Mediation Models Used in Academic Settings

Abstract

Universities and academic settings bring together various stakeholders with divergent interests such as students, faculty members and support staff. These stakeholders regularly interact with strongly held and often conflicting points of view. In order to manage conflicts and disputes effectively, many universities rely upon conflict resolution systems such as mediation to address situations involving students, faculty and the administration. This study examines the mediation models adopted by four practitioners in three universities using a phenomenological approach to better understand which models are suited to this environment. The study found that the facilitative model is the most common approach to mediation used in terms of the cases examined and that the characteristics of a mediation model that best conform to the needs of a university community include relationships, empowerment and flexibility.