Reconceptualizing problem‐solving and conflict resolution in schools: a multi‐disciplinary perspective

Abstract

Engulfed in the rising tide of youth misdemeanors and youth social problems, public educators everywhere are looking for means and ways of restoring social order and ecological sanity to the classroom and the school. While there is no ready‐made panacea for the deep‐rooted problems, the present writer points to a necessity for improving the contextual conditions of the school to nurture a multi‐disciplinary approach of problem‐solving and conflict resolution. It is through the breakdown of the traditional compartmentalization of disciplines and jurisdictional isolation. Can the school unleash collective wisdom and engage in a self‐renewed process of organizational learning to surmount the growing severity of students’ anti‐social behaviors that threaten to derail school reform?