Peer Mediation in Primary & Secondary Schools

Bay Side Secondry College Problem Busters Krysti Jemmet, Wade Miller
Carmelina Spitaleri, and paul Jessop. Picture: Wayne Taylor

• Basic philosophy of the program
  
  
• Aims of the program
  
  
• Some specific reasons for peer mediation
  
  
• What is the school commitment to the mediation program
  
  
• Creating a positive school environment
  
  
• Students Selected for the program
  
  
• Time Frame for the program
  
  
• Some practice Issues for Primary Schools
  
  
• Some practice Issues for Secondary Schools
  
  

Characters including Kevin Kookaburra, Greta Galah, Kathy Kangaroo and others from the animal mediation role play performed for preps to grade three students

• To teach students an awareness of conflict in their own lives and how they respond to it
  
• An appreciation of the differences between people
  
• To teach students skills such as listening, critical thinking and problem-solving in relation to their own conflicts as well as the problems of their peers.
  
• The ability to talk clearly to other students experiencing conflict
  
• Provide an empowering process; where students learn to assume greater responsibility for resolving their own problems
  
• Increase the school's capacity to respond to student problems and free teachers, administrators and support staff to concentrate more on teaching and academic issues than on discipline.
  
  

• Peers trust each other
  
• Communication may be more effective
  
• Social context is comfortable
  
• Networks understood by peers
  
• Understand each others world views; norms/values
  
• Peers understand the bounds of comfortable discussion
  
• Often more honest with peers than with professionals
  
• De mystifying (as peers are able to assist them through a process)
  
• Not seen as 'authority"
  
• Unexpected spin offs (empowers both disputants and mediators)
  
• Accessible
  
• Positive role-modelling
  
• Relevant
  
• More likely to listen to peers
  
  

• Commitment to the use of student mediators within the school environment. This commitment should be broad based and include not only students and staff but parents groups.
  
  
• An area set aside to train the mediators over the two days within the school
  
  
• Having a nominated staff member follow up with students to ensure they complete and practice set tasks between the two days of training.
  
  Assistance with the selection process of students for the mediator training
  
  
• Assistance with both the initial and on-going publicity for the mediation program
  
  
• Having a nominated staff member to co-ordinate the student mediation program within the school (generally this falls to the welfare co-ordinator) Their duties also include follow up on completed mediation cases and de-briefing mediators following mediation sessions.
  
  
• Providing assistance with photo copying materials for students undertaking the program.
  
  
• Providing lunch for the group (generally last day) in recognition of the work they are undertaking.
  
  
• Recognition of the students' achievements in attending the program through a certificate.
  
  
• Participation in the evaluation of the program.
  
  

1. Enough staff to both run and support the program. In rapidly changing times where there are a glut of programs (and very good ones at that), there is only so far teaching staff can be stretched. Schools need not only to make a commitment to running a mediation program but ensuring there is enough time allocated and enough staff co-operation to provide continuity.
   
   
2. Reality teaches us that school staff often find it difficult to change their quick fix attitudes to student problems. Whilst there may well be occasions where a quick fix solution is appropriate i.e. areas outside the mediators domain, teachers have a tendency to arbitrate matters. This leads to a band-aid solution and students feeling that they weren't listened to or believed.
   
   In planning for a peer mediation program a strong commitment is required from those teachers who are most likely to be involved in disciplining of students i.e. Vice Principals, Year Level Co-ordinators etc. General support is required by staff, however realistically, not all staff will be supportive of any given particular program within a school environment.
   
   The disputes that mediators deal with tend to include:
   
   

• Name-calling
  
• Rumors
  
• Bitching & Back-Stabbing
  
• Boyfriend/Girlfriend
  
• Borrowing off each other
  
• Personal Space
  
• Business Undertakings
  
• Personal Appearance
  
• Sporting Abilities
  
  

• Verbal information to the general year levels being targeted
  
  
• Written information in the school newsletter and to students in the targeted year levels
  
  
• Student Welfare co-ordinators nominating students who are seen as "natural leaders" i.e. it was observed that other students seek them out for advice
  
  
• Seeking the various year level co-ordinators to nominate students that they felt would benefit from the program (these students did not necessarily have to go on and become a peer mediator within the school. They may have been selected as the school felt they could use conflict resolution skills to improve their own life situations)
  
  In targeting schools, I opt for recruitment of students at the years 9,10 & 11 levels (secondary schools) and grade 5 (end of year) or grade 6 (start of year) in primary schools. Essentially I choose these groups for the following reasons;
  
  
• Some schools feel that the existing commitments of the year 12 students (secondary school) would make it difficult for them to spend time assisting with mediation and would add considerable time onto their already large study-load
  
  
• A number of schools like the idea of giving a greater degree of responsibility to some of the younger age students.
  
  
• Teaching younger students means school could retain mediators for a longer period of time.
  
  "Whichever year level(s) you choose, be aware that students of the same year level or below will not generally participate in mediation sessions."
  
  

Primary School


• Include list of student mediator names and runners next to staff yard-duty roster (need emergency list also for students who are away). Mediators and runners would be given a list in advance.
  
  Note:  Depending on the number of students in the school, and teachers on yard duty, determines the number of mediator pairs and runners needed. i.e.'two teachers on yard duty would probably mean two sets of mediators and two runners. This allows each teacher a set of mediators to work with.
  
  
• Include a list of runners next to staff as well. (They accompany staff and take the students in dispute off to the mediators). They are not trained mediators.
  
  Students report to office at the commencement of break and collect clipboards, (t-shirts, caps etc Note: Having t-shirts etc or some form of identification is especially useful as students are told that only when they wear this identification are they mediators). The clipboard would include a laminated copy of both mediator cheat sheets, a supply of statement forms and agreement sheets as well as biros and blank writing paper.
  
  
• The runners would also report to the staff room and collect their runner identification and be ready to accompany their yard-duty teacher into the yard.
  
  
• Student mediators would then put on t-shirt and cap and go to assigned pre-determined area in the school-yard. (The principal at an assembly would have already told all students that they are not permitted to play in the areas assigned for mediators and that mediators have the power to ask them to leave that particular area).
  
  
• The yard-duty teacher with runner in tow, does their normal yard-duty and determines whether a conflict warrants being sent off to the mediators (good to give as many as possible). Initially the teacher writes down the students names that they send off (so they can double check that they didn't run away). They then send off the students in conflict, with the runner to take them to see the mediators. If another conflict arises, they get their runner to check whether the mediators are free to take on another mediation. (normally should take about 5 minutes or so per mediation)
  
  
• At the end of the break, the mediators and runners report to their yard-duty teacher for a quick de-brief and hand back equipment. The teacher then checks out agreements etc and passes on completed sheets to the co-ordinator (i.e. box in staff room that co-ordinator collects sheets from)
  
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  Some Practice Issues In Secondary Schools
  
  
• Important to identify a space that is regularly available for students to conduct mediation sessions in. Make up a box that the mediators can have access to. Included would be laminated copies of the mediator check sheets, paper & pens, blank agreement forms, box of tissues, white board markers or chalk, plastic jug and glasses (for water), laminated copy of what constitutes "illegal" activities that students can not keep confidential e.g. assaults, graffiti, vandalism, theft, drugs/alcohol etc,
  
  Make up slips for students who have to return to class. Who will sign these? i.e. mediators give student a slip immediately following session.
  
  What times will mediation sessions be allowed? Whilst most schools start at lunchtime, two students in conflict can ruin a lot of classes before they get to the mediation session.