Affiliation:
1. Arizona College, USA
2. University of Southern Maine, USA
Abstract
School boards in the United States have become a battleground for contentious local and national issues. As elected officials, school board members often lack training in leadership and conflict resolution. Training that does exist often fails to develop the competencies that research in peace psychology suggests are essential to building positive peace. The authors present a framework derived from peace psychology and the organizational literature including three social psychological needs (i.e., trust, inclusion, and psychological safety; TIS) and five competencies that help meet these needs (patience, engagement, appreciation, curiosity, and empowerment; PEACE). They surveyed 72 school board members from 36+ towns in Maine about their training, competencies, preparedness, effectiveness, positive relationships, and feelings of being emotionally drained. Regression analyses confirmed the importance of formal training for their preparedness and effectiveness.