Page 39 - Shared Solutions: A Guide to Preventing and Resolving Conflicts Regarding Programs and Services for Students with Special Education Needs 2007

Finding Common Ground
When everyone agrees that problem solving isn’t working, it’s time to try finding common ground.
With this approach, a face-to-face meeting is always necessary, since part of the problem is that the parties have preconceived ideas about the solutions they want.
Collaborative Approaches to Resolving Conflicts
This approach requires each party to:
✓ focus on the student’s strengths and needs;
✓ discuss and explain the assumptions or beliefs that define the
problem for him or her;
✓ have a clear understanding of what the issue is;
✓ clearly articulate how he or she sees the issue;
✓ share all information that pertains to the issue;
✓ listen actively and ask open-ended questions to elicit more informa- tion, such as “What would happen if...?”, “Would you be happy if...?;
✓ be willing to brainstorm to identify possible options;
✓ be willing to identify interests, perceptions, or needs that are
common to the parties;
✓ be willing to compromise in order to narrow the scope of the issue;
✓ recognize and accept common ground when it is discovered;
✓ agree to a written plan to implement the agreed-upon solution;
✓ agree to attend a follow-up meeting within a set time frame to dis- cuss how well the solution is working.
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