Key details
Dr Abu Zaman
Lecturer in Law and Criminology
Abu Zaman is a Lecturer in Law and Criminology at the University of Greenwich. As a teacher of Law and Criminology for over nine years in the Further Education (FE) sector, he gained substantial experience in teaching, assessing, and coordinating courses. Abu Zaman also trained new teachers rated as ‘Outstanding’ practitioners in education by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). To understand how Restorative Approaches are utilised in practice, Abu Zaman underwent training and obtained a qualification in ‘Level 5 Restorative Approaches – Theory and Practice’, accredited by the University of Greenwich. During this period, he was practising as a Restorative Justice facilitator in a Further Education College. Abu Zaman also holds an LLB in Law from Middlesex University, LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice from the Birkbeck University of London, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of Greenwich.
Responsibilities within the university
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Recognition
Abu Zaman is a member of the European Forum of Restorative Justice and sits on the Restorative School Research Working Group.
Research / Scholarly interests
As part of his PhD, Abu Zaman explored Restorative Justice and its practices in the Further Education sector. This research explored staff and students understanding and experiences of RJ practices and processes; and staff experiences of constraints, limitations, and opportunities for successful RJ policy implementation. An interpretivist exploratory case study design framework and mixed qualitative methods were adopted. This research found a consensus on how staff understood RJ, barriers to successful implementation, and factors that supported effective implementation in the FE sector. Findings indicate that RJ policy is interrupted or reversed due to mergers or changes in Senior Leadership Teams. Both top-down and bottom-up approaches to implementation are pivotal, and teaching staff feel that a surge of violence in the country has brought insecurity within the college community. In effect, teachers think they are unskilled or ill-equipped to deal with or manage challenges. Further, a lack of regular training and professional development programmes on RJ impacts staff understanding and delivery of the concept. This study provides an insight into how RJ is understood, experienced and implemented in FE; thus, findings from this research will be relevant to FE institutions, their staff, and the Department for Education (DfE).
Presentations
- Zaman, A. (2022), ‘Colleges Staff Experiences of Practising Restorative Justice’, European Forum of Restorative Justice (EFRJ), Italy: Sassari/Sardinia, June 21-25.
- Zaman, A. (2019), ‘Implementing Restorative Justice in Further Education Institutions’, British Educational Research Association (BERA), England: Manchester, September 10-12.
- Zaman, A. (2019), ‘Revisiting Restorative Justice: Exploring Restorative Justice as a Means of Conflict Resolution in Colleges’, British Society of Criminology (BSC), England: Lincoln University, July 3-5.
- Zaman, A. (2019), ‘Exploring Restorative Justice as a Means of Conflict Resolution in Further Education’, International Institute of Restorative Practice (IIRP), Belgium: Kortrijk, May 15-17.