There are compelling, valid reasons for every school to implement a program to teach youth conflict resolution:
- The problem-solving processes of conflict resolution (negotiation, mediation, and consensus decisionmaking) can improve the school climate.
- Conflict resolution strategies can reduce violence, vandalism, chronic school absence, and suspension.
- Conflict resolution training helps students and teachers deepen their understanding of themselves and others and develops important life skills.
- Training in negotiation, mediation, and consensus decisionmaking encourages a high level of citizenship activity.
- Shifting the responsibility for solving nonviolent conflicts to students frees adults to concentrate more on teaching and less on discipline.
- Behavior management systems that are more effective than detention, suspension, or expulsion are needed to deal with conflict in the school setting.
- Conflict resolution training increases skills in listening, critical thinking, and problem solving - - skills basic to all learning.
- Conflict resolution education emphasizes seeing other points of view and resolving differences peacefully -- skills that assist one to live in a multicultural world.
- Negotiation and mediation are problem-solving tools that are well suited to the problems that young people face, and those trained in these approaches often use them to solve problems for which they would not seek adult help.
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