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School Peer Mediation

One of the most important aims of our project is to use Drama for conflict prevention. This way our pupils in our schools develop empathy, the skill to walk in other people's shoes. The lack of empathy is the root of most conflicts. Drama is an incredible and powerful tool that tells stories but also help our students experience them in their own flesh.

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We also use drama in our peer mediation training sessions, to make these techniques easier to learn. Some conflicts, based on real experiences, are put on a dramatization and different mediations skills are applied and shared in common talks among the participants. Th video on the right is an example and the one we use in our training sessions. 

But... What's peer mediation?

In peer mediation, a trained youth acts as neutral mediator helping parties in conflict to understand the root causes of their dispute and to ultimately agree on a plan for resolving the conflict.   Each individual mediation consists of six distinct stages: 

  1. Agree to Mediate 

  2. Storytelling and Gathering Points of View 

  3. Focus on Interests and Needs 

  4. Create Win-Win Solutions 

  5. Evaluate Options 

  6. Create an Agreement

The implementation of peer-mediation programs in schools and community-based organisations, which empower individuals with values, skills and information to generate alternative solutions to work towards peace-building to avoid, resolve and transform violent and non-violent conflict.

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The training sessions

We've had training sessions in our school in Albacete within the last 3 years. We've met our students one Saturday per month for the training sessions or share and assess the program. We've done some pooling about different cases, made comments about how to act in some cases and decide the best strategies to solve a specific conflict. The first year our teachers were the trainers and our students the trainees but the following year it was them, the students who trained the new pupils. This method makes them feel more involved and creates a sense of belonging that makes the program hugely successful.

This is the material we have used in our training School Peer Mediation training sessions. The material is in Spanish but we have also used a different one in English. Everything, including the group dynamics, is available for downloading  in different formats: pdf or ppt here below.

Spanish Version Downloads

About the English version

When it comes to communication skills in a specific language, it's a challenge for a foreigner to have the exact shade of meaning. Sometimes, if we have to convey a specific mood or language meaning, we might send the wrong message. That's why we have decided to use some work beautifully made by IREX, an international nonprofit organization providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally.  We have adapted some of our material as well, mainly the one that has to do with the group dynamics. That is the information we have provided in our international training sessions. You can download it here. 

Adapted from the Spanish training work

see more in https://www.irex.org

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