Coleman - Conflict Resolutions of Multiple Levels across Lifespan.pdf - Socjologia - Piffony

Running head: ICCCR CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Conflict Resolution at Multiple Levels across the Lifespan:

The Work of the ICCCR

Peter T. Coleman

International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution

Box 53

Teachers College, Columbia University

525 West 120 th St.

New York, NY 10027

(212) 678-3112

E-mail: pc84@columbia.edu

and

Beth Fisher-Yoshida

International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution

Box 53

Teachers College, Columbia University

525 West 120 th St.

New York, NY 10027

(212) 678-8106

E-mail: fisher-yoshida@exchange.tc.columbia.edu

ICCCR Conflict Resolution 2

Conflict Resolution at Multiple Levels across the Lifespan:

The Work of the ICCCR

In 2001, 17.3% of high school students in the United States admitted to carrying a

weapon in the last 30 days (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002). Reported

incidents of school violence remain at an all-time high, with 1-in-20 students claiming to

miss school during the 30 days preceding the survey because they felt too unsafe to go.

Alienated youth between the ages of 15-19 continue to commit suicide at an alarmingly

increasing rate (Anderson, 2001). And ongoing conflicts between parents, teachers, and

administrators, different racial and ethnic groups, and members of vastly disparate

socioeconomic groups in our schools continued to have destructive consequences on the

quality of life and education of our young people.

It would be a mistake to assume that the causes of such problems reside only or

primarily in the school. Child abuse and neglect, a culture of violence, economic and

social injustice, the easy availability of weapons, and many other factors contribute to the

occurrence of personal and interpersonal conflict and violence but are largely not under

school control. Nevertheless, there is much that schools and communities can do to

prevent violence and alienation and counteract the harmful influences emanating from

outside the school. In recent years it has been increasingly recognized that our schools

and communities have to change in basic ways if we are to raise and educate children so

that they are for rather than against one another, so that they develop the ability to

resolve their conflicts constructively rather than destructively, so that they are prepared to

contribute to the development of a peaceful and just world.

ICCCR Conflict Resolution 3

In this article, we present an overview of the work of the International Center for

Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. This

work is aimed at transforming individuals, schools and communities. We begin by

outlining the basic elements of our theoretical approach and then present four projects

initiated by our Center over the past decade which span from work with pre-schoolers to

work with delegates to the United Nations. We conclude by presenting a set of practical

guidelines for implementing conflict resolution interventions in schools and communities.

Our thesis is that schools, communities and other organizations can create caring,

cooperative environments characterized by a culture of peace and, in doing so, can

prevent much of the violence within our communities.

The ICCCR

The International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) was

founded in 1986 by Professor Emeritus Morton Deutsch, a world-renowned scholar in

conflict resolution. In 1988, Ellen Raider, a renowned and innovative teacher, practitioner

and social activist, joined the Center and together with Dr. Deutsch forged an approach to

work in conflict resolution that carefully integrated theory and practice.

The Center’s mission is an educational one: to help individuals, schools,

communities, businesses and governments better understand the nature of conflict and

develop the skills and settings that enable them to resolve conflict constructively. We

particularly emphasize the importance of the social, cultural, organizational, and

institutional contexts within which conflicts occur. Our philosophy links theory and

research closely with practice. Consequently, we employ a “reflective scholar-

practitioner” model in our many scholarly, educational and practical endeavors.

ICCCR Conflict Resolution 4

The basic elements of our theoretical approach are as follows:

• Conflict is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has both constructive and

destructive potential, depending on how it is managed . Engaging in conflict tends to

generate anxiety in many people who associate it with negative or violent outcomes,

which leads to fight or flight responses. In fact, conflict can provide a uniquely

human opportunity to learn about ourselves and others, to motivate necessary

changes in the status quo, to challenge obsolete ways of thinking, relating, working,

and to innovate. Thus, our objective is not to eliminate conflict, but to help establish

the skills and settings for its constructive resolution.

• Conflict behavior is a function of the person x the environment (Lewin, 1947) .

Behavior is determined by the interplay between certain characteristics of the person

(such as their needs, motives, expectations, ability to control their impulses,

knowledge, attitudes and skills) and the characteristics of the situation (the norms,

roles, history of relations, task and reward structures, culture, availability of

weapons, etc.). Therefore, we target change in both people and in the systems in

which they live and work.

• Cooperation and competition between people and between groups have been shown

to have profoundly different consequences . Competitive tasks or reward structures

induce people to fight for perceived limited resources, be they tangible or intangible.

Research has consistently shown that competition: induces the use of tactics of

coercion, threat, or deception; attempts to enhance the power differences between

oneself and the other; poor communication, minimization of the awareness of

similarities in values and increased sensitivity to opposed interests; fosters

ICCCR Conflict Resolution 5

suspicious and hostile attitudes; increases the importance, rigidity, and size of the

issues in conflict. In contrast, cooperation and cooperative tasks or reward structures

induce: a perceived similarity in beliefs and attitudes; a readiness to be helpful;

openness in communication; trusting and friendly attitudes; sensitivity to common

interests; a de-emphasis to opposed interests; an orientation to enhancing mutual

power rather than power differences (see Deutsch, 1973; Johnson & Johnson, 1989).

Too often, schools are structured so that students are pitted against one

another. They compete for the teacher's attention, for grades, for status, and for

admission to prestigious schools. Being put down and putting down others are

pervasive occurrences. Many of us can recall classroom experiences of hoping that

another student, who was called on by the teacher instead of us, would give the

wrong answer so that we could get called on (and give the right answer). Often,

these competitive or contentious behaviors are modeled by many of the adults in the

schools

• A constructive process of conflict resolution is similar to an effective, cooperative

problem solving process (conflict is perceived as a mutual problem to be solved by

both parties) while a destructive process is similar to a win-lose competitive

struggle (Deutsch, 1973). Many of the conflicts that we face have the potential for

satisfying, constructive outcomes for all. However, this potential is rarely realized

because of our tendency to see most conflicts as win-lose. Good cooperative

relations facilitate the constructive management of conflict and the ability to handle

constructively the inevitable conflicts that occur during cooperation, which

facilitates the survival and deepening of cooperative relations.

Coleman - Conflict Resolutions of Multiple Levels across Lifespan.pdf

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