Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem that can have lifelong consequences. Using a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), this study examines whether the "Dating Matters" comprehensive prevention model, implemented in middle school, prevented TDV and negative relationship behaviors and…

Identifying factors that influence peer aggression and victimization is important because of their high prevalence rates and associated negative outcomes during early adolescence. Limited research has examined the impact of environmental and contextual factors, such as school climate, on peer aggression and victimization. This study longitudinally…

Bullying is a pervasive and debilitating issue for youth that can lead to substance abuse, worse outcomes at school, mental and physical health problems, and in some instances serious acts of school violence. There are three criteria that must be present in order to be classified as bullying: Repetition, intentionality, and imbalance of power.…

Restorative justice pedagogies, such as dialogue or peacemaking circles, allow students to learn how to share and listen with peers, set boundaries for moral dialogue, and engage constructively with each other's perspectives. This study is part of a larger project focused on teachers' professional development and circle implementation. The focus…

The dialogic model of learning immersed in education arises from the first interaction pattern. However, although Paulo Freire, in his theory, had indeed been including several theorists who supported the interest of the social and cultural part immersed in the meaning of learning, it was only until a few years ago when education began a turn of…

Student-teacher relationships have been largely explored in literature from the perspective of successful relationships, i.e., what constitutes a successful relationship and how teachers build them. However, in moments of student defiance, resistance or pushback, how do teachers react? When teachers recount such moments, is the narrative one…

This study investigates the effect of using a realistic situation with modeling characteristics in creating and resolving a cognitive conflict to promote understanding of a changing reference in fraction calculations. The study was conducted among 96 seventh graders divided into 2 experimental groups and 1 control group. The experimental groups…

Drawing upon an ethnically and socio-economically diverse sample of 323 7th grade students from twelve urban schools within one school district, this mixed method study examined early adolescents' self-reported health risk behaviors as related to their conflict resolution strategies and their school's conflict resolution climate. Survey data…

As violence becomes one of society's greatest concerns, schools are faced with decisions on implementing violence prevention strategies. One such program was implemented into the health education curriculum for middle-level students in the seventh grade (n=130) in rural Mississippi. An adaptation of the Prothrow-Stith "Violence Prevention:…

This article presents the results of an evaluation conducted by two middle school counselors, in collaboration with university researchers, to assess the effectiveness of a classroom intervention designed to impact academic achievement. The intervention utilized was a standardized conflict resolution curriculum, which then was linked to…

This study determined the effectiveness of a conflict resolution curriculum on the attitudes and interactions of 18 seventh-grade students at a suburban middle school that served predominantly Caucasian, middle-class students. Students completed the curriculum 3 days per week for 7 weeks. Before and after the program, students filled out the…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effects of a violence-prevention program on students' acquisition of knowledge about violence. The violence-prevention program, an adaptation of the Prothrow-Stith (1987) curriculum model, was implemented in seventh-grade health-education classes in a rural Mississippi River-delta…

Assessed impact of school-based social competence training on skills, social adjustment, and self-reported substance use of 282 sixth and seventh graders. Found positive training effects on subjects' skills in handling interpersonal problems and coping with anxiety. Teacher ratings revealed improvements in subjects' constructive conflict…

Investigated interactional properties and developmental functions of the following four types of aggressive behaviors in adolescents: social aggression, direct relational aggression, physical aggression, and verbal aggression. Found that the majority of conflict interactions involved more than a dyad, and that social aggression was an initiating…