Abstract
Inclusive education ensures that those who are marginalized are afforded equitable access to quality education as barriers that have traditionally excluded these individuals from full participation in educational opportunities are removed. The global Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the world community seek to ensure inclusive education, particularly through Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and quality education for all. Among the barriers to inclusive education are socioeconomic factors such as violence. Violence within communities can hinder students’ ability to safely navigate their environs to attend school and impair their ability to study and complete assignments. Additionally, violence and indiscipline within schools can disrupt instructional time and impact students’ safety and security. This chapter seeks to highlight the Change from Within program, a school-based initiative in Jamaica being implemented under an Education for Sustainable Development thrust. Through the Change from Within methodology, which includes components such as coaching, training, and capacity-building, school stakeholders including principals, teachers, and students are introduced to innovative teaching methodologies, conflict management and resolution strategies, and new ways of engaging in relationships with self and others. It is hoped that lessons learned can assist schools in the region and beyond grappling with similar issues.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bailey, A. (2011). The Jamaican adolescent’s perspective on violence and its effects. West Indian Medical Journal, 60(2), 165–171.
Bailey, C. (2011). Living with community violence: A conversation with primary school children in Kingston’s inner city. Space and Culture, 14(1), 114–128.
Bailey, C., & Coore-Desai, C. (2011). The effect of exposure to community violence on levels of aggression: Evidence from a sample of Jamaican children. Childhood, 19(2), 188–203.
Bailey, C., Robinson, T., & Coore-Desai, C. (2014). Corporal punishment in the Caribbean: Attitudes and practices. Social and Economic Studies, 63(3 & 4), 207–233.
Down, L. (2015). Transforming school culture through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, 40(3), 157–167.
Down, K. (2017). Coaching report for change from within. Unpublished report.
Down, L., Lambert, C., & McPherson-Kerr, C. (2005). Violence in schools and the change from within project. Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Education.
Edwards-Kerr, D. (2017). Violence in schools in Jamaica. In Z. Jennings & D. Edwards-Kerr (Eds.), Re-imagining education in the Commonwealth Caribbean (pp. 123–133). Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers.
Edwards-Kerr, D., & Spencer-Ernandez, J. (2017). Inclusive education. In Z. Jennings & D. Edwards-Kerr (Eds.), Re-imagining education in the Commonwealth Caribbean (pp. 7–76). Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers.
Ferguson, T., & Chevannes, P. (2018). The change from within program: Bringing restorative justice circles for conflict resolution to Jamaican schools. Childhood Education: Innovations, 94(1), 55–61.
Gardner, J. M., Powell, C. A., Thomas, J. A., & Millard, D. (2003). Perceptions and experiences of violence among secondary school students in urban Jamaica. Pan American Journal of Public Health, 14(2), 97–103.
Grant, L., Gibson, C., & Mason, E. (2010). Recent gang activity in Jamaican high schools. Journal of Gang Research, 17(2), 19–35.
Harriott, A., & Jones, M. (2016). Crime and violence in Jamaica (IDB Series on Crime and Violence in the Caribbean). Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank.
King, R. (2002). Violence and schools in Jamaica: Historical and comparative perspectives. Institute of Education Annual, 3, 1–15.
Ministry of Education. (2012). National education strategic plan: 2011–2020. Kingston, Jamaica: Ministry of Education.
Pottinger, A. (2012). Children’s exposure to violence in Jamaica: Over a decade of research and interventions. West Indian Medical Journal, 61(4), 369–371.
Sachs, J. (2015). The age of sustainable development. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Sewell, T., Chevannes, B., & Morgan, S. (2003). Models for transformation of Jamaican schools—A study of masculinities, education and civil society. Unpublished report.
Tilbury, D. (2011). Education for sustainable development: An expert review on processes and learning. Paris, France: UNESCO. Retrieved from unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001914/191442e.pdf
United Nations. (1948). Universal declaration of human rights. Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf
United Nations. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/crc.pdf
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2010). Equity and inclusion in education: A guide to support education sector plan preparation, revision, and appraisal. New York, NY: Author.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2012). Caribbean human development report: Human development and the shift to better citizen security. New York, NY: Author.
UNESCO. (n.d.). Stopping violence in schools: A guide for teachers. Paris, France: Author.
UNESCO. (2005). Guidelines for inclusion: Ensuring access to education for all. Paris, France: Author.
UNESCO. (2009). Policy guidelines on inclusion in education. Paris, France: Author.
UNESCO. (2016). Education 2030 – Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4. Paris, France: UNESCO. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002456/245656e.pdf
Wals, A. (2009). Review of contexts and structures for education for sustainable development 2009. Paris, France: UNESCO. Retrieved from unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001849/184944e.pdf
Ward, E., Hutchinson, D., Levy, H., & Ashley, D. (2012). Youth violence in Kingston, Jamaica. In Institute of Medicine (IOM) & National Research Council (NRC) (Ed.), Social and economic costs of violence: Workshop summary (pp. 102–112). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Acknowledgments
Survey data reported in this chapter were collected as part of a larger research project on the Change from Within program, undertaken through research funding support from The University of the West Indies New Initiative Grant.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ferguson, T. (2019). Addressing Antisocial Behavior and Violence as Barriers to Learning: Lessons from Jamaica’s Change from Within Program. In: Blackman, S., Conrad, D., Brown, L. (eds) Achieving Inclusive Education in the Caribbean and Beyond. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15769-2_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15769-2_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15768-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15769-2
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)