SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Understanding Restorative Practices in Schools

18 March 2024/ By Zineb DJOUB

Addressing students’ misbehaviour and resolving conflicts in the classroom are crucial aspects of fostering their progress and enhancing their learning achievements. However, many schools are witnessing a rise in suspended students due to defiance or disruptive behaviour. It’s unrealistic to expect complete elimination of all problem behaviours; students will misbehave as they learn. Nonetheless, it’s essential to provide them with opportunities to learn from their mistakes and mend any strained relationships within the school community. Restorative practices centre on repairing harm, fostering relationship-building, and encouraging accountability among all school community members.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the principles behind restorative practices and how they can transform school environments.

What are restorative practices?

Restorative practices are a largely proactive approach that builds students’ capacity to self-regulate, make decisions, and self-govern. It is not about waiting for discipline problems to occur and then handling them, but building and restoring healthy and productive relationships between and among students and staff.

Therefore, restorative practices must be interwoven in every interaction within the school community to ensure that students progress socially and emotionally.

So, besides aiming for high-quality instruction, we as educators must also strive to facilitate learning communities that nurture students’ engagement with one another and their environment and value their dignity and worth.

Hence, restorative practices should occur throughout the school day in both academic and non-academic settings. So, not only are we concerned with such practices but administrators, counselors, and staff need to incorporate them to build relationships with students and create a positive school climate.

Besides including preventive measures, restorative practices aim to repair harm and transform conflict. So, when a conflict arises, the parties involved are encouraged to engage in reflective conversations that help offenders understand the harm that their actions caused and offer them chances to rectify their actions.

Restorative practices examples in schools

Restorative Circles: These are structured discussions where participants sit in a circle format to share their perspectives, feelings, and experiences related to a specific issue or conflict.

Restorative Conferences: Students, teachers, parents, and sometimes community members can take part in restorative conferences. These provide a facilitated dialogue to address harm, resolve conflicts, and work toward healing and restoration.

Peer mediation programmes. These programmes train students to serve as mediators who help their peers resolve conflicts peacefully and constructively.

The Restorative Justice Tribunal (the Tribunal) is a forum and process created to redirect students from facing consequences outside of school and to help them regain their status within the school community.

Benefits of restorative practices in schools

The research about restorative practices found that when compared to more conventional disciplinary approaches, it can have a positive effect on student’s ability to be accountable for their actions (Gregory et al., 2016).

Punitive actions can make students feel guilty, humiliated, or fearful to change their bahaviours. Whereas, restorative practices seek to address the real issues and make students feel more responsible, heard, and supported rather than disconnected or expelled.

How about using rewards and consequences?

Using a list of rewards and consequences in your classroom can help control students’ behaviours and promote compliance. But, these don’t teach students how to engage in productive learning.

Studies indicate that relying on rewards may cause students to become less interested in their tasks over time unless the rewards escalate. Thus, focusing entirely on rewards can diminish motivation (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 2001).

Likewise, utilizing consequences as punishments for student behaviour (for instance, taking things away from students) can elicit negative emotions in students, ultimately hindering the learning process.

However, I’m not saying you should completely refrain from rewarding students and avoid using consequences in your discipline.

The issue lies in how to use them to guide students’ behaviour and support them in learning.

To create a positive and supportive environment, don’t use rewards only for recognizing behaviour or performance, but also as noncontingent reinforcement. Whereas, consequences should be employed as part of a positive behaviour approach.

To learn more about how to use rewards and consequences in your classroom management system, check out these two posts: The Best Classroom Reward Ideas to Motivate Students and Drive Their Success, and Logical Classroom Consequences Teachers Need

So, embracing restorative practices is not just a means to manage classroom disruptions; it’s a commitment to creating a supportive and empowering learning environment where all students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

These practices can also enhance your everyday teaching experience and deepen your connection with the school community. Your journey with restorative practices can be the source of your productivity and well-being.

If you’re looking for strategies for restorative practices in the classroom, check out this post here.

References

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation in education: Reconsidered once again. Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 1–27.

Gregory, A., Clawson, K., Davis, A., & Gerewitz, J. (2016). The promise of restorative practices to transform teacher–student relationships and achieve equity in school discipline. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26(4), 325–353. https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2014.929950