Conflict Resolution Education - National Criminal Justice Reference ...

Chapter 2: Process Curriculum Approach
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 problemsolving
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
15
Have you not learned great lessons from
those who braced themselves against you,
and disputed the passage with you?
Walt Whitman
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:
♦ Teacher training and community involvement.
♦ Negotiation curriculums.
♦ Followup opportunities.
♦ 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.