Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
EdD Program in Child and Youth Studies
Advisor
Bruce Brydges
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Rochelle Green
Keywords
adolescents, behavior improvement, conflict resolution, critical listening skills, critical thinking skills, disruptive behavior, dispute resolution skills, in-school suspension, mediation, mutual agreements, peer mediation, peer mediation skills, principal referrals, school administrators, secondary students, student behavior, student conflicts, student mediators, student suspensions, violence prevention curriculum, violence-based suspensions
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to improve student behavior and provide a reduction in violence-based suspensions through the use of peer-mediation. Students at the secondary grade levels were being removed out of their regular classroom at an alarming rate because of their disruptive behavior. School administrators had few alternatives except to suspend or place these disruptive students in “In School Suspension”.
The writer implemented a peer-mediation program to provide another alternative to allow students involved in conflicts to remain in their regular classroom These students were given the opportunity to work through their own conflicts with the assistance of other student mediators serving as neutral third parties. These daily sessions of mediations provided a safe and non-threatening environment without adult intervention. Through these sessions students were able to improve their critical listening and thinking skills as they formed mutual agreements.
An analysis of the data revealed a decrease in the amount of days students were suspended as well as the amount of times they were sent to the counselor’s office for disruptive behavior. Although the use of Peer Mediation did not meet the desired outcome for referrals to the principal’s office, the data did reveal that the total amount of referrals to the principal’s office did decrease from the previous school year.