Essay on Conflict Resolution and Mediation to End School Violence

The issue of school violence is very negative for most schools. School violence in the United States leads many people to panic when they consider the issue. Violence in school takes many forms and includes, raping, bullying, stealing, harming and killing other students or members of staff. It is essential that teachers, students, parents and schools take the necessary measures to curb this violent attitude in children. Such an attitude will negatively affect their future emotionally and academically..

Since the establishment of public education in the United States, schools have provided a sense of security and belonging to their students. Although sitting through lectures and doing homework may not be the most exciting thing in the world, students will always have a lunch to eat, a roof over their head, and a supportive teacher or counselor that they can talk to. Despite the “safe” environment and presence of authoritative figures on school campuses, trouble always finds a way to break out. Simple misbehaving and occasional fights are a common occurrence on most school campuses, however a new breed of troublesome and violent students has hatched. The

As violence in the community makes its way into the schools, it is pertinent that school administrators have a plan in place to help reduce and eliminate acts of violence within their classrooms (Lunenburg, 2011). Becoming proactive, rather than reactive, is crucial because according the to the National Crime Survey conducted in 2004, “the number of crimes committed at or near the 85,000 U. S. public schools was estimated at more than 3 million annually, with 185,580 people injured…on any given day, it was not uncommon for students to carry guns to school” (Lunenburg, 2011, p.

There are three major conflict interventions: mediation, arbitration, and negotiation. Each of these interventions have pros and cons. Mediation is the one intervention that incorporates creativity in the resolution process so it benefits all disputants involved. Mediation also promotes collaboration and cooperation more so than arbitration and negotiation do. It is also a more cost efficient for the disputants and is more likely to resolve conflicts quicker. Mediators help defuse anger, improve communication, and specifically work on trust building. Mediation ensures that the matter can be handled privately without risk of public reprimand. On the other hand, mediation does not always result in a settlement like arbitration does. Mediation

It is important to define few key words under this subject of School Violence and the School System as a starting point. “The term school system generally refers to public schooling, not private schooling, and more commonly to kindergarten through high school programs” (Abbott, 2015). Schools are knowledge centers where people receive formal education; that is a form of learning “in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through” teaching, training, or research (Abbott, 2015). School violence is any form of violent activities in the school premises. This situation does not affect students, it affects teachers and parents. Many schools

Totally elimination school violence is nearly impossible. However, preventing or reducing the number of incidents is possible. There are three important strategies that are essential to use in the study of reducing and preventing school violence.

While some schools have protocols and procedures for such acts of violence, one has to ask, was it not preventable? Is there not some way to teach people to deal with their issues in a non-violent way? And if there were methods of developing some social and emotional skills among students, could they help prevent emotional and physical harm inflicted on so many people every day? Unfortunately, many times this is left up to parental guidance. Many parents are unaware how to teach and

Mediation is a preventative method of alternative dispute resolution, which does not prevent conflict but in this application would allow students to seek resolutions other than violence and avoid the consequence of formal discipline (CommunityMediation, by NAFCM, 2010; Costantino, Merchant, & Ury, 1996). From the video, one would infer there is a substantial need for a school peer mediation program as evidenced by the sharing of several incidents of conflicts between students (CommunityMediation, by NAFCM, 2010). According to Bush and Folger (1994), in addition to resolving conflicts, the mediation process can facilitate the strengthening of the student’s ability to deal with difficulties, by engaging in deliberate reflection, choice and action,

Due to the increased violence in educational settings in recent years “law enforcement and school officials are searching for solutions to reduce school violence generally and weapons-related violence more specifically” (Wylie, et al., 2010). Extreme punitive policies such as zero tolerance, and increased school security systems have not been met with much success in decreasing the problem. Therefore, “policy makers are exploring alternatives” (Wylie, et al., 2010). The purpose of this research study

Creating a positive, proactive and peaceful learning environment is one of the primary goals in the contemporary classroom. Over the past few decades, however, violence has unfortunately

If there is violence in our schools, our children may regress or may not be able to learn the necessary skills that will allow them to become productive members of society. One way for this to be solved is for harsher punishments to be placed. Obviously, students or criminals are not getting “the picture” if they keep repeating the same crime over. If the consequences have to be worse than jail time then so be it. These harsher punishments hopefully will be a scare tactic so no one thinks that they can start violence in schools. If this problem is not solved, our future may be at stake. Overall, that is how we can fix “Violence in Schools.”

does depends on their punishment. A lot of times when a person fights someone, they will get

There are three major conflict management strategies to resolving conflicts. It starts with reconciling the interests of each party, assessing who is right, and determining who is more powerful. First, an interest-based approach allows disputants to focus on reconciling their underlying interests. They can do this through negotiation, facilitated alternative dispute resolution, or mediation. It requires each party to be open about their wants, needs, fears, and concerns. It also need them to be willing to listen and understand each other point of view. Generally, this means moving away from positions and instead, figuring out why each person hold these positions. By focusing on each person interests, parties

School-based violence is not a problem confined to schools but is a complex, multifaceted societal issue (Antonowicz, 2012). School violence is often correlated to cultural traditions, traditions, political agendas, breakdowns in communication, and weaknesses in the education system (Antonowicz, 2010). When addressing school violence, educational institutions should create environments that have an awareness of the causes, prevalence and a plan of action to respond to the situation.

A conflict is a disagreement between two individuals. A conflict resolution is both individuals having an understanding and coming to an agreement on the conflict. The conflict can be resolved by both parties having a perspective of the other point of views. According to, Bisno, H. (1988)," Conflict, arguments, and change are natural parts of our lives, as well as the lives of every agency, organization, and nation. Conflict resolution is a way for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them. The disagreement may be personal, financial, political, or emotional. When a dispute arises, often the best course of action is negotiation to resolve the disagreement. The goals of negotiation is to produce a solution that all parties can agree to, work as quickly as possible to find this solution, and improve, not hurt, the relationship between the groups in conflict. Conflict resolution through negotiation can be good for all parties involved. Often, each side will get more by participating in negotiations than they would by walking away, and it can be a way for your group to get resources that might otherwise be out of reach."