Conflict management and mediation training: A vehicle for community empowerment?

In: Mediation quarterly: journal of the Academy of Family Mediators, Band 15, Heft 2, S. 83-96

Abstract

AbstractThe following case study examines the use of conflict management and mediation training as a vehicle for community empowerment for residents of public housing estates in a large Midwestern city. Lederach's elicitive and prescriptive training models are used as a framework to explain the dynamics of power and disempowerment. Findings suggest that while training was an empowering experience for participants in the training setting, transferring these skills to the community setting was difficult. The external environment must be structured to allow training participants to employ their skills once training is complete if community empowerment is to succeed.