Anger? That’s so uncool

THE idea that Scotland's primary pupils would be given lessons in respecting their classmates and teachers would have been unthinkable a decade or more ago. But, for an increasing number of the nation's young people, issues such as the meaning of respect, anger management and restorative justice are now as firmly established on the curriculum as stalwarts such as English and maths. Just as in England, where Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged to create a culture of respect to "reclaim the streets for the decent majority", so also in Scotland attempts to reclaim the classroom have focused on the respect agenda. The concept of teaching such values has played an increasingly important role since 2004, when the Scottish Executive highlighted it as a key element in improving discipline in schools. At the time, Peter Peacock, the education minister, pointed to the work of Fife Council's Cool in School pilot, now being rolled out across the authority, which attempts to tackle anti-social behaviour by emphasising respect for others, with even the youngest children learning lessons in empathy. The aim of the scheme is for children to learn how to manage their anger and to think about how their actions affect other people, with teachers saying both bullying and aggressive behaviour have reduced. Fife is not alone in attempting to manage behaviour by teaching the sort of values that would have been second nature to many children in the 1950s or 1960s. In addition to lessons on respect, many local authorities have introduced schemes which involve pupils in the day-to-day policing of their school communities.

Last year, it was announced that an initiative to make bullies and unruly pupils face up to their disruptive behaviour by meeting their victims is to be rolled out across Scotland. The executive plans to extend restorative justice to all primary and secondary schools after the success of three pilot projects launched in 2004 in North Lanarkshire, Highland and Fife. East Renfrewshire has also been at the forefront of moves to equip children with the skills to deal with difficult situations before they escalate into verbal abuse, or even violence. One such scheme, put in place by Patricia Kennedy, the headteacher of St Mark's Primary School, in Barrhead, involves the use of pupil mediators – older pupils whom younger children can approach if they have a problem in the playground, such as name-calling or being excluded from a game. "The peer mediators don't come down on one side or the other. They try to understand both points of view and seek a solution," says Mrs Kennedy. "We find that if the pupils can talk things through they will make friends again because playtime has such huge importance in their lives and they want to be happy there. "It's great for me, too, because it means I don't have a queue of children waiting outside my door at the end of every break." The importance of such schemes has never been more pertinent. The discipline problems facing Scottish schools were again highlighted yesterday with the publication of new figures which show that permanent exclusions in the primary and secondary sector increased by 54% to 271 in 2004-05, while temporary exclusions rose by 8% to 41,703. A quarter of exclusions resulted from verbal abuse, 30% from disobedience and 13% involved offensive behaviour.

Moreover, a recent Edinburgh University study found that violence, racism and verbal abuse are on the increase in schools, with 45% of secondary teachers experiencing verbal abuse and 8% reporting physical aggression. Bryan Kirkaldy, senior education manager with Fife Council, believes the need for initiatives such as Cool in School have been fuelled by changes in society. "Some of our communities have been weakened over the past few years with the disappearance of extended families and, in some sections of the population, families have been out of work for a generation or more and disaffection has built up," he says. "These are significant social trends which are reflected in our schools." He also believes the emancipation of the nation's youth since the 1960s has played a role. "They are more confident and independent and less amenable to traditional forms of adult authority which poses a challenge. That is a positive trend, but what worked in Victorian times with the belt is not going to work now and we need to be more imaginative." It is a view echoed by parenting experts. Richard Woolfson, an educational psychologist, believes that traditional tacit respect for teachers within schools has not proved strong enough to withstand the impact of wider social changes, such as the weakening of social relationships or increased competition in society. "Family lifestyles have changed considerably and parents have far higher expectations for their children now in what is a fiercely competitive society with limited resources," he says. "Traditional neighbourhood relationships have gone because families move around so much more and there is less social interaction and therefore we learn less about the sort of behaviour that is acceptable in a community. School is the nearest mini-community to that and the best place to try and re-introduce these values."

The view that society has become more intolerant because of the breakdown of traditional communities is not, however, universally accepted. Talk of a golden age where every school was an oasis of good behaviour has been rubbished by those who see society today as a more tolerant place. "Children may have been seen and not heard in the past, but every age has its troublesome children and there was no golden age," argues Judith Gillespie, policy officer with the Scottish Parent Teacher Council." In the 1960s there was a blind faith in authority and no-one was prepared to challenge authority figures, whether that be the government, royal family or the school teacher. "We have now got rid of that culture of deference and that can be confusing for young people because respect for authority is not automatic. People have choices." While the work that is done in schools to teach children respect for others is widely supported by educational professionals, some academics have urged caution. Some argue that respect can only really be taught through actions rather than lessons – or at least a combination of the two. Professor Eric Wilkinson, of Glasgow University's education department, argues that respect is best transmitted through role models. "I am cautious about the teaching of respectful behaviour, although I don't suggest it won't improve things," he says. "The most critical thing is the role models themselves. "If teachers treat children like civilised human beings and if that is part of the ethos of the school then I have no doubt it will take root." If it is part of the everyday routine of school life then that is a much more powerful way of saying you must respect each other than instructing young people what to do."

Andrew Denholm
February 01 2006

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