The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program: how we know it works

The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) is a K-12 program characterized by a comprehensive, multi-year strategy for preventing violence and creating caring and peaceable communities of learning that improve school success for all children. First developed as an initiative of the New York City Public Schools and the Educators for Social Responsibility NYC chapter (ESR Metro) in 1985, RCCP now serves more than 400 schools in 16 urban, suburban, and rural school districts across the United States. Throughout its history, local sites have evaluated the effectiveness of RCCP in their settings and how well RCCP met local goals and objectives. While the research questions have differed somewhat from site to site, there is sufficient similarity in the results to determine that RCCP is effective. In this article, the results of individual assessments are presented and trends across sites are noted.

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THE RESOLVING CONFLICT CREATIVELY Program (RCCP) is a core initiative of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), a not-for-profit organization located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1982, ESR's mission is to make teaching social responsibility a core practice in education so young people develop the convictions and skills to shape a safe, sustainable, democratic, and just world. ESR offers comprehensive programs, staff development, and other resources for adults who teach children and young people at every developmental level, preschool through high school, in a range of settings: K-12 schools, early childhood centers, and after-school programs.

RCCP is a research-based K-12 school program in social and emotional learning. It is one of the largest and longest-running school programs focusing on conflict resolution and intergroup relations in the United States. RCCP is characterized by a comprehensive strategy for preventing violence and creating caring and peaceable communities of learning, which is implemented over several years. The primary goal of RCCP is to ensure that young people develop the social and emotional skills needed to reduce violence and prejudice, form caring relationships, and build healthy lives. RCCP works to change school cultures so that these skills are both modeled and taught as part of the basics in education.

RCCP began in 1985 as a collaboration of the New York City Public Schools and Educators for Social Responsibility's New York chapter (ESR Metro). The RCCP National Center was established in 1993 to forge multi-year partnerships with school districts to support RCCP dissemination efforts throughout the United States.

There's no question that RCCP works. We have data from a variety of locations that show it makes a difference in how students think about themselves and others, how they get along, and how teachers think about and interact with students. I know by visiting and working with the school staff implementing RCCP in urban, rural, and suburban sites across the country that while the heart of RCCP is difficult to measure statistically, within an RCCP school, people know it's there.

A challenge in summarizing and synthesizing RCCP evaluation results is that the evaluations are generally sponsored by and conducted for local schools and districts. Independent evaluators conduct studies to measure outcomes that meet local goals and objectives, and to show that their RCCP program is making a difference in their schools with their students. We wouldn't have it any other way. And while the data collected is similar across sites, it differs enough to caution not to make assumptions about all RCCP implementations everywhere.

A strength of RCCP is that it encompasses sufficient flexibility in its application that it truly becomes part of the fabric of the learning community where it is used. We have been able to glean some common outcomes among the various studies of RCCP. This article will share what we've found through the evaluation studies, what we've learned about what works when a district decides to implement a program like RCCP, and what can get in the way of successful implementation and outcomes. RCCP has been evaluated from several perspectives in recent years.

What Happens in RCCP Schools?

In Anchorage, Alaska (see Table 1), where RCCP has been implemented for 15 years, teachers observed children learning and practicing positive communication skills--not only in the classroom but also in the cafeteria, on the playground, and in the hallways. Through classroom instruction, practice, and through observing adult modeling, children have learned to deal with difficult emotions in appropriate ways, solve problems, resolve and manage conflict, manage their own behavior, and appreciate and celebrate each other's differences (Metis, 1999). In New York City and Atlanta (see Tables 2, 3, and 4), teachers reported that children were spontaneously using conflict resolution skills. Children were more cooperative, aware of feelings and how to express them appropriately, and there was less violence in their classrooms (Metis, 1990, 1997).