An increasing number of schools are implementing conflict resolution programs to teach youth the skills needed to resolve differences without violence. The authors of the "Creating a Peaceable School" program envision a peaceable school where the following five qualities identified by Kreidler (1984) are present: cooperation, communication, tolerance, positive emotional expression, and conflict resolution. The "Creating a Peaceable School" program is organized around six skill areas. The program contains a number of activities and strategies to be used in whole class discussions, learning center work, and class meetings to help students develop a knowledge base and acquire the skills critical to peaceful conflict resolution.

While the classroom teacher is the key player in providing the learning opportunities required to create a peaceable environment in the school and in modeling the behaviors expected of a peacemaker, every adult in the school environment-principal, subject specialist, counselor, social worker, psychologist, secretary, supervisor, and so on-is a potential teacher of the concepts and behaviors of peace. The authors contend that the broadest goals of the "Creating a Peaceable School" program are realized when the program is applied consistently on a school-wide basis, building on knowledge and skills each year as students progress from grade level to grade level.

The six fundamental skill areas to "Creating a Peaceable School" are described below. The term teacher refers both to the classroom teacher and to others in the school environment who are in a position to teach by their example.

1. Building a peaceable climate.

A first step is for teachers to develop a classroom environment conducive to constructive conflict management. To reach this goal teachers learn to establish a cooperative context for the classroom and to manage student behavior without coercion. A cooperative context-in contrast to a competitive context-involves goals that all students and teachers are committed to achieving. The teacher implements cooperative learning activities that require collaboration and promote interdependence among class members, in order to foster a community-of-learners atmosphere. This kind of atmosphere is in contrast to classrooms in which the primary reward system is assigning grades, which leads to a competitive context where achievement of one is at the expense of others. In competitive classrooms, an environment of winners and losers is created.

Secondly, the teacher in the peaceable school transfers the responsibility for acceptable behavior to the students-not through force or domination, but through reason and support. Behavioral expectations can be stated in terms of rights and responsibilities that apply to all members of the school environment. The teacher in the peaceable school uses discipline, not punishment, to encourage appropriate behavior. Where punishment expresses power of an authority and is imposed by an authority, discipline is based on logical or natural consequences and comes from within the individual, with responsibility assumed by the individual.

2. Understanding conflict.

The authors of "Creating a Peaceable School" explain conflict as a natural, vital part of life which arises when one or more of the following basic needs identified by William Glasser (1984) go unmet:

* The need for belonging - fulfilled by loving, sharing, and cooperating with others
* The need for power - fulfilled by achieving, accomplishing, and being recognized and respected
* The need for freedom - fulfilled by making choices in our lives
* The need for fun - fulfilled by laughing and playing

The "Creating a Peaceable School" program encourages principled responses to conflict which focus on interests instead of positions. This response to conflict works toward a gradual consensus on a joint resolution without the costs of digging into positions or destroying relationships.

3. Understanding peace and peacemaking.

In the peaceable school, peace is viewed as a behavior rather than an outcome or goal. Adults and children can incorporate peacemaking into their daily lives by learning and practicing the principles of conflict resolution. The authors credit the Harvard Negotiation Project, founded by Roger Fisher and William Ury, for the principles of conflict resolution suggested in "Creating a Peaceable School." These basic principles are intended to separate the people from the problem, focus on interests and not positions, invent options for mutual gain, and foster the use of objective criteria.

4. Mediation.

Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party-a mediator-helps disputants resolve their conflicts peaceably. In the peaceable school, mediation is presented as both a strategy for use within the classroom and as a school-wide vehicle for resolving conflicts. Training activities introduce a six-step mediation process designed to allow students to gain the skills to act as neutral third parties in facilitating conflicts between disputants. With the support of the classroom teacher, very young students can help classmates mediate conflicts in a classroom-based program.

5. Negotiation.

Negotiation is a process in which disputing parties communicate directly with each other to resolve the conflict peaceably. In the peaceable school, students learn the skills necessary to communicate their thoughts and feelings about a conflict and to follow a step-by-step negotiation procedure designed to ensure a balanced exchange. The more students become empowered to resolve their differences peacefully, the authors believe, the more responsibly they behave.

6. Group problem solving.

This strategy is used in "Creating a Peaceable School" when a conflict affects many or all members of a group, such as a class of students. Two basic principles govern the group problem-solving strategy:

* The discussion is always directed toward solving the problem.
* The solution never includes punishment or fault finding.

Richard Bodine (RB), one of the authors of the "Creating a Peaceable School" (CPS) program and a trainer for the National Center for Conflict Resolution Education, talked to Parent News (PN) staff about his experience training others to use the CPS approach.

PN: Approximately how many schools have you provided training on the CPS program?

RB: That's a hard question to answer for two reasons. First, we've been involved in training since 1993 even before the CPS materials were published. Secondly, many of the training events we conduct are intended to teach school personnel who will train teams within school districts or within schools. I estimate that I have done over 500 training events, and I am one of four trainers. Most recently we have formed partnerships with states who then sponsor the CPS training statewide.

PN: Are the majority of schools you work with elementary, middle, or secondary level schools?

RB: There is much more interest in CPS at the elementary school level. At the middle and secondary level, peer mediation programs are more popular. Peer mediation is a good way to start. But peer mediation programs are limited in their effect, and primarily benefit the peer mediators themselves. A school-wide approach to conflict resolution, such as CPS, is much more far-reaching and provides life skills to the whole student population.

PN: What are some of the conditions that lead to optimum outcomes? In other words, when does CPS realize its fullest goal of creating a peaceable school?

RB: To be successful in creating a peaceable school there needs to be a critical mass of adults and children trained so that they use these skills every day. Other essential components include staff buy-in to the program and staff training, and developing or changing the school climate in ways that support the program. We talk often in the training program about the need for building a peaceable school and classroom climate.

PN: What conditions typically predict failure to achieve the goal of a peaceable school? Are there situations where the CPS approach doesn't work?

RB: The program does not work if staff see it as a way to "fix kids" or view it only as a way to address problems that kids have. Often people get involved in conflict resolution programs as a way to solve their school's problems rather than as a method to provide life skills. Schools will never eliminate conflict. What we hope to help them do is to develop a constructive approach to addressing conflict.

We often see programs start because of the enthusiasm of two or three people. The program will not work if staff view it simply as another thing to add to their duties. Staff must be willing to make a long-term commitment to the goals of the program. There must also be an active buy-in from the school's leadership. A school principal or administrator must want the CPS program to be part of the school.

PN: Are there any evaluative data to support gains of the CPS approach?

RB: Evaluative data are in the formative stages. There are two CPS programs in effect: the one we developed here through the Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution and one which operates out of New York called the "Resolving Conflict Creatively" program (RCCP). The RCCP has a couple of national evaluation studies in place. One is through the Centers for Disease Control and another is by METIS Associates. What the early data from those studies say is that kids in schools develop more negative behaviors and attitudes as the school year goes along, but that those students who are exposed to the CPS program get less worse than those who are not exposed.

It is hard to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of a comprehensive, school-wide program such as CPS because a really good program is fully integrated into the very fiber of the school operation. There are a lot more evaluative data on peer mediation services, for example, which are easier to monitor.

PN: What do you hear from teachers or administrators about using the CPS approach?

RB: The overriding message we hear from schools is that when kids have this training they do use it. Administrators tell us that they feel their school climate changes over time. They don't eliminate problems within their school, but they tell us their problems don't get as large as they once did.

Teachers tell us that children's problems still catch their attention, but that they are able to prompt students to take responsibility for resolving their conflict more effectively on their own. They acknowledge that they must spend time initially helping children learn the skills required for conflict resolution, but the time spent is far less than the time spent in crisis management when conflict is not resolved satisfactorily.

PN: The CPS program was developed and used in schools years before the recent spate of school yard violence. Have you changed the way training on the CPS approach is conducted as a result of these recent incidents?

RB: There were nine incidents of school yard shootings last year. In every one of these situations someone was told something was going to happen but did not report the information either because they didn't believe it or because they didn't know how to respond to these "calls for help." Certainly violence has precipitated an interest in conflict resolution programs. I suspect people are out there grasping at straws, which is not the best way to approach programs such as CPS. CPS is a proactive approach to resolving conflict rather than a reactive approach.

There is no quick fix to violence prevention. The National Center for Conflict Resolution Education was originally funded by the Department of Justice to work in schools. This is the first year they have partnered with the Department of Education to do so.

The message from most violence prevention efforts is "say no to violence." In contrast, conflict resolution tells kids what they can do before doing something stupid. Conflict resolution is about creating an effective citizenry. That is the best approach to violence prevention.

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Becky McCabe (BM) was an elementary teacher for 16 years before becoming principal of Leal Elementary School in Urbana, Illinois. Parent News (PN) staff talked to Ms. McCabe about her experience using the "Creating a Peaceable School" approach in her classroom, and her perspective on the CPS approach as principal.

PN: What were some of the benefits of the "Creating a Peaceable School" program to Leal School?

BM: The CPS program assumes a school-wide approach to conflict resolution. The training that Leal teachers participated in brought the school together. Before the training workshops we hadn't talked much about children's needs as a school community. Many years earlier we had developed Leal's "Rights and Responsibilities" statement, which provided a strong basis for student behavior as a school, but we needed to share an understanding and belief of what all children need and why conflict happens. We discovered that our statement of Rights and Responsibilities was not enough. The CPS training helped us to accept conflict as a natural part of life. We now call our school peaceable, not peaceful, which implies a lack of conflict.

PN: What did you find most valuable about the CPS approach as a classroom teacher?

BM: The CPS approach to conflict changed much of my thinking as a classroom teacher. Although I had been a fairly successful teacher for many years before formally adopting the CPS program, I realized after the training that I missed many opportunities to use discipline as a learning experience rather than punishment. That is key. When we use discipline methods that are punitive, we simply teach children that grownups are more powerful than they are.

I can provide a good example of this distinction from my classroom days. A child in my second-grade classroom spent a good deal of her time avoiding her class work. The consequence I applied (in my pre-CPS days) was for her to miss out on recess to complete the assigned work. There was little or no dialogue between us about her behavior or the consequence.

Once I incorporated the CPS approach into my classroom behavior, this situation became a learning opportunity for that child as well as for the rest of us. I had a meeting over lunchtime with her and her mother, and I discovered that this student was embarrassed because she could not read. She avoided her work in class so the other children would not see how she struggled. With the student's permission we held a class meeting to discuss her concerns. During this meeting classmates shared areas they had difficulty with-completing math assignments, playing sports on the playground, singing out loud. The other students in the class agreed that this student could ask them for help with reading when she needed to.

Once this student's insecurities about reading were acknowledged by her classmates, her avoidance behavior stopped, although I still needed to establish clear goals for getting her work done and consequences for times when those goals weren't met. Learning took place in addressing this "behavior problem." The student learned to accept the challenges she faced and to ask for assistance when needed. Other students in the class learned how to offer help when asked.

Previously I missed so many opportunities to help children solve their own problems. That skill-learning to resolve one's problems successfully-is one that children will need to use throughout their lives. This new approach opened my eyes to lots of teachable moments that I had previously overlooked.

PN: Didn't this approach take a great deal of your teaching time?

BM: Yes and no. The first 6 weeks of a school year is the time when you are building your classroom community. If you want to have a community that works, a peaceable learning environment, you must have a system of conflict resolution in place. Yes, it takes time to teach children these skills, but ultimately they begin to internalize these systems. Children, like adults, cannot work on other matters such as math or spelling facts when they are angry. Children, like adults, can only repress strong emotions for so long.

PN: What do you find most valuable about the CPS approach as a principal? What effect does it have on the overall school climate?

BM: The CPS approach works best when it is adopted school-wide. It helps that I have learned and used the same approach to conflict resolution as a classroom teacher in the school. As principal I try to model appropriate behavior for all children at all times. I also realize that the CPS approach allows the school staff-teachers and support staff-to talk about the needs of children and adults at a higher level. Adults are better able to resolve conflicts with one another. These are conflicts which would have been ignored or misinterpreted in past years. The "Creating a Peaceable School" program initially becomes a philosophy of individual classrooms. Then it becomes the philosophy of the school, and now we find that it is a philosophy of how adults treat one another. That makes Leal School a good place to be for all.

Sources

Bodine, R., Crawford, D, & Schrumpf, F. (1994). Creating the peaceable school: A comprehensive program for teaching conflict resolution program guide. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Kreidler, W. J. (1984). Creative conflict resolution: More than 200 activities for keeping peace in the classroom - K-6. New York: Scott-Foresman.

For more information

A press release from the Tennessee Department of Education describing their statewide Peaceable Schools Training is available at:
http://www.state.tn.us/education/nr070698.htm [Editor's Note: this url is no longer active. the Tennesee Department of Education site is http://www.state.tn.us/education/ 4-27-2000]

The full text of "Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings" is available at:
http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/160935.txt

"Preparing Teachers for Conflict Resolution in the Schools," by Kathryn L. Girard

Educators for Social Responsibility has a variety of conflict resolution resources for educators at the early childhood, elementary, and secondary levels, as well as for parents. They can be reached at:

Educators for Social Responsibility
23 Garden St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
800-370-2515
http://www.esrnational.org