Restorative Practice

1
Restorative Practice

• A relational approach to managing behaviour
• A workshop with Margaret Thorsborne

2
What well cover

• Focus on disciplinary practice and whether or not
  it delivers
• Think about our own style and the beliefs that
  underpin what we do and why we do it
• Historical perspectives
• What the research is telling us about policy and
  practice
• The restorative philosophy and practice
• Implications for our own practice how much will
  we need to change? What will it mean for the
  school?

3
Co-operative classrooms
curriculum
organisation
relationships
4
Teacher power and discipline

• Coercive power learners desire to avoid
  punishment
• Reward power learners desire to gain something
  they want
• Legitimate power power in the role of teacher
• Expert power learner believes the teacher can
  pass on important knowledge and skills
• Referent power - where learners value the
  relationship based on respect and trust
• Ramon Lewis, 2008

5
Teacher performance

• Defined as
• Achieving student engagement
• (teacher behaviour and attitudes and will also
  increase parent satisfaction)
• Converting engagement into learning outcomes
• (teaching practices)
• High Performing Schools project, 2004

6
Teachers as professionals

• Need
• Interesting, challenging and meaningful work
• Clear sense of purpose (ie focus on the whole,
  unique child)
• Clarity on what behaviours to express
• ( eg mutual respect)
• High Performing Schools, 2004

7
Current social context of discipline

• Changes in structure of families and communities
• The effects of social exclusion and disaffection
• The progressive emancipation of young people
• Peer Group Effects
• The effects of drug and alcohol abuse on some
  families and communities
• A Strategy for Behaviour and Learning.
  Fife Council Education Service, 2006

8
Kids these days

• Need to put the relationship before the role, to
  be authentic and interested in them
• Use stories about real life to make a point
  kids learn teachers, not subjects
• Must teach them how to think knowledge is a
  click away
• Need recognition and positive affirmations
• Gen Y toughness hides insecurity need
  leadership, boundaries, mentoring and close
  connection with adults
• Michael McQueen,
• NextGen, 2007

9
Relational bank account
Deposits Withdrawals
Seek first to understand Seek first to be understood
Keeping promises Breaking promises
Clarifying expectations Violating expectations
Kindnesses, courtesies Unkindnesses,discourtesy
Loyalty to the absent Disloyalty, duplicity
Apologies Pride, conceit, arrogance
Open to feedback Rejecting feedback
Payne, 1996 adapted from Covey, 1989
10

• Confrontational To
• Punitive Lazy
• Accountable Authoritative
• Permissive Excusing
• Uncaring With Rigid Rescuing
• Responsive Controlling
• Rescuing Co-operative
• Neglectful
• Authoritarian Inflexible
• Vengeful For
• Burnt out Flexible
• Not Responsible

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Management practice - building social capital
Power struggles Confrontation Rules Win-lose Retri
bution Revenge Punitive
Consistent Responsive Flexible Cooperation Negotia
tion Accountable Responsible
Limits, rules boundaries,expectations
TO
WITH
FOR
NOT
Chaotic Inconsistent Excusing Giving in Blurred
boundaries Rescuing
Uncaring Tired Lazy Burnt out Given up
Support, nurturing, caring
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Child rearing styles
Brick wall Order Control Obedience Rules Hierarch
y of power
Backbone
Authoritative High expectations Firm and
fair Democratic Unconditional love ve role
modeling
TO
WITH
Pressure Accountability
FOR
NOT
Jellyfish A Poor structures Few boundaries
and limits, routines Rescuing
Jellyfish B Physical or Psychological abandonment
Support, nurturing, caring
Adapted from Wachtel,1999, and Coloroso, 2003
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Authoritarian

• Insists authority is not questioned
• Demands obedience/compliance
• Relates through the ROLE - cannot afford to be
  seen as a real person
• No requirement to explain (do as youre told)
• Use of punishment, threats, rewards
• Purpose is to train the child, and serves the
  need for order, discipline and predictability, is
  rule driven and ADULT centred

Discontent, withdrawn, mistrustful, defiant,
desensitised
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Authoritative

• Transparent
• Adult experienced as REAL contact is emotionally
  authentic
• Strong boundaries developed through use of
  assertiveness rather than domination or
  manipulation
• Authority based on respect not fear
• Purpose is to develop emotional maturity and
  a sense of community and connectedness based on
  understanding is RELATIONSHIP centred

Autonomous, self-actualising, considerate,
empathic, EQ
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Traditional responses

• What happened?
• What rule was broken?
• Whos to blame?
• What punishment is deserved?

16
Criminal justice/discipline system
Incapacitation
Deterrence
Dialogue and persuasion
Braithwaite, 1989
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Variables in school/classroom removal

• Judgement by the teacher at classroom level
• Skill of the teacher to escalate/de-escalate
• Track record of the referring teacher
• Understanding of the students family
• Previous behaviour and academic history of
  student
• Immediate context of the behaviour
• Culmination of behaviours which threaten teacher
  authority
• School or principals disciplinary philosophy
• Skiba et al 2003

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Student Support perspective on discipline

• Greater willingness to understand the context of
  student behaviour and work with parents to find
  solutions
• Greater reliance on preventative measures
  designed for forestalling or avoiding the loss of
  instructional time
• Beliefs around long term risk to individuals and
  communities vs the quick fix
• Lower rates of suspensions

19
Get Tough perspective on discipline

• School response driven by individual student
  behaviour - more disruption, more removals
• Strict adherence to rules regardless of context
• The need for strong unequivocal action as a
  deterrent
• Removing troublemakers will improve school
  climate
• Zero tolerance for some behaviours
• Higher rates of suspension

20
Punishment

• To make someone suffer in order to teach a lesson
  (detention incarceration, suspension exile,
  time out isolation, humiliation, ominous notes
  to parents, withdrawal of privileges, using
  schoolwork as a weapon)
• Works in the short term, but loses effectiveness
  over time, with focus by student on avoiding
  punishment
• Kohn, 2006

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Price of punishing non-compliance

• Not really effective
• Doesnt solve problems, makes them worse
• Teaches use of power over retribution
• Warps the relationship between punisher and the
  punished
• Punishment impedes the process of ethical
  development
• Punishment only focuses on the consequences for
  the wrongdoer, not others
• Kohn, 2006

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Why do we punish?

• Quick fix, easy
• Weve always done it this way
• Expectations from others?
• Makes us feel powerful
• Satisfies the need for a primitive form of
  justice (revenge, shame)
• Chaos will reign if we dont
• Belief that getting to the bottom of a problem is
  just a fancy way of doing nothing
• Kohn, 2006

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• Case study Skinner
• Your physical education class worked a treat -
  and you begin to dream of that cup of coffee at
  recess.
• Nick comes out to collect his watch and you
  notice him white-faced and in tears. You thought
  you heard some loud noises from the change
  rooms Nick, after some reluctance tells you the
  story.
• Nick is very embarrassed about getting changed
  in front of his peers - he has been called a
  skinner before. So he ducks into the toilet
  cubicle for some privacy. A well known thug in
  the class, Sam, and his mates give Nick a
  terrifying time by trying to knock the cubicle
  door down and shout awful names at Nick,
  skinner, sook, big girl. The door has been
  damaged and will need some serious repair work
  just as Nick will need.

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• Will, a year 10 student, had left his Ipod on the
  desk at the end of the lesson, just before lunch
  he had been in a hurry to get to training. After
  he realised that hed forgotten to pick it up, he
  went straight back into the room, but by then it
  was gone. He reported it to the teacher straight
  away, and the missing Ipod was flagged in the
  next days notices.
•  
• Will was devastated, because he had bought the
  Ipod out of his own money that he had earned in
  the holidays working at a Pizza takeaway. It also
  had some of his assignment work on it that was
  due in a week. His mother contacted the Head of
  School to report the loss/theft.
•  
• James, a boy in the same class, had seen the Ipod
  on the desk and hurriedly scooped it up. He told
  his friend Harry that he had found it on the
  train on the way to school. Harry initially
  believed him, but when he heard the notices the
  next day, had some suspicions. He wrestled with
  his conscience, and eventually went to his Head
  of Year to tell him what he knew about the Ipod.
•  
• The HOY then approached James, who initially
  denied taking the Ipod, but eventually agreed
  that he had taken it, but had intended to hand it
  in eventually.

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Scenario

• Student is late for class. The teacher tells him
  to sit down, get his book out and start work. He
  doesnt have a pen. S/he says Wheres your pen?
  Youd better get one quickly. His reply is a
  loud Oh get , you stupid old bag. Youre
  always picking on me and he walks out, slamming
  the door.
• He is referred to the Dean/Manager.

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Thinking about discipline

• What outcomes do we seek for
• the school community/class as a whole?
• the wrongdoer?
• the wrongdoers parents?
• the victim?
• the victims parents?
• staff involved in the incident?

27
Satisfaction
procedural
emotional
substantive
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Traditional responses

• What happened?
• What rule was broken?
• Whos to blame?
• What punishment is deserved?

29
Fundamental concepts of Restorative Practice

• Misconduct is a violation of people and
  relationships
• Violations create obligations and liabilities
• Restorative practice seeks to heal and put
  things right
• Adapted from Zehr and Mika, 1997

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Key Questions - (wrongdoer)

• Tell us what happened
• What were you thinking at the time?
• What have you thought about since?
• Who has been affected by what youve done?
• In what way?
• What can you do to make things right?
• How can I help you?

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Key Questions - (victim)

• What did you think at the time?
• What have you thought about since?
• How has this affected you?
• Whats been the worst of it?
• Whats needed to make things right?

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Restorative Practices Building Social
Capital
1-5 of population
Restorative Conferencing, Mediation
RESTORING RELATIONSHIPS
Corridor Conferencing, Peer Mediation, Problem
Solving Circles
MANAGING DIFFICULTIES DISRUPTIONS
DEVELOPING SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL CAPACITY
Relational Practices School/Classroom Policies,
curriculum, social skills programs etc

1. Accountability
2. Responsibility for self others
3. Work Together
4. Personal Potency

Whole School
Blood, 2004
33
Restorative Values

• participation
• respect
• honesty
• humility
• interconnectedness
• accountability
• empowerment
• hope

Boyack, Bowen, Marshall, 2004
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The Restorative school

• Clear values defined in terms of behaviours
• SMT/School Board talking the talk and walking the
  talk, including adequate resourcing
• Ongoing PD that keeps RP in the foreground
• Team that drives implementation

35
The restorative school cont.

• Time spent on getting relationships right and
  building social skills, and social capital
• Regular relationship maintenance
• Range of RP responses to suit circumstances
• Minimal use of punitive measures
• Data driven problem-solving
• Staff, parents and students requesting
  restorative process
• All of the above applied to staff issues

36
Some last words of advice

• Spend the time on the relationship
• Build goodwill deliberately
• Listen first - be quiet
• Think about the outcomes before deciding on
  strategy
• Help them understand what harm has been done
• Work on making things right rather than
  punishment
• Contact parents early. Ask for their support,
  what they want and hope for their child
• Realise that kids brains are a work in progress
• Remember who owns the relationship
• Model, model, model

37
Manuals

• Restorative Practices in Schools
  (conference facilitation)
• Restorative Practices in Classrooms
  (informal processes and classroom conferencing)
• Restorative Practices and Bullying
• In Australia www.inyahead.com.au
• In UK www.incentiveplus.co.uk
• In NZ jmoxon_at_masseyhigh.school.nz

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Contact details

• Margaret Thorsborne Associates
• Web www.thorsborne.com.au
• Emailmarg_at_thorsborne.com.au
• Phone[phone]
• Fax[phone]

39
History of childhood

• Infanticidal mode
• Abandoning mode
• 
  Ambivalent mode
• Intrusive mode
• 
  Socialising mode
• Helping mode

1970-80
4th C
14th C
18th C
19th C
20th C
Grille, 2005
40
Building Social Capital

WITH
TO
High
Relational
Punitive
cooperative collaborative problem
solving responsibility
authoritarian stigmatising
Neglectful
Permissive
Structure/Limits
rescuing excusing reasoning
NOT
FOR
Low
High
Support
Blood, 2004 Adapted from Wachtel,T 1999.
41
Child rearing styles
Brick wall Order Control Obedience Rules Hierarch
y of power
Backbone
TO
WITH
Accountability
NOT
FOR
Jellyfish B Physical or Psychological abandonment
Jellyfish A Poor structures Few boundaries and
limits, routines Rescuing
Adapted from Wachtel,1999, and Coloroso, 2003
Support, nurturing, caring