A peer education program to promote the use of conflict resolution skills among at-risk school age males.

Violence is devastating the lives of children in America's major cities. The problem of violence is particularly acute among disadvantaged young urban males. This program focuses on violence prevention in school-age boys using creative educational techniques and community partnership. The goal of this school-based program is to decrease the incidence of violent episodes in the school by teaching conflict resolution skills. Conflict resolution skills are taught in the health education component of the school health program. Skills are taught using a peer education model supervised by the school health nurse and planned in partnership with a Violence Prevention Advisory Board. Peer education teams consisting of fifth and sixth grade boys are trained and serve as peer educators for the boys in grades K-4. The violence prevention peer education program stresses primary prevention and targets at-risk school age males. The proposal uses a model that promotes the development of student leadership skills and self esteem. The proposal suggests ways to promote school and community involvement using an advisory board made up of student, community, and school leaders. The peer education program is cost effective and demonstrates how existing resources can be used creatively within the school setting. VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The goal of this report by Giuliano was to propose a program aimed at reducing the incidence of violence in schools by using existing school based resources to teach conflict resolution skills. METHODOLOGY: A non-experimental literature review and program proposal were employed in this article. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: The author proposed to implement this program through a four phase process targeted at young urban males. The program would be supervised by the school health nurse. Phase one suggested an assessment of the violence in the school and the community. Community crime statistics, in school incidents of violence, and the number of fights during school hours were suggested as examples of sources of data for this assessment. This phase also included the development of a Violence Prevention Advisory Board which would consist of the school nurse, parents, teachers, students, members of the community, and school administrators. The advisory board would serve to (1) formulate a violence prevention policy, (2) to increase violence awareness within the school and community, and (3) to provide violence prevention strategies. Phase two involved the recruitment and development of peer education groups which would consist of the older boys in the fifth and sixth grades. Groups would consist of no more than six members. Young urban males were targeted for this position in the program because they are most at risk of committing violent acts. As peer educators they would develop leadership skills and self esteem. They would also be trained to educate the boys in grades K-4. After the fifth and sixth grade boys were trained, the school nurse would recruit youth from the grades K-4 to form Peer Education Teams (PETs). Recruitment was based on the school nurse's rapport with the students, knowledge of student needs, and advice from teachers. Parental permission would be sought after the students agreed to participate. Another component of this phase included the development of a violence reporting system in which the administrators and the Violence Prevention Advisory Board would collaborate to document the acts of violence and physical aggression so that an evaluation of the program can be conducted. Phase three entailed training the PETs on the topics of: "communication skills (that is, listening, responding, and teaching); identification of feelings; problem solving skills; refusal skills (that is, learning how to say no); methods of safe early intervention prior to fight escalation; and how to recognize the warning signs of violence, patterns of altercations, risky situations, 'dising' peer pressure used against younger children, and playground scenarios" (p. 160). Phase four was described as the point at which the school nurse and peer educators would begin conflict resolution instruction to the lower grades. The lesson plan and activities would be prepared by both the nurse and the peer educators and would be taught as a component of health education. The class would be limited to 25-45 minutes to maintain interest and involvement. AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS: The author suggested that this program would be an innovative and cost effective way of preventing violence while utilizing existing resources. He also suggested that this model could be used to teach children about other health topics. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) Peer Education Education Program Prevention Education Prevention Program Violence Prevention Conflict Resolution At Risk Child At Risk Youth Male Offender Male Violence Child Male School Violence Child Violence Child Offender Prevention Recommendations Prosocial Skills Social Skills Development Elementary School Student Grade K Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Late Childhood Middle Childhood Communication Skills Peer Pressure Communication Skills Prevention Recommendations Language: en