Can restorative practices in schools make a difference?

School Surveillance, Control, and Resistance in the United Kingdom

“…Their study of RA found that it '… has promoted calmer schools with a strengthened ethos and attendant reduction in disciplinary exclusion and truancy' (106). It worked well where it was seen as embedded within a wholeschool ethic of care and community; where it was only focussed on dealing with conflict, or only implemented by staff with a responsibility for behaviour, it was much less effective Sellman's (2011) findings on his study of mediation programmes in schools echo those of McCluskey et al (2008a;2008b;. He found that approaches to addressing conflict which help to build individual responsibility within a framework of community responsibility are only really effective where they are embedded within an empowering structure.…”

“…This approach reaches sinister proportions in its application to counter-terrorism measures in U.K. schools. Where schools do not embrace a more profound, system-changing positive ethos, even restorative approaches can be used punitively; to shame students (McCluskey et al 2008a(McCluskey et al , 2008b(McCluskey et al , 2011Sellman 2011).…”

“…Yar's (2003) critique of panopticism supports 26 this potential form of resistance, describing 'knowing students' and 'knowing teachers' performing aquiescence within an over-surveilled school environment. And the restorative approaches described by McCluskey et al (2008aMcCluskey et al ( , 2008bMcCluskey et al ( , 2011, Cowie et al (2008) and Sellman (2011) have the potential to not only empower and mediate between parties in a conflict, but to become the basis for a more empathic, collaborative school ethos.…”

Government policies for the prevention of violence in schools in Brazil and the citizenship education

“…The terms often used in the restorative justice, such as transgressor or offender, and wronged or victimized, have their meaning associated to misdemeanors or crimes; and transferring such terms to the school system can lead to misleading actions and criminalize actions that would be better defined as indiscipline or incivility. The example given by McCluskey et all [4] draws attention to this: In Scotland, for example, the most common reason for school exclusion is 'general and persistent disobedience'. Pupils are, in fact, rarely excluded for acts of violence and the relationship between pupils who disrupt and those disrupted is complex [3,4].…”

“…The proposals involving restorative justice concepts, while focusing on more positive and less punitive aspects, have a social control component that is associated to the legal issue. As noted by MacCluskey [4], the language used by the legal system, such as 'offender and victim', derives from the criminal justice system and from its related psychological perspectives, which makes them inappropriate for use in the school organization. The terms often used in the restorative justice, such as transgressor or offender, and wronged or victimized, have their meaning associated to misdemeanors or crimes; and transferring such terms to the school system can lead to misleading actions and criminalize actions that would be better defined as indiscipline or incivility.…”