Training Elementary School Students to Manage Conflict
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12926/qzjefc10Keywords:
ConflictAbstract
The effectiveness of a peer mediation program in a midwestem, suburban school in the United States was examined. Six classes (one combination second/ third grade, one third grade, two fourth grades, and two fifth grades) containing 144 students received 9 hr of training in negotiating integrative agreements to their conflicts and mediating their classmates' conflicts. Eighty-three untrained third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders served as a control group. A peer mediation program was implemented. The role of mediator was rotated equally among all class members. A pretest/posttest, experimental/control group design was used. The results indicate that students successfully learned the negotiation and mediation procedures, were able to apply the procedures in actual conflict situations, and maintained this knowledge throughout the academic year.
References
Araki, C. (1990). Dispute management in schools. Mediation Quarterly, 8, 51-62.
Davis, A. (1986). Dispute resolution at an early age. Negotiation Journal, 2, 287-297.
Deutsch, M. (1973). The constructive resolution of conflict. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Flavell, J. (1985). Cognitive development (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall.
Johnson, D. W. (1971). Role reversal: A summary and review of the research. International Journal of Group Tensions, 1, 318-334.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, F. (1994). Joining together: Group theory and group skills (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1995). Teaching students to be peacemakers (3rd ed.). Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1995). My mediation notebook (3rd ed.). Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.
Johnson, D. W. Johnson, R., & Dudley, B. (1992). Effects of peer mediation training on elementary school students. Mediation Quarterly, 10, 89-99.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R., Dudley, B., & Acikgoz, K. (1994). Effects of conflict resolution training on elementary school students. The Journal of Social Psychology, 134, 803-817.
Lam, J. (1989). The impact of conflict resolution programs on schools: A review and synthesis of the evidence (2nd ed.). Amherst, MA: National Association for Mediation in Education.
Marshall, J. (1987). Mediation: A new mode of establishing order in schools. Howard Journal, 26, 33 4 6 .
Maxwell, J. (1989). Mediation in the schools: Self-regulation, self-esteem, and selfdiscipline. Mediation Quarterly, 7, 149--155.
Moriarty, A., & McDonald, S. (1991). Mediation as a form of peer-based conflict resolution. In R. Constable, J. Flynn, & S. McDonald (Eds.), School social work: Practice and research perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 62-87). Chicago: Lyceum Books.
Pruitt, D., & Lewis, S. (1977). The psychology of integrative bargaining. In D. Druckman (Ed.), Negotiations: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 161--192). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Rifkin, J. (1991 ). An overview of dispute resolution in educational institutions. Forum: Dispute resolution in education. Amherst, MA: National Institute for Dispute Resolution. Stop the violence. (1994, January). Scholastic Update, pp. 2 6 .
Tolson, E., McDonald, S., & Moriarty, A. (1992). Peer mediation among high school students: A test of effectiveness. Social Work in Education, 14, 86 93.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.