This book is designed to support individuals, particularly in higher education settings, gain knowledge and skills related to critical dialogues that support effective conflict management. Higher education institutions and its stakeholders such as faculty, staff, students, and administrators are often perceived for their proclivity to foster debate. This book is not about how to facilitate debate, but rather, dialogue, which if managed well, can lead to positive growth, learning outcomes, and increased productivity. Dialogue as a method for effective conflict management is an underutilized method of communication. Contents of the book include modules that address communication skills, conflict management styles, working in small groups or teams, how to facilitate change, and research-based resources and references for conflict management.

In this timely and thought-provoking book, the authors engage each other and the reader in an ongoing dialogue questioning the purpose and role of the contemporary university as bureaucratic, corporate, and diversified. Written as a series of conversations between the authors, two Chicano scholars at a western university, Debatable Diversity chronicles their own experiences as academic activists who struggled for decades to transform an American university system based more on entrepreneurship and the business model than on a dedication to the ideals set forth by a social awareness and support for civil rights that came out of the 1960s and early 1970s, a time when hope and faith in social change permeated college campuses. Instead, as Padilla and Montiel reveal, this commitment was never realized, and the lack of responsiveness of most American universities to the realities of shifting demographics and cultural diversity is the rule rather than the exception. Posing a challenge for all of those interested in transforming the university into a place that reflects the realities of the American cultural landscape, including growing minority populations, the challenge of maintaining a sense of humanity in the face of the information age, socioeconomic and class inequality, and the growing presence of minorities on campus, Debatable Diversity challenges readers to reexamine the purposes, goals, and functions of the American university in light of the ongoing social transformation from modernity to postmodernity. Not only do the authors offer an insider's look at the inner workings of academia, but also of academic activism, with the goal of renewal and reconfiguration of the contemporary 'multiversity.'

Designed to be used in courses that examine relevant pro-and-con disputes about schools and schooling. By exploring the major opposing viewpoints on the issues, this text encourages education students to think critically and develop their own viewpoints. It includes research and scholarship, discussion suggestions, and bibliographic references.

Intergroup dialogue promotes student engagement across cultural and social divides on college campuses through a face-to-face, interactive, and facilitated learning experience that brings together twelve to eighteen students from two or more social identity groups over a sustained period of time. Students in intergroup dialogue explore commonalities and differences; examine the nature and impact of discrimination, power, and privilege; and find ways of working together toward greater inclusion, equality, and social justice. Intergroup dialogue is offered as a cocurricular activity on some campuses and as a course or part of a course on others. The practice of intergroup dialogue is considered a substantive and meaningful avenue for preparing college graduates with the knowledge, commitment, and skills essential for living and working in a diverse yet socially stratified society. The research evidence supports the promise of intergroup dialogues to meet its educational goals?consciousness raising, building relationships across differences and conflicts, and strengthening individual and collective capacities to promote social justice. This volume outlines the theory, practice, and research on intergroup dialogue. It also offers educational resources to support the practice of intergroup dialogue. Addressing faculty, administrators, student affairs personnel, students, and practitioners, this volume is a useful resource for anyone implementing intergroup dialogues in higher education. This is the 4th issue of the 32nd volume of the Jossey-Bass report series ASHE Higher Education Report Series. Each monograph in the series is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education problem, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Many American educators are all too familiar with disengaged students, disenfranchised teachers, sanitized and irrelevant curricula, inadequate support for the neediest schools and students, and the tyranny of standardizing testing. This text invites teachers and would-be teachers unhappy with such conditions to consider becoming critical educators - professionals dedicated to creating schools that genuinely provide equal opportunity for all children. Assuming little or no background in critical theory, chapters address several essential questions to help readers develop the understanding and resolve necessary to become change agents. Why do critical theorists say that education is always political? How do traditional and critical agendas for schools differ? Which agenda benefits whose children? What classroom and policy changes does critical practice require? What risks must change agents accept? Resources point readers toward opportunities to deepen their understanding beyond the limits of these pages.

Conflict management is an overlooked area in leadership development. Mediation as an intervention method to use in conflict management can be productive for building leadership capacity and organizational development in higher education. Adults average five conflicts per day and people in titled leadership spend over two-thirds of their time engaged in managing conflict. This book offers conflict management strategies, models, and processes to support college and university personnel in recognizing and managing conflicts and how to build skill sets that can enhance effective communication and address issues strategically.

Few subjects engender more strongly held beliefs and contrary views than education. The outcomes of debates over education and educational reform impact all citizens. Media coverage of these controversies is sometimes shallow and one-sided, fostering the need to develop critical thinking skills. These skills in turn open opportunities for personal growth, joining the public debate, and helping others participate in critical discussions. The authors of Critical Issues in Education present two opposing positions for each of sixteen different hot-button issues, including multiculturalism, school finance, charter schools, teacher evaluation, cyberbullying, and gender equity. Prospective teachers will find the authors’ approach eye-opening and stimulating. Ideally, they will teach these valuable skills to their students, who will prosper academically and personally from understanding and considering diverse viewpoints.