Schools

With the potential of teaching conflict resolution skills, building stronger relationships and providing alternative approaches to discipline, many schools are exploring the use of restorative practices. These articles discuss the experiences with this approach to school discipline.

Bargen, Catherine. Safe Schools: Strategies for Changing a Culture

Teachers, administrators, and communities are looking for ways to make their schools "safe schools." What, asks Catherine Bargen, does a safe school look like? To make schools safe, many programs are being tried, yet incidents of aggression and violence continue to disrupt and disturb school communities. Bargen maintains that something comprehensive must be done that will encourage a shift in the culture of the way that conflict and punishment are viewed. In this regard, she relates the experience of School District #35 in Langley, British Columbia, and its partnership with Fraser Region Community Justice Initiatives to explore how restorative justice principles might affect culture change throughout the local school system.

Mirsky, Laura. SaferSanerSchools: Transforming School Culture with Restorative Practices

SaferSanerSchools is a program of the International Institute for Restorative Practices. It was developed in response to a perceived crisis in American education and in society as a whole - a crisis of truancy and dropout rates, disciplinary problems, violence, and even mass murders in schools. The aim is to introduce and foster restorative principles and practices among staff and students to deal with conflict in school settings. Using practical examples and results of interviews with staff and students, Laura Mirsky describes pilot SaferSanerSchools programs in Pennsylvania.

Braithwaite, Valerie and Reinhart, Monika and Morrison, Brenda and Reinhart, Monika and Ahmed, Eliza and Morrison, Brenda. Researching prospects for restorative justice practice in schools: The Life at School Survey 1996-1999

As the authors note at the outset of their paper, restorative justice practices are increasingly being regarded as attractive options for dealing with wrongdoing in school communities. Traditional punishments - such as suspension or expulsion - are being used as tools of last resort. Alternative forms of dealing with conflict in the school community come in a variety of forms, including counseling and rehabilitation programs, teaching more effective parenting, shaping school norms about appropriate behavior, and enabling children to mediate conflict and find peaceful solutions. Restorative justice fits within these broad social trends of best practice in school management. In this context the authors investigate questions about how best to build a restorative justice program in schools. Through results from the "Life at School Survey" - conducted at 32 schools in Canberra - they focus in particular on the prospects for restorative interventions based on the notion of shame management for students within a school community.

Lipchitz, Loyola. Restorative Justice in School Settings

As Lolya Lipchitz notes, the principles and practices of restorative justice were first developed in the context of the criminal justice system. Yet during the 1990s the concept of a restorative approach to discipline and wrongdoing began to be adapted and applied in school settings. In this article, Lipchitz expands on the principles, values, and practices of restorative justice. She then shows how they can be used in schools particularly through victim-offender dialogue, small group conferencing, and peacemaking circles.

Nothhafft, Susanne. Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation: A Pilot Programme in Munich Secondary Schools

In the 1990's, the Fachstelle mediation program noticed an increase in the number of cases concerning criminal offenses in or near schools, including primary, secondary, and high school. The offenses committed involved mainly bodily harm and sometimes sexual harassment. Nearly all criminal acts arose out of ongoing conflict whose escalation was not prevented at an early stage. The program is composed of different building blocks comprising several target groups, such as pupils, teachers, and parents. The program provided the following tools: class council/conference, supervising/coaching, external mediation, and peer mediation. The pilot program concerning conflict resolution and peer mediation consisted of several modules that were tailor made into an individual program for each school. These modules were peer mediation training, basic training in conflict resolution, consultation hours for pupils, supervising/coaching for teachers, vocational training for teachers, discussions/consultations for parents, and external mediation. Recent research, conceived as assessment and evaluation, consisted of observation, standardized questionnaires, and group discussion. Results show that pupils were very seriously engaged in the training program, even investing their leisure time. There were no dropouts. The training groups were composed of pupils of very different ethnic and social backgrounds, often with problematic backgrounds. The basic training was widely accepted and found to be useful. As far as the peer mediation was concerned, a sufficient number of participants volunteered in every school. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org

Osborn, David A. Training in Restorative Justice: Enhancing Praxis with Public School Educators

In this thesis I explore the use of praxis as a means of developing educators' collaborative abilities. The research is based on the development and design of two restorative justice training programs. The programs' delivery and their impact on two groups of public school educators are also examined. Group A included 20 educators from an elementary school, trained in the principles, interventions, and language of restorative justice. Group B included 11 educators from elementary, middle, and high schools, representing 7 district schools, trained to facilitating a community conference. The effective use of praxis assumes that individuals involved in its practice are actively engaged in their social environment and are therefore able to assert their needs within that context. It also assumes they can reflect on their actions and are therefore able to co-operate within their social environment. My training programs made extensive use of a talking circle format, which provided the space for both experience and reflection. In this inquiry I suggest that those who can balance their ability to assert their needs and their ability to co-operate in a given social setting are individuals who are able to collaborate. In developing my argument I use dialectics, such as assertion and co-operation, to support my conclusions. My study concludes that training in restorative justice, when linked with methods that support and model the use of praxis, will develop and improve educators' ability to be collaborative.

Egan, Meredith. A Story of Restorative Justice Values and Principles in a School Setting

This paper consists of a resource tool for students, parents, and school staff to explore restorative justice values and principles in a school setting. It was used in a workshop for high school students in Mission, British Columbia, to wrestle with conflict, friendship, and authority. In the paper Meredith Egan presents a fictitious scenario concerning two students on a date to the school prom and a teacher/chaperone when the young couple arrive at the dance. Though the school board had enacted a "zero tolerance" policy to inhibit the use of alcohol by students, the two students had drunk some alcohol just before coming to the dance. The teacher/chaperone and the students must deal with the problem arising from the school board policy, the students' actions, and the relationships between the teacher, the students, and even the students' families.

Henskens-Rejiman, Joke and van Pagee, Robert. Restorative Practices in a Dutch School

Joke Henskens-Reijman and Roel van Pagee are principals with Terra College, a collection of schools in The Hague (Netherlands). In this paper they describe efforts to incorporate restorative practices into the culture of two of the schools. They begin by describing changes in the population of the schools over the last decade, changes giving rise to an increase in disciplinary problems. Henskens-Reijman and van Pagee, dissatisfied with standard ways of dealing with disciplinary issues, heard about Real Justice conferences. Following training of staff, they began to employ conferences with victims and offenders to deal with problems. Henskens-Reijman and van Pagee explain steps taken to incorporate restorative practices and challenges in taking those steps.

Hopkins, Belinda. Restorative Approaches in Schools in the U.K.

This paper focues on what could be achieved in a school community if restorative skills and processes were used by everybody, with everybody, to build, nurture and repair relationships. Examples of what is happening in the U.K. will be given but the emphasis will be on what could be possible in your own community. The workshop will be informative, thought-provoking, participative, fun and inspiring.

Bargen, Catherine. Safe Schools: Strategies for a Changing Culture

In June 2000, a new partnership was born when School District #35 in Langley, BC and Fraser Region Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) agreed to work together to explore how restorative justice (RJ) principles might be applied throughout the local school system. This initiative grew out of the need to create safe schools through an effective, sustainable approach that does not rely on punishment and isolation to deal with discipline issues. The concept was that restorative justice based approaches will give frustrated parents and educators alike additional strategies for effectively addressing misbehaviour, the underlying issues responsible for that behaviour, and harms that occur as a result. To this end, we offer regular presentations and educational sessions about restorative action, which help raise awareness across the school district. In Secondary and Elementary Schools, we have a "Restorative Action" curriculum for students, parents, and staff, which prepares the trainees to be called upon when conflict in the school arises. We also have staff from CJI and the school district prepared to respond restoratively to more serious issues that arise in school environments. Although there are a number of individual schools across Canada, the US and elsewhere that have begun to use restorative justice based approaches in schools, this project is one of the first of its kind in implementing RJ as a collaborative effort and in a comprehensive manner throughout an entire school district. Abstract courtesy of the Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University, www.sfu.ca/cfrj.

Macgregor, Pat. Restitution Implemented in Saanich School District #63

Restitution implemented in Saanich School District #63 under a partnership between School District #63 and Penninsula Cross Roads Community Justice Program, a restitution approach has been implemented at Bayside and Royal Oak Middle Schools to help youth learn self-discipline and social responsibility. A departure from the punitive modes of traditional discipline, restitution emphasizes a positive process of learning from mistakes. Administrators, staff and volunteers believe that restitution helps students to be accountable for their own behaviour, to develop respect for self and others, and to strengthen their identity as capable, successful members of the community. Abstract courtesy of the Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University, www.sfu.ca/cfrj.

Ierley, Alice and Ivker, Carin. Restoring School Communities ~ Restorative Justice in Schools Program: Spring 2002 Report Card .

This study focuses on a Restorative Justice in Schools Program in Broomfield andBoulder, Colorado, for the spring of 2002. Twenty-two cases were referred to the program, including incidents of harassment, fighting, theft, vandalism, arson, drugs, and truancy. Of the 20 conferences held, 100 percent reached an agreement on how to100% of the repair the harm caused by the particular incident.(excerpt)

Claassen, Ron. First Restorative Justice Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel, May 1-2, 2002

In early May 2002 Ron Claassen, Director of the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies at Fresno Pacific University (Fresno, California), was a guest speaker at the First Restorative Justice Conference held in Tel Aviv, Israel. Martin Wright of England was the other guest speaker. In this article Claassen reports on the conference and his participation in it. Prior to the conference Claassen and Wright led workshops on the theory and practice of restorative justice, with a focus on the significance of restorative justice to the Israeli criminal justice system. The conference itself extended the same emphases on restorative justice theory and practice in relation to Israeli criminal justice. Participants included prosecutors, police, judges, attorneys, and law school and social work faculty and students.

Editor. Potent Process for Facilitating Change

Several schools in New Zealand are using restorative processes promoted by Australian facilitator and trainer Margaret Thorsborne. These processes are described by Stuart Newby, head of guidance at Massey High School, as a paradigm shift for a secondary school. At the time of this article, Massey had been using restorative processes for a year and a half to deal with incidents affecting relationships between students or between students and teachers. Such processes include restorative conferencing and a “restorative thinking room.â€? Staffed full time, this room is used to hold a child requiring removal from a classroom until the child has successfully negotiated, in a guided process, his or her return to the classroom. This article describes experiences at Massey and other schools with restorative processes, as well as the perspectives of staff on the value of this approach.

Braithwaite, Valerie and Reinhart, Monika and Morrison, Brenda and Reinhart, Monika and Ahmed, Eliza and Morrison, Brenda. Researching the prospects for restorative justice practice in schools: the 'Life at School Survey' 1996-99.

While restorative justice theory and practice generally began and developed in the sphere of criminal justice, a number of people are exploring and applying restorative justice principles and processes for dealing with wrongdoing in school settings. This interest stems at least in part from dissatisfaction with traditional punishments of a social kind such as suspension and expulsion. Alternative strategies for dealing with problems in school take a variety of forms, including counseling and rehabilitation programs, teaching more effective parenting, shaping school culture and norms, peer mediation, and more. The authors of this paper maintain that restorative justice fits well within these trends in school management. The question then is how to integrate restorative justice into schools, or put another way, how to build a restorative justice program in schools. To research this as preparation for recommending intervention strategies, a 'Life at School Survey' was conducted in Australia in the late 1990s. This paper presents the survey issues and results.

Ierley, Alice and Ivker, Carin. Restoring School Communities: A Report on the Colorado Restorative Justice in Schools Program

The School Mediation Center (Boulder, Colorado) received funding from certain government agencies to develop restorative justice programs in Boulder and Broomfield, communities in Colorado. This led to a Restorative Justice in Schools Program conducted in the spring of 2002. In this document, Ierley and Ivker survey a study of that program. They present an overview of key statistics from the study, issues related to restorative justice in schools, a case study of restorative justice in a school setting, the structure of the program, a summary of all cases and agreements handled in the program, and information on participant responses and satisfaction.

Armstrong, Margaret and Thorsborne, Margaret and Tobin, Mary and Thorsborne, Margaret. Community conferencing in Victorian schools: maximising protective factors

Under the National School Drug Education Strategy, Victoria received funding which has enabled the Department of Education & Training (DE&T), in collaboration with the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) to explore the effectiveness of Community Conferencing/Restorative Practices in schools across Victoria. Community Conferencing is a restorative justice approach to the management of harmful behaviour. It offers a way to achieve positive outcomes for students, their parents and caregivers and the school community in the wake of the sort of serious incidents usually so challenging for our schools. This approach offers an opportunity for all parties to address unresolved feelings and questions about these incidents. It is also thought to be a useful approach to address the issue of retention of at risk students in our schools. (excerpt)

Rigby, Ken. Addressing Bullying in Schools: Theory and Practice

This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of five different explanations of school bullying.First, developmental theory asserts that bullying is an outcome of child development. This explanation argues that as children mature they struggle to assert their social dominance; bullying is thus a form of that struggle for dominance. This type of explanation engenders school policies that employ a problem-solving approach to anti-bullying programs. The second explanation attributes bullying to individual differences. Children who bully tend to experience low levels of empathy and high levels of psychoticism, while victims of bullying tend to have low self-esteem and be psychologically introverted. School programs that embrace this approach engage in anger management programs and assertiveness programs. Third, bullying is explained as a sociocultural phenomenon in which bullying is an outcome of segregation into specified social groups with different levels of power. School policies that embrace this view engage in curriculum and programs that reduce discrimination and prejudice. Fourth, bullying is described as a response to group and peer pressures. Bullying is explained within the social context of the school environment and its various social groupings. Anti-bullying programs that embrace this perspective tend to employ programs that work on the development of empathy. Finally, bullying can be explained from a restorative justice perspective. This is similar to the individual differences perspective in that it shows how the individual characteristics of the aggressor and the victim contribute to the bullying problem. Restorative justice responses can be put in place by the school to reduce bullying behavior. These different explanations of bullying have different implications for school policy; each school should consider which works best in their environment. Abstract Courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Oklahoma Council on Violence Prevention. A Study of School Zero Tolerance Policies

The phrase “zero toleranceâ€? came into use to describe a program allowing seizure of property of anyone carrying drugs into the United States, no matter how small the amount of drugs. In 1994 the idea and the phrase were then applied to schools in the United States through national legislation to pursue gun-free schools. Since then states and local school boards across the country have extended the zero tolerance approach to toughen disciplinary policies in a number of categories. The Oklahoma Council on Violence Prevention decided in 2001 to investigate questions of violence as they relate to zero tolerance policies in the state of Oklahoma. The aim was to formulate options for action to improve the administration of disciplinary policy in Oklahoma schools. This document reports the research findings and resulting recommendations. Included in the analysis and recommendations is consideration of Native American systems of restitution justice and contemporary restorative justice approaches to wrongdoing and to disciplinary policies.

Sharpe, Lyndsey. Statement of Restorative Justice Principles as Applied in a School Setting.

These principles refer directly to schools. The various restorative processes referred to in the following guidelines include restorative empathic listening; restorative discussion; mediation (peer and adult -led), problem-solving circles, restorative conferencing and family group conferencing (FGC). A restorative school may have some or all of these in place, or be working towards developing some or all of these processes. Relationship and community building processes are also referred to in the context of proactive initiatives that schools can take to pre-empt anti-social and/or offending behaviour. (excerpt).