Exam 1 Flashcards
What is the Truth and Reconciliation Act?
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was a court-like body in South Africa that investigated human rights abuses during apartheid. The TRC was established in 1996 by President Nelson Mandela and chaired by Desmond Tutu. The purpose of the TRC was to uncover the truth about human rights violations, to heal the country and bring about reconciliation, and to prompt a healing conversation among all South Africans. The TRC Invited witnesses to give statements about their experiences, allowed perpetrators to give testimony and request amnesty, and focused on gathering evidence and uncovering information, not prosecuting individuals.
How has restorative justice been utilized?
RJ Has been 100% implemented into New Zealand’s Juvenile Justice System. RJ is expanding to schools and workplaces in the United States.
What is the definition of restorative justice?
*Crime is a violation of interpersonal relationships;
*Violations create obligations;
*The central obligation is to put right the wrongs.
*Restorative justice promotes engagement or participation.
What is Dr. McDowell’s theory of restorative justice?
*Crime creates broken relationships.
*Reparation is necessary to heal broken relationships.
*Inclusion of affected parties is necessary to repair broken relationships.
*Amends occur through inclusion.
*Amends takes the form of:
o Acceptance of personal responsibility by the offender
o Remorse by the offender
o Apology by the offender
o Forgiveness by the victim
*Resolution occurs through the process of inclusion, amends, and reparation.
*Reintegration occurs through the process of inclusion, amends, reparation, and resolution.
*Reconciliation occurs through the process of inclusion, amends, reparation, resolution, and reintegration.
*GOAL: Restoration occurs through the process of inclusion, amends, reparation, resolution, reintegration, and reconciliation.
What is restorative justice not?
*Restorative justice is NOT primarily about forgiveness or reconciliation.
*Restorative justice is NOT mediation.
*Restorative justice is NOT primarily designed to reduce recidivism.
*Restorative justice is NOT a particular program or a blueprint.
*Restorative Justice is NOT only implemented in minor offenses or with 1st time offenders.
*Restorative justice is NOT a new or North American development.
*Restorative is not necessarily a replacement for the legal system.
*Restorative justice is NOT necessarily an alternative to prison.
*Restorative justice is NOT necessarily the opposite of retribution.
Who’s needs does restorative justice consider?
Restorative justice
considers needs: Victims’ Needs, Offenders’ Needs, and Community Needs.
What three questions are asked by the restorative justice system?
-Who has been hurt?
-What are their needs?
-Whose obligations are these?
What three questions are asked by the traditional CJ system?
-What laws have been broken?
-Who did it?
-What do they deserve?
What are the three pillars of restorative justice?
Harms
Causes
Needs
What does the restorative lens look at?
-Harms need to be addressed
-Causes need to be addressed
What are the guiding questions of restorative justice?
*Who has been hurt?
*What are their needs?
*Whose obligations are these?
*Who has a stake in the situation?
*What is the appropriate process for involved stakeholders in an effort to put things right?
What is the restorative justice continuum from left to right?
- Fully restorative
- Mostly restorative
- Partially restorative
- Potentially restorative
- Psuedo/Non Restorative
What is dialogue?
-Dialogue is a communication process that aims to build relationships between people as they share experiences, ideas, and information about a common concern.
-A process for talking about tension-filled topics.
What are the differences between the communication styles of dialogue, conversation, debate, and discussion?
-Dialogue:Dialogue is a communication process that aims to build relationships between people as they share experiences, ideas, and information about a common concern. It also aims to help groups take in more information and perspectives than they previously had as they attempt to forge a new and broader understanding of a situation. Dialogue is a unique communication process because it focuses participants’ attention on listening for understanding. Dialogue works best when participants listen for what might be correct, true, and insightful about what others have stated. The listeners try to find ideas with which they can agree, and potentially combine those with their own ideas to build a larger truth than any side has on its own.
-Conversation:Self-expression. In conversation, information and ideas flow between people for the primary purpose of self-expression. Persuasion, or changing another’s perspective or understanding, may not figure into the exchange.
-Debate: Contest/Win-Lose. Listen to find what is wrong, incomplete, or otherwise flawed in one’s perceived opponent’s
statements. Intention: Identify flaws and poke holes in the
opponent’s overall position.
-Discussion:Exchange of ideas to accomplish a specific task or to solve a problem. In a discussion, information and ideas are exchanged in order to accomplish a specific task or to solve a problem. The intention of dialogue is not to accomplish a task, even though a dialogue process sometimes identifies follow-up tasks.
Why are safe spaces important?
Ensuring a safe place for each person puts participants at ease.
What is the role of the facilitator?
Encourage the following attributes:
o Respectful listening
o Willingness to learn
o Sharing experiences
o Creating safe spaces
o Following guidelines
o Willingness to change
o Humility (No one person possesses whole truth)
o Honesty (Similarities & differences)
How does dialogue affect us individually, as groups, and communities?
Dialogue May Affect Us Individually in the Following Ways:
oPersonal reflection and clarity (Phenomenology)
oIncreased understanding
oIncreased empathy for others
Dialogue May Affect Groups and Communities in the Following Ways:
oReduced divisions
oCreating a sense of community
oImproved communication patterns
oCollective analysis
oOptions for collaborative action
What are preconditions for a successful dialogue process?
*A diversity of experiences
*No immediate decisions need to be made
*Relatively balanced power
*Similarity in perceived language capacity
What are the different types of dialogue?
*One-on-One or Small Group
*Informal Dialogue
*One-Time Dialogue
*Dialogue with Multiple Sessions
*Sustained Dialogue
*Large-Scale Dialogue
How do you organize and design a dialogue process?
*Focus on stakeholder’s needs
*The invitation process
*Diversity of thought
*Choosing dialogue space
*Food, time, and aesthetics
*Good, trained facilitation
What are the phases of dialogue?
1.Establishing Common Intentions and Norms (Safe space, ground rules, and role of the facilitator)
a.Introductions (Name, affiliation, reason for participating, icebreaker)
b.Ground rules
c.Role of facilitator
2.Sharing Experiences and Perceptions
a.Warming up: Describe a time when…
b.Getting and Staying Personal: How has this experience impacted you personally?
i.Refrain from analyzing personal experiences during this phase, but instead focus on sharing experiences.
3.Exploring Diversity and Commonalities
a.What factors caused the conflict/experience?
b.Caucuses: How has the group benefitted from and suffered from the experiences?
c.Optional inclusion of independent research (benefits and
drawbacks?)
d.Optional inclusion of a visual progression of the dialogue
process
4.Exploring Possibilities for Action
a.Move to action
b.Closing
c.Facilitator’s summary
Why are ground rules important?
Facilitators help create a safe space by setting ground rules or guidelines to keep dialogue participants focused on listening to and working with each other. Setting ground rules helps a group identify the behaviors it wants to protect. First, setting ground rules serves to normalize an unusual process. Secondly, setting guidelines together communicates that everyone in the group is essentially equal, at least with respect to the group’s task.
What are the ground rules for going deeper into dialogue?
- Ask questions. Ask honest, thought-provoking questions that give people the opportunity to explore and explain their underlying assumptions.
- Stay through the hard times. Make a commitment to stay in the dialogue despite the tensions.
- Aim to understand. The goal of dialogue is to increase understanding between individuals. The goal is not to solve the problem or agree on everything.
- Recognize common ground. Every two people share something in common. Find it!
- “Ouch,” then educate. If someone says something hurtful, don’t just disengage. Let the individual and the group know why it was hurtful.
What are basic facilitation skills?
oEstablish the purpose of the dialogue
oFoster dialogue
oManage the agenda and guide the process
oDevelop ground rules
oActive listening
oMonitor group dynamics
oCommunicate interest in everyone’s perspective
oHelp address difficult participants
oSummarize and paraphrase
oStay impartial
oModel the behavior expected from participants
oClose with a summary
What are advanced facilitation skills and tasks?
oInspire confidence in their leadership
oGood multitaskers
oFlexible and not overly controlling
oSee a situation from many points of view
oStay calm and engaged
oPose questions
oConnect with people
How do you move from dialogue to action?
Ideally, a dialogue process creates a space for people to build relationships and develop new networks that increase people’s vision and desire to take collective action. Chapter 5 suggests types of questions that help people assess what they personally and collectively can do. Creating enough time and space in the dialogue agenda for this phase is important. If people view the last action-planning phase of dialogue as an add-on or as something to get through after a long day, it is less likely to lead to effective action.
*Key People and Levels:
oMore People Level- Large # of people in dialogue to address an issue.
oKey People Level- Include important leaders/groups who are opinion leaders and who are able to affect change.
oIndividual People Level- Focuses on changing attitudes/values/perceptions of individuals as a step in bringing about change.
oStructural Level- Aims to change socio-political or institutional structures that create
conflicts.
What are the levels of social change?
*Individual level
*Community level
*National level
*Global level
What is the difference between resolution and transformation?
*Resolution: How do we end something that is not desired (short term solution)?
*Transformation: How do we end something not desired and build something we do desire (long term solution)? Transformation sees conflict as a potential catalyst.
What are the lenses of conflict transformation?
*Content: Lens that sees the immediate situation.
*Context: Lens to see beyond the presenting problem towards the deeper patterns of relationship.
*Structure of relationship: Understanding of the relationship framework which allows us to connect the presenting problems with the deeper relational patterns.
What is conflict transformation?
Seeing conflict as a potential catalyst for growth.
How is conflict a gift?
Conflict is a gift because it signals something is not right within a relationship and allows us to address the issue at hand.
What are the different levels in which conflict impacts us?
Conflict impacts us personally, relationally, structurally, and culturally.
What are episodes and epicenters?
*Episode: Visible expression of conflict rising within a relationship or system.
oEpisodes appear as a particular issue that needs a response.
*Epicenter: Is the web of relational patterns, often providing a history of lived episodes, from which new episodes and issues emerge.
oThe epicenter is the root cause of the episode.
How are process-structures platforms for change?
Transformational platforms provide adaptive responses to the immediate and future repetition of conflict episodes and address the deeper and longer-term relational and systemic patterns that produce conflict.
How is change a circle?
- Things Move Forward
- Things Hit a Wall; Movement Stops
- Things Move Backwards
- Things Collapse
How is change a simple linear process-structure?
A linear view asks us to stand back and take a look at the overall direction of social conflict and the change we seek that includes history and the future.
What is needed to develop transformation capacities?
- Create independent goals
- Make complexity a friend, not a foe
o Refrain from rigidly locking onto one idea or answer.
o If we view complexity in a negative manner, we shut down and a transformation process is not possible. - Hear and engage the voices of identity
o Skill to see and hear ‘identity’ when it appears.
o One cannot identify the epicenter if they do not hear the voice of another’s identity.
Why is it important to refrain from ignoring or talking away someone’s perspective?
It is important to refrain from ignoring or talking away someone’s perspective because their lived experiences are their reality (phenomenology).
Why is storytelling important in circle processes?
Every story has a lesson.
What is the underlying philosophy of circles?
- We are all in need of help and helping others helps us at the same time.
o Everyone gives help and receives help in circle processes.
What are the historical contexts of circle processes?
- Peacemaking draws on Ancient Native American Traditions:
o Talking Piece
o Democracy
o Inclusion
o Address Community Issues - Peacemaking Circles draw directly from the tradition of the Talking Circle, common among indigenous people of North America. Gathering in a Circle to discuss important community issues was likely a part of the tribal roots of most people. Such processes still exist among indigenous people around the world, and we are deeply indebted to those who have kept these practices alive as a source of wisdom and inspiration for modern Western cultures.
- In contemporary society and largely outside the scope of mainstream awareness, Circles have been used by small groups of non-indigenous people for over 30 years. Women’s groups in particular have made extensive use of a formal Circle Process. Those Circles have primarily occurred in the contexts of individuals sharing their personal journeys in a supportive community.
Circles are useful when two or more people:
o need to make decisions together
o have a disagreement
o need to address an experience that resulted in harm to someone
o want to work together as a team
o wish to celebrate
o wish to share difficulties
o want to learn from each other
What are the goals of circle processes?
- Developing support for those harmed by crime
- Deciding the sentence for those who commit crime and supporting them in fulfilling the obligations of the sentence,
- Strengthening the community to prevent crimes.
What are the elements of circle processes?
Ceremony, Talking Piece, Facilitator, Guidelines, and Consensus Decision Making
What is a ceremony?
Circles consciously engage all aspects of human experience—spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental. Circles use a ceremony or intentional centering activity in the opening and in the closing to mark the Circle as a sacred space in which participants are present with themselves and one another in a way that is different from an ordinary meeting.
What is a talking piece?
By allowing only the person holding the talking piece to speak, a Circle regulates the dialogue as the piece circulates consecutively from person to person around the group. The person holding the talking piece has the undivided attention of everyone else in the Circle and can speak without interruption. The use of the talking piece allows for full expression of emotions, deeper listening, thoughtful reflection, and an unhurried pace. Additionally, the talking piece creates space for people who find it difficult to speak in a group, but it never requires the holder to speak.
What is a facilitator?
The facilitator of the Peacemaking Circle, often called a keeper, assists the group in creating and maintaining a collective space in which each participant feels safe to speak honestly and openly without disrespecting anyone else. The keeper monitors the quality of the collective space and stimulates the reflections of the group through questions or topic suggestions. The keeper does not control the issues raised by the group or try to move the group toward a particular outcome, but the keeper may take steps to address the tone of the group interaction.
What are guidelines?
Participants in a Circle play a major role in designing their own space by creating the guidelines for their discussion. The guidelines articulate the promises participants make to one another about how they will conduct themselves in the Circle dialogue. The guidelines are intended to describe the behaviors that the participants feel will make the space safe for them to speak their truth. Guidelines are not rules and they are not used to judge people’s behavior. They are used as gentle reminders to participants about their shared commitment to creating a safe space for difficult conversation.
What is consensus decision-making?
Decisions in a Circle are made by consensus. Consensus does not require enthusiasm for the decision or plan, but it does require that each participant is willing to live with the decision and support its implementation.
What are the different types of circle processes?
Talking, Understanding, Healing, Sentencing, Support, Community-Building, Conflict, Reintegration, and Celebration
What is a talking circle?
In a Talking Circle, participants explore a particular issue or topic from many different perspectives. Talking Circles do not attempt to reach consensus on the topic. Rather, they allow all voices to be respectfully heard and offer participants diverse perspectives to stimulate their reflections.
What is an understanding circle?
A Circle of Understanding is a Talking Circle focused on understanding some aspect of a conflict or difficult situation. A Circle of Understanding is generally not a decision-making Circle; therefore, it does not need to reach consensus. Its purpose is to develop a more complete picture of the context or reason for a particular event or behavior.
What is a healing circle?
The purpose of a Healing Circle is to share the pain of a person or persons who have experienced trauma or loss. A plan for support beyond the Circle may emerge, but it is not required.
What is a sentencing circle?
A Sentencing Circle is a community directed process in partnership with the criminal justice system. It involves all those affected by an offense in deciding an appropriate sentencing plan which addresses the concerns of all participants.
What is a support circle?
A Support Circle brings together key people to support a person through a particular difficulty or major change in life. Support Circles often meet regularly over a period of time. By consensus, Support Circles may develop agreements or plans, but they are not necessarily decision-making Circles.
What is a community-building circle?
The purpose of a Community-Building Circle is to create bonds and build relationships among a group of people who have a shared interest. Community-Building Circles support effective collective action and mutual responsibility.
What is a conflict circle?
A Conflict Circle brings together disputing parties to resolve their differences. Resolution takes shape through a consensus agreement.
What is a reintegration circle?
Reintegration Circles bring together an individual and a group or community from which that individual has been estranged to work toward reconciliation and acceptance of the individual into the group again. Reintegration Circles frequently develop consensus agreements. They have been used for juveniles and adults who are returning to the community from prisons or correctional facilities.
What is a celebration circle?
Celebration Circles bring together a group of people to recognize an individual or a group and to share joy and a sense of accomplishment.
How are mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects adressed in circles?
Another ancient teaching foundational for Circles is that human experience has mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects. All of these aspects of human experience are equally important and offer essential gifts to our collective life. Balance among these aspects is important for the health of individuals and communities. Consequently, Circles intentionally create a space in which all of these aspects of human experience are recognized and welcomed.
Emotional and spiritual expressions that reflect the personal perspective of the speaker, but are not assumed to be the same for others, have a place in the Circle. Circles assume that conflicts and difficulties have emotional and spiritual content for participants and that effective resolutions require exploring the emotional and spiritual content as well as the physical and mental content.
What are the stages of circle processes?
Referrals, Determining Suitability, Preparation, Convening all parties, and Follow-up
What are the steps to determine suitability?
o Are there people who are willing to participate—does the topic matter to anyone? If not, then a Circle is not appropriate.
o Am I (the organizer) hoping to convince others of a particular point of view or change others? If the answer is yes, the Circle is not the appropriate forum.
o Am I open to hearing and respecting perspectives very different from mine? If not, then a Circle is not appropriate.
o Is the intent respectful of all possible participants? If not, then a Circle is not appropriate.
What are the steps of preparation?
oIdentify possible participants, making sure to include people with a variety of perspectives. The potential benefit of a Circle is dramatically reduced if all participants already view the topic the same way. The participants may be an existing group.
oDetermine who will keep (facilitate) the Circle. If you are planning to be the keeper, recruit someone who will support you in the responsibility of maintaining a safe space for respectful dialogue.
oChoose a time and place for the Talking Circle, keeping in mind the importance of warmth, hospitality, and access. Make sure the space allows for a sufficient number of chairs to be arranged in a circle with no furniture inside the circle.
oExtend invitations to possible participants with an explanation of the topic, the purpose of the Circle, and the nature of the process.
oChoose a talking piece that will have meaning to the group and will encourage respectful speaking and listening.
oPlan an opening ceremony to set the tone of the relationship space of the Circle (e.g. a reading, deep breathing, music). In planning this and the centerpiece below, make sure that you do not choose something that may be misunderstood or alienating to participants.
oDecide whether you wish to create a centerpiece for the Circle, such as a cloth with a candle or flowers, or other objects that have meaning related to the group or the topic.
oDecide whether you will have food at the Circle and make the necessary arrangements. (Food can be shared at the beginning or end of a Circle.)
oDraft questions that will help participants get acquainted and engage the topic of dialogue.
oSpend time reflecting or meditating on your intention and the importance of entering the Circle with openness and acceptance of others.
What are the steps to convene all parties?
o Identify shared value
o Develop ground rule
o Engage storytelling to build relationships
o Share concern and hope
o Probe underlying causes of conflict/harm
o Generate ideas for addressing harm/resolving it
o Develop agreement and clarify responsibilities
What are the steps of follow-up?
oAssess progress on agreements
oAre all parties fulfilling their obligations?
oProbe for causes of any failures to fulfill an obligation, clarify responsibilities, and identify next steps if failure continues.
oAdjust agreements as needed based on new information or developments.
oCelebrate successes
How are circles applied with groups?
In their groups, the facilitator is judging and evaluating their behavior and level of participation. The facilitator has specific expectations about what the youth should say or not say. Under those circumstances, the youth frequently do not feel safe to speak their truth. If one person in a group has power over others and can use what happens in the group in an evaluative process without consensus of the group, then it is not a Peacemaking Circle. The youth were very aware that in group they are not all equal, which is a core prerequisite of Circles.
How are circles applied to therapy?
o In a Peacemaking Circle, clinical or professional expertise is not the primary resource for gaining insight or for understanding issues. Storytelling by the participants, based on their personal narratives, and self-reflection are the main sources of insight.
o Additionally, unlike in most therapy, the keeper in a Circle is a participant and may share life experiences that are relevant to the Circle dialogue. A therapist may be a participant in a Circle and share clinical expertise as part of the information the Circle considers, but the therapist would not be responsible for managing all the dynamics of the Circle as they typically might in a therapy role. The Circle facilitator does not direct or manage the work of the group. In a Circle, participants are not only responsible for their own behavior but they share responsibility for the quality of the space of the group as a whole.
How are circles applied in classrooms?
oMany classroom management books and social skills curricula, particularly on the elementary and middle-school level, encourage using the class meeting. The class meeting is a time when students learn and practice social skills such as giving and receiving compliments, listening, empathy, problem-solving, conflict resolution, anger management and identification, and expression of feelings.
oThese skills are taught through games or activities, often while the students are sitting in a circle. However, key Circle elements may be missing from these activities, such as the use of the talking piece, permission to pass, and the clear expectation that the piece will go around the circle in order.
What are the challenges of circle processes?
- Culture: Encourages separation, hierarchy, competition, reliance on experts to solve problems
- Struggle with the relationship between lay members and system professionals in a circle process
- Challenging to shift from giving advice to sharing personal stories and raising genuine questions
- Struggle to recognize we are all inseparable parts of a whole
- Mandatory reporting creates a dilemma
- Issues of confidentiality
- Consensus decision-making: May place pressure on someone that does not agree to simply go along with the majority decision
- Challenge to refrain from making judgments about people who create barriers to circles or who work against the vision of circles
