The government of Jamaica says it is looking to fast track implementation of the School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (SWPBIS) initiative, in light of recent incidents that resulted in the death of one student this year.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Education and Youth acknowledged that the SWPBIS initiative is in response to incidents of violent conflicts among students, particularly at high schools. At least four institutions have reported such occurrences, one fatal, since the start of 2022.
Education and Youth Minister, Fayval Williams, says the ministry will be working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to determine the extent to which the initiative can be expanded.
The SWPBIS is tailored to create and sustain safe schools in Jamaica by fostering a disciplined and structured environment to deal with challenges such as student violence. It targets issues like truancy and behavior modification among adolescents through a data-driven approach and developing pro-social skills.
Mrs. Williams, who indicated that the SWPBIS is being piloted in several institutions, noted that the exercise had been stalled at the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when schools were forced to close.
“We will be reactivating that… [and we] will move it from just being a pilot phase,” she said, adding that some good data was gathered during that pilot phase, and will be forwarded to UNICEF.
The minister said UNICEF has been exploring how to incorporate trauma education in the interventions, and how to help teachers identify students who are from homes where they are subject to physical punishment.
“What we are seeing playing out at our schools, is the impact of the trauma in the lives of our students and we call on our parents… our caregivers… to really stop corporal punishment in the homes. We are very clear on that message, and we will not resile from that.”
Mrs. Williams said research undertaken is “very clear” that children subjected to physical punishment are more likely to resort to hitting as a means of resolving conflicts with classmates and other persons.
Additionally, she said research indicates that parents who experienced frequent physical punishment during their childhood are more likely to believe it was acceptable.
“We know that discipline and love begin in the home. Now, more than ever, we need our parents to recognize the impact that they have on the psyche of their children and [not] subject them to situations that cause violence to take root,” Mrs. Williams said, noting that the education ministry will be working with the Ministry of Justice to commence instilling restorative justice concepts in students.
Restorative justice focuses on rehabilitating offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large.
Among the responses is the convening of a meeting between the victim and the offender, sometimes with representatives of the wider community.
The goal is for them to share their experience of what happened, discuss who was impacted and how, and reach a consensus on what the offender can do to repair the harm caused by the offense.
“I know that some of our schools have taken this on already. We want to ensure that it is in more of our schools,” Mrs. Williams said.
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