Resolving online conflicts of primary school students through school mediation

Abstract

At any age, people experience conflicts, which can have many causes. In particular, primary school students are often involved in clashes of opposing interests that can develop both offline and online. Given that in the era of digitalisation of public spheres, primary school students spend a significant part of their personal time in the online space, it is advisable to focus on virtual conflicts of primary school students and mediation work aimed at resolving them. The article reflects the essence of the concept of ‘conflict’, the differences between the terms ‘conflict’ (‘online conflict’) and ‘bullying’ (‘cyberbullying’); describes the causes and forms of conflicts of primary school students in the online space, possible reactions to them; the definition of school mediation as a social tool for the effective prevention and resolution of disputes and clashes among primary school students, including online, is substantiated; the characteristics of the five main stages of school mediation are presented, taking into account the specifics of the online form of conflict and the age of primary school students.