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Mediation Theory and Practice
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Mediation Theory and Practice

Third Edition


June 2018 | 272 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

Mediation Theory and Practice, Third Edition introduces students to the process of mediation by using practical examples that show students how to better manage conflicts and resolve disputes. Authors Suzanne McCorkle and Melanie J. Reese help students to understand the research and theory that underlie mediation, as well as provide students with the foundational skills a mediator must possess in any context, including issue identification, setting the agenda for negotiation, problem solving, settlement, and closure.

New to the Third Edition:

  • Expanded content on the role of evaluative mediation reflects the latest changes to the alternative dispute resolution field, helping students to distinguish between various approaches to mediation.
  • Additional discussions around careers in conflict management familiarize students with employment opportunities for mediators, standards of professional conduct, and professional mediator competencies.
  • New activities and case studies throughout each chapter assist students in developing their mediation competency.

Instructors, sign in at study.sagepub.com/mccorkle3e for a Microsoft Word test bank, sample course syllabi with term projects, chapter exercises and activities, and more!

Available with Perusall—an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class
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List of Cases, Views, and Role-Play Scenarios
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Chapter 1: Introduction to Mediation
 
Why Mediation?
Benefits for the Disputants

 
Benefits for the Mediator

 
How Do People Find Their Way to Mediation?

 
Family Mediation

 
Community Mediation

 
Victim–Offender Mediation

 
School-Based Peer Mediation

 
Organizational Mediation

 
Government and Court-Annexed Mediation

 
Power, Rights, and Interests

 
Resolving through Power

 
Resolving through Rights

 
Resolving through Interests

 
The Dispute Resolution Continuum

 
Litigation

 
Arbitration

 
Med-Arb

 
Mediation

 
Informal Conflict Management

 
A Disclaimer about Mediation Training

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 1.1: Starting Your Mediator Portfolio

 
Portfolio Assignment 1.2: Personal Reflections

 
 
Chapter 2: The Basic Components of Mediation
Philosophical Assumptions

 
Facilitative Approach

 
Transformative Approach

 
Evaluative Approach

 
Comparing the Three Approaches

 
Functional Models

 
Integrating Philosophies

 
Variables That Make a Difference in Mediation Models

 
Premediation or No Premediation

 
Allow Uninterrupted Disputant First Statements or Control When and How Long Each Person Speaks

 
Allow, Require, or Forbid Private Meetings between the Mediator and the Parties

 
Require an Agenda before Negotiating, Negotiate as You Go, or Slide Back and Forth between Issue Identification and Negotiation

 
Consider the Parts of the Mediation as Functional Phases or as Chronological Steps

 
Focus on the Problem, Focus on the Emotions, or Balance Problems and Emotions

 
Prescribe Automatic First Moves within Phases or Allow Mediator Choice

 
Allowing or Prohibiting Parties to Speak to Each Other

 
Writing and Signing or Not Signing Agreements

 
Phases in the Balanced Mediation Model

 
Premediation

 
Mediation Session

 
Postmediation

 
Does Culture Matter in Mediation?

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 2.1: Personal Reflections on Mediation Philosophy

 
Portfolio Assignment 2.2: Personal Reflections on Culture

 
 
Chapter 3: Essential Skills for Mediators
An Overview of Mediator Skills

 
Trusting and Controlling the Process

 
Trusting the Process

 
Controlling the Process

 
Listening: A Bedrock Skill for Mediators

 
Types of Listening

 
Variables That Affect Listening

 
Skills for Listening to Content, Emotion, and Relationship

 
Reframing Messages

 
Listening to Nonverbal Communication

 
Clarifying and Asking Questions

 
Open versus Closed Questions

 
Genuinely Curious Questions

 
Honoring Silence

 
Listening Interculturally

 
Ethical Issues and Listening

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 3.1: Emotional Paraphrases

 
Portfolio Assignment 3.2: The Open-Ended Question

 
 
Chapter 4: Premediation Activities
Contacting Disputants

 
Goals to Accomplish During Intake

 
Education Role

 
Information-Gathering Role

 
Assessment Role

 
Setting the Stage

 
Time and Timing

 
Place

 
Environment

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 4.1: The Referral Sourcebook

 
Portfolio Assignment 4.2: Intake and Agreement to Mediate Forms

 
 
Chapter 5: Ethical Considerations and Tactical Preparations
Mediator Roles

 
Ethical Considerations in the Mediation Community

 
Ethical Considerations for Mediators

 
Neutrality and Impartiality

 
Reality Testing

 
Competence

 
Dual-Role Relationships

 
Truthfulness

 
Informed Choice

 
Conclusions about Mediator Ethics

 
Disputant Roles

 
Analyzing Stakeholders

 
The Mediation Plan

 
Common Causes of Conflict

 
Conflict Causes and Mediator Moves

 
Cultural Awareness

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 5.1: Ethical Codes of Conduct

 
Portfolio Assignment 5.2: Mediator Supplies

 
Portfolio Assignment 5.3: Personal Reflections That Deepen Cultural Awareness

 
 
Chapter 6: The Mediator’s Opening Statement
Managing Arrivals and Seating

 
Opening Statement Functions

 
Opening Statement Styles

 
Monologue Style

 
Interactive Style

 
Opening Statement Dynamics

 
Length

 
Order

 
Key Components of the Opening Statement

 
Welcoming

 
Introductions

 
Building Credibility

 
Establishing Stakeholders

 
Explaining the Nature and Scope of Mediation

 
Explaining the Mediator’s Role

 
Explaining the Caucus

 
Explaining Impartiality and Neutrality

 
Giving a Confidentiality Statement

 
Disclosing Notetaking Purposes

 
Establishing Ground Rules

 
Discuss Facilities

 
Discovering Time Constraints

 
Explaining the Role of Outside Experts

 
Securing the Commitment to Begin

 
Transitioning to Storytelling

 
Building Credibility and Rapport

 
The Relationship between Opening Statements and Mediator Control

 
Notetaking for Mediators

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 6.1: Creating Your Personal Opening Statement

 
Portfolio Assignment 6.2: Creating Your Personal Notetaking Form

 
 
Chapter 7: Storytelling and Issue Identification
Theories of Storytelling

 
Symbolic Interaction

 
Attribution Theory

 
Emotional Intelligence

 
Functions of Storytelling

 
The Individual

 
The Mediator

 
Mediator Strategies in Storytelling

 
One Storyteller at a Time

 
Co-Constructing Stories

 
General Inquiry Questions

 
Whole Picture Questions

 
The Naïve Detective

 
Specific Inquiry Questions

 
Establishing Agreed-Upon “Facts”

 
Weighing the Importance of Disagreements

 
Perspective Taking

 
Humor

 
Recognizing Turning Points

 
Overcoming Common Pitfalls during Storytelling

 
Pitfall 1: Unchecked Power Differences

 
Pitfall 2: Allowing Blaming and Attacking

 
Pitfall 3: Acting on Overstatements or Generalizations

 
Pitfall 4: Taking Sides

 
Pitfall 5: Permitting Interrupting and Bickering

 
Pitfall 6: Mismanaging Emotional Outbursts

 
Pitfall 7: Letting One Party Monopolize Time or Control the Process

 
Pitfall 8: Being Overwhelmed with Evidence

 
Conflict Causes and Mediator Moves

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 7.1: The Vision Quest

 
Portfolio Assignment 7.2: Reframes

 
Portfolio Assignment 7.3: Personal Reflection

 
 
Chapter 8: Setting the Agenda for Negotiation
Mediator’s Notes Are the Building Blocks of the Agenda

 
When to Shift to the Agenda Step

 
Components of the Agenda

 
The Commonality Statement

 
The Agenda List

 
Sequencing the Agenda List

 
Who Decides the Order of the Agenda?

 
Considerations When Choosing the Agenda Sequence

 
Adding an Issue for Continuing Relationships

 
Alternate Methods of Creating the Agenda

 
Framing the Agenda Neutrally and Mutually

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 8.1: Methods of Ordering the Agenda

 
Portfolio Assignment 8.2: Transitioning to the Agenda

 
 
Chapter 9: Problem Solving and Negotiation
The Two Worlds of Negotiation

 
Directiveness vs. Intrusiveness

 
Mediator Techniques to Foster Disputant Problem Solving

 
Starting the Negotiation

 
Techniques for Cooperative Negotiation

 
Techniques for Traditional Negotiation

 
Using the Caucus to Respond to Common Problems

 
Not Bargaining in Good Faith

 
Hidden Agendas

 
Reality Check

 
Lying or Withholding Information

 
Shuttle

 
Breaking Deadlocks

 
Analyze the Impasse

 
Techniques to Break through Impasse

 
Face-Saving

 
Ending the Negotiation Phase

 
Mediator Ethics and the Negotiation Phase

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 9.1: Questions to Start Negotiation

 
Portfolio Assignment 9.2: Going into Caucus

 
Portfolio Assignment 9.3: Personal Reflections on Face

 
 
Chapter 10: Settlement and Closure
Why Write Agreements?

 
Is the Agreement Legally Binding or Legally Nonbinding?

 
A Format for Writing Mediation Agreements

 
Choosing the Phrasing of the Agreement

 
Agreements Use Direct Language

 
Agreements Are Clear

 
Agreements Generally Are Positive

 
Agreements Are Impartial

 
Agreements Are Concrete

 
Agreements Arise from the Parties’ Words

 
Creating Durable Agreements

 
Contingency Agreements

 
Future Communication Clauses

 
Reality Testing

 
Partial Agreements

 
Final Reading and Signing

 
Closing a Nonagreement Mediation

 
Debriefing the Session

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 10.1: Memorandum of Agreement Form

 
 
Chapter 11: The World of the Mediator
Variations on Basic Mediation

 
Co-Mediation

 
Panels

 
Extended Premediation

 
Mediation and the Internet

 
Mediation as a Profession

 
Employment Opportunities for Mediators

 
Cross-Training and Life Skills

 
Standards of Professional Conduct

 
Professional Mediator Competencies

 
Mediation Skills in Everyday Life

 
Summary

 
Chapter Resources

 
Portfolio Assignment 11.1: My Current Skill Level

 
 
Appendix A: Practice Cases
 
Appendix B: Mediator Skills Checklist
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Site

Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:

    • A Microsoft® Word test bank, is available containing multiple choice, true/false, and essay questions for each chapter. The test bank provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to assess students’ progress and understanding.
    • Editable, chapter-specific Microsoft® PowerPoint® slides offer you complete flexibility in easily creating a multimedia presentation for your course.
    • Sample course syllabi with term projects for semester and quarter courses provide suggested models for use when creating the syllabi for your courses.
    • Lively and stimulating chapter exercises and activities that can be used in class to reinforce active learning. The activities apply to individual or group projects.
    • Chapter-specific discussion questions help launch classroom interaction by prompting students to engage with the material and by reinforcing important content.
    • A set of all the graphics from the text, including all of the maps, tables, and figures, in PowerPoint, .pdf, and .jpg formats for class presentations.
    • Additional Cases that can be used for extra practice outside of the classroom in order to support the skills and techniques taught in class
      Sample Mediation Forms assist with the set up of the mediation and help guide the mediator through the process of mediation

I have used this book as a course book for my mediation course for the past three terms and will still use it for the next term. I must say that I am extremely happy with the content of and structure of the book.
The book introduces students to the field of mediation from a theoretical and practical perspective. This is done in clear and simple language. I consider this book very suitable for teaching and introducing undergrads to the field of mediation.
Instructor resources are also very good and helpful. These resources have greatly aided me to teach this class more effectively and easily.
Many students also indicate in their feedback during course evaluation how much they have enjoyed the book.
The only thing I would have loved as part of the package is for the package to include video resources as well such as video links, YouTube videos, online video simulations etc. Overall, this is the best textbook on a general introduction to the field of mediation.

Dr Elvis Nshom Ngwayuh
Communication, California St Univ-San Marcos
April 15, 2021

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