Education Level: Teacher training, primary school
Approach: Non-violent Communication
Target Group: Teachers, parents, school leaders
Brief description of the practice
The organization Skolande, led by Marianne Göthlin, offers training, tools and pedagogical material for teachers and schools on how to strengthen communication, and conflict resolution skills. The intention is to create life-enriching learning communities that cultivate mutual respect, cooperation, compassionate interactions and engaged learning, and provide Non-violent Communication (NVC) training as a powerful tool.
Objectives of the practice
- To support teachers and schools to introduce, practice and integrate NVC values of care and cooperation in their educational practice as a way of living peacefully together and with practical skills to handle conflicts, thus improving both well-being and learning.
- To develop teachers and pupils natural ability to stay connected to the feelings and needs arising in themselves and in others, so that, from this empathic connection, they can find solutions that lead to everyone’s needs being met, even in conflict situations.
The vision of NVC consists of a world where everybody’s needs matter and conflicts are resolved peacefully. The purpose of living NVC in everyday life is to strengthen the ability to reach a deeper and mutual understanding of needs, which fosters respectful dialogue and co-operation.
By using a communication process where qualities of honesty and empathy are strengthened, trust is built in ways that can lead to mutual growth and development. NVC provides a framework and set of skills to address a wide range of concerns, from the closest relationships to global political conflicts. NVC can help prevent conflicts as well as peacefully resolve them.
NVC assumes that people are all compassionate by nature and that violent strategies – whether verbal or physical – are learned behaviors, taught and supported by the prevailing culture. NVC also assumes that everybody shares the same basic human needs, and that each of our actions is a strategy to meet one or more of these needs. Violence is a tragic expression of unmet needs. NVC believes that each human being has remarkable inner resources that can be used by means of empathy.
By practicing NVC, people can learn and clarify what they are observing, their personal feelings, the values they want to live by, and their expectations, both individual and in relation to others. A language of blame, judgment or domination will no longer be needed. People experience the need to contribute to one another's well-being.
The NVC process is relevant to all stages of conflict. Using NVC techniques in everyday life, thinking and communication can be a preventive measure in itself. Whenever a conflict arises, the NVC process provides the support that is needed to act in accordance with people's individual values. If verbal or physical violence has been reached during the conflict, the process can be used to handle the reactions of the people involved.
In this good practice, the main steps to achieve the expected results and impacts are:
- Meeting with school actors (teachers, leadership teams, parents) who request NVC training, and clarify the goals and conditions for an NVC project.
- An NVC presentation (minimum 2 hours, up to one day) for all those wishing to be included in the project. This is to make sure that everyone has the information needed to motivate active participation, or clarify who will participate in the project. Often all school staff participate in part one, and then part two and three can be a matter of choice. Or the project starts with one committed group (part of the staff) and develops from there.
- Drawing up the project plan: the NVC trainer and the school team/group agree about content, timing, goals, documentation, budget, evaluation, etc.
- Then follows a process that includes NVC training and implementation; repeated meetings are preferable, spread over 1-3 years (sometimes shorter projects are implemented, with the awareness that the im