Conflict Resolution Education - National Criminal Justice Reference ...

Social Competence
♦ Responsiveness to others.
♦ Conceptual and intellectual
flexibility.
♦ Caring for others.
♦ Good communication skills.
♦ Sense of humor.
bonding—the feeling of being connected to others—
as the overarching protective factor in the development
of healthy behavior. Early in life, resilient
children often establish positive adult and peer relationships
that bond them to family, school, and
community. Hawkins and colleagues outline three
protective processes necessary for the development of
strong bonds: opportunities, skills, and recognition. 22
♦ Opportunities. Children must have the opportunity
to contribute to their family, school, and
community. The goal is to provide children with
meaningful, challenging, developmentally appropriate
opportunities that help them feel responsible
and significant. Research shows that
bonding to school occurs when instructional methods
emphasize proactive classroom management,
interactive teaching, and cooperative learning.
♦ Skills. Students need opportunities to learn the
cognitive and social skills that are necessary to
solve problems and interact with others. If they
lack the appropriate skills, children will experience
frustration and failure and their opportunities
to bond will be limited.
♦ Recognition. Children feel potent and powerful
when their contributions are valued by their peers,
Table 3: Characteristics of Resilient Children
Problem-Solving Skills
♦ Ability to apply abstract
thinking.
♦ Ability to engage in reflective
thought.
♦ Critical reasoning skills.
♦ Ability to develop alternative
solutions in frustrating
situations.
73
Sense of Autonomy
♦ Positive sense of independence.
♦ Emerging feelings of efficacy.
♦ High self-esteem.
♦ Impulse control.
♦ Planning and goal setting.
♦ Belief in the future.
Source: Benard, B. 1993 (November). “Fostering Resiliency in Kids.” Educational Leadership, pp. 44–48. Reprinted with
permission of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
teachers, and families. Children must be recognized
for their capabilities and for their participation.
The Relation Between Resilience and
Conflict Resolution
The relation between resilience and conflict resolution
is clear and significant. The characteristics of
resilience listed in table 3 are essentially the same
as the foundation abilities of conflict resolution
(orientation, perception, emotion, communication,
and creative and critical thinking). 23 In developing a
conflict resolution education program, a school creates
an environment that fosters the development of
resilience in children in three ways. First, resolving
conflicts in principled ways promotes and preserves
relationships, thereby facilitating the bonding that
is essential to the development of resilience. Second,
conflict resolution education develops resilience by
showing youth that they can control their behavior
by making choices that satisfy their needs. Finally,
in offering youth the opportunity to resolve conflicts
peacefully, conflict resolution education sends an
empowering message of trust and perceived capability
in which the characteristics of resilience
can thrive.