A Restorative Approach to Behaviour Management
From: Woolfolk, A., Margetts, K., Godinho, S., Frydenberg, E., Lo Bianco, J., Freeman, E., & Munro. J. (Eds.). (2007). Educational Psychology. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia.
Recently some Australian and New Zealand schools have led the way with a different approach to behaviour management - the restorative approach. The restorative approach to behaviour management in schools has its origins in restorative justice and victim-offender mediation although restorative approaches have a long history as a form of communal justice in the Maori and other traditional communities.
Restorative practice fits within the broader efforts of schools to develop safe and supportive environments that promote student wellbeing and connectedness to school (Marshall, Shaw & Freeman, 2002). In schools a restorative approach emphasises the importance of sound, healthy relationships between all members of the school community. From this perspective behaviour problems are viewed as a breakdown in relationships and misbehaviour is defined as a violation against people and relationships in the school and wider community rather than as a violation of the school and its rules (Cameron and Thorsborne, 2001, p. 183).
The essence of a restorative philosophy is that relationships that have been disturbed by wrongdoing or conflict can be healed by a respectful process within a collaborative "community of care" (Morrison, 2002). In this process a wrongdoer is held accountable and given an opportunity to reflect on and repair the breakdown in the relationship. Accountability for behaviour is complemented by care and support for all parties. Morrison (2005) argues that the restorative approach is about "emotional engagement" and that it derives its power from meeting our basic human need to feel respected and connected to others (p.99-100). The restorative approach is also consistent with the increased emphasis in schools on social emotional learning, values education and civics and citizenship.
The adoption of a restorative approach requires that schools abandon punitive, retributive, adversarial or zero tolerance approaches to discipline or behaviour management and redefine behaviour management as "relationship management" (Prior,2005; Thorsborne, 1999). Commitment to this underlying philosophy of restorative practice is essential to avoid grafting the approach onto a range of punitive and contradictory practices for the management of behaviour (Marshall et al. 2002; Ritchie and O'Connell, 2001).
A continuum of restorative practice
In the school context there is a continuum of restorative strategies ranging informal uses of restorative language in conversation and classroom meetings to the more formal community conference (Thorsborne & Vinegrad, 2002, 2004; Wachtel, 2004). Each of these strategies shares a common theme of enhancing or restoring a sense connection and wellbeing through respectful and democratic dialogue.
Restorative Language
Schools adopting a restorative philosophy use relational language that demonstrates respect, care and mutual responsibility. Feelings are shared and explored through affective statements and affective questions (Wachtel, 2004). Conversations about misbehaviour provide opportunities for students to consider how their behaviour impacts on others and how things can be put right. Students are supported to accept responsibility for their actions. A teacher using this approach would talk through what has happened using the type of affective questions indicated in Table 1.
Table 1: Affective questions
- Can you explain what happened?
- How did it happen?
- How did you act in this situation?
- Who do you think has been affected by this?
- How were they affected?
- How were you affected?
- What needs to happen to make things right?
- If the same situation happens again, what could you do differently?
Circles
Schools using the restorative approach may use circles or classroom meetings in which students share their feelings, ideas and concerns and problem solve together on a regular basis. In circle time a facilitative teacher can model and create a non-judgemental atmosphere of safety and respect in which children are able to help each other work through concerns that impact on their well-being and learning at school. When there is wrongdoing a circle can be used for discussion to make things right. Teachers prepare students for these discussions through team building games, by practising listening and taking turns and by negotiating a set of clear guidelines for how the group will work (Bliss & Tetley, 2003; Hopkins, 2004). Group guidelines include no 'put downs" and not talking about what is said in the group outside the group. In circles teachers sometimes use a talking piece, an object of significance to the class, that can be passed around the circle and bestows the right to speak upon the holder.
A teacher may use stimulus questions or a suggestion box for students to anonymously indicate issues that the group might discuss. Parisi (2005) describes how, after some preparatory work with circles in her Grade 5/6, the following questions were submitted by her students in the class suggestion box: "Why do people talk behind my back?" Why do some people think they are too good to play with me?", "I am having trouble with being teased", There is a group of girls who are being mean to me and won't let me play even if I ask nicely. What do I do?". She found that circle time provided the forum for her students to express "their feelings openly and without hesitation" (p. 29) and that students were able to discuss these sensitive issues responsibly in the safe structured environment of the circle. When asked for their views about circle time students described it "as a time when they played games, a time for thinking hard and being introspective, a time for sharing personal stories and discussing feelings. It was also described and a fun time and a place for meeting new friends."(p. 27).
Community Conferences
Where schools have access to trained facilitators they may use "community conferences" for serious incidents While variations of community conferencing have been operating in Australia since the late 1980s with the introduction of a police-based justice conferencing program in Wagga Wagga (Daly & Hayes, 2001) the use of the community conferencing in schools is relatively new. School based community conferences have been organized in response to incidents of persistent disruption, bullying, aggression, property damage, theft, and drugs.
At a community conference all those affected by an action, the offender(s), the victim(s) and families and appropriate school personnel are brought together in a safe environment to share their feelings and perspectives on the impact of the incident so it can be understood and an mutual agreement be reached to repair the harm. There is emerging evidence that these conferences can be a powerful way of healing relationships in a school community. Evaluations of community conferencing for dealing with incidents of serious harm in schools have shown high levels of satisfaction with the process which is perceived to be fair, high compliance rate with the terms of agreement and low rates of reoffending (Cameron & Thorsborne, 2001; Daly & Hayes, 2001; Stokes and Shaw, 2005).
A whole school approach
Embracing a restorative approach does require significant cultural change for many schools because it challenges traditional ideas about discipline and authority (Piperato & Roy, 2002; Blood & Thorsborne, 2005). It is most effective when it is embedded part of a whole school approach where the school community makes quality relationships a priority. A recent Australian evaluation of a restorative practices project in the State of Victoria suggests that it can take as much as three years for a restorative approach to be institutionalised in a school (Stokes & Shaw, 2005).
While further research will be needed to establish the effectiveness of the restorative approach a body of international evidence suggests that it can reduce incidents of disruptive behavior, discipline referrals, detentions and school suspensions. It has also been argued that restorative practices contribute to academic and social emotional learning through the creation of a safe and productive learning environment (Piperato & Roy, 2002).
Bibliography
Action Research Projects
A number of Action Research Projects completed by postgraduate students in Student Wellbeing at the University of Melbourne are available here
