Safe and Peaceful Schools

This practical resource for counselors, psychologists, and social workers, as well as teachers and administrators, will help them handle, manage, and address conflict and violence. The book ties together a comprehensive list of approaches to conflict rather than relying on any single method, with an emphasis on providing an alternative to the common 'zero tolerance' approach that usually translates into addressing violence by means of excluding students. The book concentrates on methods for addressing conflict with an aim of turning a situation around and teaching young people to negotiate their way through conflicts and to learn nonviolent ways of handling themselves in difficult situations. The chapters address a mode of practice that can be used in constructing peaceful interactions within a school. Each different practice has in common the aim of constructing a way forward in problem situations. The chapters begin with a description of some useable practices, then illustrate the practices by telling the story (or several stories) of the practice in action. Finally, the chapter will add some commentary on what happened in the illustrative examples and suggest how this example can be followed up on.