Innovative Research Design Will Be

¶ … innovative research design will be utilized in a local school environment with a sample of 6th graders from the southeastern part of Florida. The sample will be taken from 1,163 students in an upper middle-class community. The students participating in the study will be taken from a report retrieved from Hillsborough County Schools, 2007-2008. The group, as described in the report consists of 0.43% (4) American Indian / Alaskan Native, 7.39% (86) Asian / Pacific Islander, 23.30%271 (271) Black (African-American), Non-Hispanic, 18.40% (214) Hispanic, 6.62% (77) Multi-Racial, 43.94% (511) White (Caucasian), Non- Hispanic, with 35.08% (408) Economically Disadvantaged, and a small portion of the student body with a below status of 7.14% (83) ELL (learning English):, and 12.38% (144).Students With Disabilities (SWD). The estimated number of students for the 2009 school year will increase by 10% because of an increase in the population surrounding the boundaries of the local school. The average class size has 23 to 25 students for the academic year 2007-2008. The school holds an "A" School Grade based on the School Report Card for FCAT assessments from the Florida Department of Education, 2007-2008, and has maintained an "A" School Grade for the last five years (Florida Department of Education, 2008-2009).

The Mission statement of the aforementioned middle School is "to provide all students the quality educational experience necessary to reach their highest potential" (School Improvement Plan 2007-2008). As an aspect of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) all students, subgroups and low performing students receive instruction from highly-qualified staff using effective, research-based learning strategies. In addition, before, during, and after school programs are incorporated into the curriculum to present students with the opportunity to receive additional assistance. (Florida Department of Education, 2008).

However, reducing the number of discipline problems is not part of the SIP plan or is not mentioned in the plan. Therefore, the need to incorporate a conflict resolution program is vital to the success of the school-wide plan. A section in the SIP plan should be updated to include behavior modifications for the school year 2009-2010 as an instrument for the needs assessment instruments and common definition of concepts and terms (variables). The mission and vision statement should also include a plan for an ongoing 6-month in-service training program on conflict resolutions for all stakeholders, especially for the incoming 6th grade students in the Language Arts curriculum, to maintain high academic standards and include behavioral standards in the middle school improvement plan.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose for this study is to provide a meta-analysis for resolving conflicts involving middle-school age children. This study will concentrate on middle school -students between the ages of 11 through 12 years of age. The study will attempt to identify conflict resolution strategies concerning how they are implemented, what strategies work, why some programs are successful and others are unsuccessful, and how these programs benefit teachers and students in the school-based environment. This broad approach will examine the results from current research studies; evaluate school-based conflict resolution programs, and implement a plan for an instructional research study.

The study will be used to examine and formulate an answer to the question "Why Does Conflict Occur between Middle-Age School Children." The research study will focus on 6th graders in five categories:

Effect on educators

Influence on training teachers/students

Impact on the 6th grade student population

Effect on the school and classroom climate

Impact on referrals and discipline in the classroom and school site

The study will also analyze the problem of conflict resolution and collect data for the research (Tricia Jones, 2000).

Program Policy

There is a serious need for more longitudinal research so stakeholders have evidence of change concerning discipline and behavioral problems over time for students, educators, and schools (Tricia Jones, 2000). Schools with a safe and orderly environment in are essential as it pertains to promoting high standards for learning and ensuring that all children have the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. Conflict resolution programs can help bring about significant changes in reductions in suspensions, disciplinary referrals, academic disruptions, playground fights, and family and sibling disputes. It is important to understand that conflict resolution education is a critical component of comprehensive, community-based efforts to prevent violence and reduce crime (Janet Reno Richard W. Riley, n.d.) the stakeholders in the research study will use the training module on conflict resolution education with lesson plans developed by the Conflict Resolution Education (2002) program, currently called the Association for Conflict Resolution (2004).

Needs Assessment

Conflict assessment is the first stage in the process of conflict management and resolution. A primary goal of such an assessment is for all concerned parties to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics inherent in their relationships. This understanding not only clarifies one's own interests and positions, but leads to an acknowledgement of the basis for the interests and positions held by others, and thereby promotes reflection by the stakeholders. The assessment identifies the conflict, and is then utilized as an evaluation tool to determine whether there is a reasonable possibility for initiating an intervention process to manage or resolve the dispute (Human Rights & Human Welfare, January 1, 2006).

. Using the formative assessment is a self-reflective process that attempts to promote student attainment as a bidirectional process between teacher and student. This process enhances, recognizes and responds to the learning consideration as formative assessment that includes feedback from learning activities which is used to adapt instruction to meet the learner's needs (Black, P., & Wiliam, D. 1998, Cowie, B., & Bell, B. 1999, Crooks, T. 2001),

Applying a formative assessment in the study will help to identify interventions that work and allow the teacher to be flexible in planning lessons. Such an assessment will also draw attention to the student, so that they are willing to participate in the activities with the self-assurance that resolving conflicts is a decision-making skill that is necessary to eliminate the problem. In retrospect, students will learn how to handle conflicts using conflict resolution strategies. Model-eliciting activities will also be used because they are based on real-life situations where students, working in small groups, present a social science model or communication model as a solution to a client's need (Zawojewski & Carmona, 2001). The problem design enables students to evaluate their solutions according to the needs of a client identified in the problem situation and sustain themselves in productive, progressively effective cycles of conceptualizing and problem-solving. The initial recommendations for the teachers will help to formulate the following assessment guidelines:

To provide an overview of the role and importance of conflict assessment, monitoring, and evaluation, and the variety of approaches and tools available.

To prepare participants to be able to conduct conflict assessments and link the assessments to conflict analysis, program design, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

To provide an overview of the phases and steps in designing and implementing a monitoring and evaluation plan.

To explore the constraints, challenges, and other considerations an evaluator working in a conflict environments might face, and how these influence the design and implementation of assessments and evaluations (Conflict Assessment and Evaluation, 2007).

The participative model will focus on the needs assessment for the first class session to include the following criteria:

1. Teach alternatives to violence and conflict resolution strategies.

2. Teach students to act responsibly in social settings

3. Teach students to understand and accept the consequences of their behavior and training activities for modifying behaviors

Evaluation Plan & Implementation

Participative research (PR) involves the creation of an environment and process in which context-bound knowledge emerges to develop local theory that is understandable and actionable. PR is initiated by the organization of interest. The researcher and participants collaborate actively in a loosely defined group process to study and change their social reality (Whyte, 1989).

All members of the organization can participate in this process. Participants must have the will and resources to participate. Participants take on active roles and influence the identification of the problem, choose the methods used to gather the data, analyze the data, prepare the findings, and develop a plan of action (Boga, 2004;Elden, 1981). The holistic process is group-led and self-organized, and adapts to changes as needed. Results are jointly prepared and reported to those affected.

Several general criticisms of the research on Conflict Resolution Education program exists (2002). These criticisms assert that few CRE program evaluations fulfill scientific criteria for methodology and appropriate data analysis. It is also argued that standardized assessment instruments and common definition of concepts and terms (variables) are needed. In an effort to address these concerns, the research study will use case studies to evaluate, develop, and implement strategies for conflict resolution criteria and relate it to other theories about mediation programs.