Describes what happens when a staff member does not know how to help a student during a conflict, leading the staff member to inadvertently fuel the student's crisis. Discusses issues of blame, a double struggle crisis intervention, how to move beyond blaming, and strategies for diagnosing the double struggle crisis. (RJM)

Several currently functioning techniques are noted for improving school climate and reducing the atmosphere of stress and conflict which leads to violence. Ideas include celebrating learning, providing "cool down" rooms or sustained silent reading periods to relieve tension during the school day, and implementing conflict resolution curriculum.…

The Student Problem Identification/Resolution Program developed by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service assists school administrators in addressing racial/ethnic tensions manifested on secondary school campuses. The project involves students, teachers, and administrators in improving schools' learning environment through…

Discusses several prominent intervention approaches intended to prevent violence and inappropriate behavior in school by directly or indirectly affecting the social climate of the school. Looks at programs focusing on: parent and community involvement; character education; violence prevention and conflict resolution curricula; peer mediation; and…

Presents a case study that follows one high school's peer conflict mediation efforts to reduce violence. Over 8 years, suspensions for fighting decreased dramatically, verbal confrontations between students decreased somewhat, and the general atmosphere on campus grew more relaxed, with students relating better to one another and the school…

Discusses the role of school counselors as conflict resolution consultants. Describes a strategy for teaching others about conflict resolution, relying on a model that emphasizes strategies and roles within conflict situations. Procedures outlined are appropriate for use in preventive workshops on conflict and have also been used with those…

Project STOP, a comprehensive conflict resolution program, was piloted in 15 middle schools in 1991-92. This report provides an overview of STOP's inception and results. The project incorporated three components to help schools deal more effectively with conflict: (1) student peer mediation; (2) classroom instruction in conflict resolution; and…

Summarizes some of the common findings in the professional literature pertaining to conflict resolution (CR) curricula and peer mediation (PM) programs. Discusses theoretical, methodological and operational considerations that are relevant to conducting research and evaluation in school settings. Proposes a model to guide educators' decisions on…

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.…

This report evaluates the second and third years of conflict resolution programs that were established at both the elementary and secondary levels during the 1991-92 school year. The programs emphasized peer mediation, in which students in conflict meet with a pair of students trained in mediation skills. The mediators attempt to open…

This article describes a nonviolence model program used in 26 schools. The program identifies positive and negative student leaders who then spend an entire day together working on developing relationships, responsibility, respect, and conflict resolution skills. Specific activities of the "lock-in" day and ongoing activities such as development…

Discusses the need for efficient ways to handle school conflict issues so they do not disrupt the learning environment or lead to a decrease in teacher job satisfaction. Presents findings of a study examining elementary school teachers' attitudes toward conflict resolution, their implementation of conflict resolution programs, their job…

Presents conflict resolution and mediation techniques used to resolve conflicts among rival gangs at Washington Middle School, an inner-city school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Discusses formal mediation techniques and mediation for both male and female gang members. Focuses on preserving self-respect and dignity for gang members in all conflict…

For 30 years, Project Adventure (PA) has created adventure education programs that help participants face their fears, understand how others feel, and build creative group process. School-based PA programs help students take responsibility for their own behavior, while PA techniques are widely used in adventure programs for at-risk and adjudicated…

Discusses ways to cultivate a more peaceful and respectful atmosphere in schools by incorporating developmental, preventive, and multicultural theories into the school environment. Three components are reviewed: (1) traditional conflict resolution learning strategies; (2) curriculum-based efforts designed to help students acquire the life skills…