Examined 499 urban middle school students' perspectives on cooperative learning and conflicts that arise when they work in groups. Found that most subjects prefer cooperative learning to working alone, but that the most appealing aspects of cooperative learning--peer interaction and opportunities for different points of view--are also fertile…

Proposes a four-step plan for a child care center director to defuse a parent's anger: listen carefully; make sure the problem is well understood; acknowledge the parent's feelings; and explain the plan of action. Suggests that directors should let teachers and parents work together to correct and prevent problems. (AA)

Discusses the need for efficient ways to handle school conflict issues so they do not disrupt the learning environment or lead to a decrease in teacher job satisfaction. Presents findings of a study examining elementary school teachers' attitudes toward conflict resolution, their implementation of conflict resolution programs, their job…

Discusses the challenges of implementing school-based conflict-resolution programs, with particular reference to the problems and unique strengths of girls. The Resolving Conflict Creatively program is often well received by young women, but many are hampered by gender expectations that stigmatize girls who act with assertive leadership. (LSR)

Sometimes angry girls abuse the staff who seek to help them. Explores why maltreated girls may act abusively to their staff and provides strategies for professionals to avoid burnout and maintain a positive, therapeutic demeanor even in the face of challenging behavior. (LSR)

The success of the Community College of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) transfer program is in part the result of the approach taken to institutional conflict. The institution's academic culture has benefited from even the unsuccessful aspects of its efforts to structurally reform the academic program and the institutional culture. In the process,…

Provides guidelines for educators to prepare for potentially difficult parent conferences and to conduct them to a successful conclusion. Suggestions include anticipating concerns, accentuating the positive, listening to parents, being truthful, being firm, being polite, offering solutions and assistance, asking for suggestions, admitting…

Discusses student empowerment and the importance of including students in planning and implementing conflict resolution programs. The paper describes the "Winning Against Violent Environments" (WAVE) program which trains students to be peer mediators who train other students and adults to be mediators and conflict managers. (SM)

Describes a program that seeks to change the values and culture of the school by combining the teaching of social and emotional skills with training in conflict resolution and diversity issues. Provides examples of how to "wage peace" in the schools and gives examples of advancements made through program efforts. (RJM)

Examines the effectiveness of conflict resolution and peer mediation training among California high school students. Explains that two of four classes received five weeks of conflict resolution and peer mediation training integrated into the social studies curriculum. Found greater academic achievement, long term retention, and transfer of…

This article presents a perspective for viewing mediation in resolving conflicts between parents and school personnel about the education of handicapped students. The appropriateness of mediation as well as its limitations are discussed, as are current uses of mediation in special education and legal problems and issues arising from its use.…

Surveyed 585 adolescents to examine relationship between family structural and process variables and adolescent participation in family decisions and vigilant decision making. Family socioeconomic status, high family cohesion, good parent-adolescent communication, and sound parental conflict resolution skills were related to adolescents' vigilant…

Traces the history and function of State, Operator, And Result (SOAR), a general-purpose artificial intelligence program for solving problems. The SOAR can "chunk" the result of a subgoal and learn from previous experiences. The SOAR could be applied to various expert systems. (YP)

When a college/university employee feels that his/her rights have been abrogated, the human resource department and in-house legal staff should be prepared to conduct a comprehensive, objective, and professional investigation. Such issues as proof of misconduct, "reasonable grounds," negligent investigation claims, and defamation claims are…

A longitudinal study of conflict management among siblings found that children's use of other-oriented statements emerged between 33 and 47 months of age, and that children used other-oriented arguments with their friends more often than with their mothers or siblings. Further, at 33 months, children used more reasoning during conflicts when not…