NCJ Number
160450
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
An evaluation of the impact of a school-based peer mediation program on disputants revealed that students who received mediation were referred significantly less for additional interpersonal conflicts than were students who received traditional school discipline.
Abstract
The high school in which the project was conducted was part of a suburban district and served 1,070 students in grades 9-12. The mediation program followed the general outlines of most peer mediation programs. A group of students was selected and trained as mediators by a social worker hired by the district as a consultant. Students who experienced interpersonal conflicts were referred to the mediators for assistance in resolving the disputes. The research compared students who received mediation with those who received traditional discipline. Students were randomly assigned to the two approaches. The research followed the students during the 49 school days following the discipline or mediation. Findings indicated that mediation was more effective than traditional discipline in reducing the number of interpersonal conflicts. However, the findings cannot be generalized, because the study took place in only one school. Future research should include more schools and also take into account the drop in referrals for interpersonal conflict during the year the program was implemented, both in the school studied and in at least two other programs. Tables and 10 references