SELF-AWARENESS IN THE MEDIATION PROCESS: A STUDENT’S PERCEPTIVE

Abstract

Self-awareness is a social skill in the mediation field, explored during the Master in Alternative Dispute Resolution content. The research question to ask is what is the Master in Alternative Dispute Resolution Students’ perspective of self-awareness as a mediator skill and its importance in the mediation process? This research is a challenge to facilitate an understanding of the students' perception of self-awareness on the meaning of the concept as a mediation skill, identify possible actions to enhance self-awareness, and identify the importance of self-awareness in the mediation process and the correlation with other concepts. Data collection was addressed to the second semester of 2021 Master in Alternative Dispute Resolution Students at Independent College Dublin, facilitating a questionary survey and semi-structured interviews. The results were presented using charts and tables to demonstrate the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data. The findings concluded that self-awareness is a concern among the participants, and there is an appetite to develop the skill in order to guarantee to the parties a safe, supportive and impartial process to resolve the conflict. Also, the study revealed that mediation is a complex field where assertiveness, empathy, neutrality and impartiality are a web of skills that support the mediator role. Finally, the research may assist parties interested in further exploring skills required in the mediation process.