Program Profile: Peers Making Peace

This is a peer-mediation program designed to handle conflicts both in and out of school and to help maintain drug-free schools. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group had statistically significantly fewer assaults, expulsions, discipline referrals, absences, a greater improvement in self-efficacy, and statistically significantly improved in academic performance, compared with the control group.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goal/Target Population

Peers Making Peace (PMP) is a peer-mediation program designed to handle conflicts both in and out of school and to help maintain drug-free schools. The goal of the program is to improve school environments by reducing violence, assaults, and discipline referrals and by increasing academic performance. It is designed to work with students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.

Program Components

The program is based on a combination of strategies that include life and social skills training, conflict prevention and resolution, parental involvement in conflict resolution education, and peer-led modeling and coaching. Each participating school selects a group of 15 to 24 students who represent the community’s racial, ethnic, and gender demographics, and these teams of students are trained to act as peer mediators on their school campuses. They are trained in skills such as conflict resolution, nonverbal communication, questioning, and maintaining neutrality. Peer mediators are also trained to serve as drug-free role models. Students apply the skills they learn by serving as third-party mediators to help those involved in conflict reach mutually satisfactory agreements.

The program supplies age-appropriate curricula for each level. The training activities for students vary in length from 10 to 45 minutes. The maximum training time each day varies by age group: elementary students receive no more than 3 hours a day on three different occasions, middle school no more than 4 hours on three different occasions, and high school students no more than 5 hours on three different occasions.

Most mediation takes place before or after school, during lunch, or during activity time.

Program Theory 

The program is based on prevention and resiliency strategies. The intervention promotes social competence, personal problem-solving skills, sense of autonomy, and opportunities for meaningful participation.

Study

To evaluate the Peers Making Peace (PMP) program, Landry (2003) used a pre–post, quasi-experimental design with six experimental and six comparison schools in two Texas school districts (one experimental and one control). Experimental schools were selected based on a questionnaire. All experimental schools were required to have at least 54 percent of their enrollment classified as high risk; significant reports of discipline referrals, expulsions or suspensions, and student-on- student assaults; and less-than-acceptable scores on standardized academic tests. Control schools were recommended by the experimental school.

Student population samples in both the treatment and control schools were selected randomly. Data from 360 students was collected on the identified school-based variables prior to initiation of the program and after its completion. The collected data included violence statistics, discipline referrals, absentees, suspensions, school vandalism incidents, retention rates, standardized achievement tests scores, attendance records, and demographics. Baseline data was gathered from existing documents, including state surveys, school records, police records, student surveys, and record forms from PMP coordinators and principals. Data was also collected from site visits. Ninety-nine of the students completed the R. Schwarzer and M. Jerusalem Self-Efficacy instrument on a pre- and posttest basis. The control group constructed for the Self-Efficacy instrument consisted of 599 students tested on the instrument during the same time frame.

A total of 162 students received training as mediators, and 143 of these students participated in at least one mediation. Students, administrators, and teachers made referrals. The six program high schools had 1,469 mediation referrals, with 1,305 mediations occurring and resulting in 1,275 agreements.

The Peers Making Peace (PMP) Facilitator Training is a 3-day, 21-hour certification training for PreK–12 teachers, counselors, campus/district-level administrators and campus/district support staff. Experienced PMP program facilitators can attend a Train the Trainers workshop. 

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

PaxUnited. 2013. “Peers Making Peace Overview.” Accessed July 15, 2013.

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

School-Based Conflict Resolution Education

This practice aims to reduce school-based conflict and encourage long-term prosocial behavior. It teaches students to understand the nature of the conflict and provides options for responding. This practice is rated Promising for multiple problem or at-risk behaviors. Student participants in the programs reported significantly fewer antisocial behaviors than students in the control group.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors - Multiple juvenile problem/at-risk behaviors

School-Based Interventions to Reduce Exclusion

School exclusion (more commonly known as suspension and expulsion) is broadly defined as a disciplinary measure imposed in reaction to students’ misbehavior. This practice comprises school-based programs that seek to decrease the prevalence of exclusion and thereby reduce the detrimental effects that suspensions or expulsion from schools may have on students’ learning outcomes and future training or employment opportunities. This practice is rated Effective for reducing school exclusion.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Education - Expulsion/Suspension

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?