The field of conflict resolution in education is well into its second decade. It is rooted in the view that we are all responsible for creating a peaceful school community, a place in which the emotional, spiritual, and physical safety of all students and staff are ensured. Yet in spite of this principle, the primary focus of the field for years has been student peer mediation. At long last, however, the field is changing.
Over the past 10 years, there has been a growing public recognition of the role conflict resolution can play in transforming the culture of school communities. With this recognition comes a dramatic increase in the number and variety of conflict resolution programs. As the field has matured, so, too, have the strategies and philosophy.
At a conference on “Breaking the Cycle of Violence,” held last November, researchers agreed that conflict resolution programs must be comprehensive—involving students, teachers, families, and the community. Speakers also agreed that conflict resolution must be taught both at school and at home.
This comprehensive approach applies to peer mediation itself—the process by which trained students help disputing students generate and evaluate options for reaching a mutually acceptable solution. Peer mediation gives young people the capacity to alter not only their own behavior, but that of others as well—and, by extension, the culture of society at large. There is a consensus now that for peer mediation to succeed, the whole school community—students, staff, and parents—must understand the principles being taught.
Increasingly, school systems and schools are tailoring their conflict resolution programs to fit their particular communities. As Renee Wilson-Brewer, former director of the National Network of Violence Prevention Practitioners, advises: If you're going to do violence prevention the right way, it would make sense to really understand the school system—the student population, the faculty population ... the kinds of violence that have occurred, the community, and its social organization and lack of organization (Education Week, November 9, 1994).
Tips on Getting Started
- Form a planning committee whose members reflect the school's and community's cultural makeup, including race, gender, and age.
- Conduct workshops to educate the entire school community about conflict resolution—everyone from school board members, administrators, and security officers to parents to cafeteria workers. (We must provide the adults in young people's lives with the skills they need to serve as role models.)
- Adopt mediation as an option for resolving all conflicts—whether they involve students, staff, teachers, administrators, or parents.
- Establish mediation and conflict resolution curriculums and curricular materials.
- Designate a conflict resolution coordinator for the district and each school, and encourage those persons to develop partnerships with youth group leaders, violence prevention specialists, drug prevention experts, and PTA representatives.
Most public officials and educators have abandoned the notion of a quick fix for violence. They recognize that it is a complicated problem that requires complex solutions; our school communities are, after all, microcosms of the larger society.
