Summarizes violence prevention programs and activities in five urban school systems. Chicago schools have hired their own security staffs, use cameras in hallways, and provide character education, peer mediation, and mentoring sessions. Buffalo and Memphis schools stress tight security measures and weapons confiscation. Baltimore schools and…

A total of 48 preschoolers were asked to cite reasons for their friendships, provide judgments of transgressions involving friends and nonfriends, and indicate preferences for conflict resolution strategies for friends and nonfriends. Children made conceptual distinctions between friends and nonfriends in judgments and offered justifications…

A former school principal describes a dozen situations involving parents' excuses for their children's bad behavior or complaints about school procedures and supervisory practices. Suitable administrator responses are given concerning homework completion, "unreasonable" school expectations, divergent interpretations of student attitudes and…

Developed interpersonal skills training program and conducted study to investigate effect of training program on self-reported conflict resolution styles of eleventh grade students (49 participants, 50 controls). At posttest, trained females (n=22) reported using significantly more nonconfrontational strategies than nontrained females (n=21).…

The successful organization of the 1990s will fundamentally remake its employee relationship, especially through increased employee influence on the nature of work, organizational context, and quality of product/service. An employee advocacy peer review conflict resolution process has been useful in improving labor relations and enhancing the…

Some companies are finding ways to manage a culturally diverse work force: analyzing work force composition, increasing awareness of attitudinal differences and diversity issues, thinking interculturally about problems, mentoring diverse employees, making standards fluid enough for all achievers, and rewarding successful managers of diverse…

Committed to outcome-based education, the superintendent and board of a central California school district proceeded to stabilize the environment, develop a research-based belief system, align an outcome-focused curriculum, and implement a staff development program. To stem opposition to OBE, mastery learning, and criterion-referenced assessment,…

Suggests peer mediation as an alternative dispute resolution approach. Indicates the need to shift the focus from crisis intervention to prevention and to integrate dispute resolution skills into the school environment. (JOW)

Examines the development of transborder conservation zones, known as "peace parks," in terms of their potential importance as proving grounds for international cooperation and sustainable development, and then in their role as symbols and outright manifestations of the peace process. Includes case studies of La Amistad Biosphere Reserve,…

Describes the beginning and development of the Peacemaking program in a multiage classroom combining grades one through three. Portrays interactions of teachers and students as they apply the Peacemaking program. (SR)

Portrays the interactions of teachers and students as they explore peacemaking in the elementary grades. Includes children's responses to the Peacemaking program, a note on I-messages, and a discussion on how to begin peacemaking. (SR)

Discusses the promise and problems of conflict resolution programs operating in the schools. Argues that, with open channels of communication, ongoing evaluation, and student control, such programs can bring long-term benefits to schools and communities. (SR)

Suggestions are offered for resolving conflicts between parents of gifted students and educators. Specific guidelines are offered for both parents and educators to facilitate an effective conference. Additional guidelines consider conflict styles, problem solving, and the "caring confrontation" technique. (DB)

This discussion of evaluations of mediation programs at seven sites and of shock incarceration and home arrest focuses on the similarities in the interpretations of alternative dispute-resolution programs to interpretations of alternatives to incarceration programs. The political construction of the two approaches, which are both designed to…

This study examines the possibility that parental visitation and the level of interparental conflict between divorced parents interact to influence young adolescents' ability to function. Competence, and particularly cognitive competence, varied as a function of visitation and interparental conflict. (CB)