10.4 Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution Programs

10.4 Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution Programs

Quick Summary: The ETS topics ask you to know the purpose of peer mediation and conflict resolution and to apply their techniques. Mediation is voluntary, confidential within safety limits, and focused on interests rather than blame. It is not appropriate for bullying, abuse, or violence, where power is unequal or safety is at stake. ASCA Standard A.8 sets the ethical rules for peer-support programs.

---

Why Schools Teach Conflict Resolution

Conflict is normal; how students handle it shapes school climate, discipline rates, and instructional time. Conflict resolution education builds skills that match ASCA behavior standards such as B-SMS 2 (self-discipline and self-control), B-SS 4 (empathy), and B-SS 6 (collaboration and cooperation). Crawford and Bodine (1996) described four common approaches: teaching a process curriculum, running a peer mediation program, building peaceable classrooms, and developing a peaceable school.

Conflict Styles

The Thomas-Kilmann model describes five styles along two dimensions, assertiveness and cooperativeness:

Lessons help students recognize their default style and practice collaborating.

Interest-Based Problem Solving

Fisher and Ury's Getting to Yes principles translate well to student disputes:

1. Separate the people from the problem.
2. Focus on interests (why someone wants something), not positions (what they demand).
3. Invent options for mutual gain.
4. Use objective criteria.

Example: two students both claim the basketball court at lunch (positions). One wants to practice free throws for tryouts; the other wants a pickup game with friends (interests). Options: share half-courts or alternate days.

The Peer Mediation Process

Trained student mediators, usually working in pairs, follow a script:

1. Introductions and ground rules: participation is voluntary; take turns without interrupting; no name-calling; what is said stays private except safety concerns; mediators are neutral and do not judge or punish.
2. Each disputant tells their story while mediators paraphrase and reflect feelings.
3. Identify the issues and underlying interests.
4. Brainstorm solutions without judging them.
5. Evaluate options and agree on specific, balanced, realistic steps.
6. Write and sign the agreement.
7. Follow up to see whether the agreement is holding.

When Mediation Is Not Appropriate

Mediation assumes both parties have roughly equal power and share responsibility for the conflict. Do not mediate:

• Bullying: the power imbalance means mediation can re-victimize the target and imply shared blame; StopBullying.gov advises against peer mediation for bullying.
• Abuse, sexual harassment, dating violence, weapons, drugs, or threats of serious harm: these require reporting and administrative action (ASCA A.9, A.11, and A.12; Title IX).
• A disputant in crisis or participating involuntarily.

Ethical Standards for Peer Programs (ASCA A.8)

School counselors who run peer-support programs:

• Share the program's goals and purpose with stakeholders.
• Safeguard the welfare of students participating in peer-to-peer programs.
• Protect the confidentiality of students receiving peer support.
• Select peer helpers who reflect the diversity of the population served and provide equitable access.
• Develop, train, and supervise peer helpers using culturally relevant frameworks that promote inclusion and belonging.
• Tell peer helpers when they must report information to a responsible adult at school.

Restorative Practices

Restorative approaches repair harm rather than only punishing it. Common restorative questions ask: What happened? What were you thinking at the time? Who has been affected, and how? What needs to happen to make things right? Proactive circles build community; responsive circles address harm after it occurs. Counselors may facilitate circles or train staff, but ASCA A.11.g reminds them to defer to administration on discipline.

Counselor Role and Program Data

Evaluate the program with participation data (number of mediations), Mindsets & Behaviors data (mediators' and disputants' skills on pre/post measures), and outcome data (repeat referrals and suspensions).

Training and Supervising Peer Mediators

A mediation program is only as safe as its training. Counselors typically:

• Recruit broadly: invite nominations from students and staff and select mediators who reflect the student body, not only high achievers (A.8.d).
• Train before mediators work alone: active listening, paraphrasing, neutral language, the mediation script, cultural awareness, the limits of confidentiality, and the situations that must go straight to an adult (threats, abuse, self-harm, weapons, bullying).
• Practice with role-plays of common conflicts—rumors, lunch-table disputes, game disagreements—until mediators can follow the steps without prompting.
• Supervise every session: an adult stays nearby, reviews each written agreement, and debriefs mediators, who may carry emotional weight from what they hear.
• Review data each term: how many referrals, how many agreements held at follow-up, and whether repeat conflicts and referrals fell.

A written agreement should name who will do what, by when, and what happens if the agreement breaks down (for example, returning to mediation or meeting with the counselor).

Praxis Application

Scenario: A seventh grader has been mocked and shoved daily by a group of larger students. A teacher suggests peer mediation "so they can work it out."

Analysis: This is bullying, with a power imbalance and repetition. The counselor does not recommend mediation; the counselor reports the bullying to administration, supports the target with a safety plan and counseling, and supports separate interventions for the students who bullied.