Within the framework of language socialization, this dissertation uses conversation analytic and ethnographic methods to examine the interactional practices used by the adult safe school educator at a progressive elementary school to socialize students into beliefs and practices associated with the school's Cool Tools Safe School Program. Cool…

Minor disagreements can quickly escalate when a child feels threatened with losing face or fears retaliation. Peer-mediation programs can help students refocus their energies while learning communication skills they can use in other situations. The benefits of an Oregon elementary school's peer-mediation program are discussed. (MLH)

Examines the effectiveness of a peer mediation program in which 6th-8th grade students (N=30) were trained to serve as mediators for peers in conflict. Mediators' responses to written tests indicated increased knowledge of mediation skills after training. Results reveal that 32 of 34 mediations resulted in satisfactory conflict resolution and that…

Describes how a Seattle principal confronted familiar urban school challenges and brought parents, teachers, and students together to focus on children' needs. The school's strategic plan included goals for behavior improvement, a quest for equity, an emphasis on parent involvement, and an ever-evolving child-centeredness. (MLH)

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…

This program guide for the elementary and middle school levels contains the student manual which is also published separately. Through the strategies of mediation, negotiation, and group problem solving, students learn to recognize, manage, and resolve conflict in peaceful, noncoercive ways. While accepting conflict as a natural everyday…

An increase in verbal and physical encounters among elementary students led to the implementation of a conflict resolution program to assist teachers and students in solving interpersonal problems. The project was implemented over 8 months in grades three through five in a private elementary school. The goal of the project was to teach students…

This study examined sex and age differences in elementary school students' perceptions of conflict and violence and of the effectiveness of various intervention strategies to resolve conflicts. A total of 51 third-graders, 75 fourth-graders, and 95 fifth-graders who had been trained by researchers to be peer mediators participated in the study.…

Conflict is an everyday occurrence in young people's lives. To help them address conflict, ways to help young people learn and use alternative dispute resolution skills are presented in this manual. The program is organized around the following major themes: The Mediation Process, Cultural Diversity, Communication Skills, Feelings, Mediation…

The ability to deal effectively with conflict is an important life skill. Ways in which to teach children an understanding of the mediation process and to use the techniques of adult mediators in resolving ordinary conflicts are presented in this teacher's guide. The training is organized into 12 sessions, each lasting less than an hour. Complete…

Children need to learn and to use alternative dispute resolution skills. Ways in which to instruct young people in these skills are detailed in this leader's guide and accompanying video. After outlining the conflict management process, the text describes how to use the video. The video, which shows students what mediation is, opens with a typical…

A part of the Fuss Busters peer mediation program, this teacher's guide is designed to increase students' conflict resolution skills. Fuss Busters is intended to help elementary students resolve conflicts in a creative and cooperative manner through reflective listening, defusing anger, brainstorming, and mediation. The guide is designed to help…

What does it mean to teach children to be "good citizens," for example, in conflict resolution and service learning activities? This study addressed that question by examining contrasting conceptions of "good citizenship" that were enacted in several peer conflict mediation programs implemented in urban elementary schools. In…

Using the Peaceful Solutions Peer Mediation Training Program, a study sought to understand self-efficacy as it relates to conflict resolution, and the effects of sex and socioeconomic status on training in conflict resolution. Two trained adult mediators conducted 13.5 hours of training at each of 7 elementary schools. Each training group had…

This elementary school training manual is based on the School Mediation Program developed originally by Good Shepherd Neighborhood House to train students in grades 6 through 12 in conflict resolution and violence prevention through peer mediation. Extending the program to the younger grades gives an earlier opportunity to use peer mediation to…