"This is an excellent comprehensive survey and guide to conflict resolution education that should be of great value to all educators."
—
Morton Deutsch, professor, International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, Teacher's College, Columbia University
"From program design to an extensive list of resources, Bodine and Crawford provide many excellent examples of current best thinking and current best practice concerning conflict resolution programs in schools."
—Thomas J. Switzer, dean, College of Education, University of Northern Iowa
Safe and orderly environments in schools are essential to promoting high standards for learning and ensuring that all children have the opportunity to develop their fullest potential. Too often, however, young people face conflicts before, during, and after school. Adults cannot solve young peoples' problems for them. But they can provide them with the knowledge, skills, and encouragement to resolve conflict in a nonviolent manner—using words instead of fists or weapons. Conflict resolution education is the key to making it happen.
Sponsored by the National Institute for Dispute Resolution (NIDR), The Handbook of Conflict Resolution Education is a one-stop resource for planning, developing, and implementing conflict resolution programs in K-12 schools. Authors Richard Bodine and Donna Crawford draw on extensive practical experience—as public school teachers and administrators—to offer a fundamental, comprehensive resource for every school or district that wants to incorporate conflict resolution principles, skills, and philosophy into the way children are educated.
Based on the principles of cooperation and problem solving, conflict resolution helps students solve problems themselves by identifying underlying needs and finding solutions that meet everyone's interests to the fullest extent possible. With an easy-to-use workbook format, The Handbook of Conflict Resolution Education takes readers step-by-step through developing a successful program.
In a shared vision that each and every school will provide a safe and welcoming environment for learning, Bodine, Crawford, and NIDR provide administrators and teachers with everything they need to get started on a conflict resolution program. A program that will not only assist students in finding alternatives to violence, but will also support them in developing the social competencies of cooperation, empathy, creative problem solving, social cognitive skills, and relationship skills—core abilities that will give them the tools they need to resolve disputes—both in school and in the greater community—in a safe and nonviolent manner.
