Is Restorative Practice Effective in Schools? Evaluating Restorative Justice Models
How Effective Are Restorative Practice or Restorative Justice Models In Schools?
Restorative Practices Training have become a cornerstone of school discipline reform, aiming to shift from a primary focus on punishment to incorporate relationship-building and harm repair. But how effective are Restorative Practices in schools? Research and experience show that when implemented with fidelity, Restorative Practices can reduce suspensions and expulsions, improve school climate including student and staff sense of belonging and safety, and reduce disciplinary disparities. Additionally, these practices have been shown to enhance academic achievement and academic outcomes by improving student performance and engagement. It is crucial for schools to implement restorative practices effectively to achieve these outcomes, focusing on building strong relationships and maintaining healthy interactions among students and staff. This post digs deeper into the effectiveness of Restorative Practice or Restorative Justice programs in schools and the most common challenges to implementation.
Definition and Overview of Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice
Restorative Practices are all about relationships—building them, strengthening them, and repairing them when things go wrong. At its core, it’s a way of thinking and doing that focuses on community, accountability, and empathy. Involving community members, including staff, students, and families, is crucial in addressing harmful behaviors and creating a supportive atmosphere. Instead of relying solely on punishments when someone breaks a rule, Restorative Practices help people understand the impact of their actions, take responsibility, and work together to make things right. A few examples of Restorative Practices in Schools include community-building circles for students and also for staff, affective statements to express emotions constructively, curbside conversations to de-escalate situations quickly, and restorative conversations that guide people through conflict resolution, fostering essential conflict resolution skills.
People often use the term Restorative Justice synonymously with Restorative Practices, but they’re not the same. Restorative Justice is just one part of the larger umbrella of Restorative Practices, representing the 20% focused on repairing harm after it occurs. The other 80% encompasses proactive strategies to build effective communication skills, emotional regulation, and social capital gained through relationship-building and trust. While Restorative Justice addresses conflict and harm, Restorative Practices emphasize preventing these issues.
Positive Outcomes Observed in Schools: Impact on Student Behavior and Other Factors
In our own practice and application, we’ve seen the profound impact of Restorative Practices on multiple factors, including staff engagement, student belonging, and student-teacher relationships. Additionally, these practices have significantly contributed to a positive school climate, fostering supportive and inclusive environments. Equally important, many aspects of our discipline data were greatly improved including decreased number of infractions, decreased length of suspensions, and a significant reduction in out-of-school disciplinary placements.
That said, we value looking at high-quality independent research studies to understand the impact of robust RP implementation.
Take a look at a study conducted by The University of Chicago’s Education Lab on the implementation of Restorative Practices or Restorative Justice in Chicago Public Schools.
This study started in 2018 and is still ongoing.
Their findings thus far:
18% decrease in out-of-school suspensions
35% decrease in student arrests in school; 15% decrease in arrests out of school
Improved student’ perceptions of school climate driven by “large increases in students’ perceptions that their peers’ classroom behavior improved, their increased feeling that they belong at school and that school is a safe place to be.” (cite article)
What we at CSC found compelling about Chicago’s findings:
The positive outcomes were NOT because of “mechanical” changes, like a simple change to their discipline response or code of conduct. The robust use of Restorative Practices was the driver of positive outcomes.
Equally important, the reduction in suspensions did NOT result in increased in-school suspension classroom disruption or poorer academic performance.
The RAND Corporation examined the impact of Restorative Practices implemented in 44 schools across Pittsburgh and analyzed the effects over two years. The key findings were this:
Restorative Practices reduced the number of days of suspension by 36%.
Restorative Practices reduced disparity in suspension rates for African American students and students from low-income families.
Teachers in participating schools reported improved perceptions of teaching and learning conditions, including better conduct management and relationships between staff and students.
Results for America, a non–partisan organization focused on evidence-based policymaking, published the results of Restorative Justice (RJ) implementation in The Oakland Unified School District in California. They found the following:
Reduction in Suspensions: Schools with a dedicated restorative justice coordinator experienced a significant decrease in student suspensions, dropping by approximately 20 percentage points within three years. Overall, between the 2015-2016 and 2019-2020 school years, the percentage of students suspended district-wide declined from 4.2% to 2.9%, marking a nearly 31% reduction. Results4America
Teacher Perceptions: A substantial majority of teachers—88%—reported that restorative practices were very or somewhat helpful in managing challenging student behaviors in the classroom. Additionally, over 60% of staff believed that these practices contributed to a reduction in suspensions at their schools.
Graduation rates increased, particularly for African American students.
The reduction in violence and bullying incidents was attributed to a more inclusive and supportive school environment.
Successful implementation was linked to strong leadership support, dedicated RJ staff at schools, and ongoing training.
You can read more about Restorative Justice Implementation in Oakland schools here.
Comparative Studies: Traditional Disciplinary vs. Restorative Approaches
Traditional disciplinary practices are rooted in punitive measures like detention, suspension, or expulsion, often used in response to student misbehavior. These traditional disciplinary practices often fail to address the root causes of student misbehavior, leading to repeated issues and negative outcomes. The focus is on immediate consequences for rule-breaking, often without addressing underlying causes or fostering accountability beyond compliance. This approach also fails to systematically give any attention or support to the person harmed, be it a student or teacher.
What is a Restorative Approach?
A restorative approach emphasizes repairing harm and rebuilding relationships through restorative justice practices. Instead of focusing solely on punishment, it seeks to understand the root causes of behavior, hold students accountable through reflective processes as well as consequences, and involve those harmed in determining how to make amends.
The implementation and impact of restorative programs within educational settings aim to foster positive relationships and enhance the overall well-being of students. These programs can lead to reductions in disciplinary actions, improved mental health outcomes, and a positive shift in school climate, although integrating them into existing school policies can be challenging.
Key Differences Between Traditional and Restorative Approaches
What Are The Disadvantages or Challenges of Implementing Restorative Practices In Schools?
While Restorative Practice programming offers many benefits, implementing it is not without its challenges. School leaders play a crucial role in overcoming these challenges and promoting restorative practices by replacing punitive discipline frameworks with more relational approaches and ensuring equitable access. In our experience rolling out Restorative Practices across a large school district, we’ve experienced firsthand some of the unintended consequences or the difficulty in getting new programming to stick. Here are the challenges that we help schools plan for in advance:
Potential Implementation Challenges
Adopting Restorative Practices requires stakeholder involvement, planning time, leader engagement, integration into existing procedures and routines, and concrete resources to support it all. Schools sometimes take a “train and hope” approach, believing that a standalone training is enough for all staff to change their behavior. This article by the National Education Policy Center also details common pitfalls in implementing Restorative Justice.
Staff Training and Resource Requirements
Teachers are burned out from bad PD and programs that launch and quickly die. Restorative Practices training that fails to engage staff can stop things before they’ve even started. Training that draws on their experience is full of activities, and provides time to collaborate with their peers to practice and create resources is vital. Provide additional resources for them to use and you’ve set them up for a good launch.
Possible Resistance from Staff or Parents
In our experience, people who are resistant to Restorative Practices or Restorative Justice have a limited understanding of what it is. They may have heard that it’s a replacement for consequences, which is a misunderstanding. Once people have attended a training or orientation in Restorative Practices, the number of people against it falls to a very small number.
Long-Term Sustainability Concerns
Maintaining Restorative Practices over the long term demands a multiyear plan with explicit sustainability planning and capacity building, practices that are woven into existing programming and procedures, ongoing support and monitoring, as well as tailored resources. We draw upon implementation science and change management to cover all bases.
Should Schools Use A Restorative Or A Traditional Approach To Discipline?
Restorative Practices focus on community-building and harm repair, while traditional approaches emphasize deterrence through punishment. Both methods aim to address student behavior but differ in philosophy and execution.
That said, they are NOT mutually exclusive. This is one of the most common misunderstandings about Restorative Practices or Restorative Justice.
Restorative Practices build stronger relationships, prevent incidents of harm, address underlying causes of misbehavior, and ultimately reduce suspensions. However traditional approaches often provide clear, immediate responses that promote safety for the community. Traditional disciplinary responses can also be used alongside restorative responses.
CSC can help you integrate a menu of restorative practices into your behavior flowchart and discipline framework.
Reach out to tell us what you’re considering or looking for. We’d love to help you think things through!