Rethinking School Discipline in Africa

Abstract

This chapter discusses the restorative justice principles and practices in African schools. Restorative justice practices in schools, which are based on relationships and not rules, are indigenous to the African communities' ways of conflict resolution and reconciliation. Restorative practices in schools cast a wider net than restorative justice in the courts. The main pillar of the foundation of restorative practices in schools is the teacher. The foundations of restorative practices in schools will be successful in schools that have these types of teachers. Restorative practices are built on the positive relationships that teachers foster with students and with each other in schools. Formal restorative practices are meant for restoring damaged relationships. Formal restorative practices see justice as getting well rather than getting even. The “adults as defective children” perspective argues that children are not merely unfinished adults but are likely to possess abilities that adults are likely to have largely lost.