Abstract
Purpose. The purposes of this study were to: (1) determine the perceptions of administrators and teachers regarding the change in students' behavior relative to: (a) interpersonal conflict and (b) intragroup conflict, as a result of student participation in the program "Fighting Fair, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for Kids", in selected southern California school districts; (2) determine if there is a significant difference between the perceptions of administrators and of teachers regarding the change in students' behavior relative to: (a) interpersonal conflict and (b) intragroup conflict; (3) determine the perceptions of administrators and teachers in regard to (a) most successful and (b) least successful conflict resolution strategies in the program "Fighting Fair, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for Kids." Methodology. A written questionnaire, developed by the researcher, was used to gather perceptions of samples of administrators and teachers from selected southern California school districts. Findings. (1) Administrators and teachers perceived that students, interpersonal and intragroup conflict behaviors had changed as a result of participating in the program "Fighting Fair, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for Kids". (2) Although administrators and teachers agreed that students' behavior had changed, there was a significant difference between their perceptions. Administrators were more in agreement that the students' behavior had changed than the teachers. (3) Problem solving was viewed as the most successful strategy in changing students behavior. (4) Smoothing and avoidance were perceived as the least successful strategies. (5) There was no significant difference between the administrators' perceptions and the teachers' perceptions of the most successful strategies in Fighting Fair in changing students' interpersonal and intragroup conflict behavior. (6) Both administrators and teachers agreed that smoothing and avoidance were the least successful strategies. Conclusions. Some conclusions are: (1) The students' interpersonal and intragroup conflict behavior had changed. The intragroup conflict behavior had changed more than their interpersonal conflict behavior. (2) The peer mediation program "Fighting Fair, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for Kids" had made a positive impact on the environment of middle schools that participated in this study. Recommendations. Some recommendations are: (1) Peer mediation programs should be implemented in the middle schools. (2) Students should be taught problem-solving skills in order to obtain win-win outcomes as opposed to win-lose outcomes. (3) Staff development programs for teachers and administrators in conflict resolution should be implemented.