Teaching Restorative Justice in Preservice Teacher Education: Pathways for Healing and Mitigating Violence in Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: From Empathy to Action: Emotional, Restorative, and Creative Pathways in Teacher Preparation

Abstract

This study explores how restorative justice in education (RJE) can be integrated into preservice teacher education programs to facilitate healing and mitigate violence in schools. Through a duoethnographic inquiry grounded in critical race theory, two professors of color reflect on teaching RJE courses at two Canadian universities in southern Ontario. The study highlights how RJE pedagogies support relational accountability, trauma-informed learning, and cultural responsiveness—while facing resistance, misinterpretation, and systemic constraints. It proposes a three-phase framework—relationship-building, conflict engagement, and educator activism—for applying RJE in higher education. Findings emphasize RJE’s potential to equip future educators with tools for healing, harm mitigation, and systemic transformation in schools and communities, moving beyond punitive paradigms to foster inclusive and peace-oriented educational spaces.

Authors

• Ardavan Eizadirad, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Crystena Parker-Shandal, University of Waterloo