Author: Ronald Hustedde
Major Program: Conflict Resolution
Conflict is an inevitable part of Extension-related programming. Groups may be divided by priorities, misunderstandings, emotions or various forms of disagreements. Two Extension specialists delivered a training program, Public Conflict: Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, as part of new Extension agent training. It was based on the UK authored conflict resolution training manual: http://srdc.msstate.edu/trainings/educurricula/lemons/The agents learned about ways to find commo
The Extension specialist served as a facilitator and mediator with another UK faculty member to address a strained conflict in a county that involved Extension personnel and groups served by Extension. It involved individual interviews to learn more about the source of the conflict and to probe underneath the surface of anger and misunderstandings. When the key disputants were drawn together by the specialist, they learn more about their assumptions, hurts and differences. Eve