Restorative methods as a strategy for the prevention of violence and bullying in primary and secondary schools in Mexico: An exploratory study

School coexistence processes are mediated by conflict situations that are often not adequately, immediately and comprehensively resolved by schools, giving rise to violence. School violence has become a matter of global priority not only at the school or family level, but also socially due to its magnitude and scope. In the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), reported in 2018 that 23% of students in Mexico had suffered bullying at least once a month, these data are worrying as they reveal high rate of violence. Considering the increase of violence in Mexican educational institutions, we wonder if students' awareness in the use of communication to resolve disagreements would be achieved after participating in a conflict prevention project applying restorative practices. The objective of this study was to test whether students acquired greater emotional self-regulation, self-determination, and peaceful strategies to resolve conflicts after participating in a project centred on the restorative paradigm. A total of 336 students from an elementary school and a high school located in Mexico participated in this study. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered to the students by a restorative justice specialist in the middle of the school year. Statistical analyses were performed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences V. 25. The results obtained showed that, after the implementation of this program for five months, students in both schools showed greater emotional self-regulation and self-determination. In conclusion, providing students with restorative strategies to resolve disputes favoured the use of peaceful conflict resolution strategies.