Democracy, Dialogue, and Education: An Exploration of Conflict Resolution at Jefferson Junior High

Abstract

Conflict resolution programs provide scholars with a rich context to explore how social issues and ideologies are negotiated in the design and enactment of education programs. This ethnographic field study explored how participants in a junior high conflict resolution and peer mediation program, Students Taking Active Responsibility (STAR), enacted democratic and dialogic learning. Based on data collected through participant observations and interviews, we explored how students and teachers embodied particular subjectivities (e.g., democratic citizens, engaged learners) as they participated in STAR. We argue that STAR supported “connected knowing” by resisting the traditional binary of reason and emotion and by fostering respect and responsibility among students. Our analysis revealed tensions that emerged when participants enacted democratic and dialogic learning amidst material and social constraints.

Notes

JJH and the STAR program were located through communication with a local peace and justice network and state agencies on dispute resolution that maintain directories of and relationships with schools that employ CR programs. Documentation of the program online and in state directories established a fit with project goals. Hence, letters to the principal and guidance counselor at JJH introduced us and explained our research interests. A formal meeting was set in which the first author met with school administrators and the project was approved.

We did not ask respondents to report their race; our estimates are based on our general impressions.

The interview protocol is available from the first author. Students were asked such questions as “If you were talking with a new student who had just arrived at Jefferson, what would you tell them about the STAR program?” and “What types of topics are covered during STAR lessons?” Possible learning outcomes were probed through critical incident questions including: “Can you think of a time when you have used something you learned through the STAR program when communicating with others?”

The guidance counselor aided in selecting student participants by providing class rosters, organized by grade, for all students participating in STAR, and the roster of students who were peer mediators. From these rosters the first author blindly selected students by naming a number and the guidance counselor would give her the corresponding name of that person to be contacted. Students were evenly selected from each of the lists to ensure diversity in grade levels and mediation status. Next, she met with the selected students and asked them if they would like to participate, noting that their teachers or guidance counselor would not know if they chose not to participate. If they wanted to participate, they had their parents sign a consent form. Once informed consent procedures were complete, interviews were scheduled. The first author was also granted access to a faculty list from which she selected administrators and teachers from different grades to invite them to participate.