NCJ Number
143894
Date Published
1990
Length
300 pages
Annotation
This manual presents a curriculum intended to develop skills that will enable youth to reduce the tensions and hostilities associated with conflict, learn how to acknowledge one another, and learn how to come to an understanding based on the real needs of both people involved in the dispute.
Abstract
The curriculum has been field tested by hundreds of educators in public and private school classrooms, correctional facilities, employment-preparation programs for youth, and groups of students with severe behavior problems. The curriculum rests on the view that conflict is positive and can enhance important relationships. The five sections focus on helping youth define the major kinds of conflicts and common societal messages about conflict and consider the three basic styles of resolving conflicts (avoidance, confrontation, and problemsolving) and the effectiveness of each. They also describe the communication process and the factors that influence it, provide skill building in basic positive communication behaviors, provide practice in an informal collaborative conflict resolution process, and describe third-party processes. Lesson plans, activities, worksheets, and appended background information and list of 17 references