NCJ Number
150344
Journal
School Safety Dated: (Fall 1994) Pages: 4-7
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The authors stress the importance of conflict management and resolution training, particularly peer mediation programs, to defuse tensions and promote safety in the school setting.
Abstract
A good conflict resolution training program provides participants with both the theoretical understanding and the practical experience necessary to become effective, balanced, and flexible adults. Many school systems have attributed dramatic reductions in classroom conflicts directly to specialized skills training. The authors recommend that school educators learn to think in terms of conflict management rather than in terms of conflict resolution. They also suggest that school educators carefully examine personal responses to conflict and differences in such responses by adults and young people. When conflict management is considered as a series of stages along a continuum, chances for conflict resolution are greater. Further, conflict resolution skills should be viewed in terms of negotiation skills, and a thorough understanding of the nature of conflict is essential. School educators should also consider customizing existing training programs or curricula for their school districts, and this may include peer mediation programs. In addition, school educators should learn to recognize conflict as early as possible, understand different types of responses to conflict, understand and value forgiveness, know if they are negotiating cooperatively or competitively before identifying reasons for conflict, and resolve conflicts fairly. Students should learn individual conflict resolution skills and design a conflict resolution system that includes a peer mediation process and various other techniques. A "durable agreement" process is described to resolve conflicts that involves process, emotional, and substantive components. 2 figures