Despite ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children remain the only people in Australia against whom violence may be justified as discipline. This article presents findings from qualitative research conducted in the State of Victoria, in which children were invited to contextualise incidents of physical…

This article reports on a study investigating strategies that students can use to develop skills in managing team learning. Two groups of second-year management students participated in a semester-long action research project over two semesters. The students were educated on team development, team processes and conflict management and how to…

Conflict management is a skill best learned early in life, and lays a foundation for the development of future relationships. The present study examined the strategies children use when negotiating roles in a dynamic play situation. Participants were 156 children (M age = 6.5 years) in 39 groups of four, who were videotaped in a play activity that…

In an action research study, 66 students from Year 11 in an Australian school were shown the colour of methyl violet indicator in some hydrochloric acid solutions, and then in an acetic acid solution. The intent was to create a cognitive conflict, resolution of which would lead to an understanding of the concept "weak acid". Student…

Background: This study builds on previous studies reporting that depressive symptoms among adolescents are reduced and personal satisfactions with one's achievements and competence with peers are enhanced when students are taught strategies for engaging in more optimistic thinking (explanatory style) (Gillham, Reivich, & Freres et al., 2006)…

In 2003, the International Conflict Resolution Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia, produced a primary school teaching manual for UNESCO Vietnam. The finished manual included lesson plans and materials for a five year, 50 lesson peace education course. The manual is one of the first examples of a systematic core national curriculum in…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Literacy, Numeracy and Alternative Dispute Resolution," and is an added resource for further information. It contains the appendices: (1) Published statistics on mediation/alternative dispute resolution in Australian courts and tribunals over the period…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conferences on Educational Technologies (ICEduTech 2014), and Sustainability, Technology and Education (STE 2014). The International Conference on Educational Technologies (ICEduTech 2014) is the scientific conference addressing the real topics as seen by teachers, students, parents and…

DRACON (DRAma for CONflict management) is an interdisciplinary and comparative action research project aimed at improving conflict handling among adolescent schoolchildren through the use of educational drama. The main purpose of our research has been to develop an integrated programme using conflict management as the theory and practice, and…

Offers a preliminary analysis of meditations conducted by the Queensland Community Justice Program. The conflict between the need to provide a standardized formal process and the philosophical commitment to disputant control over the dispute process and outcome is examined. Strategies providing methods to manage this conflict are discussed.…

Examines fundamental notions underlying the discourse on being or ontology of Australia's aboriginal people. Suggests that peace educators must include indigenous perspectives in their theorizing in order to end ethnocentric biases in a supposedly global paradigm. Notes that the holistic paradigms of indigenous peoples have much to offer peace…

The role of the University Visitor, whose traditional function is to mediate conflict within a university and contribute to its governance, is examined in the context of Australian higher education. Medieval English ecclesiastical origins of the office are described, and calls for abolition are examined. It is argued that the office should be…

This study sought a clearer understanding of the aggressive behaviours and conflict resolution experiences of teenage girls. The participants were 39 Year 10 girls attending a single-sex school in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. The girls participated in a novel letter writing methodology designed to shadow adolescents' existing use of…

Disputes in Australian universities cost millions of dollars each year that could be spent more fruitfully on core activities such as research and teaching. This paper uses three case studies to examine what we know about disputes and dispute resolution in Australian universities. The impact of changing higher education funding and policy on…

This article describes research that explored student and teacher perceptions and management of conflict within the primary school context. It was found that both teachers and students shared similarities in their views of conflict and in their management of interpersonal problems at school. Conflict was generally perceived to be a negative…