Safer Tomorrow Podcast
The Safer Tomorrow Podcast aims to reduce crime and violence today by raising awareness about solutions while providing practical tips, strategies and stories that inspire and empower change makers and peace seekers (regular citizens) to effect change.
As someone who has conducted research in this area, Dr. Jo is convicted about civil society's role in the crime problem and our responsibility to be part of the solution. Change is possible, and so Safer Tomorrow provides actionable and doable steps, everyone can participate in to create a safer, more compassionate, and equitable world.
When a crime is committed, trust is broken, the person who committed the crime has to prove themselves to earn trust.
But it's not just up to them. We must rethink the way we categorize people who make poor decisions and everything we think we know about them, their story, and their future. We must rebuild broken possibilities and connections and provide new potential. And we must reach out to become the community that helps others walk a healed path.
It may push us out of our comfort zones, but it's within our capacity.
Let's take action and create positive change together.
Safer Tomorrow Podcast
Curtailing School Violence: Lessons from the Change from Within Programme | Dr. Therese Ferguson
Embark on a journey of transformation with Dr. Therese Ferguson and myself, Dr. Jo, as we dissect the “Change From Within” program's impact on Jamaican school violence. Dr. Ferguson, a seasoned expert in education, brings invaluable insights into this groundbreaking approach, which harnesses positive cultural attributes and the strength of community to forge a peaceful educational environment. Together, we peel back the layers of how affirming positive behaviors and leadership within schools can spill over to societal change, challenging the status quo of anti-social behavior amongst youth.
Witness the power of an eight-step model for school improvement, where we illuminate the program's embrace of positive school traits and inventive teaching methods. As Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Jo delve into the program's fabric, we reveal how leadership development, parental engagement, and the nurturing concept of a 'circle of friends' become instrumental in the school's evolution. By giving students a significant voice and fostering mentorship, the narrative progresses to demonstrate how dedicated community participation is the heartbeat of sustainable change.
Concluding our enlightening discussion, we celebrate the program's capacity to not only reshape school climates but also contribute to a safer, more inclusive society. The positive outcomes and the indispensable role of volunteers and continued research underscore the message that every individual has the potential to spark change. So, join us as we share the essence of creating a 'Safer Tomorrow', and discover how you can be part of this transformative movement through resources and connections made available in our show notes.
Hi and welcome. This is the Safer Tomorrow podcast, where we search for strategies from around the world to reduce crime and violence and make more peaceful societies. I'm Dr Joe. I'm a criminal justice researcher, a community social work educator, and I'm really passionate about finding strategies to stem the state of violence in my nation, jamaica. Today we have Dr Therese Ferguson and I am so happy to have her. I met her at a conference and I heard the word that she was doing and I said I must, I must let my viewers listen today.
Speaker 1:So, dr Therese Ferguson, she is a senior lecturer in education for sustainable development in the School of Education at the University of the West Indies Monocampus in Jamaica. She serves as a program leader for Change From Within, a school-based initiative in Jamaica that addresses violence and indiscipline. She is also the coordinator of the ESD Working Group within the SOE, which is the School of Education, and serves as a program coordinator for the Massive Education Degree Program in Education for Sustainable Development, global Citizenship and Peace. Dr Ferguson serves on the International Advisor Board of the Journal Environmental Education Reserve. She has published regionally and internationally in the areas of ESD, psp's education and climate change education. Her publications include Education for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean.
Speaker 1:Pedagogy, pedagogy how is that word pronounced again? Pedagogy, yes, thank you. Education for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean Pedagogy Processes and Practices, co-authored with Lorna Down and SDG4, quality Education, inclusivity, equity and Lifelong Learning for All, co-authored with Zindra Elisco, carmel Roof and Susan Hill. In addition to these two co-authored books, she has book chapters, journal articles, book reviews and encyclopedia entries to her credit. Hello, dr Ferguson, that is a mouthful it is Hello how are you I?
Speaker 1:am well and so happy to have you here with us on this show. I mean, as I said, I think the work you have done is so important and there are so many lessons. And you know, we hear restorative justice talked about, banded about, but what's important is, how is this applied in different settings? And so I'm really excited for my listeners to really hear what this program is about. But before we, you know, get into the nitty gritty of the program. What inspired the program? How did it develop?
Speaker 2:Ah, so that actually predates me by quite a number of decades.
Speaker 2:It actually yes, it actually began in 1992 by a former Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, sir Philip Sherlock, and he was really concerned about what he saw as and remember this is at that time what he saw as escalating violence within the society and also school violence.
Speaker 2:So he actually commissioned the set of social scientists and educators based at the University of the West Indies to do an investigation to explore, and they came across four schools. These were schools in inner city areas in St Andrew, kingston, st Catherine and these four schools were actually employing a change process. They were seeing changes in self-esteem amongst the different school stakeholders, they were seeing changes in terms of student achievement, the entire school culture, and so he commissioned this team to look at what was happening within these four schools, and what they found was that the process within these schools it wasn't something that was being externally imposed, it was something that was being driven by the schools themselves from within, and so that's actually how the name of the program developed change from within. So that's kind of the genesis and the whole idea was how could what was happening in these schools, how was what was happening with respect to education. Could that give any insights, any answers with respect to what was happening in the general society? So that's sort of the genesis of the program.
Speaker 1:Okay, thank you. So what exactly is this program about?
Speaker 2:Sure. So it's about addressing violence and in-discipline, anti-social behaviors, but it seeks to do that within a wider school culture change process. So it's not about punitive measures or instituting suspension or those sorts of things just targeted at cases that might occur. It actually tries to address the wider school culture. So how do you address interpersonal relationships, how do you address leadership, how do you address the wider culture within which all of these different stakeholders are operating and in that way bring about qualitative changes, bring about quantitative changes with what is happening within a school and the ideas that, coming out of that wider school culture change, different things will start to happen, things that, for instance, those four schools were experiencing and so that could help address school violence, in-discipline, anti-social behavior.
Speaker 1:So are there any underlying principles, theories, assumptions, even that guide this process Right?
Speaker 2:So there are a few key principles that underlie this. One of them is what is referred to as this idea of social affirmation, and I must say that I'm just going to give you a tidbit. My colleague and one of the program team members, dr Lorna Down. She actually carried out an interview with one of the past program team members, sophia Morgan, and that interview was published in one of our School of Education journals and they speak a lot about this idea of social affirmation. So I'm just going to give you a teaser, but if you want more information, please everybody access and read that interview. So, social affirmation a lot of what we see in society, a lot of what we're seeing in our schools, a lot of.
Speaker 2:I mean even sometimes in our own interpersonal relationships, is about negativity, what is wrong, right, what's missing, this kind of deficit model. The idea of social affirmation is affirming what is valued, what's going right, because within each situation and scenario, within each school, there has to be at least one thing that is going right and that is that can pave the pathway towards this wider school culture change. So what's valued about our school, what's valued about ourselves as individuals within that school and building on that. And once you embark on that process of discovery and affirmation and valuing, you can then use that to bring about that cultural change, that transformation. So social affirmation is one of those principles and, as I said, I am unashamedly plugging the work of my team members as the present and colleagues, please read that interview, it's amazing. So that's one.
Speaker 2:Another principle is the idea of leadership, because a lot of what we do with respect to the methodology of change from within has to do with leadership and building individuals, leadership capacities, whether it's the quote unquote formal leaders of the schools, the principals, or whether it's others who can take on those leadership positions students, parents, teachers at all levels, other staff.
Speaker 2:So it's about leadership development, leadership potential, so that these individuals can also contribute to that process of school culture change. And then I would say a final kind of key principle has to do with this idea of self-reliance right within the school community. So we don't need other people to come in and tell us what to do or to drive the change or to you know, this has to be done this way, but we can rely on ourselves because when you look within particular schools, there's so much talent, so much potential, whether it's coming from the principal, whether it's coming from the students, whether it's coming from the parents, the teachers, whoever it might be. So those are kind of three of the main principles the notion of self-affirmation, of self-reliance and leadership, some of those underlying principles.
Speaker 1:So this really gets me excited, because I mean especially the social affirmation aspect, because I agree with you so much of the work that is done or not necessarily work that is done but what we hear is focused on the negative what don't we have, or we need this, or we can't because we don't have enough, and we don't recognize that actually we are doing more with the little that we have than we realize and that with the little that we have we are actually having some level of success.
Speaker 1:So if we are supposed to, if we want greater success, part of what we need to do is to focus on what are those success factors, what is helping us to produce the success that we're experiencing now? And so this you know, I'm a social worker, so utilizing a strength based approach as well is just so it's foundational to what we do. And so you know it's when you focus on person's strength, on schools strength, it lifts your own self esteem from the beginning, you know. It lifts your perspective of who you are. You begin to think that you are more capable than you thought you were, because you recognize, oh, some of the resources, the capacities I already have is doing some good, so I can do some more.
Speaker 2:And so I mean.
Speaker 1:And then leadership and the self reliance and just how important is is to recognize internally if we were truly supposed to tap into our resources internally, we could really do more. So, what I'm curious about now, because you know change is not easy, right. So it changes on an individual level with us, right? The simple things that we may want to change in our lives is hard. How do you do it at a school level?
Speaker 2:So very good question and I and I reiterate and I support you change is not easy. So anyone who thinks that change is going to happen overnight, Right or or anything like that. So it's a fundamental process that takes time and that takes commitment for change from within. We undertake this change within a sort of eight, eight step model, so that kind of underpins our methodology and I'm going to hope that I do not remember forget any of the eight principles. One of the principles has to do with this idea of working with the positives and it's really that idea ties in with that social affirmation idea that you can always find something good within a school and use that to change. So it might be a sports program, it might be an arts program, it might be, you know, some sort of aspect to do with the academics. Whatever it is, look for that and use that. So, let's say, as an example, a sports program, that's what is doing well within your school. Use that to institute change and some of the schools in the past, for instance, have done this. So individuals who want to be a part of that sports team, they have to maintain a particular attendance level at school, they have to achieve a particular achievement level with respect to their grades. So you're using that, you're leveraging that which is positive and using it to drive the change. So building on the positives is one principle.
Speaker 2:Another principle has to do with utilizing creative pedagogies. So the idea is that you want students to learn that that's one of the core, you know the core business of school. You want students to learn and if they're disinterested, disengage, then of course that's going to be another pathway for making trouble, being involved in in discipline, and so forth. So how do you utilize creative methodologies so that students can be interested in learning, engage with learning, and so on? So that's one of the the second principles utilizing creative pedagogies. The third principle has to do with leadership development and capacity building. So, whether it has to do with etiquette, grooming, whether it has to do with improving your teaching practice, whatever it might be, build the capacity of your various school stakeholders, right.
Speaker 2:So very often we run capacity building workshops for different stakeholders, whether it's the teachers, the students, the parents, and we focus, again, keeping in mind this idea that it's not something externally imposed. We ask the schools what do you need, what do you think could benefit from our support, or support that we're able to help you gain, and they identify those areas and we help them address that. So, capacity building efforts, the involvement of all school stakeholders. So how do we get teachers seem self evident, principals self evident? But what about parents? What about community members? How do we get them involved within the school in a more focused way, a more consistent way, so that everyone has a vested interest in helping their child succeed and helping the school succeed? So, the involvement of all schools, school stakeholders. I think I've reached the halfway point of four, so I'm hoping that my memory wins out. The involvement of students is a fifth principle. So very often in society we can have this, this negative, belittling view towards children.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're just a child. What could they have to say, what could they possibly contribute? But, of course, children, we're preparing them right. They have identities, they have selves, they have strengths, and so we can include them in relation to school and decision making and hearing their opinions as to what could be done differently, and so allowing students to have that voice is a fifth principle, and again, these are things that schools have worked on in the past and have incorporated, are changed from within schools.
Speaker 2:A sixth principle are what we call our circle of friends, and this is possibly, for me, one of my, my favorite parts of the program. I love all, all parts, but this is probably one of my favorites the circle of friends. It started off as this sort of informal support group for school leaders and, in this case, principals, but it gradually involved to include not only principals and vice principals, but others who have leadership potential. So, since I have been a part of the program and I should say that when I joined the School of Education in 2015, it became a part of my, my purview, my ambit I've been interacting with principals, vice principals, guidance counselors, deans of discipline, teachers at different levels who've been invited to this circle of friends, and we normally meet once a month. When the pandemic hit that that took us a bit off track, but we quickly got back on track in terms of online meetings and we've recently started back our face to face meetings. So we normally meet about once a month and the idea is that these individuals can share with each other.
Speaker 2:So what is an issue in in my school? How have you dealt with it? Right, dr Joe? Or principal X? What strategies can you share with me? So it's about learning from one another, supporting one another, sharing challenges, sharing practices and triumphs, right? Because many times we have individuals at these meetings. You know they say, oh, I didn't think of that, let me try that that could possibly work.
Speaker 2:So the circle of friends is a six principle. So mentoring of different individuals, mentoring of principals, so older principals mentoring new principals within our network of schools, mentoring of teachers, mentoring of students and then the empowerment of school leaders. So those are the eight principles and they're not in any particular order because all are equally important. But you will notice that many of the principles, if not all, really align with this idea of leadership development, capacity building and participation, because if everybody has a stake in something, if they have this sense of ownership, they're going to be more invested in making more money, in making the process work. So those are eight principles for our change from within methodology. And all of that was really coming from those original four schools, from that genesis of the program, because those were the processes that were taking place within those four schools.
Speaker 1:So did you. You went the program or the social scientists. They went into the schools, learned from them and put together these principles that you're working with, documented them, identified and documented them right and now we're in.
Speaker 1:So I mean I love that, because that's, I mean, this is exactly what you're saying. So they went into schools, found out what actually was happening, what was working, and documented it, identified, clearly identified the categories and is now spreading it. They've broadened its potential by doing that and I really appreciate that Now. I mean so we have our plans, but when it comes to implementation, I mean what is experience like and some of the challenges that you encounter when implementing the program itself?
Speaker 2:Right. So just speaking about the years since I've been leading the program 2015 onwards, I think the main challenge let me say two main challenges One has to do with finance and I think that's a perennial challenge, right, because you want to do all of these great things and sometimes the financing is needed. The amazing thing is, from my time, as well as the time before, from the first leader of Change From Within, and I have to do a. Can I do a shout out? Shout out to Paula Siobhan, because she was one of those founding members and she still assists. She's still a member of the program team. She has been mentoring me. So when you talk about mentoring, right, she's been mentoring me with respect to Change From Within. So this idea of the financing from my time, from her time, it has always been a challenge, but it has never stopped the work. If we're able to get funding grant proposals, we were grateful and we work with that. We know that those are for discrete periods and so there are periods where we don't have that grant funding and the work still goes on and a lot of that is from the commitment of the team. So I've mentioned Dr Lorna Downe, retired from the School of Education, who is a member of the program team, mrs Paulette Siobhan, who is a member of the program team. We have Ms Kisha Ann Downe, who has worked as a member of the program team in all respects but really critical work with students, and I'm grateful because two of these individuals Dr Downe and Mrs Siobhan are retired and even though they're still assisting, I'm grateful to have a new member as well, dr Ann Marie Wilmot, who recently joined the School of Education and who I took the opportunity to pull in and thankfully she let herself be pulled in and she brings a lot of expertise with respect to leadership development. So all of the different individuals, the four people Mrs Siobhan, dr Downe, ms Downe, dr Wilmot they all bring strengths in various areas and so they have helped to keep the program running, even in that challenge of financial resources.
Speaker 2:Of course, tied with that is human resources, because we would like to expand the program. So in the time of Mrs Siobhan's they were able to work with many schools across the island. When I started I think we had eight schools and it's now increased to 12, but it's primarily in Kingston and St Andrew. So those resources do pose limitations, but we don't let it stop us. And, of course, we have individuals who have helped us from time to time, whether it's staff members from the School of Education who contributed expertise or others who we've been able to engage. They have helped with the continuity of the program.
Speaker 2:I think the other challenge that I would probably mention is research. So I and persons like Dr Downe, for instance, persons Mrs Sophia Morgan, who I said Dr Downe had interviewed Mrs Siobhan's they've carried out research on the program. We've published the research and so forth, but we also want the research to be driven by the schools themselves, and so I think that would be kind of the only other challenge that I would identify having the schools feel empowered enough to document in a more concrete and cohesive way the successes, because there are successes, and so trying to build the capacity in terms of that. So I think those would kind of be the challenges that I would identify. Yes, Okay.
Speaker 1:So first of all, I must say I really love how you celebrate and highlight your team members. I think what that does is that you are living what you are implementing you know, and so this kind of celebratory culture and mentorship, so even some of the principles that you are implementing in your program. I'm hearing coming from your own life. I'm hearing the passion, too, and the passion of your coworkers, and, you know, one of the things that I really think is important is that in our areas of expertise and passion there, are ways in which we can touch and address areas of, you know, social issues that might not necessarily have seemed like it was directly in our space.
Speaker 1:You know, and so I'm really just I don't know basking. You know what you are saying and just how your coworkers have come together and also I mean, and I think this is what a lot of the good that we have in Jamaica runs on, and it is the commitment of passionate persons to see the end goal occur, you know, and so beyond, and I think so, financial resources are critical because, of course, human resources need financial resources, not just to implement the program, the direct services, but also to live themselves.
Speaker 1:But you know, in a sense, what's even more like goal, that is, the people that are committed. But I must. My question in terms of the challenge is I'm interested to find out what the leadership, buying and buying of the different stakeholders is like. That process, because you know, when you come with with desires for change, we can have all our grand ideas and I know that, based on what you said, you consult with the school, with you know, to find out their own desires. But have you had any challenges of buying and, if so, what has been some of the strategies you've used to gain people's interest and engagement? Right?
Speaker 2:Well, in terms of challenges with buying, I mean, I guess you can say yes in that. For instance, when in 2015, when I joined and we because the program had a very short hiatus after Mrs Chavons retired, so it was, I think, maybe three or four years hiatus and then I joined. So when we restarted a new phase of the program and we invited, we sent out letters to different schools would you like to join us? And so forth there were a few schools that didn't respond. So you know, I guess you could say, sure, there's a challenge to buy in.
Speaker 2:But for those schools who do respond, what I can say is they give of themselves wholeheartedly, whether it is attending the change from within the circle meetings that we have monthly, whether it is, you know, if we have a workshop, responding to one of their needs, ensuring that persons are there who they think will benefit from that workshop and being able to sustain the learning from that workshop, sharing it with others. So I think, from the schools who have responded and who do participate for the most part, you know there might be lows from time to time and that's simply because it's life, it's school, it's the busyness, the real world, but for the most part, they are committed and I think that's what excites us right seeing their commitment, seeing hearing when they try something, whether it's successful or not successful, just the fact that they tried it right and, of course, if it's successful, even better. So, from the schools who commit, I believe the buy-in has been strong and has been good, right, yes, Okay, not what I expected to hear, but I mean, what did you expect to hear?
Speaker 1:I mean not that I thought that there would be a lot of challenges, but more so. You know, just people are at different stages, you have different interests and sometimes, when we come to speak about change, you know there is some resistance. So I mean I'm intrigued that that has not been the case, but it perhaps speaks to the inclusivity that occurs. So, in terms of an participation, the ones you are asking persons their own perspectives so that they can tell you what they believe is wrong or what they believe is actually good, then that increases the buy-in for them, right?
Speaker 2:I think part of that is sorry. I think part of that as well is the fact that we're responding to the schools. I think it would be different if we came in and we're like, alright, high school X, you need to change that, right, that's not working. Or primary school J no, no, no, no, no, no, what are you doing there? What are you doing there, Right? So I think if we approached it in a way we're criticizing where we are externally imposing, then I think certainly the buy-in, I don't think there would even be a program. But because we're responding to their needs, to the issues that they're identifying, so they have a vested interest in terms of that.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so you enter a kind of curious you know as to.
Speaker 2:There is wanting to hear what do you need, what would you change? And so, for instance, one of the things that we do in our circle meetings and we sometimes we alternate, we sometimes do it at the beginning of the school year, looking forward, we sometimes do it at the end of the school year, looking back and looking forward, sometimes we do it both, both times is that we engage them in this visioning right. So what would you change? What would your school be like if right? And so then what are the steps needed to achieve that vision? And that's not to say that everything is straightforward, that's not to say that there's this perfect school after engaging with change from within. So I don't want to give that impression that everything is perfect. It's like 100% turnaround. No, of course not. But the idea is that they are working towards that and they are moving and making progress, and so we celebrate when the progress is made.
Speaker 1:Awesome, thank you. So, okay, when you come into a school, right, what does that school? What characteristics does that school have? And then, what characteristics are you hoping it will now transform into or become at the end of this intervention?
Speaker 2:Okay, so can I give an example of one of the schools from the first, from the beginning, and this is actually characterized, sorry, not characterized. This is actually documented in a publication called the Story of Four Schools, right, and it documents what happened in those four schools. So for this I am going to unashamedly refer to my notes because I don't want to state anything inaccurately. So this was one, as I said, one of those four schools, and it was located in a community, an inner city community. This is during the period of the 1980s, 1990s, and it was a high school. And so, in terms of what characterized that school at the beginning, the young people, the students, weren't interested in learning, they weren't interested in academic activities, they weren't necessarily readers, right, they weren't necessarily individuals who were communicating about, you know, whether it was about schoolwork or social activities and persons, students, persons who were attending their teachers. They really had this kind of feeling of fear, perhaps, feeling of apathy, feeling that this is a quote, unquote ghetto, school, right. So that was kind of what was there before. When one of the new principals founding member entered that school. This individual sought to change that, change the mindset, because mindset is really key to everything. So brought together the different stakeholders teachers, staff members, parents and so forth and started to consider how could we make this a school that was different, that people saw as not a ghetto school, but a school that was worthwhile, right and different things took place. One of the things that took place, for instance, was transformation of the physical environment, so things like painting the school and the classrooms, repaving different areas like the playground. There was a poem written by one of the students that was put up on the wall. This poem it was called I am master of my emotions, and the title alone gives you a clue. Right, we can control our destiny. So the cleaning up of that physical environment, planting some plants, some trees and so forth, that was one step, because as you start to see the beauty around you, right, you're starting to take pride. Another step was the psychosocial environment.
Speaker 2:So assemblies were held every day, but they took different forms. Some days it might have been a daily devotional. Some days it was discussions where the teachers were listening to the students. Remember what time we're thinking about. Remember what I said earlier about sometimes we think, children, we don't want to hear you right, just do what you're told. The teachers spent time listening to the students. And then sometimes the assemblies took the form where they invited individuals in, individuals who are products of that community and who had now become doctors or lawyers or engineers or teachers, because many times we think teaching, right, there's this disparaging view of teaching. So they brought these individuals in and again, it's about visioning. This is what you can become. I am master of my emotions, right. I love the poem and the title of that poem.
Speaker 2:The principal established an open door policy so anyone, whether parent, teacher, student, whoever it was, community member, could come in, talk about issues, raise questions, whatever it might be. So that open door policy. So we're seeing things happening at different levels the physical environment, the psychosocial environment, the open door policy hey, you can come in. I want to hear from you. What are your ideas, what are your questions, what are your concerns and some of those things building on the positives.
Speaker 2:So the example that I gave earlier if a school has a successful sports program that was actually the case in this school they had. Sports was one of their strengths, and so there are now new regulations. So to participate in these sports you have to have, let's say, an 80% attendance record minimum at the school. So no more missing school, no more truancy and so forth. You have to have a certain achievement level. So, building on the positives involvement of all stakeholders right, listening to the voices of the children You're seeing where some of those eight methodological principles are coming in. And so there began to be changes. Minimal signs of aggression, violence at the school lifted self-esteem amongst the different school stakeholders and it became a different place. So I use that example just to kind of show what a school might be like before and what it might be like after and how that wider school culture change really does make a difference. So yeah.
Speaker 1:So I mean again, why this is important and encouraging is because this moves from the individual level of change to a kind of institutional, organizational change, which, the more people that are involved regarding change is, the more challenging we believe the change actually is.
Speaker 1:But this is actually showing us that it is possible and it is impossible, sorry, in under resourced schools, and I think I mean because a part of what the challenge, the challenges that inner city schools tend to have, is that they're under resourced, is that they are actually a part of this space that is excluded from the rest of society. So a part of what this program is actually doing is letting them recognize that there are resources within, within not just the school, but the community, the parents, that there are resources there and in a sense, they are connected to the wider society, because those who are leading the program are expanding not just the knowledge about the opportunities that would exist and the network as well, that they would exist, and so that exists. And this is why it's it's so important and it's important to have a passionate leader. What has your experience been with the leaders?
Speaker 2:You are passionate, right, I learned so much from them. When the principles share at the circle of friends meetings, I see such commitment and particularly because you said it at the beginning, right we see the violence in society, we see the violence in schools. So when you see what they have to go through on a daily basis in particular schools and so forth, and the fact that they are all in, that they're committed, that they have this energy, right, sometimes I'm feeling tired from I'm thinking, wow, wow, right. So engaging with the leaders, the principal leaders as well as others who attend the circle meetings, it's phenomenal, right, it's phenomenal. So, yeah, can you share?
Speaker 1:are there any stories or perhaps per se, that you're talking about Stories, or perhaps persons within the school who were involved in violence that you know more on an individual base. So you've heard this story from you know some of the other stakeholders that would be in circle time about their own experience of transformation within the space, within the program.
Speaker 2:Sure, if I may, again, I'm going to refer to my notes, so I hope you know. These are two. These are some testimonials from schools. So I mentioned before Ms Kishan Daon, one of our program team members. One of the things that she has brought to the team is this element of coaching, similar to mentoring but slightly different. So she is a certified coach on many levels and so she actually engaged with identified, selected students at some of the schools and afterwards. So this is where I'm talking about the human resources right, we wanted to find out. So what was the impact? Was there any impact? Because we know she's phenomenal, but she had a phenomenal impact, and so we had two student volunteers who we were very lucky to have, and they actually went into the schools to speak with the principal, teachers and so forth and they documented the findings for us and shared.
Speaker 2:So let me read one of the schools testimonials. At one primary school, two teachers said they found the program this is the coaching to be very effective. Both teachers noticed a decrease in the disruption and fighting, as well as an improvement in pair relations and attentiveness to schoolwork. One of the teachers noted that one of her students was rewarded a best behavior certificate for two months consecutively. After the program had ended, the students began to work together more cohesively through reminding each other of what they had learned in the coaching program, and their approaches to academics had changed so significantly that, according to another teacher, this was actually highlighted at their graduation ceremony. So that came directly from teachers who interact with the students who were coached and they highlighted the change as a result of that coaching intervention.
Speaker 2:And that's just one of the schools. So when you hear stories like that, you think we cannot give up. Right, we cannot give up the work. It may be challenging, right, we may be, depending on individuals who are retired and so forth and volunteers and all of that, but when the work has an impact, such as that you feel energized, you feel all right, we're not giving up on these schools, we're not giving up. So, yeah, I had to share that.
Speaker 1:Thank you. So have you seen like a wider impact, like community on the community?
Speaker 2:on the parents.
Speaker 1:Have you been able to see any of that?
Speaker 2:So in the past, when Mrs Siobhan's was leading the program, definitely, and those are documented in things like the story of the four schools. There was also another publication from her time I hope I get the name right celebrations, all right, celebrating successes. So definitely in the phase where I'm leading, I think we need to that. This is where we want the research right, the research coming from the schools as well as our own research. So our research is revealing some of that, but we do want to go further in, so more research is needed in that respect. But definitely we've seen it in the past phases of the program and we're seeing it, but need to document it more clearly and forcefully in this current phase.
Speaker 1:Okay. So if I'm a school, like a principal or a teacher, and I hear about this program and I'm like, okay, my school needs this program, what's the process? How can I get in touch? How can I have my school be a part of this initiative?
Speaker 2:Simply contact me and we normally speak to the school, kind of get a sense. We then discuss it as a program team and, as I said, this is sadly where the resource limitations can have an impact, because in the past we have had a few inquiries from schools outside of Kingston and St Andrew and because of those limitations we unfortunately have not been able to respond to them. But within Kingston and St Andrew, as far as the limitations permit, we do try and respond. So simply contact me through the School of Education. If you just do a search for me on the website, my email address is there, telephone contact is there. So contact me. We obviously make no promises, but we do try as best as possible if we're able to respond.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and it's there. So are there any specific types of assistance or support you believe the program needs that? If someone wanted to contribute, how could they get involved? How could they volunteer or give to this program?
Speaker 2:Right. So I think, first thing, in terms of volunteering, if individuals have any expertise in some of the areas that we work with, the mentorship, leadership development, the restorative justice, which you had mentioned earlier, but I've not really gotten a chance or I haven't elaborated on this yet we do. We have started work again through Mrs Siobhan's in terms of restorative justice circles and sharing that with the schools. So any of those sorts of areas and they want to contact us, please again get in contact with me. And then, just in terms of wider support, so parents and parenting, that's one of the areas that we work with as one of the school stakeholders, one of the principals in terms of the involvement of school stakeholders, and we want to do more work in this area.
Speaker 2:So if individuals, for instance and this is for the program, but it's also for the wider society share, share what you're doing. If there are any parenting groups, parenting organizations, share what you are doing with us, with the wider society, in terms of successes with parents, involvement in the schools and so forth, because we want to learn from that and the wider society needs to learn from that, because parents are so crucial, right, parents are so crucial in terms of those environments where children grow and develop the school, the home, the church, some of those key environments. So if parenting groups can share, we would love to learn from that and hear from them as well. So I think, yeah, that's what I would say Okay, okay, thank you.
Speaker 1:So, as we close, what is one thing you'd want concerned citizens to remember about this program, as well as about changing our school culture?
Speaker 2:One thing oh, you're constricting me. One thing I think is, if I had to pick one and perhaps my team members would pick something else I would pick the positivity. Don't just be about oh, this is an inner city school, so nothing's gonna come from it. Or this child is from the inner city. What good can come from him or her right? Whatever the school inner city, not inner city, whatever it is there is something good. Focus on that, celebrate it, affirm it, affirm all those involved and see how that can be used as a catalyst for change. So I think that, since you've constricted me, I would be what I select.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, thank you so much, dr Ferguson. I mean truly a delight. This program is really about focusing on successes, focusing on strengths. We were speaking earlier about our nation. Our nation is in really a tough spot and some of the ways in which we need to change and some of the solutions already exist within. As your program says, change from within. They already exist, and so it really is about finding out what exists and how can we bolster them, how can we expand them, how can we connect them, how can they become this larger infrastructure that promotes or reduces crime and violence. But not just that it improves well-being and quality of life, because a part of why we do these, why these initiatives are important, it's not just because we're trying to reduce violence for the nation, but there are people who are suffering, they have personal life challenges, and so they're not living the same level or a similar level of quality of life as some of the rest of the wider society is, and so these types of programs create opportunities. It broadens the space, it widens the space, it equalizes the playing field, and so they are so important. So thank you so much for coming on and for sharing about this program. I mean, I'm really hoping that you can get some additional support, but thank you so much for your commitment and your passion and for the celebratory culture that you have engendered and are facilitating, both within schools, but even in your own community, in your department, as I hear you big up your colleagues, viewers.
Speaker 1:Thank you so so much for joining with us today on Safer Tomorrow. It is truly a privilege to have you join in with us. I hope that you are really able to not just be encouraged but to hear that there are true successes that are occurring within our nation and that change is possible. Crime and violence is possible, and it is a big issue, I mean to be reduced. It is a big issue here and it can feel very overwhelming, but as we play our role in the spaces that we are in, then we can see significant change incrementally and over a period of time. So just remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel that's Safer Tomorrow podcast, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Safer Tomorrow pod, and in the show notes I will be able to share some of how to contact Dr Ferguson and read some of the articles that she mentioned. Thank you so so much for joining us. Have a good day. Bye implications.
