The Promise of Restorative Practices to Transform Teacher-Student Relationships and Achieve Equity in School Discipline

ABSTRACT

Restorative approaches to school discipline are increasingly being implemented throughout the United States in an attempt to reduce reliance on suspension and eradicate the racial discipline gap. Yet, little is known about the experience of students in classrooms utilizing restorative practices (RP). This study draws on student surveys (N = 412) in 29 high school classrooms. Hierarchical linear modeling and regression analyses show that high RP-implementing teachers had more positive relationships with their diverse students. Students perceived them as more respectful and they issued fewer exclusionary discipline referrals compared with low RP implementers. In addition, the findings demonstrate some initial promise of well-implemented RP for narrowing the racial discipline gap. The study found that higher RP implementers issued fewer discipline referrals to Latino and African American students compared with lower RP implementers. The study findings have implications for equity-focused consultation in schools that honor student experience of new programming.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the educators and students who participated in the current research.

Funding

We thank the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Novo Foundation for their grant support of this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anne Gregory

Anne Gregory, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research has focused on the persistent trend that African American adolescents are issued school suspensions and expulsions at higher rates than adolescents from other groups. Her research interests also include teacher professional development and characteristics of restorative communities in schools. Through program development, implementation, and evaluation, she aims to address this trend by strengthening characteristics of teachers, classrooms, and schools associated with the successful schooling of diverse students.

Kathleen Clawson

Kathleen Clawson, MSEd, is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology Program in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research addresses students’ experience of schooling with a focus on how they experience discipline practices.

Alycia Davis

Alycia Davis, PsyM, is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Program at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research addresses preventive interventions for youth at risk for antisocial behaviors, especially in regards to underserved populations.

Jennifer Gerewitz

Jennifer Gerewitz, PsyM, is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology Program in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research addresses interventions that effectively decrease discipline referrals and have the potential to narrow the racial discipline gap.

Note: The authors report that to the best of their knowledge neither they nor their affiliated institutions have financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence or bias the opinions, decisions, or work presented in this article.