The Importance of Restorative Justice in Schools

Written by Sasha Blakeley

What is Restorative Justice in Schools?

From time to time, everyone makes mistakes that can cause harm to themselves and those around them. When people hurt others or break the rules set out by their country, region, workplace, school, or other social environments, there are usually repercussions; this is how regulations are enforced and remain in place. People agree to follow rules as part of a broader social contract, and they also agree to accept consequences if they break those rules. One of the things that people have to decide is what the consequences ought to be for various infractions. Will the rule-breaker be punished? Will they have to take some action to atone for their mistake? Who will enforce these consequences? Who will be involved in the justice process?

These are all challenging questions, and they have multiple possible answers. Different ways of organizing penalties for misbehavior are sometimes called systems of justice. Restorative justice is one such system that is gaining popularity in schools and other areas of society. Restorative justice in schools is focused on providing a framework where students can take responsibility for their actions, work collaboratively to make amends, and ultimately grow from the experience. Strong evidence suggests that a restorative justice system can work better than overtly punitive measures, leading to a more just and compassionate way of handling conflict. Some communities have started incorporating restorative justice into their legal systems for civil and criminal offenses, and some cultures have been using restorative justice methods for centuries.

Restorative vs Retributive Justice

To fully understand restorative justice, it is necessary to start by comparing it to another system called retributive justice. Currently, retributive justice is the primary justice system used in the United States and many other countries. It is also commonly used in schools. In a retributive justice system, the focus is on punishment. If a person breaks a rule or a law, retributive justice requires that they be punished for their actions to deter them from repeating the action.

For example, in a retributive justice system, someone who steals a car will be arrested, proceed to trial, and go to prison if found guilty. The time the individual spends in prison is intended to teach them that their actions have consequences. Incarceration is designed to be unpleasant. Further infractions will often lead to harsher sentencing. Spending time in prison also means that the individual does not have further opportunities to commit more crimes, at least until their sentence has been served.

In a restorative system, a person who steals a car would, when caught, meet with the person who owned the car, an arbitrator, anyone else impacted by the crime, and potentially other members of the community. During the ensuing meetings, the car thief would have the opportunity to hear from the victim of the crime, gaining a better understanding of the harm they caused. They would also have a chance to speak about what they did, including why they thought the action was justified at the time and whether they have now come to a different understanding. Everyone involved would collaboratively decide on an appropriate way for the car thief to make amends for their actions. That might include providing the victim with financial compensation, completing community service actions, going through a course of therapy, a combination of these actions, or something else.

There is a burgeoning cultural shift from retributive to restorative justice in the United States and other parts of the world. Restorative justice is more community-minded, less overtly punitive, and designed to help everyone learn, grow, improve, and see direct, meaningful justice after an incident. Teachers can utilize restorative justice in the classroom as a way to improve the school environment, teach students about different justice systems, and help everyone participate in academia in a meaningful way.

All teachers have to pass licensing exams before they can become educators. As restorative justice becomes more commonplace in schools, tests like the PRAXIS test, the GACE exam, or the NYSTCE exam may start to incorporate more questions about restorative justice in a school environment. Understanding how restorative justice works can help aspiring teachers thrive in their work environment.

Stages of Restorative Justice Practices in Schools

Discussions of restorative justice practices in schools usually break the process into three parts: prevention, intervention, and reintegration. This framework can work well for an in-school justice system, just as it can work more broadly in society. Restorative justice is intended as a justice framework that makes a difference in the community at several different levels. It should come into play before any rules are broken or crimes are committed, and it should remain an ongoing process after an incident has been resolved. Restorative justice systems aim to keep all community members safe and supported, including those who break rules. These practices also look at deeper, more complex reasons why people might be breaching social customs or failing to comply with laws, ultimately helping to resolve underlying issues instead of relying exclusively on punishment.

Prevention

In restorative justice, prevention is the first step in maintaining a strong social order. Prevention can take many forms. First of all, everyone involved in a community must be aware of the rules governing them. In a classroom setting, that means that teachers must ensure they are clear with their students about the rules and expectations of the classroom. Ideally, students should also have a say in what those expectations are and how they will be enforced. When everyone in a community is allowed an opinion on what the guidelines are, they may be more likely to believe that those rules are fair, making it easier for the justice system to function appropriately.

Prevention also means considering warning signs that something might be wrong. In a complex society, that could mean looking at common causes of crime, including poverty, political disenfranchisement, housing insecurity, food insecurity, lack of employment opportunities, and more. Identifying these patterns and taking steps to ensure that everybody has the resources they need to live comfortably is a foundational aspect of crime prevention. In schools, prevention might involve keeping an eye out for interpersonal conflicts between students. Allowing students to speak openly about any concerns or challenges they are dealing with can help teachers resolve small problems before they become more impactful.

Intervention

The second phase of restorative justice is intervention. In the intervention phase, an incident has taken place, and it is time to deal with the situation. Intervention looks very different in restorative justice than it does in retributive justice. In a restorative system, the perpetrator of the crime and the victim are brought together for a meeting. They both discuss what happened, giving their version of events and reviewing the resulting harm. The meeting is arbitrated and may involve other community members as well.

Once everyone is clear on what has happened and has had the opportunity to speak, there is a collaborative process to determine how the perpetrator should make amends for the harm they caused. The perpetrator should be an active part of this conversation, potentially providing suggestions or raising concerns about proposed options. In the last stage of the intervention process, the perpetrator carries out the predetermined actions to make amends for the harm they caused.

In schools, the intervention phase will typically involve a meeting between the students involved in an incident, their teacher, the victims of the incident, and potentially others, including school administrators, students' parents, or school counselors. In this meeting, the student will be allowed to explain their actions. The victim has the opportunity to explain the harm that they were caused so that everybody understands the gravity of the situation. Everyone can discuss how the student who broke the rules can best restore the situation. While these meetings may not be comfortable for everyone present, they should not be overtly punitive or unnecessarily aggressive toward the perpetrator. This is an opportunity for everyone to be heard, to take responsibility for their actions, and to make the situation right again.

Reintegration

The final step of the restorative justice system is reintegration. After the person who broke the rules has completed their assigned tasks to make amends, they must receive the necessary support to reintegrate into the community, ensuring that the odds of them committing the same crime again are low.

In a criminal justice context, reintegration could involve helping the perpetrator find stable employment so that they will not be in a position where lack of income pushes them toward criminal activity to survive. It might also involve helping the individual access healthcare or mental health support to address any underlying issues that made it difficult for them to abide by the social contract in the first place. Reintegration is not a punitive practice; it often involves giving the perpetrator much-needed resources to make it easier for them to function in their social environment in the future. The reintegration process also ensures that the victim can return to their normal life as smoothly as possible.

Schools that use a restorative justice system can also make use of reintegration practices. After the intervention period is complete, students will need support to avoid breaking rules in the future. That might mean giving the student the opportunity to speak to the school counselor, helping the student access therapy outside of school, or collaborating with parents to make changes to the home environment. It might also mean adjusting the school environment to help prevent similar situations moving forward. Perhaps the school at large could benefit from an anti-bullying campaign, or maybe students are getting into fights because of the stresses of upcoming exams, and they need more time or more study support to reduce tension in the school overall. Each situation will be unique to a particular school and its students.

Restorative Justice Activities

There are many activities that teachers can do with their students if they are interested in teaching students more about restorative justice. Helping students learn about different justice systems can educate them about history and the current society they live in. It can also help them gain a better understanding of what they can expect in school if they are ever part of a conflict.

One option is for teachers to have students imagine that they are the leaders of a city or country. Students can collaborate to write a list of laws that govern their theoretical society. They can also decide what should happen when a hypothetical person breaks one of those laws. Teachers can assist students in understanding the different ways they could approach managing a justice system to serve all of the people in their fictional society and teach students about how real societies are — or could be — run.

Another activity that can be helpful for teachers who want to incorporate restorative justice practices into the classroom is regular check-ins. Check-ins are class-wide conversations where students and teachers discuss various issues. Students can raise questions or concerns, including class rules and the current class justice system. They can explore areas where they feel they are struggling, their fears and goals, and other relevant issues. These talks can help ensure everyone is on the same page, potentially preventing later conflicts; check-ins fall under the ''prevention'' aspect of restorative justice. During these activities, it is essential for teachers to give students a chance to speak or not speak, depending on their comfort level. Students should always know they are free to communicate with teachers privately about concerns they do not want to share with the class.

Retributive vs Restorative Justice in Schools: Examples

To get a clear sense of how restorative justice can work in schools, it may be helpful to consider a single hypothetical rule-breaking incident and the ways that the incident could play out under either a restorative or retributive justice system. In this example, a student named John has been stealing food from classmates. When another student sees him taking a sandwich out of someone else's bag, they tell the teacher, who has the opportunity to resolve the issue using either a restorative or a retributive framework.

This incident, like most restorative justice in schools examples, might not be as straightforward in reality. Sometimes, students may get into physical fights, habitually bully their peers, or otherwise behave in dangerous ways. The restorative justice processes for those kinds of incidents may be more involved and take more time, but the essential steps will remain the same.

Restorative Justice in Schools: Pros and Cons

There are advantages and disadvantages to using restorative justice in schools. Pros and cons will often depend on the specific incidents, how prepared teachers and administrators are to use restorative justice, and what resources a school has. Broadly speaking, restorative justice tends to be a better option for students, teachers, and communities than retributive justice.

When people have the chance to speak about incidents and understand the underlying cause of conflicts, they may be able to comprehend each other's perspectives. Those who have caused harm can focus on directly helping the people they hurt rather than being punished while the victims are left to pick up the pieces. Restorative justice is a more compassionate approach that addresses the root causes of crime or rule-breaking, helping everyone have their needs met. Ideally, everyone involved leaves the incident with a better understanding of each other, a clear sense of their own needs and roles in the situation, and a plan for moving forward.

In schools, the downsides of implementing a restorative justice approach include the time it takes to overhaul the school justice system. It may require resources and patience that teachers and administrators do not possess to re-evaluate how to handle student infractions. Meetings between rule-breaking students, teachers, and victims also require a greater energy investment than more punitive measures. Despite the potential challenges involved in the process, restorative justice is still a more effective option in the long term. By addressing the causes of rule-breaking, teachers can ultimately reduce incidences of disruptive behavior, making the school environment safer for everyone.