ABSTRACT

This chapter presents the case for the inclusion and utilization of young people, who have been trained as student peer mediators, in the mediation of community conflicts. It proposes peer mediation training as a new model of mediation, one that draws from social psychology and allied theories. The chapter provides a general overview of peer mediation, including its evolution, its underlying philosophy, and its mechanics. It presents a six-step model of peer mediation as an illustration of the similarity between the principles and processes of peer mediation and those of conventional mediation. Using the Peacemakers Program as evidence, the chapter makes a closing argument for the transferability of peer mediation skills to community settings. It concludes with an evaluative success story. Conflict resolution training invites children and young adults to engage in integrative negotiations of conflict and teaches them skills useful in mediating their schoolmates' conflicts.