What makes restorative justice equitable? “It’s a practice, not a program.”
Journal of Educational Administration
ISSN: 0957-8234
Article publication date: 20 May 2024
Issue publication date: 12 June 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study facilitated restorative coordinators in co-constructing and proposing solutions to common problems in RJ implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used grounded theory to examine barriers to equitable restorative justice (RJ) implementation in the US. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with restorative coordinators, we used a combination of inductive and deductive coding consistent with the grounded theory approach.
Findings
Coordinators distinguished between RJ as a top-down, isolated “program” versus RJ as a collaborative “practice” among all stakeholders. Only the latter was equitable, in their view, and required a consistent principal commitment to building and maintaining an inclusive school culture. Participants recommended that teacher and principal preparation provide opportunities to cultivate critical consciousness and participate in RJ practices.
Originality/value
Existing research on discipline reform tends to focus on outcomes, such as suspension rates. Instead, participants focused on the reform process, viewing equitable RJ as an ongoing “practice” to improve school culture. Our findings also open new discussions about leadership preparation content and pedagogy: participants called for preparation programs to cultivate critical consciousness and facility with RJ. Lastly, the study’s recruitment and focus group design raise important considerations for future RJ research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge Drs Julia Mahfouz, Sondra Stegenga and Rachel Garver for their advice on various drafts of this manuscript. The authors also want to recognize Xiaoye Yang and Gilmarie Vongphakdy for their graduate research assistance.
Citation
Lustick, H., Hakouz, A., Ward-Seidel, A. and Gaias, L. (2024), "What makes restorative justice equitable? “It’s a practice, not a program.”", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 62 No. 4, pp. 403-416. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-05-2023-0122
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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