School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis

1. School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis by Lina Ќostarova Unkovska Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

2. Location, time, duration … Country – region (s): Republic ofMacedonia - multiethnic post conflict community (city of Tetovo) & five other towns… Time: Projectstartsin 2002 - a year after a severe interethnicconflict between theAlbanian rebels and Macedonianarmed forces - to end in 2006 Place: Seven (all) Tetovo’ elementary schools & five schools from The Macedonian Health Promoting Schools Network, with more schools joining the project

3. Research - intervention questions • What is going on in a community of prolonged crisis? contextual /field conditions/ level • Where to start to stop the deteriorating processes imposed by the crisis? Could it be the school? • capacity /potentials/ level • How can the school community activate development towards positive community change? • resiliency & competency for action level School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

4. Immediate individual' versus community' response to community crisis • Community in crisis • Conflicting /disorganized • Threatening life conditions • Old patterns’ falling apart • Lack of valid information • Lack of guidance and relevant decision making • New overwhelming events • Lack of trust, collaboration and support • Catastrophic prediction etc. Individual in crisis Consolidate Physiological: Basic needs adjustment Behavioral: Pro-active, playful, alert, repetitive, regressive, avoiding, isolative, passive, withdrawn etc Cognitive: Selective, negating, idealizing, confabulating, symbolizing… Emotional: numb, over-controlling, impulsive aggressive 1. What is going on in a community of prolonged crisis? Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

5. Individual versus Community Capacityin Prolonged Community Crisis Individual level Physiological (show: endurance, increased capacities for survival, arousal, pro-active) Cognitive (search for: structure, order, logic, understanding & meaning) Psycho-social (need for: safe and stable environment, support, belonging, recognition - identity) Community level Physiological (tense, risky, impulsive, unbalanced, disconnected etc.) Cognitive (disorganized, disoriented, confused, destructive ,meaningless) Psycho-social (threatening and fearful ; mistrustful, lack of recognition; isolated, identity confusion) 1. Whatis going on in a community of prolonged crisis? Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

6. Crisis as contradictory process of change Individual Pro-active - constructive Adult - Child Teacher - Pupil Parent - Child Community in crisis Pro-active -destructive Community (Unsafe, discriminative, poor – war zone, collective centers, multiethnic) School (Authoritarian, threatening, impoverished, chaotic) Family (Separation, divorce, abuse, neglect) 1. What is going on in a community of prolonged crisis? Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

7. Can it be the school? Individual Adult & Child Parent & Child Community Unsafe, discriminatory, threatening, chaotic Why the school? It is a place of great potential - for learning and growth It represents all community members It offers a structure, sense of belonging, recognition, comparisons It provides a framework for regaining the lost control and meaning 2. Where to start to stop deteriorating processes ? Family (separated; divorced; neglectful, abusive, manipulative, depressed) Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

8. Creating new processes of change Community New relationships, better informedness, community participation, leadership Individual Adult & Child Parent & Child Teacher - Pupil - School restructuring the school community leadership – forming the crisis teams with shared responsibilities; inclusion of all school members with new roles and responsibilities, creating new school ethos - pupil –teacher participation in the HPS projects; continual support; school linking and networking 3. How can the school change the vicious circle for the better and activate development …? Family (unified, renewing parental roles and responsibility; sense of belonging, meaning, caring,) Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

9. Deciding on conceptual framework …Is it a health promotion? Need or Right based Programs Democratic instead of Moralistic Development versus Intervention 3. How can the school start stimulating development towards positive community change? Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

10. Need or Right Based Program ? • determination of needs vary according to the situation, individual and environment • address symptoms • welfare, charity – short term provision /filling gaps/ • voluntary – private initiative • partial goals /as possible/ • providing services • basic human /children/ rights are universal /the same everywhere/ - public, moral and legal responsibility, duty • address root causes • legal entitlements, claims, equality, freedom - long term goals • mandatory – political, moral • all children (are entitled to ) • empowering Deciding on conceptual framework… Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

11. Democratic versus Moralistic approach • Looking for potentials - not for deficits • Conditions are subject to change - not the person, or behavior… • Promotion instead of correction • Active (interactive) versus passive (one sided, directed) • Social-cultural instead of individualistic • Holistic (all inclusive) versus exclusive /marginalization, labeling…/ • Empowering not threatening Deciding on conceptual framework … Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

12. Development versus Intervention What makes the difference ? Long - term processes of change … Open ended & Participatory … Playful and exciting … Structured and deliberated within limits… Socially - culturally embedded… Interactive and supportive, encouraging… Life long learning … resilience building… crisis anticipatory & uncertainty open… Deciding on conceptual framework … Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

13. School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis Health Promoting School in Crisis Community Field conditions – under continual change… • Community - daily incidents in the neighborhood • Schools – overcrowded, poor, neglected, powerless, • Teaching methods (contents) – traditional,didactic, moralistic, irrelevant • Teachers – afraid, overwhelmed, demotivated, threatened, underpaid, intolerant, • Parents – afraid, hurt, distrustful, angry • Children – traumatized, separated, isolated, marginalized Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

14. School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis Health Promoting School in Crisis Community - Aims Aim 1: Decrease the feeling of insecurity and mistrustamong the school community members of differentethnic background, by encouraging pupils andteachers for joint participation in the school &community health promoting projects … Aim 2: Empowere schools for linking and networking with other school communities, and getting out of closed circles of self-destruction and isolation … Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

15. HP School Project Strategy School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis • All schools’ active inclusion in the Project (new school & inter-schools organization & structure) • Continual training, consultation & supportmonitoring, interactive supervision & evaluation • Linking and networking of all kindsamong teachers, pupils, children - adults, school – community (team building, group work,interschoolcollaboration)

16. DevelopmentProject Structure /interrelated/ School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis • Pre-phase – screening & understanding the field -preparation for change – 6 months • Research and vision phase- redefinition -new perceptions and images – 12 months • Action and change – empowerment -experience of participation in change – 12 months • Linking and networking – creating meanings -getting out of isolation - 18 months

17. Children’s involvement in the project School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis • Preparation - Building safe andstimulating micro- environments - Creating conditions for democratic participation and decision making • Five step /S-IVAC/ approach - towards increasing children’s self-confidence and competence for participation in change • School linking and networking Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia

18. Examples of a safe micro-environment building • Class work • Project team work • Inter-schools activities • Multiethnicsummer schools School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis

19. What is a S/P- IVAC approach? School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis It is a developmental strategy of involving children as active participants in the changes, through the following phases: S/P- Selection/Preparation I - Investigation V - Vision A – Action C – Change

20. Four phases of children’s participation • Selection/Preparation • Investigation • Vision • Action School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis

21. School Linking & Networking - the way out School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis • Linking and creating partnership between the schools of different regions /multiethnic with single-ethnic; rural with urban; local with distant; domestic with foreign/ • Children and teachers interschool collaboration on joint health /community/ promoting projects • Involvement of the new IT as a tool for inter school communication, performing, learning & friendship building

22. School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis From the evaluation • Positive changes: in teachers’ new roles– ready to listen, assist and support pupils’ initiatives andactions … in pupils’ competences and commitmentas well as in theirnew position in the schools– increasing participation, tolerance, responsibility & achievements… in school atmosphere - dynamic, visionary, caring… • Weaknesses: lack of linking with system institutions – absence of mechanismsof support and recognition for the schools, teachers and pupils; absence of monitoring and evaluation, and relevant policy decision making; critical absence of interest, or/and understandingfor the processes of the school active role in health, social & educational change.

23. Project realization and support School role in social reconstruction of the community in crisis The Project was carried out in 2002 - 2006 by the Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action Skopje, R. Macedonia In collaboration with The Macedonian Bureau for Development of Education & With financial support from The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action - Skopje, R.Macedonia