ABSTRACT
Public mediation agency staff members and ad hoc public sector mediators frequently develop mediation skills by using written study material that identifies and explains the functions performed by practicing mediators. However, consistent with a number of areas in the social sciences, the study of mediation has tended to follow down two separate paths. One source of information has been provided primarily by institutional labor economists and mediation practitioners. For the most part, these studies have been descriptive, nonexperimental reviews of the mediation process drawn from the experiences of practicing mediators.
