However, current school mediation programs have gone far beyond those somewhat superficial objectives. When young people are trained to be mediators, they develop not only more effective ways to help others, but also more practical ways to use conflict resolution skills in their own lives. At first many school mediation trainers believed that only a core group of students should be trained in mediation skills. These students would then act as mediators for other students who had disputes. More recent developments include expansion of mediation training to all students, K-12.
All students benefit from training because mediation skills are life skills.
One of the most exciting additions to school mediation programs is parent education class. Here, both parents and children are taught basic mediation skills. Such dual instruction is significant because it creates a shared background, an atmosphere of problem solving in the home that is consistent with that at school. Techniques learned give parents the option to use mediation rather than arbitration to help their children work out problems. Perhaps an even more significant result of the parent education classes is that preschool children in these participating families are exposed to mediation strategies prior to entering school.