This information brief gives an overview of Youth MOVE Oregon, an innovator in peer-led services for youth. The role and development of Peer Support Providers is discussed in some detail along with organizational challenges that need to be addressed.

This survey aims to give a broad overview of the way peer support is currently used in English primary and secondary schools, and to highlight common patterns. Regional strata samples of schools were selected from an online database. Questionnaire data were obtained from 240 schools (130 primary and 110 secondary), of which 186 had peer support…

Peer Resources is at the heart of positive youth development. Trained youth serving in roles such as mentor, tutor, mediator, leader, and educator can change the norms of a school and community. Utilizing people as resources is an important concept to embrace. During the last seven years, peer mentors have reduced the drop-out rate of 16- and…

Students helping students have become an increasingly important educational concept over the last 20 years. While the popularity and prevalence of these types of programs have grown considerably, there has been little effort to evaluate their effectiveness. The authors advocate for counselors to use a scientist practitioner approach to…

Outlines 40 promising, low-cost strategies administrators can implement to make their campus safer. Success depends on establishing clear behavior standards, providing adequate adult supervision, enforcing rules fairly and consistently, cultivating parental and community support, and controlling campus access. A sidebar describes how to conduct a…

This book explores conflict resolution strategies and presents a systematic approach to mediation for peer helpers. The first part examines conflict resolution. Internal and external sources of conflict are considered. Irritations, inappropriate expectations, and unknown sources of external conflict are examined. A section on looking inside…

Research examining direct peer mediation is presented and evaluated. The experimental studies reviewed are divided into three major areas: (1) peers as tutors; (2) peers as reinforcing agents; and (3) peers as facilitators of generalization. Conclusions, clinical applications, and future directions follow. (Author/CMG)

Although many people have been trained to teach, few have received instructions on group leadership skills. Suggestions for helping group facilitators to become effective group leaders are discussed in this book. In order to address the concerns of readers who may be new to peer helping, chapter 1 covers basic issues. Experienced teachers can…

Socially competent children have been found to be effective negotiators, typically selecting more adaptive, non-physical strategies for resolving conflicts with peers. To explore this association, background information involving research with children's social strategies is presented. The research is part of a larger study concerning school-based…

A survey of 210 students in grades 5-7 in six Toronto (Canada) schools found that students' willingness to serve as peer mediators declined significantly between fifth and seventh grades. There were no significant differences by gender in willingness to participate. (SV)

Students exposed to conflict-resolution and peer-mediation programs learn skills to communicate more effectively at school, at home, and in the community. This paper discusses student conflicts, student responses to conflict, implementing conflict resolution and peer mediation, integration of conflict resolution and peer mediation into the…

Describes a pilot mediation program that offers an empowering alternative to problem resolution used by mental health consumers receiving treatment at an inpatient psychiatric center. The training program uses mental health clinicians and consumers (peer advocates) to act as assistants in mediating disputes between consumers and between consumers…

Peer counselors are individuals who have been trained in communication skills and who have learned how to apply these skills in helping another person. This booklet was written by a peer counselor and peer counseling teacher to fill a frequently expressed need for a quick, easy-to-read reference. Its purpose is to make available to peer counselors…

Mediation training should produce highly successful mediators who are capable of carrying out smooth and effective mediation. This study assessed subjects' perceptions of the effectiveness of mediation by comparing trained team mediators to untrained team mediators. Subjects (N=30) evaluated videotaped mediation vignettes showing both the trained…

Conflict resolution has moved into the classroom. Peaceful conflict resolution includes negotiation, peer mediation, and arbitration. Data on conflict-resolution programs have turned up interesting objectives and outcomes. Curriculum approaches include classroom discipline, peace education, multicultural perspective, and just community. Teaching…