Conflict Resolution Education - National Criminal Justice Reference ...

♦ The Ohio School Conflict Management Demonstration
Project, conducted in 17 schools between
1990 and 1993, improved student attitudes toward
conflict, increased understanding of nonviolent
problem-solving methods, and enhanced
communication skills. 4
♦ 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
♦ 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
♦ Evaluation of the impact of the Resolving Conflict
Creatively Program (RCCP) in four multiracial,
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,
69
improved self-esteem and sense of empowerment,
increased awareness and articulation of feelings,
and greater acceptance of differences. 7
♦ 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, noncoercive
conflict resolution strategies—especially
mediation—when responding to “hurtful” behavior
among students. On the other hand, nonprogram
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