Regulation of mediation training and education: thin end of the wedge or just a wedge?

With the introduction of the National Mediator Approval and Accreditation Standards this year the training and education sector of the dispute resolution market has prescribed a number of quantitative standards that must be met to produce participants eligible to become accredited. The Standards prescribe the number of role plays that students should participate in and the minimum number of hours for the course/subject. Questions considered in this presentation include: - Whether quantitative prescription is an appropriate approach and whether the proposed standards are effective in achieving the objectives of the regulation of entry into the mediation profession. - Is it appropriate that the regulatory agency prescribe teaching approaches and what implications this has for the pedagodgy/andragogy of dispute and conflict resolution subjects beyond the scope of the mediation program? - How do the standards reconcile the accreditation standards with the educational standards? - Are the education requirements sufficiently clear to ensure that objectives of the regulatory model are met and if not are the grounds for the vagueness justified? The presentation will explore issues of self-regulation and professionalization of the mediation profession and implications for the broader conflict management and dispute resolution fields beyond court annexed mediation