Schools as Agents of Change: Impacts of Restorative Circles at Mbambangwe School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The exposure of childrenChildren to all forms of violenceViolence has resulted in schoolsSchools becoming sites of violence. This kind of violence is embedded in the broader South African society. The problem is that South AfricaSouth Africa is perceived as a violent country, and schoolsSchools are subsequently violent places. Since 1994, efforts have been made towards ending violence in schools, but more attention has been given to halting corporal punishmentCorporal punishment. While punitive sanctions are predominantly the most utilised response to violenceViolence in the broader South African society, restorative justiceRestorative justice approaches as a means of handling schoolSchools violence and peace-building has been lacking. Very little has been done vis-à-vis rebuilding and restoring interpersonal relationships that were destroyed many years ago through colonisation and apartheid. Ongoing violence is experienced in the educational environment that some tie to past legacy of institutionalised violenceViolence that characterised the Apartheid regime. The target population was Grade 9 learners in 2019 who were going to Grade 10 in 2020. The study aimed to establish the most effective strategy for curbing school violence. Interviews were conducted with teachers, learners, parents, SchoolSchools Governing Body (SGB) members and community stakeholders. The findings revealed that restorative justiceRestorative justice and UbuntuUbuntu ethics are principles that can be used to address school disciplineDiscipline issues in order to avert learners’ violent behaviours. The inquiry further found that non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms have the potential to settle disputes between learners and learners and teachers constructively, and lead to the restoration of relationships between affected parties. Issues around trust between parents and learners, open channels of communication between the parents and their childrenChildren and encouraging goodGoods working relationship between learners, parents and teachers are paramount to building peacePeace and transforming the school environment – making it peaceful and conducive to learning.