what is the most fundamental aspect of being human?

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What is the most fundamental aspect of being human?

Communication

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Peer Mediation – Conflict Resolution in Schools


threats prejudice disputes rumors intolerance

gossip aggression anger violence conflict


Today’s Objectives

Exposure to research surrounding the impact of peer influence.

Gain an understanding of how mediation programs effect the school climate.

Introduction to and practice of the basic steps & skills involved in conflict resolution.


Multiple program descriptions:

• Value education• Violence prevention programs

• Anti-bullying programs• Citizenship education

• Peace education• Social-emotional learning


Playground Peacemaker (Farrington, 2002)


Definition: Peer MediationPeer mediation is a negotiation-based strategy that teaches students mediators alternative strategies to help resolve conflict among their peers. They are trained to apply conflict management strategies to assist their peers in settling disputes.


Why Peer Helping?

Research has identified 40 factors, which are called developmental assets, that are critical for young people’s healthy development and well-being. Peer helping is a concrete and proven strategy that focuses on the heart of asset building: relationships. It equips young people (as well as others) with basic skills to offer caring, support, and guidance (Roehlkepartain, 1996).

The Search Institute indicated that youth (grades 6-12) who engaged in projects and programs to help others on a weekly basis were less likely to report at-risk behaviors (Benson, 1990).


Adding a well-designed peer or cross-age teaching component to an elementary or secondary school program has the potential for significantly augmenting the school capability to promote academic achievement and interpersonal growth (Hedin, 1987).

Peer mediation programs modified youths’ self-reported attitudes about violent behavior, improved school discipline, and reduced absenteeism (Powell, Muir-McClain & Halasyamani, 1996).

When students used a peer mediation process to solve conflicts, they scored higher on the Piers Harris Children’s Self

Concept Scale and the Brown and Hammill Behavior Rating Profile for Students than those students using non-peer mediation (Anticoli, 1997).


Emotional growth can be promoted through appropriate peer tutor training and experience as a tutor at the elementary level (Foster, 1991).

Peer leaders offer several benefits including an enhanced ability to model appropriate behaviors outside the classroom and greater social credibility among students (Doi & DiLorenzo, 1993; Katz, Robishch, & Telch, 1989).

With well-defined training, peer helpers can learn lifelong skills. Once peer helpers learn to teach model positive health behaviors, they may continue beyond the program and generalize what they learned to new situations (Finn, 1981).


What other research says…

The spread of peer mediation programs around the country has outpaced research on its effects. As a result, there is much we still need to know about the effectiveness of peer mediation.


“Literature has been uncritical in its examination of potential negative side effects.” (Lewis & Lewis, 1996)

No body of evidence documenting the effectiveness, or safety of using peer

helping programs to address problems beyond the basic academic and

development issues they were intended to address.


National Association of Peer Program Professionals

NAPPP• Programmatic Standards Checklist• Scoring Rubric


The importance of…• WHEREAS, more than 34,000 suicides occurred in the U.S in 2009,

with suicide being the 11th leading cause of death for all Americans, the second leading cause of death among 25-34 year olds, and the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year olds, and

• WHEREAS, peers are often the first to know of someone considering suicide and referral skills are vital to such life threatening issues,

• WHEREAS, in 2009, 13.8% of students in grades 9-12 seriously considered suicide in the previous 12 months (17.4% of females and 10.5% of males).


• WHEREAS, studies have shown that peer programs have been found to be one of the most proven and effective prevention and intervention strategies for persons exhibiting suicidal ideations, and

• THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that NAPPP encourages peer program professionals to establish awareness, preventive, and responsive strategies to suicidal ideations through their peer programs that follow NAPPP Programmatic Standards and Ethics.

• WHEREAS, the Mission of the National Association of Peer Program Professionals (NAPPP) is to help adults establish, train, supervise, and evaluate peer programs, and


Reasons for concern or attention:• Younger & younger adolescents are being trained

to address increasingly serious problems.• Little information on the nature of the problems

peer helpers confront.• Type and level of supervision & support peer

helpers receive.• Lack of documentation of the overall

effectiveness of programs they serve.(Lewis & Lewis, 1996)


Conflict Resolution Education A guide to implementing programs in

schools, youth-serving organizations and community and juvenile justice settings.

• U.S. Dept. of Justice and U.S. Dept of Education (1996)


Conflict Resolution TIPS

VIDEO: Peer MediationConflict Resolution in Schools

6 steps towards mediation


Takeaways?• School Counselors should be caution

when initiating new peer assistance programs.

• Carefully scrutinize efforts to initiate programs without counselor involvement.

• Caution when transferring programs to professionals without counseling expertise.


• Limit helper roles to academic and developmental issues.

• Ensure helpers receive adequate training and supervision.

• Carefully review process for selecting peer helpers.


Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center

Up next:

Applying conflict resolution principles to work with youth & intervening in conflicts in the school with students and their families.


Welcome Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center!

what is the most fundamental aspect of being human?

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