Although there is no shortage of literature on why mediators should be allowed to give evaluations and why parties in dispute allegedly want and need evaluations, there is a relative lack of empirical literature on the subject of what exactly qualifies as competent evaluative mediation practice. The author reviews existing literature to formulate a description of the behaviors that would be considered competent in evaluative mediation practice, and to open a discussion of the implications of these findings for such contemporary fieldwide conversations as defining quality mediation, establishing performance‐based competency standards, distinguishing among approaches to practice, and exploring the relationship between underlying values and practice approaches.
cush and Folger (1994) in The Promise of Mediation acticulated distinctions between Individualist and Relational ideology, and linked them to specific theoretical orientations to mediation practice, problem‐solving and transformative, respectively. Yet, a question persists as to whether these distinctions produce any material differences in practice. This question is approached here through an examination of a single construct in the mediation literature, empathy. The author proposes that the Individualist and Relational ideological frameworks have material implications for the concept and the practice of fostering empathy between the parties to a mediation: The problem‐solving framework fosters a social interaction which can be understood as transactional empathy while the transformative framework fosters an interaction described as relational empathy.
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