Conflict Resolution Education A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings Program Report Donna Crawford and Richard Bodine Shay Bilchik, Administrator Gerald N. Tirozzi, Assistant Secretary Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Office of Elementary and Secondary Education U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Education October 1996 i The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime. The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is a component of the U.S. Department of Education. Among the programs within the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program. ii onflict is a natural, vital part of life. When conflict is understood, C it can become an opportunity to learn and create. The challenge for people in conflict is to apply the principles of creative coopera- tion in their human relationships. Richard Bodine, Donna Crawford, and Fred Schrumpf Creating the Peaceable School: A Comprehensive Program for Teaching Conflict Resolution iii Foreword Safe and orderly environments in our Nation’s schools are essential to promoting high standards for learning and ensuring that all children have the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. No teacher should ever fear to walk into a classroom, and no child should ever stay home from school because he or she is afraid. Too often, however, young people face conflicts before, during, and after school. They are subjected to bully- ing, teasing, and senseless, sometimes fatal, disputes over clothing and other possessions. Many of these con- flicts either begin at school, or they are brought into school from the home or the community. A growing body of evidence suggests that we are not powerless to prevent these destructive behaviors. We can intervene successfully to prevent conflicts from escalating into violent acts by providing young people with the knowledge and skills needed to settle disputes peacefully. Conflict resolution education can help bring about significant reductions in suspensions, disciplinary referrals, academic disruptions, playground fights, and fam- ily and sibling disputes. It is important to understand that conflict resolution education is a critical component of comprehensive, community-based efforts to prevent violence and reduce crime. Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Com- munity and Juvenile Justice Settings was developed for educators, juvenile justice practitioners, and others in youth-serving organizations to heighten awareness of conflict resolution education and its potential to help settle disputes peacefully in a variety of settings. A joint project of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, this Guide provides background information on conflict resolution education; an overview of four widely used, promising, and effective approaches; and guidance on how to initiate and implement conflict resolution education programs in various settings. As adults, we cannot solve young people’s problems for them. We can, however, provide them with the knowl- edge, skills, and encouragement to resolve conflicts in a nonviolent manner, using words instead of fists or weapons. Conflict resolution education includes negotiation, mediation, and consensus decisionmaking, which allow all parties involved to explore peaceful solutions to a conflict. When these problem-solving processes to conflict and strife become a way of life, young people begin to value getting along instead of getting even or getting their way. We urge you to help make our schools and our communities safer places. We invite you to use this Guide as a means of working with your schools, community organizations, and other youth-serving and juvenile justice settings to give our youth the skills, techniques, and tools they need to learn and to resolve disputes in a safe and nonviolent environment. Janet Reno Richard W. Riley Attorney General Secretary of Education v Acknowledgments The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) recognize the dedica- tion and commitment of Donni LeBoeuf, Senior Program Manager, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin- quency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, DOJ; and Charlotte Gillespie, Group Leader, Program Service Team, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, ED. Their diligence, work, and enthusiasm for this project have helped to bring the vision of this Guide to fruition. We are indebted to Donna Crawford and Richard Bodine of the Illinois Institute for Dispute Resolution who spent countless hours writing and refining the manuscript to convey the variety of approaches within the field of conflict resolution education and the potential of all these approaches for bringing about peaceful resolution of disputes in a number of settings. We also thank Judith Filner of the National Institute for Dispute Resolution for her work in drafting an ini- tial outline for the manuscript and providing her knowledge of effective and promising programs. In addition, we thank the following members of the Conflict Resolution Education Planning Committee whose ideas and expertise helped bring this project to its completion: Lee Arbetman, Margery Baker, Shay Bilchik, Noël Brennan, Eileen M. Garry, George Henderson, Emily Martin, William Modzeleski, Gail Padgett, John J. Wilson, and Judith Zimmer. We are grateful to the following individuals for their counsel, guidance, and support throughout this project: Terry Amsler, Ron Ativissimo, Rebecca Atnafou, Vicki Baldwin, Linda Barnes-Robinson, Marcia Choo, Richard Cohen, Irene Cooper-Basch, Jared Curhan, Mary Czajkowski, Robin Delany-Shabazz, Larry Dieringer, Dennis D. Embry, Lucy Friedman, Lynn Glassman, Barbara Greenberg, Mark Greenberg, J. David Hawkins, Shelia Heen, Patti Holman, David Johnson, Ted Johnson, Marianne Klink, Nancy Langan, Linda Lantieri, Linda Lausell, Ray Leal, Raúl Martinez, John Mazzarella, Pamela Moore, Marilyn Moses, Cheryl Niro, Dennis Noonan, Gayle Olson-Raymer, Laura Otey, Kenneth E. Powell, Ellen Raider, Tom Roderick, Laura Parker Roerden, David Roush, Melinda Smith, Ronald Stephens, Susan Stroud, Marcia Sweedler, Annette Townley, Lloyd H. Van Bylevelt, Martin Walsh, and Terry Wheeler. This Guide would not have been possible without the steadfast effort and careful review provided by all of these experts and practitioners. Finally, we wish to express our appreciation to the staff of the Juvenile Justice Resource Center, especially Laurie Shah and Janet McNaughton, who gathered information, edited the manuscript, and prepared the document for publication. Additionally, the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, under the guidance of Catherine Doyle, deserves our thanks for their work in bringing the final manuscript through the publication process. vii Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................... vii Prologue............................................................................................................................................................... xv Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Purposes of Conflict Resolution Education ................................................................................................. 1 Responsible Citizenship ............................................................................................................................. 1 Violence Prevention and Safe Schools ...................................................................................................... 2 Systemic Change ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Rationale for Establishing Conflict Resolution Programs ......................................................................... 3 How the Guide Is Organized .......................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1: Understanding Conflict Resolution ..................................................................................... 7 Origins of Conflict .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Basic Psychological Needs ......................................................................................................................... 7 Limited Resources ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Different Values.......................................................................................................................................... 8 Responses to Conflict .....................................................................................................................................