Peer mediation or how to manage conflicts.

Peer mediation or how to manage conflicts.

The educational teams of Shanghai French School mobilised on both Qingpu and Yangpu campuses to offer Middle School students a peer mediation training, which was the perfect occasion for our students to develop new skills in a relaxed atmosphere.

Occurring throughout 5 half-days, this program offered students from Grade 6 to Grade 9 mediation techniques and communication tools to learn how to better understand and better listen to different opinions to solve a conflict. Our aspiring mediators were able to deepen their knowledge on notions such as values, emotions, needs as well as to develop techniques such as non-judgmental communication, kind listening, and rephrasing.

If this practical learning gives students the capacity to defuse small disputes among students from the same level which could worsen if not taken care of, it is also an important foundation for any future situation, on the professional level (committee meeting, interview, etc.) but also on the personal level (family life, relationship, etc.).

What is mediation?

The mediation aims to calm and/or restore positive social interactions between people, in our context, students.

These training sessions approached five themes through a theorical and practical learning with life situations:

  • Introduction, self-awareness, understanding of others
  • Forms of violence: observing, reacting, and acting
  • Different points of view in a dispute, developing creativity
  • Importance of listening, communicating and its difficulties
  • Technical training of mediation interviews

Beyond the key notions learnt, peer mediation allows students to take others more into account, to be aware of his/her opinions, and advocates mutual respect, which is a true value at Shanghai French School.

Time to say a big thank you to the teams who came together and organised such a high-quality training!