Psychologists: Curb school violence through mediation programmes

Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor -
Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor -

Peer mediation programmes can help curb school violence and conflict among students, says Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor, president of the TT Association of Psychologists.

In an interview with Newsday on Wednesday, Nakhid-Chatoor said while adults may think they have the best ideas to deal with problems affecting students, there is a need to have a "restorative justice" system in schools.

“Peer mediation process, because who is better to talk to students than students themselves? Students who trained in mediation, who are trained in what they know. We need something like ‘teenversations’ not conversations, for young people.

“As a counsellor, many students don’t trust adults. Many times they feel we don’t know where they are at. They already have an idea of what is not working for them, which adult to trust. It should start in the schools but it should also be community based.”

Nakhid-Chatoor said if students can have good therapy sessions and mediation programmes, it can lead to an improvement in the school’s environment and also encourage dropouts to return to school.

However, she said there is a need to create opportunities for counsellors to go out into the communities.

“What we do not have is more personnel on the ground, we need to create opportunities because we have a lot of psychologists and counsellors who want to be part of this but there are no job opportunities.

“Many of them go into private practice. I think in order to help these children there is a need for more community socialisation programmes, on the ground. ”

Nakhid-Chatoor added, "There is also a need to look at the students’ home environment."

Asked what she thought was the reason for students engaging in school fights, Nakhid-Chatoor said , “Unfortunately, a lot of people believe fights between teenagers start in the streets but school violence, I think, begins before school starts and then after.”

Nakhid-Chatoor said the schools’ suspension policies are in dire need of review.

She said suspension is really an idea to maintain a safe school environment, to deter violence and problematic behaviour, but sometimes education is not continued when a student is suspended.

“We need to have policies in place, that when students are suspended, education is continued for them outside of the school environment.”

Nakhid-Chatoor called on the Education Ministry to establish a special department to track suspended students and those who drop out of schools.

She suggested that policies be made to let students and parents know that if a student engages in violence there will be consequences.

Psychologist Anna-Maria Mora said children must know their purpose from an early age. She said unsupervised children will always express their natural selves.

“Children have to learn that while they may get angry and want to engage in sexual activities after puberty, they must be taught how to control their feelings. This is especially if they are not loved, hugged and made to feel that they are needed, loved, and they have a purpose. Girls are not any different from boys.

“Parents these days don’t do that. Our education system does not deal with that, and until we recognise that we must re-shape the school curriculum and suspension policies, nothing will change.”

Mora said children need to understand there is a big world out there waiting for them, not only their backyards or basketball courts within their communities.

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