Ethical Alignments: Teaching Restorative Justice Using Problem-Based

Source: (2003) Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on Restorative Justice. June 2003. The Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University. Downloaded 2 October 2003.

As restorative justice gains prominence, there is a growing need to educate students, practitioners, and officials about this alternative paradigm for responding to crime and achieving justice. While academic training remains limited, courses are increasingly beginning to be taught at various institutions. Much more dialogue is required surrounding numerous issues, such as curriculum development. In this presentation, I will share my experiences of teaching a university course on restorative community justice utilizing problem-based learning (PBL). I argue that PBL provides an ideal educational methodology and that it is ethically aligned with the core principles of restorative justice. For example, PBL and restorative justice provide frameworks in which stakeholders are empowered and given responsibility to become active agents of learning and change; both utilize problem solving and collaboration. PBL can be utilized in all levels of public school, from elementary through graduate school, as well as in training institutes, such as those for policing. Abstract courtesy of the Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University, www.sfu.ca/cfrj.