In a majority of learning institutions, suspensions are practices that are implemented to punish students that engage in unacceptable behavior. Although the suspensions focus on punishing the students and enabling them to work on their behavior, the results impact the normal learning process, thus becoming a primary issue in the education system.
The primary purpose of the study is to determine the role of restorative practices in reducing students' suspension. The study will analyze the significant practice that may enable the students to focus more on education and those that will help in promoting good behavior that improves learning processes. Considering that students are key players in the learning process, the study will focus on understanding various aspects that contribute to increased suspensions among the students (Kline, 2016). The study will analyze the impact of restorative practices in reducing rates of suspension and determine how the practices help to promote efficiency in the learning process. The implementation of proper research methodology will help to obtain viable information relating to the impact of restorative behavior among the students. The study will focus more on the qualitative data, as it helps to describe the role of restorative practices in reducing student's suspension and ultimately improving on the learning process.
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The study on restorative practices is vital in the educational field as it helps to provide solutions and recommendations for a wide range of existing problems in the learning institutions. Although there have been previous studies regarding the topic, there is insufficient information relating to how the restorative practices could help in reducing student's suspension. In that case, this study will be significant as it will provide detailed information concerning how the practices may help reduce suspension cases among the students. Firstly, the study will provide insights on the best practices that should be implemented in the school environments to reduce cases of the suspension and to improve on the process of learning (Gregory et al., 2016). Secondly, the study will be significant to the students as it will act as a guide to maintain the acceptable behaviors in a bid to reduce facing suspensions. The study will be beneficial to all major stakeholders in the learning process as it helps to create a better learning environment by focusing on bettering the behavior of the students and reducing suspension rates.
What are some of the restorative practices that can be used in a school environment?
What is the role of restorative practices in the life of a student?
What are the main factors that contribute to increased students’ suspension in the learning institutions?
How can restorative practice reduce students' suspension?
What are the relationship between restorative practices, the behavior of the students, and the learning outcomes?
The main limitation faced in the study is the time frame required to complete the study and to obtain the required and relevant information. Considering the nature of the study and the key variables, it is important to take note of the issue of time to ensure that the study is effective and complete. The research may experience a major challenge in ensuring that the time planned is enough to obtain the necessary information that is necessary to draw major conclusions in the study. The time frame may be limited considering that the researcher will focus on analyzing the implementation of restorative practices in different schools and the impact on reducing students' suspension. The aspect of time is important to ensure proper implementation of study methods that reach the selected participants in a study.
Another delimitation for this study is the data collection procedures considering that the number of students to be involved in this study will be significant. Data collection presents a significant limitation considering that the researcher is only limited to a few data collection methods, such as focus groups and questionnaires. However, the most appropriate data collection method for this study would be an online survey, which would guarantee an expansive data collection approach. The challenge is that most of the students are limited in their use of the internet, which means that the use of this method is not possible. Therefore, the researcher may need to evaluate the possible data collection methods to determine which of them is most appropriate for this study.
The following are some of the definitions that are to be considered in this study:
Restorative Practices : Restorative practices focus on a shift in the relationship between teachers and students focused on reducing the involvement of students in punishments (Armour, 2015). Instead, they create an environment in which teachers and students can be involved in dialogue as a way of trying to understand why students engage in specific behaviors.
Learning Outcomes : Learning outcomes refer to the expectations for students after the end of a specific period. In this case, the student learning outcome is to ensure that they understand that their involvement in erratic behaviors may most likely lead to their suspension.
Change management : Change management refers to the collective approaches associated with the preparation, support, and help involved in effecting change (Todnem By, 2005). In this case, the change management process reflects more on establishing a framework in which students affect change in their behaviors that would help them avoid possible instances of suspension.
This study is built up Ronald Lippitt’s Seven-Step Change Theory. Lippitt believes that effective change can only occur if it follows the seven steps in the change theory to ensure that the change remains permanent (Hayes, 2018). The seven steps reflect on a planned change model that goes beyond examining the problem at hand towards ensuring that the change adopted remains proactive in achieving specific objectives. Lippitt defines the importance of each step in the change process arguing that they each create value for those involved in the change as a way of ensuring that they embrace change. The use of this theory as part of this study examines the change from the perspective of restorative practices used as part of the learning environment. The objective is to determine the extent to which these practices reflect on the seven-step change process to determine their effectiveness in promoting change in student behavior.
Lippitt expands Kurt Lewin’s three-step theory with the focus being on the idea of highlighting the roles and responsibilities of the change agent in ensuring that the change process is successful (Burnes, 2009). What is most notable, in this change theory, is that information is continuously exchanged with the view being that this would guarantee success in promoting efficacy in the management of the outcomes associated with the change process. In this study, information on restorative practices will be exchanged among those involved in using these practices among students. The objective is to determine the significance of these practices among students with the view being that this will determine how they determine change (Augustine et al., 2018). The theory will consider students as key change agents that must be involved in determining behavioral change to determine success in suspension reduction. Without including the students, it becomes much harder to manage the expected changes in behavior and may lead to notable outcomes resulting from a lack of desire to change.
References
Armour, M. (2015). Restorative practices: Righting the wrongs of exclusionary school discipline. U. Rich. L. Rev. , 50 , 999.
Augustine, C. H., Engberg, J., Grimm, G. E., Lee, E., Wang, L., Christianson, K., & Joseph, A. (2018). Restorative practices help reduce student suspensions . https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/RB10000/RB10051/RAND_RB10051.pdf
Burnes, B. (2009). Managing change: A strategic approach to organizational dynamics . Pearson Education.
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.
Hayes, J. (2018). The theory and practice of change management . Palgrave.
Kline, D. M. S. (2016). Can restorative practices help to reduce disparities in school discipline data? A review of the literature. Multicultural Perspectives , 18 (2), 97-102.
Todnem By, R. (2005). Organizational change management: A critical review. Journal of change management , 5 (4), 369-380.
