Restorative Justice and its impact on Primary Schools Students of Swat, KP-Pakistan: In Psychological Perspective

Restorative justice is an alternative disciplinary approach to the traditional, punitive approach to discipline. The present study has done justice to the researcher’sexpectation to be a path breaking one in the region of Swat, KP-Pakistan for initiation Restorative justice, first as a class based intervention, and then to be offered after enrichment, a whole school programme.Despite its increasing recognition and use in Swat, Primary schools, a limited amount of research has evaluated the effect of restorative justice (RJ) for Primary schools and its impact, and response. To date, there is no standardized method for restorative justice implementation. The inherent qualities such as disciplining the students intrinsically, reducing the misconducts ranging from small cheating to causing wounds or loss to others, inducting students in peer mediation, and organizing Restorative justice mediation/conferencing for achieving reparation and restoration of relationships, and converting the entire institution as a place of social healing are shown to be a viability with Restorative justice. The present study enjoys the credit of successfully testing 78% of the Restorative justice practice in the primary schools. The reduction of misconducts in students and increase in their psychological capitals is a laudable performance of the Restorative justice in the maiden run for its approval and consideration.

Restorative and Conflict Resolution Interventions

Conflicts between peers are inevitable in schools, and schools must be equipped with strategies to assist students in avoiding conflicts and engaging in problem-solving when conflicts occur. Restorative practices and other conflict resolution interventions such as peer mediation are gaining popularity, particularly as an alternate framework to the overutilization of disciplinary punishment with ethnic minoritized students. This chapter discusses the effective use of restorative practices and conflict resolution interventions, with an emphasis on establishing these types of practices in schools using best practices. Particular attention is paid to the role of restorative practices in a social justice approach to serving students and families in schools.

Examining the Drivers of Success in the Peace Foundation Aotearoa/New Zealand Peer-Mediation Programs

The 2016 evaluations of New Zealand's Cool Schools and the leadership through peer mediation (LtPM) programs revealed positive results regarding improved self-esteem among peer mediators, increased perceptions of safety in the schooling environment, and increased conflict resolution and interpersonal communication skills. This chapter highlights the contribution of these peer-mediation programs. The authors then turn to problems, inequalities, and peace education practices within the New Zealand schooling environment to explain how the Cool Schools and LtPM programs are relevant in solving wider societal problems. The chapter finally focuses on examining the drivers of success in both programs and the broader ethos of the Peace Foundation Aotearoa/New Zealand, which enables its success.

School Mediation Service: Experience of Foreign Countries and Ukraine

The article, based on the analysis of foreign and domestic scientific sources, attempts to summarize the experience of school mediation services in foreign countries and analyze the state and prospects of such technology of socio-pedagogical work with school conflicts in Ukrainian educational institutions. It has been established that school mediation exists in many countries of the world: Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Finland, Russia, Belarus and others. But the models of functioning of school mediation services have certain differences. In those countries where the traditions of indigenous peoples have been preserved (Native Americans in America, Maori tribes in New Zealand), the neighborhood (community) model of school mediation is popular. Professional mediation is more common in European countries, when specialists (lawyers, judges, psychologists) are turned to for help in resolving conflicts. Working with young offenders, restorative practices, peer mediation and multicultural mediation are popular. It was found that in Ukraine the first attempt to operate mediation services at school was made in Odessa in 2001. The introduction of school mediation is mainly carried out through the School Reconciliation Service. They use restorative practices in their activities and operate on the principle of "peer to peer". Today, the activity of these services has not become a mass phenomenon in domestic educational institutions, but remains an innovation, the spread of which is constrained by a number of reasons.

Mediation in Schools

Communication generates situations that end up in getting an easy outcome—mutual understanding of people involved in the act—or a rising awareness of the differences between them. Consequences vary, but sometimes they could lead to conflicts. Some settings, like schools, due to specific constraints and requirements, are prone to increase the level of frustration of people and, thus, of conflictual situations. They need to have an as-easy-as-possible way of dealing with conflict in a peaceful manner. Peer mediation, as a negotiation technique, is one of the most efficient ways of dealing with conflicts whenever these appear. It is even more important when we speak about conflicts between children. This chapter reviews some relevant issues regarding conflict and its impact on school climate and presents the idea of implementing peer mediation in a different cultural school setting as a way of improving the educational environment and results.