Restorative Justice

For decades, public schools in the United States have employed retributive discipline systems that rely heavily on exclusion as a primary means to mete punishment. More recently, some schools have begun employing restorative practices which encourage relationship-building, healing, learning, and collaboration before, during, and after discipline events. Used proactively as a means to build a culture of caring and support, restorative circles foster communication and relationship-building among school stakeholders, but restorative conferences and circles may also be used in lieu of exclusion as alternatives to traditional discipline models. Advocates of restorative justice assert that recidivism is reduced through purposeful community-building processes espoused by RJ principles.

Use of Restorative Justice and Restorative Practices at School: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: In recent years, the use of restorative justice (RJ) and restorative practices (RP) in schools has grown rapidly. Understanding how theory and research address this topic is important for its practical implementation based on scientific knowledge. The aim of this article was to analyse the practices derived from RJ implemented in school and what kinds of results have been achieved. Starting from the analysis of the qualitative and quantitative research in the field, a systematic review was conducted on the last decade of studies using RJ and RP at every level of school education. Methods: For this review, methods including the PRISMA guidelines, the PRISMA flow diagram, and qualitative synthesis were carried out. Scientific articles for the literature review were selected according to the following criteria: (1) publication date between the years 2010–2021; (2) student population aged 6–18 years; (3) publications in the English language; (4) articles directly accessible or accessible by contacting the author(s); 34 articles met the inclusion criteria. Results: The most used RP in school are circles (n = 26), followed by restorative conferences (n = 17), peer mediation (n = 10), restorative conversations (n = 8), mediation (n = 7), community-building circles (n = 5). RP can improve the school climate, discipline, positive conflict management through actions that aim at preventing suspensions, exclusions, conflicts, and misbehaviours (e.g., bullying). RJ practices promote positive relationships between peers and between students and teachers, as well as to prosocial behaviours through the development of social and emotional skills. Conclusions: From the studies examined, a great interest in applying restorative justice and practices in schools clearly emerged. Discussions on the benefits and challenges of implementation were provided. However, there is still limited evidence in terms of direct correlation, which suggests further studies on the impact of RJ and RP in school settings.

Gifting a Healing Education Through Writing Life and Art: A Paris Studio Residency

We are two Canadian arts-based educational researchers who collaborated during a studio residency in Paris, France, during May 2015, for ten days. Our residency curriculum included study of feminist poet-thinker Hélène Cixous, taking walks in Paris locales, viewing women’s art, and engaging arts-based inquiry methods such as journaling, life writing and creative embodied practices, as a way to pay attention to and document our daily experiences. We practiced what we call companion pedagogy, with a feminist focus on mothering and gifting relations. We find that arts-based, restorative practices strengthen our wellbeing and resiliency as educators, and also support our desire for a more nurturing, mothering humanity to come forward for gifting a healing education. Healing education begs the question of how to address the resiliency of educators over time through what are increasingly challenging and depleting conditions of institutional cultures and economies. We thus offer creative practices such as studio residencies for collective care and gifting that can nurture a restorative pacing of life, while supporting the resiliency of educators to gift their energies towards creative curriculum visioning and enacting of social change.

Judicial Restorative Justice and Domestic Violence in Brazil: Setting Problems and Challenges from the Field

The solution of conflicts, cases of violence and harmful offences through alternatives to the penal system has been encouraged by Brazil’s Conselho Nacional de Justiça/National Justice Council (CNJ) since 2010. However, empirical studies that assess the impact of restorative practices when applied to domestic violence cases are sparse because most of them tend to highlight the retributive model’s insufficiency compared to the restorative model. In attempt to break away from that logic, the article analyses the insertion of practices of restorative justice regarding domestic violence by examining empirical studies carried out at the Rio Grande do Sul’s Justice Court, a pioneer in the employment of restorative justice. The study shows that restorative practices for domestic violence are residual, do not disrupt the traditional model and are not understood as restorative by women. Therefore, a broad and serious discussion about the model being implemented in Brazil is needed.

Designing Professional Development in Restorative Practices: Assessing High School Personnel's, Students’, and Parents’ Perceptions of Discipline Practices

We conducted focus groups with high school staff, students, parents, and administrators to gain information about how to design professional development training supporting high school staff in implementing restorative practices within a multitiered support system. Results indicated that all stakeholders valued trust and relationship building and identified equity, accountability, and home−school communications as key elements of effective discipline approaches. We provide recommendations for designing professional development for high school staff in effectively and sustainably integrating restorative practices with existing multitiered student support systems.

Educators’ Beliefs and Perceptions of Implementing Restorative Practices

Many urban school districts are adopting restorative practices (RP) as a means to reduce suspensions and resolve racial discipline gaps. In this study, we use a sensemaking framework to examine educators’ beliefs about discipline and their perceptions of RP and its implementation. We draw on survey responses ( N = 363) administered after educators attended RP trainings in a large, diverse county in California. Our results show the majority of respondents possess beliefs or an understanding of RP that are compatible with the goals of the approach. Survey respondents cite challenges to implementing RP that are at times consistent (e.g., lack of time) and at times at odds (e.g., relatively low emphasis on lack of leadership as a hindrance) with the current literature. As suggested by sensemaking theory, we find attitudes and beliefs are predictors of educators’ experiences implementing RP, including challenges to implementation and effects of the practices.

Building a Positive School Climate Through Restorative Practices

Widespread efforts to curb exclusionary and discriminatory discipline in schools have led to a growing focus on restorative approaches, a set of practices aimed at building strong in-school relationships and attachments, rather than pushing students out. This brief reviews research illustrating the benefits of these practices for student behavior, achievement, and attainment, and it elevates key lessons about what is needed to successfully implement restorative practices in schools.