Internship Project: Restorative Justice for Secondary School Students

Restorative Justice for Secondary School Students

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Restorative Justice for Secondary School Students 3

Needs Assessment. 3

Objectives 4

Project Planning 4

Project Description 5

Project Implementation. 6

First phase implementation 6

Second phase implementation. 7

Project Evaluation. 8

Project Reflection. 8

Sample artefacts 9

References 11

Restorative Justice for Secondary School Students

Needs Assessment

Managing students misbehavior is one of the significant challenges our school has faced for a more extended period. The use of a punitive approach, including zero-tolerance policies, has caused much harm to the students bodies. For instance, expulsion and suspension policies remove at least 50 students from school every year due to violations of simple rules. Apart from expulsion and suspension, the use of caporal punishment has been witnessed in many instances for the students who have committed simple violations such as failure to submit assignments in time. In general, such a mode of punishment has significantly contributed to massive school dropout and academic failure. Additionally, around 20% of our school population have engaged in physical fights, some traumatized while others have started using drugs to handle the schools unfriendly environment. (Pavelka, 2013)

Besides, the hash treatments have not conformed to the students behavior, instead of worsening their conduct and attitude, thus isolating them from fellow peers. Otherwise, some of the students misconducts have been necessitated by the adults behavior; therefore, failing to address the issue holistically would soon destroy the sense of community set up in our school. Absurdly, some of the criminalizing and exclusionary discipline practices have adopted racial inequalities within the school. Some of our students have been put on suspension for defiance and disrespect based on cultural disparity. Consequently, in what is seen as a school-to-prison pipeline, most students of color are highly alienated from school through punishment, handed over to law enforcement in school, and later pushed to jail for the same mistakes as their white counterparts. (Payn & Welch 2015)

Therefore, the therapeutic justice approach would look into who has been harmed by the students misconduct other than what laws have been broken. Also, the approach would consider the losses the victim has incurred instead of who the offender is. Notably, some of our neighboring schools have adopted the restorative justice approach with significant success. The approach was also used in criminal justice systems where offenders were considered an approach to crime and later developed restorative practices in schools to discipline. (Pavelka, 2013)

Consequently, following an agreement by the school board of management, teachers, parents, and various education stakeholders that the school adopts a restorative justice approach to discipline students to curb the vast school dropouts and mass failure registered recently, I was given the directive to look at how Restorative Justice will be implemented in the school. The restorative practice will bring together the student accused of causing harm, the students administration, on the usage and importance of Restorative Justice practices for the school to build a community and advance a healthy relationship among the teachers, students, administrators, and social workers to teach the social-emotional and conflict-resolution skills necessary to minimize conflict.

Secondly, to establish how Restorative Justice Practices and training of students and other school stakeholders would incorporate technology use. This is to enable everyone to attend the session virtually to observe the current Covid-19 safety protocols. Students will therefore participate from home in line with the directive by the Ministry of Education. (Payn & Welch 2015)

Project Planning

Restorative Justice enables the students to navigate some conflicts on their...

…network with various education experts and colleagues from around the world. I have come up with several activities that will enable them to gain understanding and knowledge on improving the learning environment for our students community and staff.

Moreover, the session will be facilitated by both experts in restorative justice practice and colleagues from schools that had implemented the approach earlier. The presentations will directly relate to the issues we are likely to experience as we begin the approach implementation. I have also attached the list of various activities that will be carried out on that day. Please consider facilitating this conference.

A chart illustrating some of the differences in approaches to issues by punitive and restorative justice practices.

PUNITIVE Vs. RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

Punitive

Restorative

Misbehavior refers to breaking school regulations or letting the school down.

Misbehaviorrefers to any harm (emotional/mental/ physical) inflicted to one person/group by an individual or group.

Concentration is on what took place and establishing blame and guilt.

Attention is on problem-solving by expressing feelings and solution by exploring how to address problems when it reoccurs in the future.

Adversarial relationship and process. Includes an authority with the power to make penalty decisions in conflict with the offender.

Promote Dialogue and negotiation with each and everyone involved in communication and cooperation with one another.

Infliction of pain or unpleasantness to punish and deter the student from a repeat of misbehavior.

Restitution is a way of restoring both parties, the aim being reconciliation and acknowledging ownership for choices.

Strictly observe rules and adherence to due process

Observance of relationships and achievement to everyones desired outcome.

Conflict and wrongdoing are projected as impersonal and abstract individuals against the school.

Conflict and wrongdoing are perceived as interpersonal conflicts with learning capacity.

School fraternity are spectators, represented by staff members handling the situation; those directly affected are not participatory and powerless.

Accountability refers to understanding the effect of actions,…