Download PDF - Raising Voices

Creating Safer Schools:Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionA dialogue hosted byRaising Voices and The Ford Foundation30-31 st October 2006, Nairobi, Kenya

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1Creating Safer Schools:Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionA dialogue hosted byRaising Voices and The Ford FoundationNairobi, Kenya30-31 st October 2006P O Box 6770KampalaUgandaEmail: info@raisingvoices.orgwww.raisingvoices.org

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionTable of ContentsIntroduction 2Meeting schedule and objectives 3Session 1: 5Conceptualizing safer schools: What makes schools unsafe?Session 2: 11Responses: What needs to happen?Session 3: 18Guiding principles: How should we be responding?Session 4: 22Guiding ideas: Developing a vision for safer schoolsSession 5: 27Next steps: Where do we go from here?Concluding remarks 32List of participants 33i

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1AcknowledgementOur appreciation goes to all theparticipants who invested their time,energy, resources, experience, and wisdomin this reflection. Without your commitmentand contribution, this meeting could havebeen just another forum. Instead, it evolvedinto a thought-provoking space in whichenergies were rejuvenated and mindswere opened to new possibilities. Specialappreciation goes to Carla Sutherland forimagining the possibility of this forum, andfor support at every stage of the process.All photos copyright Heidi Jo Brady 2006 • www.raisingvoices.org/ heidijobrady.htmii

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1IntroductionEducation has been declared a priorityissue in key internationally agreed policydocuments. Every major meeting addressinginternational development has had pertinentcomment to make on the importance ofeducation. Article 28 of the Convention onthe Rights of the Child (CRC) specificallyaddresses every child’s right to education.The second millennium goal promises accessto primary education to all the children ofthe world by 2015. Many African countrieshave already instituted credible programsto respond to this challenge, includingimplementation of a time-bound, universalaccess to primary education policy. Manycountries, such as Uganda and Tanzania,declare themselves ahead of the agreedtimetable and some are now even pressingon with the aim of creating universal accessto secondary education. Clearly, these areimportant achievements.However, while we may appear to besucceeding in a narrow interpretation of thegoal – that of enabling children’s physicalpresence in schools – in a more meaningfulsense, we have more work to do. A clearconsensus is emerging around the view thatsimply reporting higher enrolment numbersis not enough. The quality of the educationand children’s experience during the processof education is a better measure of thesystem’s success. 1 The Dakar Framework forAction (2000) has established six, Educationfor All (EFA) goals, two of which specificallyaddress the importance of quality education.Many policy and advocacy initiatives aroundthe world emphasize the importance of aquality education in expanding children’spossibilities.Article 28 of the Conventionon the Rights of the Child(CRC) specifically addressesevery child’s right to education.The second millennium goalpromises access to primaryeducation to all the children ofthe world by 2015.They experience ad hoc beating, degradingpunishments, sexual violence, bullying, andhumiliation routinely in our schools. In arecent survey commissioned by UNICEF in 11Sub-Saharan African countries, 7 out of the11 countries listed violence in schools as oneof the top three priorities to be addressed 2 . Ina study conducted in Uganda 3 , more than 60percent of the students said they experiencedviolence regularly in schools.If a school is envisioned as a place thatequips children with the primary buildingblocks that will enrich their lives, and a placethat enables students to become vibrant andresponsible members of a democracy aswell as the economy, then a vast number ofstudents are being denied that opportunity.If a school is seen as a place to enrichcognitive and emotional development ratherthan a place for generating compliant andintimidated individuals, then we need urgentresponses that address the status quo.1 A recent study conducted by the independent evaluation groupof the World Bank concluded that enrolment and number of yearsof schooling is not enough to conclude success. Learning outcomesbased on a broader measure of children’s development were moreimportant.See www.worldbank.org/oed/education/findings/htmlA central concern regarding the quality ofeducation is the issue of safety at school.There is considerable evidence to suggestthat schools are not benign ‘waiting rooms’within which children await adulthood.2 Assessment of Violence Against Children in the Eastern and SouthernAfrica Region. F. Zuberi, UNICEF ESARO, (2005) downloadable fromwww.crin.org/docs/ESA_Regional_Assessment_final.doc3 Violence Against Children. The Voices of Ugandan Childrenand Adults. D. Naker, Raising Voices, downloadable fromwww.raisingvoices.org/children/violence_research.php

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionThere is a dearth of innovative thinking on what is needed to create a comprehensive anda sustainable response that will engage students and create a generation of political actorsand active participants. It is in this context that Raising Voices, in collaboration with The FordFoundation, hosted a forum in Nairobi, Kenya, for discussing the status quo in schools anddeveloping workable responses. The forum brought together 15 experienced professionalsover a period of two days to share their perspectives and develop practical strategies foraction. The aim was to collectively reflect on what makes our schools unsafe, what responseswe have come up with, and what we should be doing about it.Session 1Meeting ScheduleObjectivesa) Share experiences, ideas, and lessons learned in implementing programs for creatingsafer schools.b) Identify promising strategies and guiding principles for action to create safer schools.Monday, 30th October: Day 109.00 – 09.30 Welcome and overview of meetingIntroductions and getting to know each other09.30 – 10.30 Session 1: Conceptualizing safer schools10.30 – 11.00 Break11.00 – 13.00 Session 2: Responses: Diversity and Efficacy13.00 – 14.00 Lunch14.00 – 16.00 Session 3: Guiding Principles for Action16.00 – 16.30 Break16.30 – 17.30 Optional Open session19.00 till late Cocktail followed by dinnerTuesday, 31st October: Day 209.00 – 10.30 Session 4: Guiding Ideas: Developing a vision for safer schools10.30 – 11.00 Break11.00 – 12.00 Session 5: Next Steps: Where do we go from here?12.00 – 12.30 Closure13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionSession 1:Conceptualizing safer schools:What makes schools unsafe?“We aretalking aboutschools wherechildrendo not feelcomfortable,and thiscovers a bigspectrum:physicalcomfort,mentalcomfort, placeswhere they feelthreatened orvulnerable.”Dr. Deborah KasenteKey objective: Recognition of a variety of issues that contribute tochildren’s experience of school as an unsafe place.Methodology: Dr. Sharon Rustemier, Research Coordinator forThe Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children,acted as an overall coordinator of the collective reflection inthis session while Dr. Deborah Kasente, professor at MakerereUniversity in Uganda, and Dr. Susan Nkinyangi, senior educationadvisor, UNESCO-Nairobi, were each asked to take a fewmoments to make brief remarks. The group then picked up thediscussion as a response to, or building on, these comments.Context: The reflection began with an overarching theme; what isthe reality behind the experience of schools that make them unsafe?Access to school has dominated recent dialogue, and success isoften measured in terms of enrollment numbers. However, as theattention shifts from enrollment to retention numbers, pertinentquestions are beginning to emerge regarding the nature ofchildren’s experience at school. What is it about the experienceof school that makes many children abandon this highly covetedopportunity? What is the reality that demoralizes children frompersisting at school when their entire future depends on it?Dr. Deborah Kasente focused her remarks on three issues. Firstly,the school environment is in a progressive state of dilapidation thatsends out profound psychological messages to children regardingtheir value.“We are talking about schools where children do not feelcomfortable, and this covers a big spectrum: physical comfort,mental comfort, places were they feel threatened or vulnerable.Where they don’t have their basic requirements met. The walls havenever been painted, and are bare and devoid of color. If childrenare thirsty, there is no clean water to drink. They are dreading goingto the toilet because it is filthy.”

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1Secondly, the absence of information orguidance on their developmental needs,particularly their reproductive health, renderschildren vulnerable, and leads to poordecisions that curtail their possibilities. Itrenders them anxious and preoccupied astheir energies become diverted to minimizehumiliation.Dr. Susan Nkinyangi emphasized that it isalso important to analyze the issue from theteacher’s perspective. They are operatingunder highly demanding circumstanceswith limited resources. Often teachers arenot properly qualified or trained and thenthey are asked to deal with a demandingsituation.“Children do not get information about thechanges that are occurring in their bodies.A menstruating girl is terrified that everyonewill become aware of her predicament. Thesexual feelings that begin to emerge in achild are never discussed. It’s frightening.They have no clue from their parents and it’spoorly handled in the school.”Thirdly, the authoritarian style of teachingthat discourages curiosity and punishescreativity drives children to passivity.“The teaching methods don’t excite them.They are teacher-centered and hostile. Thechildren are scared to give a wrong answer,because they are hit on the head and theywill never answer again. Of course in thesecircumstances, children do not perform well,do not learn skills as well. It makes learningvery difficult and very unpleasant.”“The introduction of free primary education,while in itself a good thing, has createdmany problems, particularly in lower primarywhere numbers are the highest. Teachersare ill equipped, having to just keep order inthe classroom, to keep the noise level down.They just don’t know what to do. There isa huge gap between when the policies areannounced and giving teachers a chanceto address them. There are rarely guidelinesor a training process. When the policies areintroduced, teachers just have to interpret iton their own. They need in-service training,they need tools, guidance and counseling,they need their skills built. Teachers needtechniques, they need to be competent inthem, and they need to be encouraged tokeep them up.”Secondly, Dr. Nkinyangi stressed, freeprimary education does not include pre-

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionSexual violence in schoolsAnne-Marea Griffin, Executive Director for the Association for theAdvancement of Higher Education and Development (AHEAD)When we talk about safer schools, it is important to make thelink to the grander picture, to the notion that schools shouldprovide a quality environment, that they should be places thatenrich young people’s lives. But we also must address the very specificfactors that make our schools physically unsafe for children, especiallysexual violence. In Uganda, you see in the newspapers, almost ona daily basis, these most casual references to defilement in schoolsaround the country. It is so unfortunate that there is no public outrage.Perhaps it’s because sexual violence is so widespread and becausepeople read about it over and over again. It’s very sad, that peoplesimply believe it will always be a part of life. It is particularly difficult foryoung women and girls who deal with this on a day to day basis, tothe point where they factor it in as an expected part of theirschool experience, their school routine. Any notion we haveof a safer school must address this issue.school education that would prepare childrenfor entering formal classroom based learning.“A big part of pre-school is preparing achild for school – teaching them basic skillssuch as listening, holding a pencil. So now ateacher has a class of 70 to 80 children, andhas to show this one how to hold a pencil,this one is running around, this one is crying.It is completely problematic in all regards.”“Teachers are overstressed, andunprepared,” agreed Dr. Richard Griggs,an independent Consultant from SouthAfrica. “There is no system of referrals,no support, no policies – and everyone issaying let’s give the teachers more to do.In developed countries, they have nurses,guidance counselors, all these other kindsof people in school. In our schools, it’s justthe teachers, nothing else. This has to beaddressed. I don’t think everything can reston the shoulders of the teacher.”Dr. Sharon Rustemier focused her remarkson the contribution of corporal punishmentin making schools unsafe for children. Dr.Rustemier said 98 countries have prohibitedcorporal punishment in schools, covering 42percent of all schools. In Africa, 21 countrieshave prohibited it - that means about 48percent of the child population in Africa iscovered. However, in those countries whereit has been prohibited, corporal punishmentstill goes on with impunity. Unless we focuson developing legal and practical strategiesthat complement each other, the violence willcontinue.Corporal punishment is more related toteacher’s stress and inability to handle thesituation, than it is to any theory aboutphysical punishment making children learn,though that is often the rationalizationoffered for using it. In 18 different studiesin Africa, anywhere from under 20 percentto up to 90 percent of children experienceviolence in schools. Clearly, the threat or theactual experience of corporal punishmentintimidates children and affects theirinvestment in their learning experience.

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1DiscussionThe overall discussion in this session added four further issues that made schools unsafefor children:a) Dr. Salim Vally of University of the Witwatersrand, said schools exist in thecontext of their environment. If children are not valued in the community then theirexperience in school will reflect that. If the community is a violent and unjust placethen the school will also grapple with the same issues. Social challenges such asthese translate into very violent ways of relating with children in schools.b) Rose Odoyo, Chief Executive Officer of ANPPCAN-Kenya, emphasizedthat basic reasons, such as poverty, should not be overlooked in our search tounderstand why children perform poorly. Children travel from far to reach schoolsand are coping with the broader consequences of poverty. The basic unmet needs offood, adequate shelter, or healthcare may put them at a considerable disadvantagewhen it comes to learning. “A hungry and an exhausted child cannot learn,” shesaid.c) Cheryl Frank, Executive Director of RAPCAN, emphasized the absence ofaccountability. There appears to be a collective apathy regarding the state of oureducation system because the lines of accountability are blurred. It is often difficultto ascertain who is responsible for ensuring the entire system or some portion of itfunctions, as it should. In the face of unwieldy bureaucracy it is easier to surrenderthan persist in asking the difficult questions. This is what contributes to fallingstandards and therefore results in unsafe schools for learners.d) Dr. Amandina Lihamba, Professor at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, addedthat unless there is collective ‘ownership’ of our schools, where each one of usclaims our share of the power and the responsibility in ensuring that the schoolfunctions as it should, the quality of education will suffer.The link between home and schoolRose Odoyo - Chief Executive Officer, ANPPCAN KenyaWhen we are trying to create safer schools, we must involvethe caregivers, the parents, and the community, so we arespeaking one language. If we are trying to sensitize teacherson the issue of positive discipline at school, and yet at home there isa lot of violence, the fathers are drunk and beating up the mothersin front of their children, there is quarreling, fighting, violence; thenit won’t work. At school, the teachers are trying to evolve non-violentdisciplinary methods, but at home, the child is beaten, or the child iswatching the father pounding the mother every evening. Thechild becomes confused. Children believe what they see, soparents have to set a good example to their children.

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionWhat makes our schools unsafe?1. Children are not valued as individuals and their needs not prioritized. They do not have a‘voice’ or power to influence decisions that may have deep impact on how their school isrun.2. Under-investment in the school infrastructure. The classrooms are falling apart,equipment and books are not there.3. Teachers are overstressed and under-resourced. They are dealing with large classes withminimal training.4. Authoritarian teaching methods that don’t help children learn.5. Corporal punishment that humiliates children and therefore prevents them from learning.6. Context of the community; a school represents what a community believes.7. Poverty affects children’s ability to learn.8. Absence of accountability: who is responsible for ensuring a safer school?9. Lack of collective ownership: unless the entire community demands safer schools, no onewill.Key take-away points1. Schools are a reflection of their community. Theydo not exist in a vacuum. However becauseschools represent our highest aspirations, wemust demand higher standards in terms of whatlearning environments they create for our children.Furthermore, because they are publicly funded,we must demand progressive decisions from ourpolicymakers that contribute to creating saferschools.2. Unsafe schools are a consequence of multiplefactors. However, dominant amongst the reasonscited is children’s experience of authoritarianpedagogy. Intimidating and humiliating childrenis not helping them experience schools as safe,engaging places where they may grow and explorenew ways of thinking.3. Schools will be safer when there is a clearmechanism that holds relevant individualsaccountable for failures and shortcomings.Furthermore, unless parents and communitymembers claim ‘ownership’ of the schools in theirneighborhood, and insist that what happens there isof concern to all of us, we will continue to create andfoster unsafe schools.

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 110

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionSession 2:Responses:What needs to happen?“In 1997, theMinistry of Educationand Sports (MoES)announced in aCircular that corporalpunishment wasprohibited in theschools. However, thewording of the Circularwas ambiguous andthere appeared to beno follow up strategyby MoES to ensure thatthe intention behindthe Circular wasclearly understood andpracticed in schools. “Key objective: Identification of promising strategies torespond to some of the specific problems in schools.Methodology: Dipak Naker, Co-director of Raising Voices,acted as an overall coordinator of the collective reflection whileChristopher Mugumya of ANPPCAN Uganda, Dr. Sara Rutoof Kenyatta University and Rakesh Rajani, Executive Director ofHakiElimu, were each asked to take a few moments to makebrief remarks. The group then picked up the discussion as aresponse to, or building on, these comments.Context: If the problem of unsafe schools is multifaceted, asdiscussed in the previous session, then our responses have toembody holistic approaches. Adopting a narrow response maymake a specific contribution, however it will be the interplayof strategically crafted responses that is likely to establish saferschools as a norm in our communities. In this session, thereflection began with a sharing of what has worked for theparticipants as a basis for establishing the groundwork for thefollowing sessions on developing guiding principles for creatingeffective responses.Christopher Mugumya11

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession12Creating partnershipsChristopher Mugumya shared the experienceof ANPPCAN Uganda Chapter in an attemptto create schools that practiced alternativesto corporal punishment. In 1997, the Ministryof Education and Sports (MoES) announcedin a Circular that corporal punishment wasprohibited in the schools. However thewording of the Circular was ambiguous andthere appeared to be no follow up strategyby MoES to ensure that the intention behindthe Circular was clearly understood andpracticed in schools.ANPPCAN Uganda started working withthe Ministry of Education to come up withthe guidelines. However, after an intenselypoliticized process, the emerging guidelineswere not passed on to schools. The key issuewas that there was a strongly conservativepower base within the MoES that saw theguidelines as a threat to the adult’s authorityover children. Furthermore, there may havebeen additional internal politics being playedout that prevented the initiative to gaintraction.“No guidelines were provided to go alongwith this ban. No leadership was givenon how discipline should be promoted inschools. So we had a ban in place, butteachers were at a loss how to deal with it,”Mugumya said.In the absence of guidelines sanctioned bythe MoES, the situation became chaotic.“Schools looked at ‘us’ [proponents ofnon violent forms of disciplinary actions]as disruptive forces. Teachers stoppeddisciplining children. In the absence of thecane, they said there was nothing else theycould conceivably do. So, they let disciplineget out of hand, and they turned back andsaid: ‘you are responsible for this mess.’Other teachers instituted harsh non-caningmethods, but students said they would ratherbe caned than be humiliated in this way. Stillother teachers said alternatives were time“Schools looked at ‘us’[proponents of non violentforms of disciplinary actions]as disruptive forces. Teachersstopped disciplining children.In the absence of the cane, theysaid there was nothing else theycould conceivably do. So, theylet discipline get out of hand,and they turned back and said:‘you are responsible for thismess.’ Other teachers institutedharsh non-caning methods, butstudents said they would ratherbe caned than be humiliated inthis way.”Christopher Mugumyaconsuming, where as corporal punishment,you do it and it’s done.”So ANPPCAN Uganda decided to workdirectly with 20 primary and 10 secondaryschools to help stakeholders createalternatives. They began by conducting astudy to understand prevailing attitudes tocorporal punishment and how that couldcontribute to developing more workablealternatives.“What we found was that it was moreacceptable to show teachers what corporalpunishment does to their children,”Mugumya said. “They are more receptivewhen they learn that it resulted in physicalinjury, that it affected their child’s ability tolearn, rather than coming from a rightsbasedapproach. While we know a rightsbasedperspective is very important, thecommunities are more responsive if youstart with the point of view of showing them12

SessionSession21what their children have to lose. So weworked with stakeholders, got their viewson alternatives, and put it all together. Thenschools committed to use alternatives.”While it may be too early to make anydefinitive statements about whether thisapproach is effective or not, there isanecdotal evidence that it contributes toenabling students to feel more positive abouttheir schools. Students said teachers becamefriendlier towards them. “When students hada problem, they could approach and talk toteachers. Before, children would skip classesbecause of fear of punishments. With thisnew approach, they felt more confident tocome to school,” Mugumya said.This idea of creating partnerships– with all stakeholders – is vitalto any strategy. “Creating linkswith teachers, supporting themto fight for what they care about,allows us to promote this idea ofa collective effort, a joint initiative,rather than teachers feeling thatwe are out to get them,” saidChristopher Mugumya. “If wefocused only on the children, weincurred the resentment of manyteachers who looked at us as ifwe were the enemy. So we try towork together with teachers.”Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionUsing laws, policies, school-basedstrategies and researchDr. Sara Ruto of Kenyatta University offeredthree practical ideas on how schools couldbe safer. Firstly, the ideas for safety shouldbe addressed through laws, policies andadministrative bans. If there were specificlaws – such as education not just beinguniversal but being compulsory - it wouldprotect girls from early marriage. Forexample, Ruto said, in some Masaii villages,families book a child in school as soon asshe is born. They pay a cow to the schooland this child is ‘married’ to the school. Inaddition, schools also must have a specificcode of ethics and conduct for teachers.Teachers must know that if they do certainthings, they will face certain repercussions.Secondly, Ruto said, specific, school-basedstrategies may have more impact thannational policies. This includes a writtencode of conduct and rules that children andparents agree to adhere to. Specializedtraining to identify sources of violence thattarget all parties as stakeholders – the bully,the victim, the parents, and the school – cancreate lasting solutions. Clubs, with child-tochildforums, can share tips such as walkingin groups or insisting on going with a fellowclassmate if a teacher calls you to his house.These clubs can add credence to the overallaim of creating safer schools.Thirdly, using research not just to helpyou identify a problem, but as a tool toconvince others that you do have a problem.“This can really spur people into action.A lot of research is academic; we do it forknowledge’s sake. But I think as educators,this would be something we can’t indulgein. We have practical problems we need tosolve. Research does not just stop with thecollection of information and coming up withideas. You have to start thinking about howyou can make ideas serve the purpose of theproblems you identified in the beginning,”Ruto said.13

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession12When HakiElimu held a public competition askingpeople, “What is a good school?” about 6,000 peopleparticipated. But virtually all talked about good schools asclassrooms, order, neatness, and cleanliness. Some talkedabout books and enough teachers, and some talkedabout sanitation and toilets. A few talked about a schoolwhere teachers don’t hit you. This was a rude wake upcall. People didn’t have very imaginative ideas about whatschools are about. This competition was a good tellingof where we are in the state of public imagination aboutschooling and education.Using the mediaRakesh Rajani, Executive Director ofHakiElimu emphasized that mass media isa highly effective way to begin a nationaldebate on key issues of vital importanceto the community, such as the quality ofeducation experienced by children in ourschools.“I am increasingly convinced that radio,TV and to some extent newspapers, areinstitutions that are unrivaled by any others,”Rajani said. “The media is many timesmore powerful than the NGO communitycombined. Working with the media isan important strategy for creating saferschools. It allows you to go to a scale that isunrivaled.”HakiElimu uses three media-basedstrategies:Firstly, HakiElimu uses media spots. Theseare 30-second and one-minute adverts.There are numerous different spots andthe frequency is very high. On a typicalday, one might hear them 30 times. “Theypromote a debate about what works whenit comes to creating an experience of highquality education. It is not about rights firstand foremost, but about what works andwhat doesn’t work. The whole idea is that byportraying real situations and putting them infront of people, you force the viewer to think,and to rethink. The aim is to provoke, ratherthan to preach. No one likes to be preachedat,” Rajani said.Secondly, HakiElimu creates a public forumfor creating accountability. For exampleone activity that has been used successfullyinvolves sponsoring journalists to go into thecommunity in the morning to talk to ordinarypeople about some key issues. In theafternoon, another journalist gets the localleaders together. They have a communitymeeting, and the community gives theirviews on these key issues that they havealready discussed in the morning, and theleaders are asked to respond. The programis then broadcast on national TV and radio,compelling leaders to be accountable.Thirdly, HakiElimu promotes investigativejournalism that asks deeper questions aboutthe quality of our schools and helps to putthe issue on the public agenda. “HakiElimuhas a few rules the journalists must follow:talk to many sources, don’t try to minimizedifferences, and then report it. Beyond that,it’s up to the journalist. Every year, we havealmost 1,000 stories - including features,editorials, and news stories - that get writtenand that give a different point of view.”14

SessionSession21Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionDiscussiona) Cheryl Frank emphasized that a public health approach may be needed tocreate safer schools. “By conceptualizing schools as generally promoting thehealth and well being of children and existing for that purpose, we can helpeducators clearly focus on what their role ought to be. We see schools actuallyclamoring to label themselves as a healthy school because, for example, theyfollow five basic principles. They can tick those things off in a clean way, andthey get excited about this notion.”b) Dr. Susan Nkinyangi emphasized that encouraging and developingconfidence of the teachers is crucial. “Using the idea of quality inspectorsinstead of school inspectors, provides positive feedback to the teachers, ratherthan inspectors just coming into a school and punishing teachers. We needto provide opportunity for professional development and support to teachers,to allow them to deal with challenges. Right now it is all top down, and theteachers are last in this hierarchy. We need to work to change that.”c) Dipak Naker added that working with the school to re-conceptualize their roleis crucial. Most teachers have inherited notions of what a school ought to be,and how teachers ought to behave around children. Unless we present workablealternatives that expand the teacher’s imagination, we will keep talking aboutpiece-meal solutions.d) Dr. Richard Griggs commented that we need partnering and communityvigilance to ensure that our schools live up to highest standards. “The synergyof the whole school and the whole community owning the processes intheir school, where student bodies are vigorous, active participants in themanagement of a school is so critical”.e) Dr. Carla Sutherland advocated for using popular media like soap operasand radio dramas to shift broader public opinion. For instance, buying astory line in a TV drama about menstruation being a barrier to participatingin education. This has worked well in Kenya and is growing as a region wideapproach.f) Rakesh Rajani suggested that working with religious leaders is anothersuccessful avenue. “A faith-based leader who makes the case that in the Bibleor the Koran, the appropriate religious vision is one of safety and security andnot of being punitive, is more persuasive than a secular person.”g) Dr. Salim Vally raised the issue of being aware of underlying causes. “It’sa question of not just changing attitudes, but examining why they flourish.If we really, really want to get rid of violence in schools, we have to look atdemocratizing society as a whole, to look at how women are convenientlyscapegoated, to look at issues of power, of peoples’ frustration, of alienationamong our youth.”15

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession12Addressing power imbalancesDr. Amandina Lihamba, Professor, University of Dar esSalaamRelationships in school are based on the realitythat students listen and teachers talk. When weare encouraging and facilitating the voices ofchildren to be heard, it means we are subverting some ofthe teacher/student power relations that exist. Teachers arenot familiar with having students who answer back moreconfidently. So this power relation, it’s a very good thing to beaware of, and to help teachers be aware of it for themselves,also. Furthermore, the power relations continue to go upthe scale. When people – students and teachers – all of asudden find their voices, they can question things. They don’thave to accept everything. Teachers also can question theadministration; they can question why things are happeningthe way they are. They can realize they also havepower relationships with the administration, andwith the Ministry.Key take-away points:1. Creating partnerships with a variety of stakeholders,including teachers, and supporting them to fight whatthey care about, allows us to create a broader supportfor the idea of a safer school. It must be a joint effortso that there is a collective ownership of the ideas.2. Public media is a powerful force whose potentialas a tool for social change has to be tapped into toinfluence public discourse on the quality of education.3. Public policy, research, and school-based strategiesmust create a collective accountability and an impetusto act.16

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action17

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1Session 3:Guiding principles:How should we be responding?Create publicawareness andeducation. Educatepeople on theexistence of thepolicy and what itmeans for them.Engage a widerange of people inthe policy makingprocess through avariety of means thatmakes the policyrelevant to their day-to-day lives. It isonly public pressurethat will ultimatelyensure just andequitable policies.Key objective: To identify key guiding principles on how tocreate safer schoolsMethodology: Cheryl Frank, Executive Director of RAPCAN,acted as an overall coordinator of the collective reflection in thissession while Dr. Salim Vally of the University of Witwatersrandand Dr. Richard Griggs, an independent consultant, were eachasked to take a few moments to make brief remarks. Participantsthen divided into two groups to discuss guiding principles fromtwo different angles: first in reference to policy, legislation andgovernance and second, from the school and district level,specifically in reference to what is done on the ground. Thegroup subsequently picked up the discussion in plenary as aresponse to, or building on, these comments.18

SessionSession31Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionA. Policy, legislation, andgovernanceA whole series of actions are needed tomake policy and legislation more efficient.The participants identified five guidingprinciples on how policy and legislationcan be used more effectively to create saferschools1. Create public awareness andeducation. Educate people on theexistence of the policy and what itmeans for them. Engage a widerange of people in the policy makingprocess through a variety of meansthat makes the policy relevant to theirday -to-day lives. It is only publicBeyond policyDr. Salim Vally, Senior Researcher/Lecturer University of theWitwatersrandWhen working to create saferschools, policy and legislationalone is not sufficient. It’s notunimportant, and it’s a step forward,but by itself, it is not going to bringabout the requisite changes. What weneed, amongst other things, is a trainingprocess, which is meaningful and notrushed, which recognizes the concernsthat teachers and others have with thepolicy. This process should work throughthose concerns and be concrete enoughto provide examples of good practicearound non-violent education and saferschools. But quite often the educationdepartment does not invest enoughresources for this training - it costs moneyand energy, and they are not preparedto do that. It is cheaper just to put out apolicy directive and then policeit, but that is not adequate andit can be counterproductive.pressure that will ultimately ensurejust and equitable policies.2. Identify policy gaps. Survey the policyframework regarding delivery ofeducation and identify in your owncountry and localities, the gaps inpolicies. Use the knowledge andexperience from other countries thatmay be further along to supplementwhat exists in your country.3. Foster effective implementation ofpolicy and legislation.• Ascertain what resources areavailable for people to accesstheir rights within the legislation.• Monitor implementation so it canbe improved, and so the policy’sstrengths and weaknesses areunderstood.• Create a mechanism toinfluence the indicators thatthe government bodies use tomonitor policies, and to broadenthe range to include qualitativeindicators.4. Utilize international instruments,declarations, and conventions.• Put pressure on governmentsto ratify and domesticateinstruments they have signed.• Create regional partnershipswhere experiences from othercountries can help strengtheninternal advocacy.• Provide technical expertise togovernments when neededto translate instruments intopractical activities.5. Create mechanisms for influencingpolicy. A combination of strategies isneeded to change ineffective policies,including campaigning, research, useof the media, litigation, and otherways to access decision makers.19

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession13B. School and district level work -what do you do on the ground?The participants identified 10 guidingprinciples on how to create safer schools.1. Build consensus at many levels forstrategic partnerships. This includesthe media, parents, students,educators, district heads, relevantgovernment departments, civil society,faith-based organizations, andopinion leaders.2. Create public discourse to develop aholistic vision of a safe school.3. Work with the entire school to developa vision and mission on safety. Createcollective ownership and ensureparticipation by all, including students.4. Develop a plan of action involving allstakeholders that is SMART. (Specific,Measurable, Achievable, Realistic,and Time bound). It must include cost,so interventions are not beyond theimplementer’s capacity.5. Carry out capacity assessment andcapacity building. To create saferschools, the stakeholders need skillson roles and responsibilities to ensureimplementation.6. Roll out and take action withcontinuous monitoring.7. Evaluate. Learn lessons, measurechange and document positiveoutcomes.8. Reflect on the evaluation andincorporate lessons learnt andfeedback to the community and schoolprogram.9. Review and share at other levels,including getting the district involvedfor the sake of improving policy.10. Inform policy makers and servicedelivery agents through the district,through publications, and via allforms of media.Key take-away points:1. Creating a public discourse, a public desire, and publicawareness is crucial for normalizing safer schools.2. Policy alone is not enough. A just policy frameworksupported by practical mechanisms that ensurecollective monitoring and training to actualize policy areessential.3. The entire ecology of the education delivery must beaddressed when creating a safer school in order tocreate collective ownership and to ensure participationof everyone, including learners.20

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action21

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1Session 4:Guiding ideas:Developing a vision for safer schools“We have agreedthat children arepeople and peoplehave rights anddignity. They haveinherent energies andvision that they wantan opportunity todevelop and manifest.If children feel safeand respected thenwe are well on ourway to creating saferschools.”Key objective: To bring together key themes and commonviewpoints and to synthesize the discussion in order todevelop a jointly agreed perspective of what it means to havea safe school.Methodology: This was a collective discussion thatinvolved summarizing key discussions of the past session andsynthesizing as a group the collective vision of what we havecome to mean when we refer to a safer school.Dipak Naker22

SessionSession41Dipak Naker opened this session with anoverall summary of what the group haddiscussed. “We have agreed that children arepeople and people have rights and dignity.They have inherent energies and vision thatthey want an opportunity to develop andmanifest. If children feel safe and respectedthen we are well on our way to creating saferschools. If children know that they matter,and that other people recognize that theymatter, that their voice is important andthat their views count, then we are enablingchildren to develop capabilities, and we arecreating a place where school is a joy.”Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Actionstudents develop? Schooling shouldbe measured in terms of capabilities:the ability to analyze, to do criticalthinking, to be creative, to have selfconfidence,to care about others andyourself, to appreciate difference,diversity and dissent. These are thesame capabilities that will allowchildren to flourish in the world, to getby in an unjust economic environment,and in relationships with other people.That’s what children should be ableto do, and that’s what a safe schoolshould be able to provide.“In the minds of many people, a safer schoolis summarized as one in which there is nocorporal punishment,” said Dr. SusanNkinyangi. “But it’s much more than that.The violence that children experience ascorporal punishment is very clear, but theother parts need to become clearer too. Ihope we can think of some ways to monitorprogress, to create a vocabulary that allowsus to easily explain and monitor what a safeschool is and ask ourselves if we are creatingit.”So, what are the core components of a saferschool? Based on the discussions of the twodays, the group summarized the componentsof a safe school into six categories.1. Clarity of vision and purpose. Theremust be clarity of vision and purposearound what we mean by a goodeducation, about what is an educatedperson, an educated child. We mustrealize that the purpose of a safeschool is to deliver a high qualityeducation to every child. When we talkabout high quality education, we arenot referring simply to passing exams,or having a certificate that validatestime served. Quality education ismore about what students are ableto do. How are they able to thrivein the world? How are they able torelate? What are the capabilities that2. Basic standards. Standards are aset of values we declare and aim tolive by. They declare the collectiveaspirations and inspire participantsto stretch themselves to grow andreach a higher place that representsthe better part of themselves. Manyschools have rules, but not standards.Too often rules such as ‘no spittingon the floor,’ or ‘no talking whilethe teacher is talking’ are seen assufficient substitution for standards.While being very useful, rules withoutstandards diminish our aspirations;shrink the vision by which we hope togrow. Without clear standards suchas respecting each other’s dignity orstriving for excellence and highestdiscipline, written and shared by all, itis difficult to have a safe school.3. Voice. Voice is a unique manifestationof a perspective, priorities, andexperience. It is a fundamental tool forparticipation. If a stake holder’s voiceis not valued or given space and dueconsideration, they learn to becomepassive within the larger system. Theylearn to surrender and resign to thefact that nothing they say, do or think,matters. Lack of a voice in any givensystem is the most reliable predictorof stagnation and onset of decay.Healthier systems develop space for23

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession14a diversity of voices. If a safe schoolaspires to be a healthy system, thenit must embrace the principle ofparticipation and celebrate diversity ofviews.4. Teacher/student relationship.This is the heart of what a safeschool is about. Is this relationshipcharacterized by a mutual respect,by the teacher helping the student tothink and grow and ask questions? Isthe teacher using teaching methodsthat allow children to explore, askquestions, and to create? While thecircumstances under which manyteachers operate are demanding,this is where fostering deeperawareness of the role that teachersplay in a student’s growth have to beemphasized. By instilling pride andestablishing a culture of accountabilityin teachers, a safe school fosters ateacher/student relationship based onmutual respect.5. Accountability and responsiveness.Accountability is the hallmark of afunctioning and a vibrant system.If a child experiences abuse atthe hands of a teacher, are thereconsequences? If something happensto a student, can she count onbeing taken seriously? If things aremanaged in a way that’s below highstandards established collectively,would someone be held accountable?Does it foster a feeling in all thestakeholders that there are peoplewithin the school who care about theirexperience and who will be responsiveto their needs? A safe school providesavenues for seeking justice, activelydemonstrates responsiveness,and earns the faith of individualsthrough their regular experience ofaccountability.The default scenarioDipak Naker, Co-director Raising VoicesWe are competing for space in people’s heads and in their hearts.If we do nothing, the default position in society will prevail, andas a result, perpetuate itself. The default scenario is that schoolswill reproduce the power relations that exist in society. So if children aretreated as second-class citizens in society, you will see the same in schools.If conformity is valued in the society, the same will happen in schools. But itdoesn’t have to be that way. We see the potential of schools to be liberated,to be places where we break away from received ways of being and thinking.Unless we get in there, and make a clear and a compelling case for thealternative, people will continue normalizing what is essentially an unjustsystem. For a vast number of teachers, administrators and school policymakers, we need to make the bridge between the default situationand what our schools could be like. If we abandon them, they willresort to the default scenario; what is known, what is easy.24

SessionSession416. School environment. The physical aswell as the psychological environmentof a school clearly sets the tone ofa child’s experience of education.The environment in which anindividual is immersed determines theconscious and many subconscious‘messages’ a child imbibes. Eachindividual assesses their worth inany environment by asking how itprioritizes their needs; how it makesthem feel about themselves, whatpsychological climate it fosters in theirmind. Are their basic needs such asadequate sanitation provided for?Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionIs the environment one that inducespride in the school? Are the wallsbare and what does that say aboutthe faculty of imagination withinthat school? In a safe school, theenvironment is safe and conducive tocreative learning.It was agreed that each of these componentsneed further analysis and reflection. “Outsideof this room, and in our own environments,we can take this forward,” Dipak Naker said.“But these are the guiding ideas. They openup paths, and we all have to walk along thepaths ourselves. But we are agreeing thatthis begins to create a picture in our mind ofwhat we mean by a safer school.”Key take-away points:1. We must have a clear idea of what a safer school isand how it relates to the quality of education. Learningoutcomes shouldn’t be measured solely in the formof exam scores, but also what capabilities a studentdevelops during the learning process.2. The quality of education experience matters because welearn our values and our place in the world through theexperience. If a child feels insecure, unhappy, threatened,she will not develop the capabilities she needs to be ableto thrive in her environment.3. A safe school is a school that has a clear purpose andbasic standards, where students, teachers and parentshave a voice, where the student/teacher relationship isbased on mutual respect, where there is accountabilityand responsiveness and where there is a safe learningenvironment.25

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 126

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionSession 5:Next Steps:Where do we go from here?Inspire children andteachers to imagineand dream greaterthings for themselvesin terms of educationand school safety.Puncture the narrowand bleak vision thathas been offeredto all of us andexpand possibilities.Integrate a moreexpansive vision ofhow the experience ofeducation can be anongoing process thathappens throughouttheir lives.Key objective:To articulate the next steps, including what to do with someof the ideas discussed in this forum and how to createa dissemination infrastructure; to brainstorm ideas forgenerating political and programmatic will and regionalsynergy.Discussion:How do we go about generating public desire and demandfor creating safer schools? What kind of actions will weencourage, persuade, and promote? Who are the keyplayers and institutions that need to be reached?Participants agreed that four main groups must be reached:The suppliers and creators of education; the users andparticipants; the influencers; and the regulators. They thendetailed how each group could be reached.27

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession15A. Suppliers and creators: teachers,ministries of education, andteacher’s unionsHow can they be reached?1. Develop incentives and commitmentsfor ‘buying into’ safer schools. Link it tothe core business of teachers and theministry of education. For example, linkthe idea of safe schools to improvedretention and performance, and otherkey indicators. Clearly show how a saferschool achieves the specific objectivesthe ministries and unions use to measuresuccess.2. Conduct comparative assessment ofschools, so schools can understandwhere they are. Do comparisonsbetween schools performing well thatare safer schools and those that are not.Bring together key stakeholders to beginto develop standards required for a saferschool.3. Learn from each other as we moveahead. Learn by doing and documentingyour learning process. Make adocumentary that can travel beyondyour immediate vicinity. Involve themedia in documenting this process, andcreate space for key players such as theteacher’s unions or teacher’s traininginstitutions to get involved.B. Users/participants: the learnersHow can they be reached?1. Inspire children and teachers to imagineand dream greater things for themselvesin terms of education and school safety.Puncture the narrow and bleak visionthat has been offered to all of us andexpand possibilities. Integrate a moreexpansive vision of how the experienceof education can be an ongoing processthat happens throughout their lives.2. Provide institutionalized space forchildren to participate in schoolgovernance. Create opportunities forchildren and adults to learn how to sharedecision-making power. Demystify theprocess of participation through day-todayactivities as well as by creating newmechanisms through which power canbe shared.3. Encourage creation of other learningoptions and learning spaces especiallyby the children themselves. Help childrencreate options for themselves about whatthey want to do and how to increaseoptions for learning within the schoolingenvironment.C. Influencers: Funding agencies,teacher organizations, media,faith-based and traditionalleaders.How can they be reached?1. Teachers unions and traininginstitutions: Emphasize the importanceof professional standards and howsafer schools promote a public image(and therefore status) of a teacher. Linkexplicitly the connection between saferschools and the higher standards forteaching as a profession.2. Media: Articulate a clear and a briefargument about how a safer school is ofpublic value and interest. Disseminatefacts, analysis, and examples of safeschools to the media and identifychampions. Recognize the importance ofmedia in monitoring what is happeningon a day-to-day basis.3. Faith-based and traditional leaders:Emphasize the importance of valuebasedlearning and its contribution tocreating responsible and ethical citizens.Align the outcomes sought by saferschools with much of what is valuedby religious leaders and emphasizethe common goal. Identify advocateswithin these communities that will help28

SessionSession51to promote safer schools and promotethem in the media.4. Funding agencies: Develop a clearconceptual framework and share withthis influential group. Advocate for theideas to become part of their investmentstrategy.D. Regulators: Administrators, policymakers, school managementcommittees, watchdog groupsjudiciary, legislators, mediaHow can they be reached?1. Educate a group of opinion leaderson the importance of safer schooland present them with actionablesuggestions.2. Apply public advocacy and pressurefor reform and better practice withadministration, policy makers, andmedia.3. Utilize public interest litigationto hasten legal reform andaccountability. This includes judiciary,school management committees, andmedia.Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionFailure of the imaginationRakesh Rajani, Founding ExecutiveDirector of HakiElimuThere are millions of parentswho have children in schoolswho are being beaten, beingabused, whose minds are being dulled.Why would parents not care aboutthis? I think it’s because of a failureof imagination, a societal failure ofimagination. One hundred years from now,we will look back at schools we ran andthink how could people wake up and go toschools like this and think it was normal?How can this be accepted asthe norm? Like how people talkabout slavery today.29

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action SessionSession15The way forward:Participants identified 10 specific ideas to put into action:1. Submit articles to Article 19 publication. Salim Vally offered to discuss withpublishers a possibility of devoting an entire issue on safer schools. It wassubsequently decided that if there was a volunteer who could coordinate theproduction of such an issue they should get in touch with Salim.2. The Commonwealth Education Minister’s Conference is planned for Dec. 10-16, 2006. The theme is “Quality Education for All.” “There will be thousandsof people, and it’s an ideal opportunity to talk about this initiative,” Salim Vallynoted. He offered to share his space by putting publications there. “We canvery easily incorporate some of the ideas we have been talking about in paperswe are presenting. Or organize some sort of panel discussion or report for theCommonwealth meeting.”3. The World Social Forum is scheduled for January 2007 in Nairobi. Discussion washeld around the possibility of having a space there, or a panel discussion on saferschools.4. Two publications are planned as the outcome of this meeting: a workshop report,and a conceptual piece that summarizes thinking beyond the key discussions.5. The possibility of creating a documentary video was highlighted. Many membersoffered to collaborate by finding schools to film, including Richard Griggs andRose Odoyo. Rakesh Rajani mentioned that they have a budget for making filmsand would consider the idea of a 25-minute film that would visually bring homethe point of why unsafe schools are in nobody’s interest and how to imaginealternatives.6. Look at partnerships with media, with the idea to get our issue into narratives of TVshows and community radio programs.7. Target the teacher’s unions. Develop a compact, a very simple document that saysevery teacher deserves or has a right to a decent salary, and to be paid on time.Then come up with 5-7 other things every teacher deserves. On the other side,put in what the responsibilities of a teacher are in relationship to what we’ve beentalking about. Also say to teachers, if you want the community to get behind you,if they understand that you have certain standards in relation to their children andthat you are not just someone complaining about salaries, then the communitywill get behind you. Then convene the heads of unions in Tanzania, Kenya andUganda and get endorsement for this idea of a compact. Then it becomessomething unions want. Susan Nkinyangi added that the education servicecommission – the employers of the teachers – should also be involved. “We don’twant this perceived as just a union issue. We want to bring the two together onthese key issues.”8. Connect with the EFA movement. Create space within the EFA for dialogue andstandards about safer schools.9. Try to influence the various universities of education to have courses on violenceand safer schools for teachers. Salim Vally suggested www.Gwsafrica.org/knowledge/masculinities-kenya.htm for a course idea.10. Create space on the web for information. Susan Nkinyangi offered to postappropriate materials on UNESCO website, and Sharon Rustemier offered to postinitiatives about corporal punishment on the Global Initiative website.30

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action31

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1Concluding RemarksThere are notenough peopletrying to inspireothers to imaginea school whereminds are openedand possibilitiesare expandedand learning is ajoyful experience.It is our collectivework to spreadthis vision, to finda way of plantingit so that saferschools become thenorm rather thana privilege of theelite.A safer school provides an environment, relationships andgovernance structures that encourage children to grow to their fullpotential. A safer school instills positive discipline in children andenables them to grow into compassionate, responsible, ethical,creative, and thoughtful individuals.This is the promise of our generation to the children of today andof tomorrow. The vision is embodied in international agreementsand most of our governments have committed to this promise.Yet even a cursory look at the reality of our schools injects adose of reality into the picture. Unless action is taken now, wewill continue promulgating the rhetoric in the full glare of thedisjunctured reality.It is time to ask: what will it take, how will it come to be, and whowill make it happen? Most importantly, what contribution will Imake in making it happen? Will I remain secure in my isolatedproblem-solving mode or will I reach out and contribute to the‘weaving’ required to create a fabric that is needed to actualizethis vision? Will I succumb to feelings of defeat under the vastnessof the challenge, or will I become strategic and focused, andinvest energy in taking meaningful action?Many people are thinking about how education is experienced byour children. But not enough people are imagining what it couldbe like. There are not enough people trying to inspire others toimagine a school where minds are opened and possibilities areexpanded and learning is a joyful experience. It is our collectivework to spread this vision, to find a way of planting it so that saferschools become the norm rather than a privilege of the elite.32

Session 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionCreating Safer Schools MeetingList of participantsCheryl FrankExecutive Director of Resources Aimed atthe Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect(RAPCAN), South AfricaAnne-Marea GriffinExecutive Director of the Association forthe Advancement of Higher Education andDevelopment (AHEAD), UgandaDr. Richard GriggsIndependent Contract Consultant,South AfricaDr. Deborah KasenteLecturer, Department of Women and GenderStudies, Makerere University, UgandaDr. Amandina LihambaProfessor, Department of Fine andPerforming Arts, the University ofDar-es-Salaam, TanzaniaMugumya ChristopherProgram Coordinator for Research,Information and Advocacy, ANPPCANUgandaDipak NakerCo- Founder and a Co-Directorof Raising Voices, UgandaDr. Susan NkinyangiSenior Education Adviser, UNESCONairobi, KenyaRose OdoyoChief Executive Officer, ANPPCAN KenyaChapterRakesh RajaniFounding Executive Director of HakiElimu,TanzaniaDr. Sharon RustemierResearch Coordinator for the GlobalInitiative to End All Corporal Punishment ofChildren, London EnglandDr. Sara Jerop RutoLecturer at Kenyatta UniversityNairobi, KenyaDr. Carla SutherlandProgram Officer, Ford Foundation,Nairobi, KenyaDr. Salim VallySenior Researcher/Lecturer Education PolicyUnit and School of Education, University ofthe Witwatersrand, South AfricaMichael WachiraProject Officer, Centre for Rights Educationand Awareness (CREAW) KenyaRapporteur: Deborah EnsorProgram Officer, Raising Voices, Uganda33

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for ActionNotesSession 134

NotesSession 1Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action35

Creating Safer Schools: Lessons Learned; Strategies for Action Session 1P O Box 6770KampalaUgandawww.raisingvoices.org36