Conflict resolution education: The field, the findings, and the future

Over the past two decades, conflict resolution education (CRE) programs have educated children about constructive approaches to managing conflict in their schools and communities. CRE provides critical life skills necessary for building caring communities and establishing constructive relationships (Jones and Compton, 2003). Educators, administrators, and parents advocate CRE as a critical component to the development of safe and drug-free schools (Heerboth, 2000; King, Wagner, and Hedrick, 2001; Oppitz, 2003). To sustain program development and funding of CRE, questions of efficacy are paramount. This is truer now more than ever before given the emphasis in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which dictates that all instruction in academic and nonacademic areas (including prevention interventions) must be theoretically based and rigorously evaluated. To what extent does CRE make the differences so hoped for by educators and parents? To what extent are CRE programs meeting the standards set under No Child Left Behind, and therefore worthy of federal support dollars? This article provides an answer within certain parameters. First, CRE is defined and distinguished from related efforts to clarify the nature of program evaluation research that should be included in this review. Second, structural elements that are expected to influence CRE effectiveness are detailed as a framework for the presentation of research. And third, the overall assessment of CRE field research is used as a foundation for discussion of needed future research.