Describes a lesson plan that explains the role of compromise as a method of resolving conflicts for use in a sixth-grade world cultures class. Includes activities, assessment, reteaching activities, and an extension project involving student skits. (DK)

Describes school peer mediation as a mode of student conflict management to be used with elementary and middle school students. The background and theoretical assumptions underlying the model are explained, benefits to students and to the school are discussed, and training of staff and student peer mediators is described. A peer mediation process…

Notes five broad types of discipline problems teachers encounter in their classrooms. Provides keys to a successful discipline management program, which includes being consistent, setting standards, and keeping a sense of humor. Suggests ways to promote favorable student attitudes toward school. Includes a conflict clarification form and suggested…

Offers brief descriptions of 10 books for children and adolescents in which characters attempt to sort out the cultural conflicts that result when cultures meet. (SR)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined how school participants in two schools in a Florida city coped with conflict, with a focus on developing a cooperative school climate. Constructivism, which states that learning is the making-sense of experiences in a social environment, provides the theoretical framework. From this…

Used case studies and constant comparative method to describe classroom management practices of educators in a nontraditional, integrative middle school. Emerging themes of salient dimensions of management were: (1) managing content for integrative teaching and learning; (2) rethinking power relations; (3) managing alternative teacher and student…

Recognizing that violent behavior is a complex phenomenon that is manifested in many different ways, the focus of this paper is to inform the development and implementation of school-based violence prevention strategies. The Second Step Program of the Jefferson County Public Schools is highlighted as an example of a successful violence prevention…

Boston College Conflict Prevention Program techniques for relaxation and self-control were taught to middle-school students in two Boston schools. Preliminary results from teacher interviews revealed that students spontaneously used these methods to calm their "fight-or-flight" reactions in real conflicts. Results also indicated that…

For two Arizona schools with widely diverse ethnic makeup and socioeconomic backgrounds, the arts became a medium for defusing the potential for conflict. During spring 1995, sixth graders from both schools participated in "New Beginnings," a collaborative poetry and visual arts project. Through their interactions, the children created a…

Examined 499 urban middle school students' perspectives on cooperative learning and conflicts that arise when they work in groups. Found that most subjects prefer cooperative learning to working alone, but that the most appealing aspects of cooperative learning--peer interaction and opportunities for different points of view--are also fertile…

Provides guidelines for educators to prepare for potentially difficult parent conferences and to conduct them to a successful conclusion. Suggestions include anticipating concerns, accentuating the positive, listening to parents, being truthful, being firm, being polite, offering solutions and assistance, asking for suggestions, admitting…

This action research project involved implementation of a program designed to minimize inappropriate student behavior that interfered with instruction. The target populations were students in three third grades in an elementary school, one third grade in an intermediate school, and one eighth grade social studies class in a middle school. All…

This guide is designed to provide assistance in handling complex situational conflicts involving diversity through appropriate conflict management strategies for diverse classrooms at the elementary and middle school levels. Diversity-based conflict is not new in the United States. The classroom is, as it has been historically, one of the major…

Details how one urban middle school took an active stand against violence by establishing programs in student leadership, conflict resolution, peer mediation, and violence prevention. Highlights benefits, student participation and training, and several innovative alternatives to suspension and traditional school discipline measures of the program,…

When elementary and middle level students lack effective problem-solving skills, they may make poor behavior choices in social conflicts, contributing to a negative learning and instructional environment. This action research project evaluated the impact of using social skills instruction to improve students' ability to solve problems related to…