A presence of obligation: cyberbehaviour, policy, and restorative practices

Abstract

Ontario Safe Schools’ policies have undergone major changes over the last 15 years. Zero tolerance policies and practices of the 1990’s have given way to more progressive approaches to school discipline that include restorative practices to keep students safe. In this study, 9 secondary school vice principals, those administrators typically charged with discipline in schools, were asked a series of questions on school policy, cyber behaviour, and restorative practices. Over a 6-week period, using a NING (a private social network) vice principals responded by blogging. The results of the study indicate that secondary school vice principals analyse the problems that affect the safe and caring cultures of their schools and identify remedies to those problems even when issues precede the policy and extend beyond it. Secondary school vice principals in this study use and adapt restorative practices and recognize that while restoring relationships in schools is not always possible, common understandings can still be achieved. Also, while school administrators use relevant Web 2.0 technologies in the work they do in the schools, they express hesitation and wariness when it comes to their personal use or wider professional use.