Abstract

The implementation of conflict resolution programs in our schools may promote the type of peaceful change needed in our schools and society. The key role that conflict resolution might play in the reduction of violence in the educational process is outlined in this dissertation. This dissertation traces the development of the students' perception of violence, peacebuilding, and conflict. The question asked is "how do children perceive images of violence, conflict, and peace"? ;The dissertation uses a multi-method approach to ascertain how children define conflict and violence, incorporate peacebuilding into their thought processes, and may use conflict resolution to prevent conflict from occurring. The survey instrument was tested in a cross-cultural comparative context. The survey instrument was divided into two parts. The first part of the survey instrument consisted of twenty-four Likert questions for the quantitative part of the instrument. The second part of the instrument was qualitative and based on the Cantril Scale. It consisted of four open-ended questions that the participants asked about the hopes and fears of self and the community that the students lived in. ;The findings are illustrative of two issues: children's perceptions of violence, peacebuilding, and conflict; and The possible effect conflict resolution programs may have on preventing school violence. ;These issues were explored within the context of a multidisciplinary theoretical and empirical investigation of fifty inner-city children's images of conflict, violence, and peacemaking in the Miami-Dade community. In the second chapter, I reviewed the existing pertinent literature. The research finding attempts to add to the literature base of children in general. The third chapter outlines the research methods used in the field research. A concluding chapter outlining the recommendations for future research follows two empirical chapters on peacebuilding, violence, and conflict. Finally, the study attempts to add to our understanding of inner-city students' perception of violence, the possible effect conflict resolution programs may have on violence, and the role peace education might play in creating possible solutions. ;The students insisted that violence is real and that they felt that there were some possible solutions to the problem. Also, this study pointed to the differences that gender, race, and age might have had on young people's perceptions. The students generally did not support the opinion that violence was a way of life that could not be overcome. ;The images of students may also have been affected by some of the demographic variables of the study. For example, females tended to view violence differently from males. Also, race provided us with the theme that minority children see violence differently than majority children. The conceptual patterns suggest the possibility that conflict resolution might effect young people's perceptions of conflict and violence, but we need further research to test this hypothesis