Die toepassing van herstellende geregtigheid as alternatief tot dissiplinêre optrede deur skole se beheerliggame

Abstract

This dissertation evaluates the feasibility of extending restorative justice to school disciplinary action in South African schools. It considers developments in education and identifies relevant shortcomings before addressing them. The extension of restorative justice to school disciplinary action establishes a new way of thinking that has, until recently, not been applied to civil law. In Dikoko v Mokhatla (2007 (1) BCLR 1 (CC)) honourable justice Sachs ruled that any remedy applied in civil law must aim for the restitution of relationships, rather than punishment of the guilty party. Children are often on unequal footing compared to adults when it comes to prosecution or punishment and consequently they are exposed to excessive punitive measures, as illustrated by the Dey saga (Le Roux and Others v Dey 2011 (3) SA 274 (CC)). The implementation of restorative justice as an alternative to current school disciplinary action may result in limiting these excessive punishments. Because of the universal nature of the subject a comparison will be made to the successful implementation of restorative justice programs in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The various departments of education in these countries have developed proactive strategies for managing students' behaviour. In New Zealand, schools place particular emphasis on the use of restorative practices, rather than suspension, to ensure the establishment of beneficial learning environments. Furthermore, parents’ and community members' involvement is encouraged by inter alia the National Safe Schools Framework, which has been implemented in Australia since 2003. These countries have long been regarded as leaders in the field of restorative justice. It is of the utmost importance to consider international trends due to the guidance that it can offer school governing bodies in South Africa. The principle of restorative justice has received extensive international support due to various practical tools that have been developed by the above-mentioned countries. Therefore, these tools are considered in order to assist governing bodies in determining the way forward in South African schools.