Restorative or Carceral: School Leaders’ Discipline Equity Logics

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Restorative Discipline Policy and Practice: Dismantling Carceral Schooling (Table 7)

Abstract

The proliferation of restorative justice in schools has signaled reimagining school discipline, away from carceral logics and toward community building. Yet, disparities persist. The field must understand how school leaders understand carceral and restorative logics in their schools. We conducted a sequential mixed methods analysis of student suspension by race and examined how principals described school climate restorative practices within their school. Black students in schools with a principal who reported the use of Restorative Justice had a lower risk of suspension compared to those without. Principals often understood carceral logics as operating within and against restorative practices. Our merged analysis indicated although administrators handled discipline often, their work was influenced by community members who reverted to carceral logics.

Authors

• Rebecca A. Cruz, Johns Hopkins University

• Olivia Marcucci, Johns Hopkins University

• Mercedes Alicea, Johns Hopkins University

• Alexander Parker, Johns Hopkins University

• Eric P. Rice, Johns Hopkins University