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Driven by a zero tolerance discipline philosophy, exclusionary school discipline (suspensions and expulsions) disproportionately impacts students of color and other vulnerable students, increasing their risk for involvement in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Restorative practices (RPs) are formal and informal processes that are used to proactively build relationships and community, as well as reactively address harm and rebuild relationships after conflict occurs. In formal mediations, the facilitated RP process brings together everyone involved or harmed by a conflict. All parties have a voice in sharing their perspective about what happened and then deciding what needs to be done to repair harm and rebuild relationships. Emerging research suggests that school-based RPs can improve school climate and reduce reliance on exclusionary discipline practices. Scholars and advocates have also argued that RPs are one way to reduce racial disparities in school discipline. This study is a systematic review of school-based RP studies, examining characteristics of samples involved, methods utilized, and discipline outcomes reported.
Methods:
A team of five researchers conducted a systematic review of studies involving RPs in schools. The review involved 4 phases: (1) A comprehensive search of relevant databases (e.g., PsycINFO, ERIC, Social Service Abstracts) was conducted using search terms focused on educational settings and topics; grey literature was incorporated through web searching and personal correspondence. (2) Researcher pairs screened titles and abstracts for initial inclusion based on selection criteria (study conducted in US, conducted in K-12 schools, quantitative empirical study, exclusionary discipline as an outcome). (3) Full text of included articles were screened by researcher pairs using the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. (4) Researcher pairs then extracted and coded data from included studies for methodological characteristics, participant demographics, and school discipline outcomes.
Results:
The comprehensive literature search resulted in 2,525 potential studies to include; 13 studies were screened into the sample and coded. Studies of school-based RPs were most frequently conducted with samples including students of color and low-income students. The most common study design was a case study that examined outcomes of a specific grade, school, or program using a pretest-posttest single subject design. Data sources included school records and survey instruments. Improvements in discipline outcomes included reductions in suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement.
Conclusion:
This systematic review is the first to synthesize the empirical findings of RP studies in school settings. The results indicate that RPs are a promising approach to address exclusionary school discipline practices that disproportionately affects students of color. However, the state of empirical evidence about RPs is quite limited and does not yet meet high standards of research quality. In particular, commonly used pre- and post- test designs have low internal validity. Social work scholars should consider evaluating implementation and effectiveness of RP using more rigorous designs, such as random control trials and matched comparison group approaches. Social workers, both in practice and in research, should work toward greater utilization of RP in order to achieve equal opportunity and access for all students while documenting its impacts.