An increase in verbal and physical encounters among elementary students led to the implementation of a conflict resolution program to assist teachers and students in solving interpersonal problems. The project was implemented over 8 months in grades three through five in a private elementary school. The goal of the project was to teach students…

School-based peer mediation programs are natural extensions of the kindergarten-grade 12 developmental guidance programs. Peer mediation programs not only provide schools with alternatives to traditional discipline practices, but also teach students important life skills. Existing research on peer mediation is very limited, yet promising. This…

This study examined sex and age differences in elementary school students' perceptions of conflict and violence and of the effectiveness of various intervention strategies to resolve conflicts. A total of 51 third-graders, 75 fourth-graders, and 95 fifth-graders who had been trained by researchers to be peer mediators participated in the study.…

Describes the conflict resolution program, Resolving Conflict Creatively (RCCP), that was founded for violence-torn schools in New York City. RCCP encourages open discussion in a supportive atmosphere through curriculum support, professional training of parents and teachers, and student-led mediation. (JPS)

Presents discipline tips from several teachers to keep classrooms running smoothly all year. Some of the suggestions include the following: a bear-cave warning system, peer mediation, a motivational mystery, problem students acting as the teacher's assistant, a positive-behavior-reward chain, a hallway scavenger hunt (to ensure quiet passage…

The Torrance (California) Unified School District is proving that learning flourishes when the community collaborates to create a conflict-resolution program. This article profiles North High School's efforts to develop and select peer mediators, integrate conflict-resolution principles into the curriculum, address roots of conflict in the…

In August 1990, the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management initiated a three-year School Conflict Management Demonstration Project. This publication is the final report on the Project. Twenty schools, which reflected the state's diversity, were selected to help assess the impact of the conflict management programs. The…

To help students learn peaceful conflict resolution, the Comprehensive Conflict Resolution Program was initiated. This report analyzes that effort. The program established peer mediation centers in high schools and developed a pilot course or core unit on collaborative negotiation. The program's development and inception are presented in this…

Project STOP, a comprehensive conflict resolution program, was piloted in 15 middle schools in 1991-92. This report provides an overview of STOP's inception and results. The project incorporated three components to help schools deal more effectively with conflict: (1) student peer mediation; (2) classroom instruction in conflict resolution; and…

This study examined the use of Conflict Managers, a program teaching students communication skills and the ways to apply these skills to resolve their own conflicts. Participating were 33 fourth and fifth graders from middle class families and with varying academic abilities. Of the participants, 23 were Caucasian, 4 Asian-American, 1…

Conflict is an everyday occurrence in young people's lives. To help them address conflict, ways to help young people learn and use alternative dispute resolution skills are presented in this manual. The program is organized around the following major themes: The Mediation Process, Cultural Diversity, Communication Skills, Feelings, Mediation…

The ability to deal effectively with conflict is an important life skill. Ways in which to teach children an understanding of the mediation process and to use the techniques of adult mediators in resolving ordinary conflicts are presented in this teacher's guide. The training is organized into 12 sessions, each lasting less than an hour. Complete…

Children need to learn and to use alternative dispute resolution skills. Ways in which to instruct young people in these skills are detailed in this leader's guide and accompanying video. After outlining the conflict management process, the text describes how to use the video. The video, which shows students what mediation is, opens with a typical…

Concern about violence in schools has resulted in numerous conflict resolution and peer mediation programs being implemented, though there is very little research examining their effectiveness. The exception is the Teaching Students to be Peacemakers program, which teaches students to be peacemakers in five steps: learning what is and what is not…

This study examined the outcomes of student conflict mediation at two urban middle schools in California. Data collection involved observations, interviews, and instrumentation with the Mediation Rating Profile (C. Carter, 1998), and a writing prompt. Several mediation agreements contained avoidance resolutions, such as "stay away from each…