The Ohio Commission
The state of Ohio leads the United States in school-based conflict management, in part due to the work in education of the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. The commission plays a pivotal role by supporting the efforts of the school districts, setting up training programs, and providing program development leadership and expertise. The commission, established in 1989, provides dispute resolution and conflict management resources, training, and direct services to Ohio schools, colleges, universities, courts, communities, and state and local governments. It was the United States' first and currently only government-sponsored commission to promote dispute resolution at all levels of society. The commission's evaluations demonstrate that its work leads to significant reductions in interpersonal conflict, particularly in public schools.
In 1989, Richard F. Celeste, governor of Ohio, created the Governor's Peace and Conflict Management Commission to review the status of peace and conflict management programs in the state and to develop new initiatives to help Ohioans better resolve their disputes. The commission focused on four primary areas: primary and secondary education, higher education, the courts, and community and public policy. As part of its final report to Governor Celeste, this commission recommended that the state of Ohio create a permanent Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management to develop practical programs that teach people how to resolve disputes without conflict or resorting to lawsuits.
Under Governor Celeste, former Peace Corps director in the Carter administration, Ohio had the philosophical conditions for mediation and conflict resolution programs to flourish. In 1989 the Ohio General Assembly, with the support of the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio Bar Association, and the Ohio Council of Churches, enacted legislation that created the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. The commission is jointly governed by members appointed by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government.
Education Programming
The commission, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education, has promoted conflict resolution education programs in primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities through grants, training, and resource development with the goal of institutionalizing conflict resolution education into their daily operations.
Five years ago, the commission began a pilot project with the American Association of Health Educators and the Conflict Resolution Education Network to integrate conflict resolution into higher education. Faculty at Ohio's colleges and universities are invited to take part in this annual Conflict Resolution Education Institute. Currently thirty-six Ohio colleges and universities have participated. Participants learn to understand the rationale for the integration of conflict resolution into higher education, to demonstrate the knowledge of core concepts, and to develop an action plan to implement a conflict resolution curriculum in teacher education.
