Three Year Longitudinal Study
of a
Conflict Resolution Training
Program
in a
Rural Multicultural Elementary
School
College of Health and Human Services
Department of Health Science
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, California
Diana A. Foster, M.P.H.,
Principal Investigator
and
Vickie D. Krenz, Ph.D.,M.S.P.H.
Donald D. Pogoloff, J.D.,M.P.H.
California State University, Fresno
Donna M. Callahan, M.S.W.
Introduction
Violence on a school campus is a multifaceted
phenomenon that includes influences and
stressors of home, school and community,
compounded by, the developmental stages of
students. It acts as a microcosm of the
activities of daily life of students, peers,
teachers, parents, family members, and, the
community-at-large.
Causes of Violence
• Lack of respect for
other people,
property, opinions,
or worth
• Modeling negative
role models
• Peer pressures to
join gangs
• Social and
political factors
• Exposure to Mass
Media
• Life experiences
• Racism
• Bias
Violence in an Educational Setting
as a Public Health Issue
•
•
•
•
•
•
Peer Association
History of early aggression
Beliefs supportive of such aggression
Low commitment to education
Academic failure
Diminished social skills or cognitive deficits
associations with peer engaging in high-risk
or problem behaviors
CDC Risk Factors (1998)
Conflict in School
Settings
Involved in violent incidents or school-associated
violent deaths:
• 65% were of students
• 11% were teachers
• 23% school associated but killed on school
property
• 14.8% of students reported altercations
• 32.9% reported having property stolen or
damaged at school one or more times
U.S. DHHS, 1998
Impact of Violence on Student
Learning Ability
• Academic attainment
• Lower self-image and self-esteem
• Increase in acting out behavior –
classroom and playground
• Increase in absences, tardiness,
truancy
Factors for School Risks
• Emotional and
behavioral problems
• Low self-esteem
• Lack of personal
responsibility
• Negative peer role
models
• Lack of control over
learning and
behaviors
• Lack of development of
social cognition for
understanding others
feelings or points of
view
• Lack of decision
making skill
development
• Lack of problem
solving skill
development
Goals of the Study
The Conflict Resolution Training Program
(CRTP) has been used to establish positive
problem-solving techniques to resolve
conflicts between inner city students and is
best introduced in the fourth or fifth grades.
This study determined its effectiveness in a
rural, multicultural elementary school by the
application of tests to show the curriculum’s
effectiveness in this latter setting.
Goals of the Study
• The objectives of this study addressed:
–The appropriate time to introduce students to the
CRTP as a non-violent alternative for asocial and
violent behaviors.
– Designed evaluative instruments to determine
whether the program was effective in changing
behaviors.
– The replication potentials of the CRTP beyond its
original inner-city, demographically homogeneous
target.
Theoretical Framework
Research Design and Methodology
• Campbell and Stanley - Quasiexperimental ‘patch-up’ research design
with instrumental cycle integration in
staggered protocol.
– A nonequivalent control group quasiexperimental design was used at the
third year interval.
• PRECEDE/PROCEED used to
longitudinally measure the reduction in
asocial and violent behaviors.
Theoretical Framework
Research Design and Methodology
• Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives: Cognitive Domain used to
measure comprehension of the
curriculum.
• Bandura’s Social Learning Theory,
‘self-efficacy’ construct used to measure
retention of the curriculum.
Theoretical Framework
Research Design and Methodology
• Pearson Chi-square with Yates
Correction factor was applied to
determine statistically significant
differences between the
measurement intervals.
Instrumentation
• Student Survey Part 1
• Student Survey Part 2
• Violence Survey
Part 1- Students /
Perpetrators
• Part 2- Students /
Victims
• Students’ Personal
Evaluation
• Teachers’ Rating
Scales
• Conflict Resolution
Training Evaluation
Questionnaire
Areas Addressed by C.R.T.P.
Curriculum and Long-Term Findings
• Perception and knowledge of conflict
risks
• Comprehension of the curriculum
• Changes in asocial behavior and riskfactors
• Changes in asocial behaviors
• Changes in positive behaviors
• Effectiveness of the curriculum
Ethnicity of the Research Participants
TOTAL RESEARCH
STUDY
Total 4th Grade
80
70
60
Total 5th Grade
50
40
20
TOTAL RESEARCH
STUDY
Total 7th Grade
10
Total 8th Grade
30
0
White NonHispanic
Native American
Hispanic
African
American
Asian
Participant Comprehension of
the Curriculum for C.R.T.P.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Responsible
People
YEAR ONE
Verbal
Nonverbal
4th Grade Follow-up
Conflict Occur
Naturally
5th Grade Follow-up
Resolving
Conflicts
YEAR THREE
Active
Listening
7th Grade Follow-up
8th Grade Follow-up
Year One & Year Three
Changes in Asocial Behaviors
(Self-Esteem and Self-Worth)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Academic
Attainment
YEAR ONE
Cooperative
4th Grade Follow-up
Avoiding Bad
Language
5th Grade Follow-up
Staying out of fights
YEAR THREE
A Good Friend
7th Grade Follow-up
Students’ Responses
8th Grade Follow-up
Year One & Year Three
Changes in Positive Behaviors
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Academic
Motivation
Work Completion
Hygiene
YEAR ONE
4th Grade Follow-up
5th Grade Follow-up
YEAR THREE
7th Grade Follow-up
8th Grade Follow-up
Teachers’ Assessments
Conclusions
Conclusions
The findings supported that the CRTP
program, designed for inner city youth, was
adaptable to a rural, multicultural
elementary school setting.
Skewing of results was possibly due to
developmental maturation between the
fourth and fifth grade students of varying
backgrounds.
Conclusions
Use of the CRTP curriculum reflected a
reduction in violence in the fourth grade with
the application of problem-solving techniques
to resolve conflict. In contrast, the fifth grade
reported an increase in incidents of violence.
These findings were maintained in the now
seventh but significantly abated in the now
eighth graders; a finding worthy of further
study.
Recommendations
for
Further
Investigation
• Study findings and conclusions
suggested the following
recommendations for further
investigation.
• In varying educational settings,
evaluate each Conflict Resolution
Training Program in a systematic
manner.
• When teaching CRTP curriculum
consider the ethnic affiliation,
identity, and acculturation of the
students.
• Utilize the CRTP curriculum in
lower elementary school grades to
identify aggressive, asocial
behaviors before they become a
developmental norm.
• CRTP supports the idea that
violence is a learned behavior
which may be prevented or
reduced by retraining.
• Develop partnerships or
collaborative projects communitywide using CRTP techniques to
achieve behavioral goals.