Abstract:

Introduction:
Improvement of training intercultural mediators in the sphere of education is a pressing issue for Russia, where representatives of 193 nationalities live. Intercultural mediation in education is a way to resolve conflicts caused by interethnic contradictions that involve various actors. The article presents the study supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project number is 18-013-00528.
There are different models of training mediators. Siberian Federal University studied the experience of the European colleagues (TIME Project partnership, 2016) while developing the model of a Master’s program in "Mediation in education".
The research problem of this study is the defining relevant didactic elements in training educators mediators, ready to work with interethnic conflicts.
The purpose of the research was to study the development of the significant competencies of mediators working in the field of education.

Methodology:
The research involved expert survey on the combination and hierarchy of didactic training elements; sociological survey among practicing mediators in schools of Krasnoyarsk; semi-structured expert interviews (Likert scale); practicing mediators’ self-assessment of the professional competencies, comparative analysis of Russian and European mediators’ competencies based on the survey adapted from E. Lieberman,Y. Foux-Levy,P. Segala (2005).

Outcomes:
Siberian Federal University has been involved in training mediators at the Master’s program level for two years. The training has been carried out in accordance with the practice-based model (Smolyaninova, 2019). Heads of school mediation services of Krasnoyarsk took part in the expert interview. Experts were asked to evaluate the relevance of the proposed thirteen didactic components of school mediator training programs in accordance with the Likert scale.
The statistical data processing carried out made it possible to identify the hierarchy of the didactic elements. Experts placed “practical trainings in mediation and communication”. Experts placed “analysis of real cases in mediation” on the second place. “Theoretical knowledge and supervision” took the third place. According to the expert evaluation the least important in training intercultural mediators is "participation of mediators in professional communities".

Summary:
The results of the empirical research allowed identifying and systematizing expert opinion on the importance of the practical component in training intercultural mediators for secondary education. These data correlate with the findings of European colleagues involved in the training intercultural mediators. Despite the specific features of the sociocultural context of intercultural mediation in Russian schools related to ethnic diversity, our studies proved the universal significance of such competencies as manifestation of empathy, neutrality and impartiality, and skills in intercultural communication for a mediator. Due to the lack of researches in this area, additional study and in-depth interviews are required.

References:
[1] Lieberman, E., Foux-Levy, Y. & Segala, P. (2005). Beyond Basic Training: Model for Developing Mediator Competence.
[1] TIME project partnership. (2016). Training Course for Intercultural Mediators for Immigrants.
[3] Smolyaninova, O. (2019) Training model of school intercultural mediators master's program at Siberian federal university.

Keywords:

Intercultural mediation, conflict resolution, interethnic relations, professional competency, empathy, neutrality.