This article describes a conflict resolution and peer mediation program implemented in three middle schools. The program used a school-wide conflict resolution curriculum and enlisted a core group of trained peer mediators in each school. A resolution acceptable to disputing parties was reached more than 95 percent of the time. (Contains 11…

Notes the value of using simulations to teach negotiation in business communication classes. Offers advice for designing and writing effective simulations. Describes a favorite simulation written by the author, and illustrates with it the process of teaching a simulated negotiation. (SR)

Presents five group problem-solving initiatives for use in adventure and experiential settings, focusing on conflict resolution, corporate workplace issues, or adjustment to change. Includes target group, group size, time and space needs, activity level, overview, goals, props, instructions, and suggestions for framing and debriefing the…

Describes the strategies used in a program to enhance primary school students' perspective-taking. Suggests using I-messages to help children resolve conflicts, using active listening during sharing time, developing caring relationships, and providing opportunities for social interaction. (KB)

Examined Blacks' and Whites' conflict coping preferences using a scenario that manipulated an offender's race. In one study, Blacks more than Whites preferred behaviorally expressive conflict management and eschewed more reserved tactics. People were less confrontational with offenders of their same racial group. In another study, there was weaker…

What are the lessons young people will learn from how adults in their lives deal with terrorist strikes on the United States? What lessons will be learned about justice compassion, and revenge? This article discusses the responsibilities adults have in helping children cope with and understand the recent terrorist attacks. (Author)

Presents and discusses a study of 129 first-year composition students that identifies both their expectations and frustrations. Focuses on how such results demonstrate students' ambivalence about classes and educators as well as their ability to function as effective writers. (SG)

Examines the Irish language community in Northern Ireland, and questions the validity of the census results of 1991. Particular focus is on the concept of a mother tongue and its relevance for speakers of Irish in the United Kingdom. Discusses measures to improve the status of Irish as a result of the Good Friday Agreement. (Author/VWL)

Reports on Seeds of Peace, a summer camp that brings together Arab and Israeli teenagers to embark on the process of making peace. Brings together teenagers from nations at war and allows them the physical, psychological, and emotional space to meet each other. Suggests that the concept of the camp works because real peace is made between people…

School governance is not easy. Advice on keeping boards harmonious includes: don't keep secrets; trust your colleagues; watch out for mavericks; and set some rules-and follow them. A sidebar lists strategies for success. (MLF)

Recent research on peace education entails important practical lessons about educational work in regions of intractable conflict. Peace education in this context must deal with collective narratives and deeply rooted historical memories and societal beliefs. Research findings from a series of studies with Israeli and Palestinian students and…

One of the greatest challenges to a peace education curriculum is preparing young people to deal with conflicts over issues central to identity. These kinds of conflict can threaten beliefs derived from authority and, accordingly, may be characterized by cognitive rigidity. Various factors central to constructive conflict resolution are…

Traditional interventions (small group, individual counseling, classroom guidance, parent conferences) were obviously having little or no effect to stop bullying among children. The bullies had stuck with their project relentlessly, using snide looks, vicious whispering and a systematic plan to totally isolate one child on the playground. These…

A commitment to pursue problems from multiple angles, methods, and theoretical positions means that research teams require strategies to navigate the tensions and conflict that inevitably emerge, particularly when the intent is to find ways to integrate different disciplinary perspectives.

The fall of the Berlin Wall rocked the sociopolitical equilibrium of eastern and central Europe. Communism lost its grip over much of Europe. The USSR, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia divided along ethnic, religious, and historical lines. Ethnopolitical tensions surfaced across the region, and in Yugoslavia, tensions combusted. Whereas democracy…