The State of Ohio leads the United States in school-based conflict management through the work conducted and coordinated by the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. In 2004 there are more than 1,700 schools with programs. During the 2002-2003 biennium the Commission served more than 95,000 students and over 7,000 staff through its grant training program.

To achieve this goal of institutionalization, the Commission has developed a grant-training program which has enabled elementary, middle, and high schools to integrate non-violent dispute resolution techniques into their overall curriculum, teaching conflict management as a life skill. In addition to the grant awards, the Commission makes training, technical assistance, and age-appropriate lesson plans and resource materials available to grantee schools. Teachers, staff and administrators are trained in how to integrate conflict resolution as a life skill into existing curricula and how to facilitate positive change within the school community by aligning school mission statements, disciplinary procedures, and team-building efforts with conflict resolution concepts and theories. Educators across the state are invited to attend regional professional development workshops to learn about conflict resolution and how to design and implement programs; such invitations are offered regardless of whether or not their school has received a grant-training package.

Results

Most educators are looking for a change in school climate when they propose developing a school conflict management program, seeking a reduction in disciplinary actions (suspensions, expulsions, truancy) and general disruptions in the classroom. The Commission is interested not only in affecting change in the area of student behavior, but also in creating a safe and supportive learning environment for students, teachers and parents. This stems from the idea that academics are positively affected if the philosophy and skills of school conflict management become components of how the school operates, fully integrated into daily school life. Evaluations of the Commission programming demonstrate that schools participating in the program focusing on the whole school approach see an improvement in academic achievement, a reduction in truancy, fewer suspensions and expulsions, a decrease in time spent on dealing with discipline, financial cost savings to schools, and an improvement in overall school climate (OCDRCM, 1994; OCDRCM, 1997; Tschannen-Moran, 1999).

Independent program evaluations demonstrate a significant decrease in the reported number of conflict-related behaviors in schools, often leading to suspensions and expulsions. From a 1999 evaluation report, 90 percent of teachers said their schools were safer as a result of the conflict management program, and 80 percent of teachers said that the degree of physical fighting had decreased since the start of the program (Tschannen-Moran, 1999).

Middle school teachers report that conflict management training has enabled students to better resolve conflicts on their own; and high schools with conflict management programs report that physical violence has decreased as much as 43% (Hart, et.al., February 2003). In order to maintain a high standard of training, the Commission evaluates their programs annually. The annual cost per student to administer the school conflict management grant training program is approximately $12.00. When compared to the per student cost of suspending a child ($231.00) or expelling a student ($431.00), the program is clearly cost effective (Hart, et.al., February 2003). Independent evaluations of the truancy prevention mediation program demonstrate a significant increase in pupil attendance and decrease in tardiness for participating schools resulting in an average cost savings of $1,889 per participating school (Kimberly, July 2002). With 171 participating schools (currently funded by the Commission) total program cost savings for the 2002-2003 school year was estimated at $323,019.

Lessons Learned

While Ohio's comprehensive model is paving the way for more effective program institutionalization, more work is needed to establish conflict resolution education as a permanent fixture in our education system. Despite state-wide education statistics (EMIS) showing that disciplinary incidents in schools in Ohio for fighting far outnumber the disciplinary incidents related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (where large amounts of prevention funding have been targeted), funding continues to decrease for conflict resolution education efforts. Yet the evaluations related to conflict resolution education show significant decreases in discipline related challenges such as fighting, and at a significant cost savings to the school district and state. This lack of funding targeted to prevention of inter-personal violence through efforts such as conflict resolution education is not a phenomenon unique to the state of Ohio.

It is critical to better inform funders and policy makers of the data that links a reduction in violent incidents with conflict resolution education in our schools and universities. A recent World Health Organization report on inter-personal violence (excluding the costs related to war) showed costs to the U.S. of addressing this violence at an estimated $300 billion a year, with violent crime committed by a single minor generally costing the victim approximately $61,000 dollars in expenses (Kole, June 9th, 2004). The point needs to be conveyed to funders that investing in prevention efforts such as conflict resolution education is critical to seeing a reduction in societal violence. The billions saved by investing in prevention, can then be reallocated from more punitive efforts (court costs, juvenile detention centers, prisons, etc.) and redirected toward critical needs such as health, education, and economic development.

Contact Information
Jennifer Batton
Director of Education Programs
The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management
77 S. High St., 24th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108
Telephone: 614-644-9275
E-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web site: www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov