Principles Underlining Our Prevention and De-escalation Approach

This primer takes a trauma-informed approach, which recognizes that past experiences of violence in and out of schools impact students’ present-day behaviours.

The goal is to prevent re-traumatization by creating (or co-creating when appropriate) the conditions or climate that support safety, trust, and a sense of agency in all interactions with students.

We propose these values-based guidelines to violence prevention and de-escalation, strengthening or integrating the following beliefs and values into our classroom practice:

1. Power: Modelling and cultivating positive uses of power and privilege; growing individual and collective leadership capacity can build agency.
2. Empathy: Building empathy and understanding—for self, colleagues, students, families—even as judgment arises.
3. Non-violence: Establishing a stance of non-violence that respects others’ rights, that values peace and problem solving, and that avoids the use of force.
4. Empowerment: Fostering empowerment by validating experiences and restoring a sense of power and agency.
5. Awareness: Developing deep awareness of issues, of feelings and of emotional responses—both our own and others’—even when that awareness creates discomfort.
6. Presence: Acknowledging and recognizing what is happening (both in the moment and more broadly) and naming the problems, behaviours and action as they arise.
7. Non-judgment: Recognizing and avoiding shame and blame of individuals and groups, even while acknowledging and naming problems.
8. Hope: Cultivating hope and promoting the idea that positive change is possible.
9. Responsibility: Emphasizing personal and collective responsibility; self-reflection is important and enables people to take responsibility for their actions, behaviour, and words.
10. Skill-building: Focusing on skills (i.e. self-care, self-regulation, communication); violence prevention can focus on skill-building rather than blame or punishment.
11. Solidarity: Nurturing solidarity by emphasizing our common humanity and shared vulnerability; creating connections; encouraging collaboration and cooperation among and between students, and between students and adults (intergenerational, intragenerational) and between employee groups and staff.