Restorative Justice in Schools

Introduction

Discipline remains one of the key expectation in the school environment with school management working hard to ensure that they create effective approaches that would enhance discipline among their students. Traditionally, the majority of the schools have been forced to take up proactive steps towards dealing with cases of indiscipline, which include suspension of students who have been accused of engaging in behaviors that go against the school's code of conduct. In some of the cases, students have been expected to bring their parents to school as a way of trying to create a punitive approach towards dealing with the cases of indiscipline among students. However, most of these approaches have not had the expected levels of success towards improving students' behavior, which has created the need for having to examine the use of restorative justice and its intended impacts on the school system. The focus of this report is to outline the importance of adopting restorative justice as part of the school systems to deal with increased indiscipline cases.

School Discipline: The Traditional Punitive Model

In the traditional school setting, students that do not behave according to the setout principles and guidelines face harsh punishments with the aim of ensuring that they are able to learn from their behaviors. Some of the steps that schools are taking include suspension of the students, expulsion (in severe cases of indiscipline), detentions, and phone calls to parents. All these steps are seen as traditional, as they have been part of the school systems for a long time; thus, creating a situation where it becomes difficult or challenging to determine the real impacts associated with the punitive mode taken up in schools.

According to Hopkins (2002), the adoption of the traditional punitive model towards dealing with cases of indiscipline is seen as failing towards establishing a framework for change considering that students are not accorded a platform through which to learn. The model only seeks to expose students to the same punishments without having to consider the nature of their cases of indiscipline. An example can be seen in instances where students, who engage in a fight or confrontation with another student, be punished by detention with a student who has been involved in cursing at the teacher. The outcome of such punishments is that some of the students tend to believe in the fact that they are not being treated in a fair manner; thus, exposing them to a higher risk of engaging in the same behaviors in future.

The National Center for Education Statistics, which is involved in the process of having to examine statistical data associated with the education system, pointed out that one of the most common forms of punishment has been the use of suspension. That means that one out of every four students within different education institutions has been suspended from school at one point in their life within the institution. Morrison (2013) argues that the idea of using suspension, although may be seen as effective towards dealing with cases of indiscipline, does not envision the idea of change among the students. That means that students tend to believe that the punishments that they receive only act as a key outcome for their engagement in specific behaviors that go against the expectations in the school environment.

Use of Restorative Justice

The method of restorative justice is seen as a key alternative to the continued use of the traditional punitive model, which fails to meet its expected outcomes focusing on dealing with cases of indiscipline. Payne & Welch (2015) describe restorative justice as a critical framework through which to ensure that students are not exposed to the traditional punishments but are given an opportunity through which to learn from their engagement in indiscipline. The use of this type of punitive approach is vital towards dealing with the increasing cases of indiscipline within schools, as it creates some level of participation among the students. The students, who engage in acts contravening the policies and guidelines within the schools are accorded an avenue through which to learn on issues touching on their engagements.

However, a significant number of academic institutions find themselves in a situation where they have not been able to adopt restorative justice, as they do not have a clear understanding of how to implement the same, as well as, do not understand the expected impacts. Consequently, this has created the need for having to examine some of the critical steps that schools may take in their bid towards implementing restorative justice within their school setting with the focus being towards dealing with cases of indiscipline among the students. The first step that the schools may take is having to create an institution that is anchored on shared values among both the students and the school managers. That means that the students would be in a position through which to believe in their need to participate in creating a shared vision that would define their value in the school environment.

Pavelka (2013) points out that schools ought to focus on four main principles in creating a shared vision with their students, which are respect integrity, courage, and humility, each of which is important towards ensuring that the students refrain from actual engagement in acts of indiscipline. That would also mean that the school managers would come up with a clear-cut platform through which to examine the critical roles of each member of the school community with the focus being towards creating a community that every individual would appreciate. The second key step that schools ought to take is highlighting participation in the shared vision as a requirement for every individual, not an option. In some cases, students may consider themselves as not being involved in the shared vision, which may define their engagement in cases of indiscipline. However, the managers within these schools are expected to provide these students with a clear understanding of the fact they have a requirement towards participating in the shared vision.

The last key step that schools may take is having to model and teach community values among the students in which every student would be connected to the vision that has been set out within the school environment. That means that students would find themselves in a better position through which to involve themselves in the process of having to make the institution a better place for all rather than adopting strategic approaches that would result in the need for punishment. From this perspective, it is clear that the overall expectation associated with restorative justice is ensuring that the students understand and believe in their respective roles as part of their engagements within the school environments.

Restorative Justice versus Traditional Discipline

From an advanced perspective, one would be able to create a clear-cut comparison between restorative justice and traditional discipline within the school environments while focusing on its intended impacts with regard to ensuring that students can build on their discipline. However, it is essential to take note of the existing differentiation between these two approaches, which create a significant difference in what is expected in trying to build discipline among the students. Restorative justice emphasizes on the need for students to reflect on the impacts of their actions on others within the school taking into account that this is a single community created through a shared vision (Wearmouth, Mckinney, & Glynn, 2007).

However, in the traditional discipline model, students are not accorded that opportunity of having to view discipline as a public expectation but are expected to view discipline from an individual perspective. In most cases, this creates a platform for failure considering that it only seeks to build on further acts of rebellion among the students considering that they find themselves in a situation where they expect to prove that they are better. The emphasis on restorative justice has been driven by the fact that it allows the students to feel like part of a community that they are required to nourish in everything that they do (Wearmouth, Mckinney, & Glynn, 2007). Additionally, this also creates a platform through which students can weigh in on the impacts of their actions as a way of ensuring that they understand the importance of having to change their behaviors to match expectations from the school management.

Effects of Restorative Justice on Students’ Behavior

The adoption of restorative justice is expected to have a crucial impact on the behaviors among students, especially in ensuring that students understand the importance of having to follow set out rules and regulations within the school environments. One key effect of having to adopt restorative justice for the students is that it helps in ensuring that students can learn from their behaviors rather than having to place most emphasis on punishments (Morrison, 2013). Students are able to learn that their engagement in specific behaviors acts as a source of disruption for them while in the community setting. Additionally, this will also ensure that the students can connect to the general possibility that their engagement in negative behaviors acts as a key challenge for others in trying to create a shared vision.

Payne & Welch (2015) build on the understanding that the adoption of restorative justice is much more likely to create the need for students to change their behaviors for the better with the aim of trying to establish a fundamental framework through which to impact others positively. Another key effect that restorative justice would have on students' behaviors is that it will help them understand the importance of having to consider all factors when making decisions. That means that students would be in a better position through which to weigh the critical aspects of the choices that they make. The ultimate impact is that the number of students engaging in cases of indiscipline would reduce at a significant rate. Additionally, this would also mean that the students would find themselves in a position where they can apologize if they engage in actions that go against public expectations.

Restorative Justice as a Discipline Approach

The adoption of restorative justice is seen as a key alternative for the traditional punitive model, as this type of approach is much more likely to have a higher level of success. That means that students would be in a rather effective platform through which to learn more about their actions with the sole intention of having to avoid the same in future. Additionally, this will also play a critical role in reducing the need for schools to expel or suspend their students due to the issue of indiscipline. That would arise from the fact that these students would be accorded a platform through which to learn from their mistakes or negative behaviors while taking into account the impacts that this is having on other students. Generally, this would mean that restorative justice is a key framework through which to maximize the overall learning process among students.

Conclusion

In summary, discipline remains as one of the key expectation in the school environment. In the traditional school setting, students that do not behave according to the setout principles and guidelines face harsh punishments with the aim of ensuring that they are able to learn from their behaviors. An example can be seen from cases where students, who engage in a fight or confrontation with another student, be punished by detention with a student, who has been involved in cursing at the teacher. The use of restorative justice is seen as a key alternative to the continued use of the traditional punitive model. Restorative justice emphasizes the need for students to reflect on the impacts of their actions on others within the school. The adoption of restorative justice is expected to have a key influence on the behaviors among students.

References

Hopkins, B. (2002). Restorative justice in schools.  Support for Learning ,  17 (3), 144-149.

Morrison, B. (2013). Restorative justice in schools. In  New directions in restorative justice  (pp. 50-76). Willan.

Pavelka, S. (2013). Practices and policies for implementing restorative justice within schools.  The prevention researcher ,  20 (1), 15-18.

Payne, A. A., & Welch, K. (2015). Restorative justice in schools: The influence of race on restorative discipline.  Youth & Society ,  47 (4), 539-564.

Wearmouth, J., Mckinney, R., & Glynn, T. (2007). Restorative justice in schools: A New Zealand example.  Educational Research ,  49 (1), 37-49.