Jean Kane

Can restorative practices in schools make a difference

Schools in the UK looking for solutions to concerns about indiscipline have been enthused by the basic premise of restorative practice; the need to restore good relationships when there has been conflict or harm; and develop a school ethos, policies and procedures that reduce the possibilities of such conflict and harm arising. In 2004 the Scottish Executive funded a national pilot project on restorative practice and commissioned a team at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities to carry out a two‐year evaluation of the pilot. In this paper, we discuss staff and pupil understandings and offer some exploration of the underpinning principles of restorative practice as it has developed thus far in schools. We explore the successes and challenges schools experienced and discuss the potential contribution of restorative practices for schools in challenging times. Finally we relate our findings to some critical arguments about the meaning and purposes of discipline and control in schooling.

‘I was dead restorative today’: from restorative justice to restorative approaches in school

This paper explores definitions and understandings of restorative practices in education. It offers a critique of current theoretical models of restorative justice originally derived from the criminal justice system and now becoming popular in educational settings. It questions the appropriateness of these concepts as they are being introduced to schools in parts of the UK and refers to a recent Scottish Executive funded pilot initiative to implement restorative practices in schools. The paper then reflects on some findings from the evaluation of this pilot project, outlines a new notion of restorative approaches and suggests that this broader conceptualisation may offer an important way in which to promote social justice in education and to reassess the importance and inevitability of conflicting social interaction and structures inherent in schools as complex social institutions.

School exclusions and masculine, working‐class identities

In this paper attention will be paid to issues arising from school‐based research into the experience of working‐class boys who are excluded. National and local school exclusion statistics indicate an overall gender imbalance: in the secondary school sector, for every four boys who are excluded only one girl is excluded. Furthermore, statistics show that other groups such as pupils living in poverty (as indicated by receipt of free school meals) have an increased likelihood of being excluded from school. Explanations for the disproportionate exclusion of working‐class boys are considered here in relation to three pupil case studies drawn from a group of 20 case studies gathered in four secondary schools. There are indications that the processes by which some working‐class boys actively negotiate their masculinities are the same processes that lead to their exclusion from school. This paper uses empirical data from interviews and classroom observation to analyse these twin processes, considering how and why certain masculine identities are marginalized in school settings.

Behaviour support in secondary schools: what works for schools?

Abstract Between June 2000 and December 2001 a team from the University of Glasgow evaluated the effectiveness of behaviour support in one education authoritys secondary schools. The context was Scottish Executive incentives to education authorities to develop more inclusive approaches to young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. This education authority enabled its 21 secondary schools to shape their own responses, resulting in the emergence of sometimes very different forms of behaviour support across schools. The evaluation project set out to answer four questions: what is working; where are systems not working; what else is needed; and is the initiative providing value for money? Two sets of information collected over the first year of the project were analysed, including exclusions data, school reports on the initiative and case studies relating to 116 pupils receiving behaviour support. The article gives findings from the first year and discusses the implications for informing behaviour support policy and provision.

Teachers are Afraid we are Stealing their Strength’: A Risk Society and Restorative Approaches in School

Abstract This paper will discuss the introduction of Restorative Approaches (RA) in schools, contextualising this within a discussion of international concerns about school safety, (in)discipline and school violence. It will explore questions about the compatibility of RA with zero tolerance and positive/assertive discipline approaches and the use of disciplinary exclusion in a ‘risk society’.

Collaborative evaluation: balancing rigour and relevance in a research study of restorative approaches in schools in Scotland

Restorative Practices (RPs) in schools developed out of growing interest in Restorative Justice in the community. Schools looking for strategies to address disaffection, behaviour difficulties and violence were attracted by the key ideas: the need to restore good relationships when there has been conflict or harm; and develop a school ethos, policies and procedures that reduce the possibilities of such conflict and harm. In 2004, the Scottish Executive funded a pilot project on RPs in three Councils, commissioning a team based at Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities to carry out a two‐year evaluation in 18 pilot schools. The methods were negotiated throughout the research period with a range of stakeholders, including the funders, the Councils and key school personnel. This article will focus on some methodological questions arising from the evaluation, and on the issue of the relationship of the research to policy and practice development. The approach is seen to offer a useful model for the development and evaluation of educational practice and policy when applied with appropriate concern for the balance of methodological rigour with relevance and responsiveness to practice.