. Girard, K., and S.J.
Koch. 1996. Appendix A. Conflict Resolution in the
Schools: A Manual for Educators, pp. 135-139.
Reprinted with permission from Conflict Resolution
in the Schools: A Manual for Educators, K. Girard
and S.J. Koch, copyright 1996, Jossey-Bass Inc.,
Publishers, 800-956-7739.
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Appendix H
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
3 pages
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Appendix H: Strategic Planning Process
Schools and other organizations around the country
are engaged in strategic planning on a regular
basis. Such planning is valuable to the success of
any endeavor and should be part of the
implementation of any conflict resolution education
program. The following information, which may be
very familiar and second nature to many readers of
this Guide, is provided to help readers who are not
experienced in the strategic planning process to
formulate a plan for bringing conflict resolution
education into their setting.
Planning Process
A plan for a conflict resolution program is
developed by the planning team in collaboration
with the entire school faculty and is based on the
results of the needs assessment. A planning team
with broad-based school and community
representation increases "ownership" of the program
and commitment throughout the school community for
its implementation. The planning process suggested
here has four basic components: belief statements,
a mission statement, program goals, and an action
plan.
Belief Statements
Belief statements express fundamental convictions
and tenets related to conflict and conflict
resolution. They provide a basis for achieving
consensus within the school community regarding a
conflict resolution program in the school. The
belief statements are the basis for obtaining the
school's commitment to a specific mission to
implement such a program. The following are sample
belief statements:
o Conflict is a natural part of everyday life.
o Conflict is an opportunity to grow and learn.
o Neither avoidance nor violence are healthy
responses to conflict.
o Through awareness of cultural differences, we
grow to respect others and to cherish diversity.
o Adults provide powerful behavior models for
students; this is especially true in dealing with
conflict.
o Students can learn to resolve some of their
conflicts without adult involvement.
Mission Statement
The mission statement is a broad declaration of the
purpose of a conflict resolution program for the
school. It is the cornerstone upon which the entire
plan for the program is built. Often expressed as a
single, brief, general statement, the mission
statement articulates the primary focus of the
program, emphasizes the distinctiveness of the
program, and represents the commitment to the
program. The following is an example of a mission
statement:
The mission of the conflict resolution education
program is to teach students and faculty to resolve
conflicts productively, to promote mutual
understanding of individuals and groups throughout
the school, and to enhance the climate of the
school.
Program Goals: Adult and Student Outcomes
Goals are expressions of the desired outcomes of
the conflict resolution program for students and
adults in the school. The goals are the map for
achieving the mission and give direction to all
implementation planning. They guide the setting of
priorities and provide the framework for evaluation
of the program. The following are examples of
program goals:
o Students will utilize the conflict resolution
processes of negotiation, mediation, and consensus
decision-making to resolve problems between
students, between students and adults, and among
groups.
o Adults will utilize the conflict resolution
processes of negotiation, mediation, and consensus
decisionmaking to resolve problems between
students, between students and adults, between
adults, and among groups.
------------------------------
Action Plan
The action plan delineates the tasks required to
select and implement a conflict resolution program.
It identifies the person responsible for each task,
the timeline for completion, and the resources
necessary. Development of the action plan is an
ongoing process. As tasks are achieved, new tasks
are delineated. The following is an example of an
action plan format showing the initial steps in
implementing a conflict resolution education
program:
Task 1: Preview program/curriculum resource
materials and select program(s)/curriculum(s).
Responsibility: Planning Team.
Resources: Program/curriculum assessment forms.
Budget: $200.
Timeline: August-September.
Task 2: Interview and check references of staff
development providers and select staff development
provider/trainer.
Responsibility: Planning Team.
Resources: Staff development provider competency
assessment forms. Budget: $20 (phone).
Timeline: October.
Task 3: Train planning committee to develop program
and use curriculum materials.
Responsibility: Planning Team Leader.
Resources: Staff development budget. Budget:
$2,500.
Timeline: November.
Task 4: Provide faculty awareness in-service
training on conflict resolution education.
Responsibility: Planning Team.
Resources: Published materials, handouts, video
rental. Budget: $300.
Timeline: December.
MENU TITLE: Conflict Resolution Guide: Appendix I
Series: OJJDP
Published: October 1996
6 pages
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Appendix I: The Story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Retold
Through Negotiation
Step 1: Agree To Negotiate
Red: I'm Red Riding Hood. I agree to take turns talking and listening and
to cooperate to solve the problem.
Wolf: I'm the Wolf. I agree to take turns talking and listening, and I
agree to cooperate with you, Red Riding Hood, to solve the problem.
Step 2: Gather Points of View
Red: I was taking a loaf of fresh bread and some cakes to my granny's
cottage on the other side of the woods. Granny wasn't well, so I thought
I would pick some flowers for her along the way.
I was picking the flowers when you, Wolf, jumped out from behind a tree
and started asking me a bunch of questions. You wanted to know what I
was doing and where I was going, and you kept grinning that wicked grin
and smacking your lips together. You were being so gross and rude. Then
you ran away. I was frightened.
Wolf: You were taking some food to your grandmother on the other side
of the woods, and I appeared from behind the tree and frightened you.
Red: Yes, that's what happened.
Wolf: Well look, Red, the forest is my home. I care about it and try to
keep it clean. That day, I was cleaning up some garbage people had left
behind when I heard footsteps. I leaped behind a tree and saw you coming
down the trail carrying a basket of goodies.
I was suspicious because you were dressed in that strange red cape with
your head covered up as if you didn't want anyone to know who you
were. You started picking my flowers and stepping on my new little pine
trees.
Naturally, I stopped to ask you what you were doing. You gave me this
song and dance about going to your granny's house with a basket of
goodies.
I wasn't very happy about the way you treated my home or me.
Red: You were concerned when you saw me in a red cape picking your
flowers. You stopped me and asked me what I was doing.
Wolf: That's right.
Red: Well, the problem didn't stop there. When I got to my granny's
house, you were disguised in my granny's nightgown. You tried to eat me
with those big ugly teeth. I'd be dead today if it hadn't been for the
woodsman who came in and saved me. You scared my granny. I found
her hiding under the bed.
Wolf: You say I put on your granny's nightgown so you would think I
was your granny, and that I tried to hurt you?
Red: I said you tried to eat me. I really thought you were going to eat me
up. I was hysterical.
Wolf: Now wait a minute, Red. I know your granny. I thought we should
teach you a lesson for prancing on my pine trees in that get-up and for
picking my flowers. I let you go on your way in the woods, but I ran
ahead to your granny's cottage.
When I saw Granny, I explained what happened, and she agreed that you
needed to learn a lesson. Granny hid under the bed, and I dressed up in
her nightgown.
When you came into the bedroom you saw me in the bed and said
something nasty about my big ears. I've been told my ears are big before,
so I tried to make the best of it by saying big ears help me hear you
better.
Then you made an insulting crack about my bulging eyes. This one was
really hard to blow off, because you sounded so nasty. Still, I make it a
policy to turn the other cheek, so I told you my big eyes help me see you
better.
Your next insult about my big teeth really got to me. You see, I'm quite
sensitive about my teeth. I know that when you made fun of my teeth I
should have had better control, but I leaped from the bed and growled that
my teeth would help me to eat you.
But, come on, Red! Let's face it. Everyone knows no Wolf could ever eat
a girl, but you started screaming and running around the house. I tried to
catch you to calm you down.
All of a sudden the door came crashing open, and a big woodsman stood
there with his ax. I knew I was in trouble . . . there was an open window
behind me, so out I went.
I've been hiding ever since. There are terrible rumors going around the
forest about me. Red, you called me the Big Bad Wolf. I'd like to say
I've gotten over feeling bad, but the truth is I haven't lived happily ever
after.
I don't understand why Granny never told you and the others my side of
the story. I'm upset about the rumors and have been afraid to show my
face in the forest. Why have you and Granny let the situation go on for
this long? It just isn't fair. I'm miserable and lonely.
Red: You think that I have started unfair rumors about you, and you are
miserable and lonely and don't understand why Granny didn't tell your
side of the story.
Well, Granny has been sick--and she's been very tired lately. When I
asked her how she came to be under the bed, she said she couldn't
remember a thing that had happened. Come to think of it, she didn't seem
too upset . . . just confused.
Wolf: So you think it is possible that Granny just doesn't remember
because she is sick.
Step 3: Focus on Interests
Red: I want to be able to take flowers to Granny when I visit her because
she is lonely and flowers help cheer her up.
I want to be able to go through the forest to Granny's house because it is
too far to take the road around the forest.
I want you to stop trying to scare me or threaten me in the forest because
I want to feel safe. Besides, I think the forest is a fun place.
Wolf: You want to go through the forest to visit Granny who is lonely,
and you want to feel safe because you think the forest is a neat place.
Red: Yes, and I want to take flowers to Granny.
Wolf: I want you to watch where you are walking and to stop picking my
flowers because I want to keep my forest home looking nice.
I want the rumors to stop because I want people to like me, and I want to
be able to enjoy the forest without being afraid that someone is hunting
for me.
Red: You want the forest to be pretty, you want people who visit the
forest to like you and not be afraid of you, and you want to be safe in the
forest.
Wolf: Right, the forest is my home. I should be free to enjoy my own
home.
Step 4: Create Win-Win Options
Red: In order to solve this problem, I could try to stay on the path when
I walk through the forest.
Wolf: I could try to remember to call out when I hear you coming instead
of quietly stepping out from behind a tree. I could plant some flowers
over by Granny's house for you to pick.
Red: I could pick up trash I see in the forest and take it to Granny's trash
can.
Wolf: I could check up on Granny to make sure she is OK on those days
when you can't make it. She is my friend, you see.
Red: Granny and I can talk to the woodsman and tell him we made a
mistake about you. I could tell my friends that I'm not afraid of you
anymore--that you can be nice.
Wolf: I could meet your friends on the edge of the forest and show them
through it.
Step 5: Evaluate Options
Wolf: Do you think if you tell the woodsman and your friends that you
made a mistake about me and that I'm really nice, then I won't have to
worry about the woodsman and his hunters catching me?
Red: I think that will work.
Wolf: Maybe I could go with you to talk to the woodsman.
Red: Yes, that would help. You could also go with me when I tell my
friends I'm not afraid of you anymore. . . . I'd like to help you plant
some flowers at Granny's, and I could also help you plant some in the
forest. It would be nice to visit Granny together. She's pretty lonely.
Wolf: That sounds good.
Red: I agree.
Wolf: I don't think it will work for you to stay on the path all the time.
I can show you where to walk so you don't harm anything.
Red: I think that's fair.
Wolf: I agree.
Red: Will it work for you to check on Granny when I can't visit her?
Wolf: Yes, if you call me early in the morning.
Red: I think it would be a good idea if I ask my friends for a donation
when you give them a tour of the forest, and we could use the money to
buy more trees to plant and start a recycling program for the trash we
pick up.
Wolf: I think we've taken care of both of our interests.
Red: This solution will help both of us.
Step 6: Create an Agreement
Red: I'll arrange for Granny and myself to talk to the woodsman. I'll try
to get an appointment for this afternoon, and I'll let you know when.
Wolf: I'll get some flowers to plant at Granny's. I'll have them ready to
plant Saturday. I'll draw up a possible forest tour map and give it to you.
Red: As soon as I get your tour map, I'll bring some friends over to try
it out. That's when I'll introduce you and tell them you're nice.
Wolf: I'll put a donations box at the edge of the forest for our tree
planting and recycling program.
Red: And I'll call you by 7 o'clock if I can't go visit Granny.
Wolf: OK. I've agreed to get flowers to plant by Saturday, to draw a tour
map of the forest, to go along with you to talk with the woodsman, to
meet your friends and lead a tour through the forest, to take care of the
donations box, and to visit Granny when you can't do it.
Red: I've agreed to arrange for an appointment with Granny and the
woodsman, to plant flowers with you, to bring my friends to tour the
forest and introduce you as a nice Wolf, and to call you by 7 o'clock if
I can't visit Granny.
(The two shake hands.)
Source: Bodine, R., D. Crawford, and F. Schrumpf. 1994. Creating the
Peaceable School: A Comprehensive Program for Teaching Conflict
Resolution. Champaign, IL: Research Press, Inc., pp. 102-104, 106, 108,
110, 112. Reprinted with permission of the authors and Research Press,
Inc.