The Effect On High School Students Of

The Effect On High School Students Of Conflict Resolution Training Integrated Into English Literature Essay, Research Paper Running Head: TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT Effects on high school students of conflict resolution training integrated into English literature Melisa Chioma Rousseau Long Island University – C.W. Post In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Science October 1999 Abstract The conflict between individuals aged 13 to 19 is so high that the need for academically integrated conflict resolution programs is quickly becoming a focal point of those involved in the educational world. Parents, teachers, and psychologists alike have all expressed horror that the rising number of youth offenders, violence in the

schools, racial intolerance and the like has rapidly risen among their teenaged children, students, and clients. It has become second nature for students to solve their conflict with verbal confrontations and physical altercations. Tragically, the use of guns either aimed at the person that they believe to be the cause of their angst or at themselves in suicidal attempts is sometimes the heartbreaking epilogue of an inability to properly deal with conflict. It seems as though students don’t know how to peacefully resolve the conflicts that they find themselves in on a day-to-day basis. A conflict resolution-training program that is integrated into a student’s academic program will encourage students to learn the methods of peaceful mediation. It will induce students to apply

the methods of conflict resolution into their day-to-day disputes not to mention the positive impact that it will have on their academic achievement. CHAPTER 1 Introduction A conflict exists when actions come into opposition. Conflict can occur within an individual, group, organization, institution, or nation. Conflicts can cross boundaries. They can occur between individuals and institutions, and across cultures. How we manage or resolve conflicts is the central issue. Today, underlying the violence that surrounds our schools, neighborhoods, and communities are conflicts which have never been addressed or have been improperly resolved. Indeed in a diverse and complex society, Conflict Resolution Programs are much needed and an important component of all schools. In the 60’s

and 70’s this need was understood by the Quakers and peace activists. In the early 1980’s, Educators for Social Responsibility examined alternative strategies of dealing with violence. The Children’s Creative Response to Conflict, the Community Board’s Program, and the Peace Education Foundation were in the forefront of the movement. In 1984 the National Association of Mediation (NAME) was formed which served as a clearinghouse for information and training for school- based conflict resolution programs. In 1983 the National Institute of Dispute Resolution (NIDR) was formed to promote the development of conflict resolution tools and processes. Several types of programs have now emerged in schools of a collaborative and cooperative problem-solving approach involving

processes such as negotiation, conciliation, mediation, fact finding, and arbitration. The Gandhian method of conflict resolution, called “satyagraha”, or truth force, is concerned with human needs and recognizes the importance of resolving the “conflict triangle”: the attitude, the behavior, and the goal incompatibility itself. For Gandhi the desired outcome of a conflict is in the creation of a better social structure, and a greater degree of human unity. (C.W. Post Library on Nonviolence). Conflict resolution in the inner city schools is quickly becoming an epidemic. Many schools have implemented preventative programs which include both uniformed and undercover armed guards to metal detectors to metal detectors in the school hallways. Though one New York City study