Abstract:
This study examines the applicability and utility of the Insight approach to conflict analysis and resolution in the school setting as a response to the persistent, contemporary problem of the school-to-prison pipeline, where kids who are punished for misbehavior through suspension and expulsion are overwhelmingly ending up in the juvenile justice system and without future prospects for success. Guided by the explanatory framework of the Insight approach, which attends specifically and intentionally to the interiority driving behavior, this research takes a new perspective on student misbehavior, hypothesizing that misbehavior is not only behavior that breaks the rules, but is also conflict behavior. Through an integrated case study and pilot project, this research builds on this hypothesis and examines whether specialized Insight skills can help school staff make targeted and precise disciplinary decisions that support students and change patterns of misbehavior, thereby enhancing the probability of positive student outcomes.
