Teachers of Color Implementing Restorative Justice Practices in Elementary Classrooms: A DisCrit Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: School Discipline, Educational Fugitivity, and Restorative Practices (Table 22)

Abstract

This presentation provides case studies of two elementary school teachers of color who enact restorative justice practices in their classrooms including students of color with disabilities. Although the literature on the positive effects of restorative justice practices has been well documented for general education classrooms, less is known about how restorative justice interacts with disability justice and accounts for disability and difference. This study explores these gaps and how two teachers of color envisioned and enacted restorative justice practices. Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) illuminates how teachers of color navigate structural racism and ableism through restorative justice practices in their classrooms. The study concludes with recommendations for building networks and communities to resist institutional barriers to implementation.

Authors

• Saili S. Kulkarni, San Jose State University

• Melanie Chong, Vanderbilt University