Schools are hardly immune to the violence that plagues American society. At some high schools, students are as likely to be carrying weapons as textbooks, and violence can erupt over incidents as trivial as the way one student looks at another.
Although the problem at most schools is not so acute, more and more educators are coming to believe they must show their students constructive ways to resolve conflict. By teaching students how to negotiate and mediate disputes, and by developing a climate that fosters collaborative problem solving, many schools are hoping to reverse the trend toward violence they see in society at large.
More than 5,000 schools nationwide offer some kind of conflict resolution program, estimates Annette Townley, executive director of the National Association for Mediation in Education (NAME). Interest in these programs is rapidly rising, she adds.
The most popular kind of conflict resolution program is peer mediation, experts say. In peer mediation programs, a cadre of students are trained to help their schoolmates resolve disputes. Peer mediators do not impose solutions; rather, they help the "disputants" work out their own solution to the conflict. Mediators work alone or, often, in pairs.
Though the details of the process may vary, most peer mediations follow the same basic steps. First, the mediator and disputants come together. This can happen in several ways: The mediator may intervene in an ongoing dispute (in the cafeteria or on the playground, for example), an adult may refer a dispute to mediation, or the disputants themselves may seek it.
After the disputants have agreed to participate in the process, the mediator lays some ground rules: no interrupting or put-downs, for example. Then each disputant tells his or her side of the story, speaking only to the mediator. The mediator paraphrases and summarizes what she hears and asks clarifying questions.
After both disputants have told their stories and expressed their feelings, the mediator tries to help them see the conflict not as a competitive situation, but as a shared problem they must solve together. Then the disputants brainstorm ways to resolve the conflict. Once they have agreed on the best solution, they pledge to abide by it. Sometimes the solution is put in writing and signed by both parties. The mediator may check with the disputants later to make sure their agreement is "sticking."
Around 80–90 percent of peer-mediated agreements hold—a higher rate "than if the principal just lays down the law," says Virgil Petersen of the University of West Virginia. "The disputants own the solution," he says, because they have hammered it out themselves.
What kinds of conflicts do peer mediators help resolve? Conflicts run the gamut from playground fistfights to arguments over whose turn it is to use the classroom computer, experts say. Many disputes stem from rumors and gossip, name calling and harassment, and boyfriend/girlfriend troubles.
Of course, not all student conflicts lend themselves to mediation. Experts agree that conflicts involving violence, weapons, illegal activity, or blatant injustice need to be settled by adults. Peer mediators should not get involved in disputes over drugs, for example, says Jim Halligan of the Community Board Program, which provides conflict resolution resources. "We're not going to mediate for a kid who thought he got shorted on the amount of cocaine he bought for $300," he says wryly.
A fundamental rule of peer mediation is that if the disputants agree to a solution, adults must respect it—even if they do not consider it the best solution possible. (This assumes there has been no intimidation.) Some adults fear that students will devise solutions that are objectionable—that accommodate prejudice, for example, says Halligan. "That's not going to happen," he asserts. "Kids have more sense than that."
Peer mediations often take place during lunch or recess and sometimes during class time. David Sponheim, who teaches at Highlands Elementary School in Edina, Minn., does not want his students to miss instruction while they mediate disputes. "This is where the ideals of the program meet the realities of the classroom," he says. If a conflict arises while he's teaching, he either postpones the mediation or settles the problem himself then and there. But overall he has found peer mediation "a very positive part of our school and my classroom, both in management and in teaching kids some very important life skills."
Mediation Skills
Peer mediators need many skills if they are to succeed in their role, experts say. First, they must be good communicators: They must be able to listen carefully, restate and clarify what they are told, and ask neutral questions. They must be able to detect the underlying cause of a conflict—the disputants' differing perceptions or assumptions, for example. Equally important, they must know how to defuse anger and develop empathy between disputants. And, finally, they need the self-control to keep the mediation process confidential (unless they have heard allegations of abuse or threats of serious violence). To develop these skills, peer mediators need 15–20 hours of advance training, with follow-up sessions every two weeks, Petersen recommends.
Surprisingly, experts agree that popular and successful students are not the only candidates for peer mediators. "The mediator doesn't have to be a kid who's looked up to by everybody," says Terry Amsler, executive director of the Community Board Program. "Negative leaders"—bullies and troublemakers—often make good peer mediators. When given responsibility within the system, these students often rise to the occasion.
To select peer mediators, most schools survey students, asking them, "Whom would you trust? Whom would you like to talk to?" But schools should also hold some slots for appointments, advises Terry Kelly, who ran a peer mediation program at a junior high school in Booth, W.Va., for three years. This allows the school to balance the pool of mediators in terms of gender and race, she says.
One sensitive issue in peer mediation is the degree to which mediators should address causes of conflict such as racism and sexism. Does eliciting issues of bias help restore harmony among students or merely widen estrangements?
Mediators do need to deal with these issues, believes David Johnson, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota and co-author of Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers. But he concedes that it's "tricky" to do so. "There's a lot to be learned if it's [done] in a constructive context," he says—but care must be taken to ensure that the discussion doesn't "escalate in a negative way."
Issues of bias should be dealt with "as much as appropriate to resolve the problem," says consultant Marcia Peterzell, who ran a conflict management program at a San Francisco high school for over six years. "It's good for disputants to be challenged" on their prejudices, she believes, as long as the focus remains conciliation, not therapy.
"You don't go deeper than what the disputants are presenting," advises Ellen Raider of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. But if a larger pattern emerges—if a school has recurrent conflicts with racial overtones—then educators should recognize the need for training in multiculturalism and understanding bias.
Terry Kelly adds a practical footnote: If a dispute involves issues of gender or race, "always make sure you have a balanced team of mediators" to work with the disputants.
Research on peer mediation programs is too scanty to determine how successful they are, says Daniel Kmitta, a doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati, who is studying this question. But there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence in favor of such programs, he notes. Students report that they are fighting less often, and teachers say their school climates have improved.
Teaching All Students
Some experts believe peer mediation programs, while worthy, do not go far enough. Schools should teach all students negotiation and mediation skills, they believe, rather than just a cadre of peer mediators.
David Johnson advocates this approach. "You need every kid trained in the same system," he says, "so that when a conflict arises, everybody knows what to do." In teaching these skills at an elementary school, Johnson gave 25-minute lessons daily for three or four weeks, then one or two lessons per week to explore topics in more depth.
"This stuff needs to be way overlearned," Johnson emphasizes, because the process of negotiation is contrary to our instinctive desire to strike back during a conflict. To override such instincts requires "hundreds of repetitions" of the process. "You just don't get this at a conflict awareness weekend or day of training," he says.
Besides learning to negotiate and mediate, all students can benefit from learning good communication skills, anger management, and perspective taking, says Larry Dieringer, executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility, whose Resolving Conflict Creatively Program is being used "in a lot of tough areas in New York City and New Orleans," among other cities. Students should also learn about prejudice and discrimination, as well as how to be assertive without attacking others, he believes.
Where in the curriculum can these skills and concepts be taught? According to Dieringer, they can be infused into the traditional subject areas. In studying literature, for example, students could identify and analyze conflict themes. In math and science, they could study the conflicts raging over acid rain and the destruction of the rain forest. Although teaching this content takes up instructional time, in the long run teachers save time because they don't have to spend so much time resolving disputes, he says.
Changing the School Culture
Some experts urge that efforts to address conflict resolution should involve everyone at a school—not just students. "Most schools initially gravitate to peer mediation programs, because they think if they fix the kids everything will be okay," says Townley of NAME. Although peer mediation programs are "wonderful," they are limited to a small group of people—and therefore provide only a limited impetus for changing behavior and attitudes.
At best, schools should take a systemic approach, Townley recommends. They should begin with staff development for adults so they can serve as role models. "Kids see the way adults resolve conflict all the time," she notes. If everyone in the school tries to "live" the skills and philosophy, the program becomes part of the fabric of the school, not just an add-on.
To change the school culture, staff members must learn and practice the skills of negotiation and mediation, Raider agrees, because adults can't say to students, "Do what I say, not what I do." Adults need to learn these skills "at their own level," or they will have false expectations for students. Through role playing, adults need to learn how hard it is to change behavior, she says. "They have to feel it viscerally."
Can conflict resolution programs prevent serious violence in schools? Experts are quick to point out that these programs are not a panacea. "We don't believe these programs in and of themselves solve violence," says Amsler. However, they are an important "tool toward that end." Serious violence won't be reduced until educators "work at the organizational level" by involving the whole school community, Raider believes.
Raider is "very hopeful" regarding the future of conflict resolution programs in schools. "A critical mass is building, of folks who understand this stuff," she says. But she adds that the movement is "still in its infancy."
"More and more, people are thinking it's a really good idea" for schools to address conflict resolution, Halligan says. "We look at it as a basic skill for kids today."
Resources
Resources
From ASCD:
Adult Conflict Resolution, a videotape staff development program, presents a framework that will help educators negotiate solutions to the conflicts that arise in today's collaborative school environment. Stock no. 614-251. Price: $328 (ASCD members), $398 (nonmembers). For more information, contact ASCD's Order Processing Dept. at (703) 549-9110.
To join ASCD's network on Conflict Resolution, contact Mary Ellen Schaffer, Asst. Principal, Elsie Johnson School, 1380 Nautilus Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60103; (708) 830-8770 (tel.) or (708) 893-5452 (fax).
Organizations:
Children's Creative Response to Conflict Program, Fellowship of Reconciliation (an interfaith, pacifist organization), Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960; (914) 358-4601.
Community Board Program, 1540 Market St., Ste. 490, San Francisco, CA 94102; (415) 552-1250 (tel.) or (415) 626-0595 (fax).
Educators for Social Responsibility, School Conflict Resolution Programs, 23 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138; (617) 492-1764.
National Association for Mediation in Education (NAME), 205 Hampshire House, Box 33635, Amherst, MA 01003-3635; (413) 545-2462.
