This essay examines the differences between the mediation practices concering youth crime in the swedish cities of Kalmar and Växjö. The analysis are made with the use of quality interviews which we have linked together with the three theories of Social Control Theory, Restorative Justice and Transformative Mediation. There after we have compared the results with one and another. Results show that there both similarities and differences, both in the theoretical aspects and in the organisations, for example the coopiration with the prosecutors and the police.

The field of mediation tend to shift as practitioners and theorists make new recommendations concerning how the mediation practice should be conducted. The United Nations play a crucial role in this, its work involves providing training and guidance for new mediators through various arms of their system. This thesis is analyzing the 2010 publication A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys to identify which skills and strategies they are recommending, through Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step approach to thematic analysis, connecting to the social constructionist paradigm. According to social constructionism, all mediation practices are based on ideological or value premises. Therefore, the identified recommendations are analyzed and discussed at the level of underlying ideologies. In particular, through the lenses of a problem-solving and transformative approach to mediation. Resultingly, a total of 12 themes relating to recommended mediation strategies and skills are identified, with both approaches to mediation being identified in the themes relating to the strategies and discussed within this regard.

O contexto de conflitos e violências no espaço escolar desafia a sociedade, formuladores de políticas públicas, gestores e academia a repensar possibilidades de ativação de formas de entendimento mediadas pela palavra. A pesquisa propõe um olhar comunicacional para os relacionamentos no interior da escola, com foco na gramática estudantil de ação e conversação. Seu método é o estudo de caso realizado em um estabelecimento público (estadual) de ensino na cidade de São Paulo, em que foram realizados 14 debates envolvendo 94 alunos de ensino médio. Elementos conceituais e normativos de comunicação pública fundamentam toda a investigação. O modelo metodológico é o da mediação transformativa, baseado no paradigma do construcionismo social, que se orienta para a facilitação de diálogos. As técnicas de condução dos debates (tratados como argumentos conversacionais) e as análises de dados incluem dois vetores fundamentais, que são a autoafirmação dos sujeitos e o reconhecimento de seus interlocutores. A pesquisa guia-se ainda pela perspectiva de fortalecimento da percepção coletiva na escola como comunidade de comunicação. Com apoio da pragmática da linguagem, as conclusões apontam para a emergência de enlaces argumentativos entre os estudantes, permitindo formas narrativas de complemento e apoio entre si. As subjetividades encontraram formas de se manifestar por meio de debates, recebendo a acolhida de colegas e, com eles, formando correntes discursivas - o que se configurou como uma gramática especial de argumentação. Da mesma forma, foram registradas expressões de desrespeito que terminaram reguladas pela fala. A pesquisa encontrou na escola conflitos de gênero, expressões de exclusão em diferentes campos e demandas reprimidas de escuta entre as autoridades educacionais. Os debates mediados apresentaram-se como oportunidades de encontros, de formação e de negociação entre os estudantes, o que permite a indicação de recomendações para novas pesquisas e encaminhamentos comunicacionais na escola. / The context of conflicts and violence in the school challenges society, policymakers, managers and scholars to rethink the possibilities of activating forms of mutual understanding by the mediation of word. The research proposes a communicative look at relationships within school, with a focus on student´s grammar of action and conversation. Its method is the case study carried out in a public (state) teaching establishment in the city of São Paulo, where 14 debates were held involving 94 high school students. Conceptual and normative elements of public communication support the whole investigation. The methodological model is that of transformative mediation, based on the paradigm of social constructionism, which is oriented towards the facilitation of dialogues. The techniques of conducting the debates (treated as conversational arguments) and the data analysis include two fundamental vectors, which are the self-affirmation of the individuals and the recognition of their interlocutors. The research is also guided by the perspective of strengthening the collective perception in the school as a community of communication. With the support of discourse pragmatics, the conclusions point to the emergence of argumentative links between students, allowing narrative forms of complementing and supporting among themselves. Individualities found ways to manifest themselves through debates, receiving the reception of colleagues and, with them, forming a discursive chain - which has been configured as a special grammar of argumentation. In the same way, expressions of disrespect were registered and were regulated in the speech. The research found in the school a range of conflicts of gender, expressions of exclusion in different fields and repressed demands of listening by the educational authorities. The mediated debates were presented as opportunities for comprehension, communicative training and negotiation among students, which allows the indication of recommendations for new research and communication referrals in the school.

O contexto de conflitos e violências no espaço escolar desafia a sociedade, formuladores de políticas públicas, gestores e academia a repensar possibilidades de ativação de formas de entendimento mediadas pela palavra. A pesquisa propõe um olhar comunicacional para os relacionamentos no interior da escola, com foco na gramática estudantil de ação e conversação. Seu método é o estudo de caso realizado em um estabelecimento público (estadual) de ensino na cidade de São Paulo, em que foram realizados 14 debates envolvendo 94 alunos de ensino médio. Elementos conceituais e normativos de comunicação pública fundamentam toda a investigação. O modelo metodológico é o da mediação transformativa, baseado no paradigma do construcionismo social, que se orienta para a facilitação de diálogos. As técnicas de condução dos debates (tratados como argumentos conversacionais) e as análises de dados incluem dois vetores fundamentais, que são a autoafirmação dos sujeitos e o reconhecimento de seus interlocutores. A pesquisa guia-se ainda pela perspectiva de fortalecimento da percepção coletiva na escola como comunidade de comunicação. Com apoio da pragmática da linguagem, as conclusões apontam para a emergência de enlaces argumentativos entre os estudantes, permitindo formas narrativas de complemento e apoio entre si. As subjetividades encontraram formas de se manifestar por meio de debates, recebendo a acolhida de colegas e, com eles, formando correntes discursivas - o que se configurou como uma gramática especial de argumentação. Da mesma forma, foram registradas expressões de desrespeito que terminaram reguladas pela fala. A pesquisa encontrou na escola conflitos de gênero, expressões de exclusão em diferentes campos e demandas reprimidas de escuta entre as autoridades educacionais. Os debates mediados apresentaram-se como oportunidades de encontros, de formação e de negociação entre os estudantes, o que permite a indicação de recomendações para novas pesquisas e encaminhamentos comunicacionais na escola. / The context of conflicts and violence in the school challenges society, policymakers, managers and scholars to rethink the possibilities of activating forms of mutual understanding by the mediation of word. The research proposes a communicative look at relationships within school, with a focus on student´s grammar of action and conversation. Its method is the case study carried out in a public (state) teaching establishment in the city of São Paulo, where 14 debates were held involving 94 high school students. Conceptual and normative elements of public communication support the whole investigation. The methodological model is that of transformative mediation, based on the paradigm of social constructionism, which is oriented towards the facilitation of dialogues. The techniques of conducting the debates (treated as conversational arguments) and the data analysis include two fundamental vectors, which are the self-affirmation of the individuals and the recognition of their interlocutors. The research is also guided by the perspective of strengthening the collective perception in the school as a community of communication. With the support of discourse pragmatics, the conclusions point to the emergence of argumentative links between students, allowing narrative forms of complementing and supporting among themselves. Individualities found ways to manifest themselves through debates, receiving the reception of colleagues and, with them, forming a discursive chain - which has been configured as a special grammar of argumentation. In the same way, expressions of disrespect were registered and were regulated in the speech. The research found in the school a range of conflicts of gender, expressions of exclusion in different fields and repressed demands of listening by the educational authorities. The mediated debates were presented as opportunities for comprehension, communicative training and negotiation among students, which allows the indication of recommendations for new research and communication referrals in the school.

It has been the desire of the ANC government ever since it came to power in 1994 to develop a unity of purpose and spirit that cherishes and celebrates the diverse nature of the South African population in terms of culture, language and religion and to transform existing inequalities that are deep-rooted in South African educational history and religion in particular. In order to satisfy this desire, a whole plethora of legislation and policies was developed. Amongst the developments entailed in these laws and policies were religious rights and freedoms guaranteed to all South Africans as well as the establishment of democratic structures vested with powers to govern schools while school principals manage them. In terms of education legislation, one of the functions of the governing body of a school is to develop and adopt a school policy on religion (as per the study) which is accordingly implemented by the school principal. It is in the policy implementation stage that the school principal is expected to play a mediating role and resolve possible conflicts erupting due to different religious interestThis study is based on the assumption that the management and leadership training they received and the position they hold as school managers and leaders, enabled participating school principals to mediate the implementation of new religion policies. The research question driving this study was “How do school principals deal with implementation of the National Policy on Religion and Education in schools?” Informed by this question the focus of the study was to explore “how principals describe and experience their mediating role in implementing the religion policy within an existing religious context in schools”. Following a qualitative research approach a phenomenological research design was employed in order to understand and describe the meaning of the lived, felt and narrated experiences of school principals. Data were collected by means of narrative interviews where twelve school principals pursuing postgraduate studies with the University of Pretoria and who have been in education for at least ten years, told their religion in education stories. These stories were subsequently transcribed, analysed and interpreted to determine the impact of principals’ past religious experiences and their management training on their implementation of religion policies at their schools. This study found that in dealing with the National Policy on Religion and Policy (2003) implementation in schools, participating principals ignore the policy in preference of maintaining the status quo. When faced with conflicts related to religious interests, they partially sub-contracted into the policy. They did not seem to consider transformative mediation as a possible leadership strategy for conflict resolution in the existing religious context of schools. The study also found that amongst these principals, there were those who displayed a confident attitude, values of openness, generosity and integrity and had used their past religious experiences to transform the quality of conflict interaction in schools. My recommendation in this regard would therefore be threefold. One, Higher Education Institutions should provide appropriate training by introducing suitable courses that will yield adequate knowledge, skills and opportunities for professional attitude, value attainment and determination for continuous learning and development to principals as key change agents. Two, there is a need for these organizations to re-evaluate and re-organise existing courses for better recognition of transformative mediation as a leadership strategy to conflict resolution in schools. The provincial departments of education need to provide appropriate training for prospective principals as part of professional development programmes to address the essential needs pertaining to policy implementation that could create conflict in schools. Training in mediation of conflict would therefore be essential. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted