+

Addressing Problem Behavior in SchoolsJohn Winslade

+Aim of this workshop

To provoke shifts in thinking

To outline a different approach to difficult behavior

Based on a relational psychology

Drawn specifically from narrative counseling

• A comprehensive approach to violence

• Illustrates a range of methods• Restorative

conferences• Circle

conversations• Undercover anti-

bullying teams• Counseling• Conflict coaching• Mediation• Facing up to

violence groups

+Introductions

Introduce yourself

Why is it not surprising that you would come to this workshop?

+What is a relational psychology?

The individual is not the center of the universe

All does not emerge from the essence within the individual

Relationship events are folded into personal identity

People try to influence each other

+Usual approach to problem behavior

Which rule is broken?

Who did it? What does he/she

deserve?

Restore the authority of the rules

Isolate the offender Apply punishment Hope the offender

feeling guilt and remorse will lead to change

+Restorative justice

Who was harmed?

How were they affected?

Whose obligation is it to address this harm?

What is needed to make things right?

Restore relationships that were harmed

Give victims a voice

Ask offenders to be accountable to victims

Include more voices

+Restorative justice

What do I mean by “harmed” Who is

affected? Directly or

indirectly “It makes no

sense to say the school was harmed”

+

The person is not the problem;

The problem is the problem.

Michael White

+Discuss in groups

What sorts of events are you concerned about?

Share a scenario you are familiar with What happened? Who was involved and

what were their intentions? What was at the heart of

the matter? Choose one from each

group

+How are you currently addressing these issues?

What is successful?

What problems arise?

When might something different be useful?

+What are schools for?

Producing people, citizens, consciousness, knowledge, relationships, communities

Places where persons become somebody (“individuals”)

Dividing people into different futures (“dividuals”)

Serving the purposes of social machines that govern political, economic, social, cultural life

+If problem behavior happens, what is producing it? It does not happen

by chance No organization or

school is in complete control

No individual is in complete control

There are always limits to what we can do

This does not mean we should give up

+Violence and bullying are valued by …

The neoliberal capitalist machine (competition) A certain level of

violence is accepted

The military machine Desire for

violence is encouraged

The administrative machine of the state Acceptance of

violence by specialists is tolerated (e.g. police)

+On the other hand …

Students are not puppets

They are seeking to “become somebody”

They try to “enunciate” what is important to them

They protest, resist what is being done to them

They make decisions, speak and act

They exercise agency

+Identity is formed in schools is a mix of:

Mandated identity

What they say I can be

Chosen identity

Who I say I am “I’m ADHD but

I don’t believe it.”

+Discourses that restrain efforts to make a difference

1. Some people are born monsters.

2. Violence is natural and has always been there.

3. Schools are for academic learning, not social work.

4. A little bullying is good for people. They need to learn to toughen up.

5. Identify the bad types of person. Get rid of them. Then the school or organization will be less violent.

6. People don’t change.

+Counter arguments

No one is born a monster. We turn people into persons who do monstrous things

Peaceful, just, respectful and cooperative behavior is also natural

Schools are for producing citizens and this is a central function of education

No one deserves to be bullied in order to develop strength

Violence is not the property of a type of person. Get rid of some individuals and others will take their place

People change all the time

+What is a counter practice?

Address the harm done by violence

Build a culture of parrhesia (truth-telling, risky speech)

Reconnect those who are violent with an ethic of care

Listen to what victims of violence say

Identify how people are already responding

Encourage bystanders to take a stand

Restore relationships harmed by violence

+

Focus on the event

“The event is logically prior

to identity”

• look for a category of person

• ask what that type of person would do

• explain violence through the category

Don’t

+Instead…

Look for the event

Ask how the event produces people

Invite people to produce themselves differently

+Specific Practices which embody these concepts

Conflict coaching with individuals

Mediation with two people

Restorative Conferencing with groups

Undercover anti-bullying teams

+With each form of practice …

Listen to the story of what happened

Externalize the event Develop a counter story What would you prefer? Find singularities,

unique outcomes Connect them with

sustaining values Connect differences in

ongoing actions

+What is externalizing?

Speak about the event as a 3rd party

Attribute problems to it (not to the student)

Ask about its effects

Ask about the student’s responses to it?

+Conflict coaching conversation

What did you notice?

What work did particular questions do?

What assumptions were guiding this conversation?

What surprises were there?

+A restorative conference: assumptions

An offense is an event in a relationship

It creates harm An offense

Sets up a relation

Produces needs

Creates an obligation

To listen To care To respond

+Setting up a restorative conference

First questions to be asked:

What happened? Who has a stake

in this? Who has been

affected? Has the offender

admitted the act?

+Opening the conference

Welcome We are not interested

in blame. This is not a court case

This is not about punishment. It’s about putting things right. Are you willing to do this?

Please respect the privacy of what is said here?

Introduce yourself and say one thing you hope will come from this meeting?

+ The problem storyWhat would you call it?

What effect did it have on you? Fear

Cost time off work

Learning interrupted

Mad at him

Missed art class

Disappointed

RudenessShouting IntimidationFrustration

+ The counter storyWhat do you know about this person

that does not fit with this problem?

What does that say about him or her?

Helped clean up classroom

Good at art

Interrupted bullying

Sent homework to friend

ResponsibleCares for othersCan behave well when neededBelieves in justiceHas ability

+The challenge

Which story about you do you want people to know about you in future?

The problem story

The counter story

+ The plan

Are you willing to put things right? Why?

What needs to happen to make things right?

What do you (victim) need to feel safe?

What can you (offender) offer?

What difference will this make?

How can we ensure this plan happens?

+Undercover anti-bullying teams

Listen to the story of bullying

Ask about the effects

Victim is asked to name members of

the undercover team (6)

The team includes 2 of the worst

bullies 4 others

Facilitator meets

separately with the team

Victim is not asked to

confront bullies

Meet with victim of bullying

+Undercover anti-bullying teams

We need your help To make victim

feel better No one is being

punished Tell them the story

of bullying with no names

How would you feel?

Think of 5 things to help the victim

Do them undercover

Meeting the undercover team

+Undercover anti-bullying teams

Say hi to him every day.

Talk to her socially. Ask her how she is.

Listen to her. Start conversations

with her. Give her

compliments. Tell others to back

off. Tell people that the

rumors aren’t true. Tell her come and talk to us if anyone

is bullying her.

Examples of 5 point plan

+Undercover anti-bullying teams

Check-in separately with undercover team and victim Every few days For about 2

weeks Victim decides

when team has done its work

When successful, team are given Certificates Food voucher

+Results

In a study of 35 teams All were

successful Bullying stopped Victim felt

happier Team members

enjoyed the experience

Many bullies changed their behavior

Some gave little help but didn’t interfere

+Results

One facilitator said: “The girl that was the

biggest bully was the first to help end the bullying. 

She actually had the kids that were bullying the girl online apologize to her.  She said that

this was the first time she was ‘nice to another person’.”

+Comments from victims

It helped stop the bullying from happening again.

I liked the undercover team, because Mr. Bully was a part of it and they made him realize his mistake and fix it.

I liked hearing positive feedback, which helped me to think more positive and enjoy being in class.

The main person stopped bullying and started to be kind to me.

They treated me like another friend and I felt more comfortable in class.

I gained friends from this. I am really happy.

+Comments from undercover teams

I really enjoyed helping out someone that never had a friend in her whole life.

I liked knowing I was helping someone feel welcome and part of a group.

It felt good to help someone feel better about themselves.

It’s fun to help out others. If someone asked me to do it again I would do it.

I liked it because no one knew what we were doing.

It made me feel proud that I could help others.

+Comments from bullies

Not separated from undercover teams’ comments

These ones probably came from bullies I was given the

opportunity to help out instead of being stereotyped as the bully.

We all learned a lesson from this.

+Principles

Address conflict and violence (rather than shift it elsewhere)

Respect students and help them learn (rather than punish them or write them off as losers)

Build communities of care around a problem (rather than isolating individuals)

Restore relationships that have been harmed (rather than the authority of school rules)

Invite students to take responsibility (rather than imposing it on them)