A critical case study of peer mediation at an alternative high school

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Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Education
Department Education, Culture & Society
Author Fetzer, Marcy
Title A critical case study of peer mediation at an alternative high school
Date 2014-05
Description At the crossroad of peer mediation and alternative education, discursive and structural tensions emerge. Through critical discourse analysis of student discourse at one alternative school, the examination of the practice of peer mediation within the context of alternative schooling is centralized. Students' discourses are juxtaposed with school officials' discourse, case description, and participant/observation. There are three major findings that surface as a result of this study. First, there is a discourse and practice disjuncture between the positive comments from the students and faculty about peer mediation and the minimal use of the program. Second, there is a lack of structural support for the program on all levels. Third, the peer mediation program does little to transform the power relations and structural components of alternative schooling. In its current format, peer mediation at this alternative school serves the White elites as a public relations program that works to enhance the school's public image rather than transform the students' lives through experiential learning, improved decision-making, and the creation of new opportunities for students to resolve conflict in a more peaceful and productive manner.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Alternative; Conflict; Education; Mediation; Negotiation; Peer
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Marcy Fetzer 2014
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 528,538 Bytes
Identifier etd3/id/2795
ARK ark:/87278/s6x09g77
Setname ir_etd
ID 196368
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6x09g77