Restorative Practice in Schools: Research and Application
This paper examines the application of restorative practice in school settings as an alternative to punitive disciplinary approaches such as zero-tolerance policies. It provides background on the limitations of suspension and expulsion, traces the historical roots of restorative justice in indigenous and criminal justice traditions, and reviews relevant literature on student misbehavior management. The paper outlines a research design employing questionnaires and circle-based discussion methods to assess restorative practice's effectiveness in building trust, reducing conflict, and promoting behavioral change. It also considers the role of social workers as advocates for restorative approaches and identifies key research questions around offender recidivism, relationship-building, and the comparative benefits of restorative versus punitive discipline.
- Introduction and Problem Background: Zero-tolerance failures prompt need for restorative practice
- Purpose of the Study: Social workers and effectiveness of restorative discipline
- Research Questions: Four key questions guiding the study
- Literature Review: Historical roots and contemporary adoption of restorative justice
- Methodology and Data Collection: Questionnaires and circle-based data gathering design
- Reporting and Dissemination: Data coding, classification, and presentation plan
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly situates restorative practice within a real policy problem — the documented failure of zero-tolerance discipline — giving the argument immediate practical relevance.
- Draws on a range of peer-reviewed sources to support both historical context and contemporary application, lending credibility to the research proposal.
- Moves logically from problem identification to purpose, research questions, literature review, and methodology, demonstrating a coherent research design.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models how to frame an applied research proposal by anchoring each section in cited evidence before introducing original methodology. The contrast between punitive (zero-tolerance) and restorative approaches is used throughout as a structural device that keeps the argument focused and comparative, which is a strong technique in education and social policy writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a problem background supported by statistics and citations, followed by a clearly stated purpose and four specific research questions. A literature review covers historical origins and contemporary adoption of restorative practices. The methodology section describes both questionnaire design and a circle-based data-gathering protocol, concluding with a brief dissemination plan. This follows the standard applied research proposal format, making it a useful model for undergraduate social work or education students.
Introduction and Problem Background
Many schools across the globe are currently applying restorative practice. According to Calhoun (2013), there has been much success since schools introduced this practice. Some successful schools have even proceeded to train other schools and institutions. Restorative practice encompasses diverse aspects whose impact can influence a number of fields in the education sector, including conflict resolution, truancy, behavioral management, and mediation (Hemphill et al., 2014). Restorative practice calls for ownership by everyone involved, which promotes mutual responsibility and creates an atmosphere in which resolution can occur.
Bolitho (2012) states that managing student misbehavior is one of the most crucial issues facing schools around the world. The current approach to discipline is largely punitive. Many schools apply zero-tolerance policies, which, though well intended, have not yielded good results — in fact, they have often done more harm than good. Skiba (2013) asserts that such policies have led to a rise in the number of expulsions and suspensions, especially over the last 20 years.
Suspension and expulsion have been used in schools as punishment for students who violate established rules. The rate of suspensions and expulsions has doubled since the 1970s. Misbehaving students are most often given out-of-school suspensions (Calhoun, 2013). This form of punishment is not ideal, given its negative and long-lasting impact on students. Some of these impacts include higher incidences of academic failure, increased school dropout rates, drug and substance abuse, and unnecessary conflicts, among others. This has led many schools to abandon zero-tolerance policies and adopt restorative justice to instill discipline in students (Perry & Morris, 2014). Restorative justice focuses on the person who has been harmed rather than the rules that have been broken. It also addresses the losses suffered by the victim rather than concentrating solely on the offender.
References
Bolitho, J. (2012). Restorative justice: The ideals and realities of conferencing for young people. Critical Criminology, 20(1), 61–78.
Calhoun, A. (2013). Introducing restorative justice: Re-visioning responses to wrongdoing. Prevention Researcher, 20(1), 3–6.
Hemphill, S. A., Plenty, S. M., Herrenkohl, T. I., Toumbourou, J. W., & Catalano, R. F. (2014). Student and school factors associated with school suspension: A multilevel analysis of students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States. Children and Youth Review, 36, 187–194.
Kalimeris, G., & Borrelli, A. (2013). School suspensions: From crisis to opportunity. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 26(4), 77–79.
Perry, B. L., & Morris, E. W. (2014). Suspending progress: Collateral consequences of exclusionary punishment in public schools. American Sociological Review, 79(6), 1067–1087.
Skiba, R. J. (2013). Reaching a critical juncture for our kids: The need to reassess school justice practices. Family Court Review, 51(3), 380–387.
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