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SPECIAL TOPICS: CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Fall, 1989

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Instructor: Michelle LeBaron

Wednesdays, 4:30 - 8:20

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Phone: ?

291-4419

Location: MPX 7500

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Office: ?

MPX 8669

PREREQUISITE:

Educ 401/402 or equivalent.

OBJECTIVES:

1.

To explore the legal order of the school as either an authoritarian institution or

a constitutional bureaucracy;

2. To discuss the implications of the school order for conflict management;

3.

To develop a fundamental awareness of the many variables involved in conflict

situations and their management;

4.

To examine relevant research and literature with respect to conflict resolution;

5. to facilitate implementation of conflict management stratgies at the classroom,

school, and district level.

Topics to be covered include:

1.

Traditional schools: authoritarian or constitutional bureaucracies?

- order and control v. mutual respect and fairness

- routine and efficiency v. autonomy, due process, and creativity

- teacher-centered instruction v. other models

2. Conflict resolution implications:

- theories of conflict resolution and alternate dispute resolution

- negotiation and mediation skills for educators

- management of the process of conflict resolution

- conflict resolution and classroom / school climate

- infusion of alternate dispute resolution into curriculum and discipline

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Midterm exam: 25%

2. Major paper: 40%

3.

Class participation and feedback: 10%

4.

Seminar presentation: 15%

5.

Minor paper: 10%

Marc Robert: Mana

g

in

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conflict from the inside out (Bookstore) and resource

materials (from instructor).