Integrating conflict resolution training into the curriculum

All students can be taught how to manage conflicts constructively by integrating training into the existing school curriculum. This article describes a practical and effective approach to curriculum-integrated conflict resolution training that involves students in repeatedly using integrative negotiation and peer mediation procedures to resolve diverse conflicts found in subject matter. Research results indicate that this approach to conflict training not only enables students to learn, use, and develop more positive attitudes toward conflict resolution, it also enhances academic achievement.

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COMPETING PRIORITIES POSE A dilemma for educators who wish to teach students conflict resolution and peer mediation skills, yet cannot find the time to do so. No matter how virtuous conflict resolution training seems for the social and moral development of young people, many question the wisdom of squeezing one more requirement into an already overcrowded curriculum, especially in the face of pressure to enhance academic achievement and increase standardized test scores in U.S. schools (see the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).

Conflict resolution training, however, has the potential to positively affect academic learning by equipping students with interpersonal skills that support collaborative school environments that are conducive to achievement. In fact, many of the social skills that enable successful teamwork (e.g., presenting positions, listening attentively, communicating understanding, generating integrative solutions, and reaching mutual agreement on the best course of action) are the same skills that underlie constructive conflict resolution. Empirical evidence indicates that without training, many students may never learn such skills (D.W. Johnson & R.T. Johnson, 1996).

One solution to the training dilemma lies in adopting a curriculum-integrated approach to teaching all students conflict resolution and peer mediation skills. Although the idea of integrating conflict resolution training into the curriculum is not new--especially in English literature and social studies (e.g., Christenbury, 1995; Compton, 1998; Pereira & Watkins, 1997)--until recently little substantive information existed on the feasibility or effectiveness of doing so. Over the past decade, however, systematic research on the impact of integrating the Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers (TSP) Program (D.W. Johnson & R.T. Johnson, 1995) into a variety of curricula across age levels and educational settings has produced a body of evidence that consistently shows multiple benefits for constructive conflict resolution as well as academic learning. This article describes the practical curriculum-integrated conflict resolution training procedures used in the TSP Program research and summarizes the outcomes that educators can expect when implementing this approach.

Curriculum-Integrated Conflict Training

Successfully integrating conflict resolution and peer mediation training into the school curriculum does not require the purchase of new student materials or instructional resources; nor does it require the development of new courses or units of study. Instead, curriculum-integrated conflict training starts with teachers examining the content of their existing curricula and identifying where conflicts occur. Conflicts especially abound in English literature, language arts, social studies, and the humanities. Open any novel or storybook, for example, and you will find conflict almost immediately. Conflict "hooks" us, piques our curiosity, and makes us wonder how each dilemma will be resolved.

Similarly, conflicts in the social sciences--including history, civics, government, economics, and so on--also capture attention, arouse concern, and stir emotion. Conflicts over resource allocation, land use, energy consumption, health care, affirmative action, and educational effectiveness, to name only a few, provide endless opportunities for deliberation. The central question for students becomes: What creative solutions can be crafted by applying constructive conflict resolution procedures to each problem?

Regardless of the subject matter, incorporating conflict resolution and peer mediation training into academics basically involves using constructive negotiation and mediation procedures to resolve issues embedded in the content. Essentially this entails

* establishing cooperative classroom conditions conducive to teaching, practicing, and using constructive conflict resolution skills;

* defining conflict and teaching students how to identify concrete examples that exist in the curriculum;

* practicing conflict resolution by applying integrative negotiation and peer mediation procedures to resolve the curricular-embedded conflicts;

* processing the effectiveness of each practice episode to plan for future refinement; and

* applying the procedures and skills to constructively resolve actual conflicts that occur in classrooms and schools.