Date Approved

4-27-1999

Embargo Period

7-21-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in School Administration

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Johnson, Theodore

Subject(s)

Peer counseling of students

Disciplines

Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration

Abstract

The study was designed to identify the effectiveness of the peer mediation program instituted at Edgewood Regional Junior High School. A quantitative analysis would establish the validity of the program and replace perceptions with statistical documentation. The action based research design compared the number of disciplinary referrals resulting in suspension for fighting or student assault to the number of cases referred to mediation. The student population was comprised of approximately one thousand students in grades seven, eight, and nine. The mediation statistics were compiled on a monthly basis from the information contained on student forms that were kept as part of the program's annual documentation. The discipline statistics reflect data obtained from the monthly disciplinary reports generated for the Board of Education indicating the number of student detentions and suspensions. The statistical results were calculated by using the linear regression model in which the number of mediations was interpreted as the independent variable and the number of student fights was the dependent variable. The correlation coefficient of the linear regression formula was -0.0895, implying no correlation between the two events. The original hypothesis that there would be a negative correlation was unsubstantiated by the data.

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