The increasing number of special education-related lawsuits has become costly, time-consuming, and a strain on school-community relations--in short, an issue of growing concern to U. S. school systems. To identify factors associated with this type of litigation, this study analyzed data from one state's 10-year experience with due process special…

If administrators personalize attacks, defend themselves, or argue with detractors, anger will escalate and the situation will degenerate further. This article explains why people attack and advises how to respond by using reflective listening, inviting criticism, focusing on the problem itself, exploring suggested solutions as legitimate options,…

Mediation and conflict resolution have numerous school applications. School mediation programs create new forms for social interaction in which fighting and violence are unacceptable methods of resolving differences. The New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution has successfully applied mediation techniques to gang disputes, parent-child impasses,…

Instead of avoiding, eliminating, or managing interpersonal conflict, school leaders should explore its transformational uses. A Consensual, no-conflict approach to decision making is impossible. Conflict can serve transformational purposes by helping to organize motives; broadening, strengthening, and clarifying values; and detecting and…

A recent study of Houston secondary schools shows that assistant principals' work centers on routine clerical tasks, custodial duties, and discipline. Daily activities are characterized by brevity, variety, and fragmentation. Assistant principals are seldom charged with instructional improvement activities, except for teacher appraisal. The…

To further home-school communication and help parents resolve possible conflicts regarding their children, schools should have strictly reinforced guidelines. A checklist/question format is helpful. Parents should be encouraged to establish relationships with teachers, telephone the school if a conflict arises, forgo anonymity, and develop best…

In peer mediation, students can resolve conflicts and orchestrate their own solutions. According to the National Association for Mediation in Education, school-based mediation teaches students how to deal with anger constructively, communicate feelings without using violence and abusive language, think creatively about alternative solutions, and…

Although violence prevention programs can be helpful, they are frequently poorly targeted and unrealistic about the social forces driving student behavior. Conflict-resolution training is effective when it occurs within a cooperative context, teaches students when a conflict is or isn't occurring, stresses concrete negotiation and mediation…

Humor can be a powerful, productive tool to help teachers succeed in the classroom. Humor cultivates spirit, alleviates stress, improves communication, and diffuses conflict. Reviews types of humor (satire, cheerfulness, eccentricity, and sarcasm), discusses humor's classroom uses and benefits, and shows how school leaders can introduce humor into…

Violence-prevention measures at railroad crossings may not work at schools! This special issue highlights three approaches to dealing with youth violence: prevention (peace building); intervention (peace making); and security (peace keeping). The problem stems from incivility, lack of respect, and unconstructive communication. Diverse perspectives…

Experiential drama consists of short skits that address various value areas. Issues drawn from student experiences are used in the dramatizations, which portray the actual experiences and incidents. Students develop the scenarios and present them to classes, social agencies, churches, and businesses. Educational benefits abound. (MLH)

Principals of site-based managed schools face numerous special-education program implementation challenges, such as appropriate committee compositions, inconsistent service delivery decisions across schools, interschool isolation, deflection of advocates, and policy guidance problems. Principals are ill-trained for inclusion and special-education…

Current efforts to create safe schools concentrate on peace-keeping and peace-making strategies (negative peace), that may enforce mutual mistrust and marginalize "suspicious" persons. Peace building tries to build beloved communities by providing nonviolent ways to empower students, model appropriate behaviors, and manage conflicts.…