CONCLUSION
The theory and practice of conflict resolution is a young but active field. New developments occur as we establish rigor and discipline in our approaches to this area. It is encouraging that we now have a fully evaluated program available for preschoolers, a group previously ignored or given only cursory service.
As many theorists and practitioners have said, it is extremely important that conflict resolution skills be taught as early as possible. Early skills become old habits; we need to teach very young children good habits, ones that help them develop fulfilling lives. Instruction does not stop with preschoolers, though; it must be continued to help children resolve the problems and levels of complexity that occur with developmental advancement.There are several directions for research to improve our practice. One involves investigating the effects of conflict-resolution skills development in children from preschool to older adulthood. We need to quantify the amount of training that is necessary for most effective skills development. Second, we need to explore how personal traits and characteristics affect our methods of instruction and training. Does one approach work for all? Obviously not, since some children lack assertiveness and require a great amount of work in this area, while others have impulsive or self-control issues that may increase their level of aggression in a conflict situation. Research investigating the adult’s ability to achieve a “transformation” of self in the sense of fifth-order conscious would be immensely valuable given the protracted conflicts we face in this new century. Finally, we need to be policy minded and work hard to influence society’s decision makers. Development in conflict resolution and social-emotional learning skills is so critical to the education of our children that we must actively support infusion of this instruction throughout each child’s educational experience, both in school and at home.
Note
1. For information, contact Priscilla Prutzman, executive director, Creative Response to Conflict, Inc., Box 271, 521 North Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960; phone (914) 353-1796; fax (914) 358-4924; e-mail ccrcnyack@aol.com.