School mediation service as a conflict resolution technique in public schools of Barnaul: state and prospects of functionality

Abstract

The subject of this article is the state and prospects of functionality of school mediation services in the system of modern Russian education. The object of this research is conflict resolution within the framework of educational institution. The article reviews the theoretical-methodological and cross-disciplinary analysis of conflict resolution in the system of modern Russian education. The increasing propensity towards conflict in school environment resulted in creation of school mediation/reconciliation service. School mediation in Russia is a new phenomenon and just started being established on the legal level. The phenomenon of mediation, its emergence and consolidation as the conflict resolution technique necessitations its further research and comprehension. Methodology of the conducted cross-disciplinary research on the state and prospects of functionality of school mediation services in Barnaul is based on the combination of quantitative (questionnaire, content analysis) and qualitative (expert interview, traditional document analysis) methods of acquisition and analysis of data. The article provides the results of research that allow revealing the specific characteristics of school conflicts and practice of their resolution. Based on the assessments and opinions of respondents, the authors determined the basic difficulties of implementation and functionality of school mediation services faced by the Barnaul schools, as well as developed a number of recommendations for their minimization.