Weekly, the Jamaican populace is besieged by headlines of violent acts between family members, against women and children, gang violence and other organised criminal activities, and more. These acts are perpetuated in various settings and by individuals from all different strata of society. Whilst the regularity of the incidents has perhaps contributed to a numbing of the population to these acts, there is no question that it has very real effects on individual and societal levels.

Violence, traditionally considered both a criminal justice and human rights issue, is increasingly being recognised as a developmental issue as it has a range of impacts which can hamper both social and economic development.

In the Caribbean, a number of countries are plagued by high levels of violent crime and other forms of social violence. For vulnerable countries such as these, the socio-economic impacts are significant, including loss of economic investments, reduced competitiveness of industries due to heightened security costs, loss of human capital through migration, and diversion of scarce resources from critical sectors in order to address crime and violence.

The issue of violence against and among children, in particular, is recognised as a serious problem regionally. Schools, typically thought to be a haven for children, are increasingly becoming sites of violence for students. The result is that antisocial and violent behaviour in schools is an increasing source of concern. The United Nations has recognised both the impacts and costs of violence against children — death, disability, physical and mental health problems, impaired academic performance, developmental and behavioural problems (such as absenteeism), the disruption or discontinuation of education, lost productivity, and criminal justice costs if these children themselves are or become perpetrators of criminal and violent acts.

The school-based Change from Within (CfW) programme began in 1992 under the leadership of Sir Philip Sherlock, a former Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI), and was thereafter incorporated into the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the Ministry of Education. Since 2002, the programme has been in operation from the School of Education (SoE) at The UWI. Founded to address violence in society, particularly amongst inner-city youth, the programme has seen success in transforming a culture of violence and indiscipline through change “orchestrated and managed” by school stakeholders — change from within. This internally driven change process is premised on the eight key principles of the programme’s methodology:

(i) empowering school leaders;

(ii) working with good practices;

(iii) new pedagogies;

(iv) mentoring;

(v) the involvement of parents and the wider community;

(vi) the involvement of children in decision-making;

(vii) special training initiatives for staff and students; and

(viii) a shared circle of support with other schools.

Whilst the programme began initially in four schools, by 2007 it was based in 36 schools. Earlier this year, the SoE commenced a new phase of programme implementation with an Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) thrust, with 10 schools invited to participate in the programme. Through funding from the High Commission of Canada to Jamaica’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the CfW is implementing activities within these schools over the period July 2016 to February 2017. Among the activities is a series of workshops focusing on areas such as conflict management and restorative justice, mentorship, inter-personal relationships, and innovative teaching methodologies, as well as coaching a small cohort of students in order to build self-esteem and confidence.

Specific results over the years have included improvements in school attendance, literacy, numeracy, and parental involvement, as well as strengthened principal leadership. Current activities are expected to have positive outcomes as well, including staff being oriented to middle management roles and trained in conflict management, restorative justice skills, and innovative teaching methodologies to better engage students in the learning process. Additionally, it is expected that students will emerge from the programme with enhanced levels of self-esteem and abilities to articulate and address concerns by constructive, peaceful means to address violence and indiscipline in schools. All of this is critical for a nation such as Jamaica with high levels of crime and violence which have the capacity to hinder national development.

Importantly as well, the CfW programme is also contributing to the wider ESD thrust. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation characterises ESD as “a learning process (or approach to teaching) based on the ideas and principles that underlie sustainability and is concerned with all levels and types of education. Education for sustainable development supports five fundamental types of learning to promote quality education and foster sustainable human development:

* learning to know;

* learning to be;

* learning to live together;

* learning to do; and

* learning to transform oneself and society.

The CfW programme contributes to these five pillars of learning. The use of new pedagogies has been an important element in the programme throughout the years, with examples of schools utilising school farm projects to teach subjects in the curriculum such as maths and science, and school football fields to teach concepts such as velocity and angles. Training in innovative teaching methodologies such as Project-Based Learning foster “learning to know” skills such as problem-solving, reasoning, and critical thinking, and “learning to do and transform oneself and society” competencies and skills as students address real-world problems through the development and implementation of projects. Additionally, there are opportunities to connect with communities through these projects.

Mentoring, at all levels — students, parents, teachers, principals — another important methodological principle, develops the “learning to be” pillar (which speaks to the holistic development of self; mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically) and other pillars such as “learning to do” and “learning to transform oneself and society” as school leaders at all levels are empowered and have their leadership capacities enhanced to transform themselves and their societies. For instance, one of the key aspects of the programme is the development of principal leaders. A hallmark example of this is the transformation of five young classroom teachers into high-performing principals through participation in the shared circle of support offered by the programme. Additionally, all aspects of the programme are geared towards relationship building at various levels and support students, parents, teachers, and other schools’ stakeholders in “learning to live together”. In a world of increasing interdependence, values such as respect, fairness, justice, care, compassion, empathy, and tolerance are needed to facilitate a peaceful and harmonious life together, the building of community, as well as greater cooperation along the path to sustainable development.

Through its key methodological principles, the CfW programme has furthered and continues to contribute to violence prevention, peace building and making, and, ultimately, a sustainable Jamaica.

Therese Ferguson-Murray is a lecturer in education for sustainable development in the School of Education, The University of the West Indies. She also is project leader of the Change from Within programme.