Principals ‘want expert guidance’ on student conflict resolution

By Emmanuel Joseph

A spokesman for secondary school administrators has expressed concern over students’ inability to manage conflict, urging experts to investigate the root causes amid an outbreak of violent assaults at schools across the island.

The newly-elected president of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPSS), Robin Douglas, said the issue, while widespread across society, has a particularly profound impact on the nation’s most vulnerable youth.

“We really need experts in the sociological field to tell us, through research or otherwise through their expertise and through their experience, what the causes of these things are, so that the right responses can be had,” Douglas, the principal of Combermere School, told Barbados TODAY.

Acknowledging that principals must be more vigilant in addressing the issue, he assured that administrators would continue their efforts to manage and prevent conflict within schools.

“We have always grappled with conflict among our students; it is nothing new, and we will continue to do so to make sure that we have as much….as we possibly can when these circumstances occur,” the principal said. “I think there is a greater societal situation going on, and BAPPSS stands ready to work with other persons to determine what the solutions are so that schools can play their part.”

Douglas suggested that changes in societal values may be contributing to the issue, making it harder for schools to manage these behavioural challenges.

“There is a possible change in the value system that persons have in society. And, as we are seeing those differences in the value system in our society, it is difficult for schools to manage those circumstances,” he explained, adding that the limited time students spend in school compounds the problem.
He outlined steps being taken by school administrators to promote positive behaviour, including working closely with parents, community officers, and police.

“We do all the things you would expect us to do,” Douglas said. “We, through our PTAs, have been engaging with our parent bodies more and more soundly, to convey to them the ideas and perspectives that we hope would produce the right behaviours in our students; we engage with our community development officers and our community police officers.”

These initiatives involve not only at-risk students but also workshops and development sessions for parents, such as those at Princess Margaret Secondary School, aimed at promoting conflict resolution and respect for human life.

“All of our teenagers are struggling with youth and adolescence and puberty and the rest of it; and we are working with different groups to try to continually and persistently imbue in our children that they need to value life,” he added.
On the matter of school security, Douglas noted that while improvements are always possible, schools are doing their best to ensure safety with the resources available.

“There could always be better circumstances, but each school works with their boards of management to secure their premises and to make sure they have the procedures in place to try to circumvent or prevent breaches,” he said.

In response to calls for parents to be more accountable for their children’s behaviour, Douglas argued that while parental involvement is crucial, a whole-of-society approach is needed.

He stressed the important role BAPPSS plays in the development of education in Barbados, saying, “It is our intention, through the professional development of our members, through the support of our members, the Ministry of Education and other partners, both private and public, to contribute as much as possible to the path to education.”

The rest of the recently elected executives of BAPPSS are Vice President Michael Boyce, Secretary Tanya Harding, Assistant Secretary- Treasurer Peter Cox, Public Relations Officer Sonja Goodridge and Floor Member Sherylle Howard-Gittens.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb