This Issue

This issue of Theory Into Practice is devoted to the topic of conflict resolution training in schools. Teaching children, adolescents, and young adults how to manage conflicts constructively is of great interest to educators, parents, and citizens all over the world. This concern is based on (among other things) the awareness that (a) a sizable proportion of students in many different countries report feeling unsafe or fearful of violence in their schools, and (b) an increasing number of teachers and administrators face situations involving serious conflicts among students and between students and faculty. Underlying the work on conflict resolution training described in this issue are two assumptions. The first is that by teaching students the skills, competencies, conceptual understandings, attitudes, and values necessary to resolve conflicts constructively, a safe and productive learning climate will be created. The second is that when students master the competencies and attitudes they need to resolve conflicts constructively, as adults they will value conflicts for their potential positive outcomes, face the conflicts in their lives rather than avoid them, and resolve conflicts constructively for the rest of their lives. Thus, there are both immediate and long-term goals connected with conflict resolution training.

In response to the concern about destructive conflicts in schools, a wide variety of conflict resolution and peer mediation training programs have been developed and implemented. These programs may be classified according to (a) whether they are based on social science theory or are atheoretical and (b) whether or not they have been validated by research. The more a conflict resolution program is clearly based on theory and validated by research, the greater the likelihood it will have permanent impact and be institutionalized into schools. Many of the conflict resolution programs that are being implemented in schools consist of a set of lessons that teach a variety of social skills such as communication and decision making. While certainly helpful, such programs are not based on a comprehensive or coherent conceptual framework based on theories of conflict resolution and related phenomena (such as healthy social and cognitive development, coping with adversity, and self-efficacy). In other words, many programs are atheoretical. Atheoretical programs, while helpful in the short run, usually do not become institutionalized or widely adopted. The first purpose of this issue, therefore, is to bring together in one source many of the conflict resolution programs that are based on social science theory.

Many conflict resolution programs, furthermore, have never been evaluated. Without assessing the effectiveness of a conflict resolution program, there is no rationale for implementing it year after year, expanding its implementation to other schools and districts, and institutionalizing it. The second purpose of this issue is to present many of the conflict resolution programs that have been extensively evaluated and validated by research.

Many of the conflict resolution programs that are being implemented in schools originated from teachers brainstorming the skills students needed to manage conflicts constructively. While such authorship often increases the commitment of the teachers to implement the program, the programs may include only part of the competencies and attitudes needed to manage conflicts constructively. To be comprehensive, programs need to be based on a coherent conceptual framework that allows their effectiveness to be assessed. Our third purpose in this issue is to present some of the most comprehensive, theory-based, and researched programs available to schools.

Conflict resolution programs are being developed and implemented in several parts of the world, yet in many cases, interested educators are unaware of the work being conducted outside of their country. The fourth purpose of this issue is to describe the conflict resolution work being done in various parts of the world—including Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Canada, and several countries in Europe as well as the United States.

The effectiveness of conflict resolution programs increases as they are integrated into the ongoing school curriculum and placed in the overall context of school life. The fifth purpose of this issue is to present research and training that places conflict resolution training in the broader context of...