Unit 1: What is Restorative Justice?
Navigation Links
Unit Objectives:
By the end of this unit you will:
- Read references on exclusionary discipline practices and on restorative justice.
- Synthesize key examples of each from the references read.
- Summarize your own understanding of the effects of exclusionary discipline
- Summarize your own understanding of the effects of restorative justice
Pre-assessment
Complete this form to submit your knowledge at this point on discipline and restorative justice.
Why does this matter?
Exclusionary discipline has been the typical discipline used in schools for decades. Examples of this include suspension and expulsion; essentially a discipline practice that removes the student from the classroom and therefore the community. The more a student is removed from their community, the more likely they become to fall into the pattern of misbehaving because they have become disconnected. Restorative justice is an alternative to this method. With restorative justice, students are still disciplined when needed but there is a focus on repairing relationships and reconnecting them to the community after the discipline.
Exclusionary Discipline Practices:
As mentioned above, exclusionary discipline practices mainly include suspension (both in school and out of school) and expulsion. These exclusionary discipline practices are used to punish students when they break school rules and need a consequence for their actions. While there are cases where the exclusionary practice is a one time situation, more often this becomes a pattern for students. In this case, the students are constantly being excluded from the school community and become more withdrawn. In extreme cases, this can lead to effects outside of school that are harmful to the students.
Read this article written by the University of California Berkeley School of Law that summarizes exclusionary discipline and its effects.
Now watch this video about the disproportionality in discipline.
What examples of exclusionary discipline stood out to you? What negatives of exclusionary discipline were most notable?
Restorative Justice Practices:
Restorative Justice is a relationship-focused alternative to exclusionary discipline. The most common misconception is that restorative justice eliminates all discipline and consequences. Students are still held accountable for their actions but the relationship is at the center. There is much more mediation and conversation around why an action was taken and students are encouraged to reflect on how their action effected others in the community. The relationship is never broken in restorative justice like it can be with exclusionary discipline.
Read this article written by Belinda Hopkins that what restorative justice looks like in schools and its potential.
Now watch this video that shows what a school that uses restorative justice looks like.
What components of restorative justice stood out to you? What benefits do you see of restorative justice?
Reflection:
What have you come to understand about exclusionary discipline and its effects? What have you come to understand about restorative justice and its effects? What are the main differences you see between exclusionary discipline and restorative justice?
References and Resources:
Hopkins, B. (2002). Restorative justice in schools. Support for Learning, 17(3), 144-149.
Institute of Education Sciences. Addressing Disproportionality in Discipline Alliance. YouTube, YouTube, 11 Mar. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVlkNBhm7Mo. Accessed 7 Apr. 2023.
Koon, D. S. V. (2013). Exclusionary school discipline: An issue brief and review of the literature. University of California.
Monash Education. Restorative Practice: It's Just the Way We Do Things. YouTube, YouTube, 19 Nov. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMkt6FPXcVE. Accessed 7 Apr. 2023.