Implementing Restorative Practices in Schools: Perspectives From Practitioners and Researchers

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Grounded in experiences implementing and evaluating Whole School Restorative Practices (WSRP), this discussion-based session will bridge perspectives between educators and researchers to highlight emerging findings about how contextual and implementation features of WSRP drive practitioner approaches and subsequent outcomes. We will begin with educator accounts of WSRP implementation in one middle school. Next, we will discuss how implementation variation between schools informs educator mindset and practices. To connect practice with subsequent outcomes, we will share results showing that WSRP led to decreases in discipline disparities between black and white students. The final presentation will overview research focusing on carceral logics in educator training. Taken together, we highlight the tensions involved in integrating restorative practices into educator practice and school policy.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 9: Policy Implementation and Going to Scale

Chair

• Miles Davison, NWEA

Papers

• School Leaders’ Perspectives Implementing Whole School Restorative Practices in Middle School: A Case Study - Shawn Davenport, Saint Paul Public Schools; Jim Yang, Saint Paul Public Schools; Kara Beckman, University of Minnesota; Barbara McMorris, University of Minnesota

• An Exploratory Study of Educator Mindset in Relationship to Restorative Practices and Adolescent Development - Kara Beckman, University of Minnesota; Adrianna Bell, University of Minnesota; Barbara McMorris, University of Minnesota

• The effect of Whole School Restorative Practices on Racial Disparities in Disciplinary Outcomes. - Miles Davison, NWEA; Kara Beckman, University of Minnesota; Barbara McMorris, University of Minnesota

• Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of restorative practices as a carceral intervention - Ceema Samimi, University of Minnesota; Kara Beckman, University of Minnesota

Discussant

• Becky McCammon, Restoratively (Y)ours