Information About The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, together with the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Board of Education, and other educational organizations, works to provide Ohio schools with constructive, nonviolent methods for resolving disputes. Below is an introduction to School Conflict Management and examples of age-appropriate activities that can be used in the classroom to teach students conflict management skills. For more information on the Commission or how to start a conflict management program in your school, please contact the Commission at (614) 752-9595. Conflict Management Overview Definition Defining what constitutes a conflict management program is difficult. The term conflict management has become an ever-expanding umbrella that is used to cover a variety of approaches and programs. For example, conflict management programs can teach life skills, "win-win" negotiation strategies, mediation skills, and violence prevention strategies. They are implemented in elementary, middle and high schools to help students, teachers, administrators and parents resolve conflicts effectively. Generally, the term conflict management refers to programs that teach individuals concepts and skills for preventing, managing and peacefully resolving conflicts. Traditionally, student peer mediation programs have been the most popular form of conflict management. However, teachers are increasingly recognizing the importance of implementing programs that use conflict management skills to handle classroom misbehavior and to enhance the teaching of core academics. Student peer mediation programs are also giving rise to mediation programs designed to resolve conflict among students, teachers, administrators and/or parents. Philosophy Although conflict management programs may not all look alike, or use identical problem-solving models, they do share several basic philosophical underpinnings. Conflict is natural. Conflict, to differing degrees, occurs daily in everyone’s life. Conflict in and of itself, is not necessarily good or bad. It’s the way that conflict is handled that makes the outcome positive or negative. If handled effectively, conflict can create a good learning experience. If handled ineffectively, conflict can quickly escalate to physical and emotional violence. Individuals can learn new skills. Although conflict is a natural part of human existence, many children and adults lack the skills necessary to effectively resolve conflicts. Conflict management programs have proven that young people and adults can quickly learn to use effective problem-solving concepts and skills, if they are given an opportunity to practice the new skills. They are also encouraged to use their new skills in real life situations and are able to observe peers and people in authority modeling effective problem-solving skills. The acquisition of conflict management skills empowers individuals to take responsibility for their own conflicts and for the resolution of those conflicts. Ideally, all students, school personnel, parents and community members who work with youth would receive conflict management skills training. Although this goal cannot be accomplished immediately, it should be a long-term goal of school and community leaders. The more individuals who possess conflict management skills, the more likely it is that the skills will be valued, modeled, encouraged, and used by individuals in conflict situations. Linking school conflict management programs to other school programs that address violence prevention, prejudice, and alcohol and drug abuse can help young people make better choices when they encounter disagreements, peer pressure, violence and alcohol or other drugs. Descriptions of Various Approaches "Anything you can do to increase communication in your class will reduce your need to impose order by authority and reduce the student’s need to rebel against that authority." –John O. Stevens Teachers include conflict resolution principles and skill-building activities in their teaching style to provide all students with the opportunity to learn to: understand and analyze conflict; recognize the role of perceptions and biases; identify feelings and factors that cause escalation; handle anger and other feelings appropriately; improve verbal communication skills; improve listening skills; identify common interests; brainstorm multiple solutions; evaluate the consequences of different options; and agree on win-win solutions. Teachers report that the inclusion of conflict resolution principles in classrooms helps students better understand the relationship between academics and the real world. Link to Academics Teachers can include conflict resolution creatively in the teaching of all subjects. Below are a few examples. Art: Varying perspectives, ranges of feelings, effects of biases and use of contrast are a few of the conflict management concepts that might be discussed through the making or studying of art. Health: Students can learn skills to handle emotions in a healthy manner, to assertively resist what is unhealthy and to recognize and evaluate consequences when solving problems and making decisions. Language Arts: The whole language approach is ideal for weaving conflict management concepts into a wide variety of subjects. Reading: In schools with established peer mediation programs, mediators are called in to mediate disputes between fictional characters. During discussions about stories, students are asked to analyze and identify the root causes of specific conflicts and to brainstorm other potential options for resolving conflicts that arose in the reading. Readings ranging from The Great Pretenders to Across Five Aprils provide opportunities for discussion and learning. Speech: The difficulty and challenge of speaking in such a way that another gains a clear understanding of your perspective is easily reinforced in such activities as presenting a persuasive speech, explaining directions to a game one has invented or describing a design in such a way that another can draw it. Writing: Story starters provide daily opportunities for students to think about and apply conflict management/resolution skills. Starters can range from simple phrases such as "the good thing about conflict management is…", to longer introductions which invite students to brainstorm alternative methods of resolving a conflict and to anticipate the possible consequences of each. Students can keep track of their progress in using and improving their skills through logs or journals. Math: Mathematical problem solving involves the following steps: reading and formulating the problem; analyzing and exploring the problem and selecting strategies to solve it; finding and implementing solutions; and verifying and interpreting solutions to ensure that they are correct. A teacher might ask students to develop a plan for a city park that meets a variety of community interests while staying within a maximum budget. Another approach teachers might use requires students to use math skills and conflict resolution knowledge to solve story problems. For example, a story problem might ask students to resolve a conflict in which one friend has loaned another friend money but repayment is not make on the promised date. The resolution of the problem may include interest calculations as well as an apology or an agreed-to payment plan. Music: Conflict management concepts can be reinforced through song and taught in principles of harmony and discord. Lyric writing offers students the opportunity to present conflict management concepts in interesting and often entertaining ways. Physical Education: This subject provides opportunities for students to experience and discuss the differences between competitive and cooperative games. It is an ideal setting for students to learn how ground rules can encourage a safe and cooperative or a competitive climate. Science: One could say that the earth as we know it now has undergone many conflicts. What have been some positive/negative effects of volcanoes, earthquakes, fires, etc.? What are some "win-win" resolutions in nature? Symbiotic relationships, such as the mutually advantageous between algae and fungi in lichens are an example. Social Studies: Teachers ask students to analyze local, state, national and international conflicts and to discuss potential conflict resolution strategies to resolve those issues. The conflict may be a current event or a past occurrence that are found in textbooks. For example, many texts describe the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted over a year and had a negative economic impact on the city. African-Americans instituted the boycott to protest a law that required them to ride only in the rear of the bus and to relinquish their seats to Caucasians upon demand. Teachers can ask students to identify the interest of each side and to propose solutions that might have prevented the boycott or ended it in a more timely manner. Middle grade students can develop the same concept when studying the relationship between the early North American settlers and the Native Americans. Students might be asked to act out a conflict that was described in an assigned reading. For example, students could decide to analyze the conflict between Egypt and Israel. To do this, students could rely on information from their readings to play the roles of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat in a mock negotiation. The class could then discuss the Camp David Accords and other important events in the Middle East. Peer Mediation: Student peer mediation programs train students to guide other students involved in a dispute through the mediation process. Mediation is a voluntary, informal, structured process in which an impartial third party, called a mediator, helps disputing parties to generate and evaluate options for reaching a mutually acceptable agreement. A mediator does not have the power to impose an agreement on the parties. The mediation process provides the disputing parties with an effective structure and a set of ground rules for pursuing a negotiated resolution to the problem. A variety of age-appropriate mediation models exist. Most models for grades 6 to adult include the following elements. Explanation of mediation and agreement to ground rules. Agreements among the participants that they will keep the process confidential, focus on the problem, respect each other, and refrain from interruptions. Each participant shares his/her perception of the conflict. Each participant summarizes the others’ perceptions and feelings. Participants brainstorm possible solutions. Participants achieve a mutual agreement or decide that no agreement can be reached. Participants are congratulated or, if no agreement is reached, participants either agree to disagree peacefully or are appropriately referred. Student mediation programs may be operated inside or outside the classroom. Some mediation are scheduled and conducted at a table in a designated "mediation room". Other mediations occur "on the spot" wherever the dispute arises—on the playground, in the lunchroom or in the hallway. Some schools train all students to be mediators. Those students who are willing become part of a rotating list of "on-duty" members. Student mediation programs handle many different kinds of disputes involving jealousies, rumors, misunderstandings, bullying, fights, personal property, ending of friendships, bias-related incidents and others. Mediators do not handle situations that involve drugs, weapons or sexual abuse. Most mediation programs report that agreements are reached in mediation approximately 90-95% of the time. Adult mediation programs are also being established in schools to handle conflicts between adults by providing them with mediation training similar to that given to students. These programs can handle a variety of conflicts, including personality clashes, disagreements over disciplinary actions, development of appropriate programs for children with special needs, truancy, respect issues, behavior issues and tardiness. Training adults allows a school to successfully mediate conflicts between parent and administrator, teacher and administrator, teacher and teacher, teacher and parent, and teacher and students. Tools for Classroom Management Conflict resolution can also be part of a teacher’s classroom management style. The effective resolution of many classroom conflicts does not require the active involvement of teachers. In these situations, students can solve their own disputes provided that they have been taught basic problem-solving skills. Teachers can use age-appropriate problem-solving models to teach all students in their classrooms how to use their skills on their own to resolve simple disputes. If students experience a non-threatening classroom environment where cooperation is encouraged, trust is promoted and group interaction is frequent, they will have more opportunities to practice and reasons to choose nonviolent conflict resolution strategies over aggression and violence. One approach for using conflict resolution in the classroom is the "conflict resolution corner" model. This model suggests that as conflicts arise in middle school classrooms, teachers can refer disputing students to the "conflict resolution corner", which contains information that reminds the students of the ground rules and steps for effective problem solving. Age-appropriate negotiation models can be used. Another approach is to establish a classroom mediation program. This approach requires the teacher to teach all students conflict management skills and to choose a process and set up a system for using these skills to resolve classroom conflicts. If peer mediation does not solve the conflict, teachers determine the next appropriate step. Importance of a Comprehensive Program The most effective school conflict management program is comprehensive, which means the entire school community and local community are knowledgeable about and regularly use "win/win" approaches in attempting to resolve conflicts. A comprehensive program offers members of the school and local communities the opportunity to learn, practice and model effective conflict management skills. A comprehensive program cannot be implemented ‘overnight,’ but it can be implemented easily in phases. The first phase, which may include a peer mediation program or a few teachers piloting conflict management in their classroom, usually begins in the school. As more and more students, teachers and parents experience the benefits of teaching conflict management, the program can expand into all classrooms and into the community. Although different schools and communities may establish different goals and objectives for their conflict management programs, there are several characteristics of successful programs. Essential elements include buy in, educational assessment, planning and evaluation. Goals and objectives that are developed and supported by everyone-- students, administrators, teachers, lunch and recess supervisors, bus drivers, parents and community members provide direction and establish a climate that supports the program. Schools provide a readily accessible opportunity to teach young people effective, non-violent conflict resolution skills. Students also need consistent modeling of effective conflict resolution skills by adults outside the school to overcome the message of "might makes right" that is prevalent in many television shows and movies. Staff development programs, parent education programs, civic organization presentations, and church-sponsored programs can provide opportunities to teach adults effective conflict resolution skills. A comprehensive approach increases the chances that conflict resolution skills will be taught to children and youth in homes, community centers, juvenile courts and juvenile correction centers by family members, friends of the family, trained peers, leaders of community youth activities, probation officers or social workers. Benefits of School Conflict Management Programs Many benefits are achieved as a result of conflict management programs. Schools cite the following benefits. teaching time is increased by reducing time spent on managing classroom conflicts knowledge of nonviolent options to resolve conflicts is greatly increased ability to control one’s behavior in conflict situations is increased interpersonal communication skills are enhanced ability to identify common interests and achieve "win-win" solutions is improved suspensions are reduced school climate is improved violence is prevented detentions are reduced time spent handling playground and lunchroom disputes is reduced ability to deal constructively with anger and other strong emotions is increased name calling and put downs are reduced ability to analyze and understand how conflicts escalate and de-escalate is increased ability to respect different perspectives is improved Students, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, school staff and parents all realize these benefits. The extent to which these benefits achieve depends on a variety of factors. For example, while the effort of one teacher using conflict management can achieve some benefit, it does not come close to achieving the maximum benefit for the greatest number of people. The best way to achieve optimal results is to design and to implement a COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH to conflict management. Funding Schools Conflict Management Program Funding is often the subject of questions asked by people who are interested in implementing school conflict management programs. A single, accurate response to funding concerns is not possible. Existing school conflict management programs are funded in a variety of ways, depending upon the available resources of the school, community, and state and federal agencies. Various funding mechanisms include the following. existing school budgets community foundations community civic groups parent groups local businesses state and federal programs, such as drug-free school grants The cost of starting conflict management programs also varies. It is like buying a car—the cost depends on the quality and type of "model" you want. Potential "costs" for starting up a conflict management program include the following. curricular materials expert, staff, parent, student and community training program coordinator stipend release time to attend regional or statewide conferences If you wish to start a conflict management program in you school, you may find your school district’s drug-free coordinator to be a helpful source of suggestions for funding. In developing a successful strategy, consult with coordinators of existing school conflict management programs for information on how they acquired funding. Recommendations for Starting School Conflict Management Programs: Although starting conflict management initiatives is not an easy task, sustaining them has proven to be even more difficult. Building and maintaining an effective conflict management program is similar to building a sturdy house — a strong foundation is essential. A wealth of information was gathered during the Commission’s three-year (1990-1993) assessment of 20 diverse school conflict resolution programs. Information was provided to the Commission by teachers, students, principals, superintendents, parents, school board members, independent evaluators and conflict management trainers from Ohio and across the country. The following recommendations represent the most comprehensive and innovative approach for establishing and maintaining school conflict management initiatives. School conflict management programs that were established prior to these recommendations are now adopting the recommendations to strengthen their programs. When initiatives are implemented in accordance with these recommendations, the result is conflict management programs that really work. Experience shows that a great difference exists between the impact of conflict management programs, which are simply "there", and those that are truly successful. Recommendations: Form a diverse planning committee to conduct an assessment of the school’s needs and to determine what types of conflict management are best suited to the schools. Map out a plan for how conflict management will be institutionalized in all schools within a district. Include both peer mediation and conflict management curriculum as part of the plan to provide all students with better conflict resolution skills. Designate a conflict management coordinator for the school district and for each school. Adopt mediation as an option for resolving all conflicts that occur at the school. Educate students, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, school board members and parents about conflict management initiatives. Actively involve large numbers of students, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and parents in the operation of peer mediation programs. Develop in-school curricular materials and training expertise. Evaluate your conflict management activities to determine if they are meeting the stage goals and objectives. Develop partnerships with parents and leaders of your organizations to explore ways in which conflict management concepts and skill can be infused into their activities. Violence Prevention Funding Services: Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management 77 South High Street, 24th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43226 (614) 752-9595 Columbus Foundation 1234 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43205-1453 (614) 251-4000 Office of Criminal Justice Services 400 East Town Street Columbus, Ohio 43215-4242 (614) 466-7782 Alliance for Cooperative Justice 375 South High Street, 5th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 224-1890 United Way of Franklin County 360 South Third Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 227-2700 Ohio Violence Prevention Center 400 East Town Street, Suite 120 Columbus, Ohio 43215-4242 (614) 466-7782 Leo Yassenoff Foundation 16 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 221-4315 Ohio Department of Alcohol 280 North High Street, 12th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-2537 (614) 466-3445 Ohio Commission on Minority Health 77 South High Street, 7th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 466-4000 Reclaim Ohio 373 South High Street, 5th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 462-3157 Back to Schools Main Page
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