Results

During PLC workshops, new skills for managing and diffusing conflict are discussed, modeled and practiced.  By issuing a series of pre- and post-workshop surveys and evaluations to students and staff, PLC has evidence-based data to support successful use of peace tools and improved conflict management among participants. An independent review by UW-Milwaukee’s Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) support this:

A quick summary of survey/evaluation results from PLC participants in the past school year supports our impact:

• 95% of students surveyed indicated that they had used at least one of the tools for non-violent conflict management and healthy communication since their PLC experience.
• 79% of students were able to identify the use of an I-message as the most peaceful way to communicate their feelings in a difficult situation, an increase of 10% over the pre-survey.
• Nearly three-quarters of the student participants identified “hear the other person’s point of view” as an effective method for solving a conflict in a “fair and peaceful way”.  This was a 22% increase from the pre-survey.
• 60% of all teachers agreed that students had improved in their handling of conflict since attending the workshop, this was increased to 63% for teachers who reported continued reinforcement and to 65% for teachers who reported that they had handled conflict differently themselves.
• 84% of all participating teachers agreed or agreed strongly that they were handling student conflicts differently since the workshop and 92% of those teachers who attended PLC with their classes for the first time this year, reported this change.