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Conference paper

Community conferencing in Victorian schools : maximising protective factors

Margaret Armstrong
Department of Education and Training, Victoria;
Mary Tobin
Catholic Education Office, Victoria; and
Margaret Thorsborne
Transformative Justice Australia, Queensland

Presented at:
The role of schools in crime prevention
Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne
30 September-1 October 2002

Abstract

Community Conferencing is a restorative approach to the management of harmful behaviour in the school setting. It offers a non-punitive way to achieve positive outcomes for students, their parents and caregivers and the school community in the wake of incidents so usually challenging for schools. This paper will explore the benefits of restorative practices generally as part of a whole school preventative strategy, and systemic approaches to improving outcomes for young people. Based initially on the pioneering work in the introduction of diversionary conferencing into Queensland schools in the mid nineties, the Victorian Department of Education and Training and the Catholic Education Office have embarked on a joint pilot program to measure the effectiveness of restorative practices in government and catholic schools.

Current data from the Victorian pilot will be examined both quantitatively and anecdotally. These results have strong implications for the adoption of new approaches to the management of behaviour in schools, both at a system/policy level and the application of this policy in classrooms, corridors and playgrounds. The links between the way behaviour is managed and the development and enhancement of protective factors along with reducing risk factors will be explored.