Abstract
When discussing tools in antiracist school counseling, one cannot bypass the power and utility of restorative practice. Restorative practice and school counseling fit like a hand and glove with theoretical and practical alignment. This chapter draws heavily on the literature to inform its contents, providing a representation of restorative practices in education with an emphasis on school counseling. Restorative practice is a tool for schools to utilize as an alternative approach to punitive and exclusionary discipline. In this chapter, the authors provide an historical context of retributive discipline, tracing it to present-day practices and manifestations, including the disproportionate harm it brings to students of color and other students from historically underrepresented groups. Restorative practice offers a culturally affirming option for all stakeholders in a school community. This chapter explores the definition, implementation, and skills needed to move restorative practice from theory to practice.
TopBackground
According to the Schott Foundation for Public Education (2014, p. 2), “Restorative practices are processes that proactively build healthy relationships and a sense of community to prevent and address conflict and wrongdoing.” In fact, the word restore means “to give back (someone or something that was taken) … to return (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing it …” (Restore, 2021, para. 1). Fittingly, restorative practices seek to bridge the gap and restore the relationship between the persons who caused harm and the persons and community who were harmed.
Within restorative practice, there is an emphasis on reorganizing conventional school discipline by moving from retribution to relationships by repairing the harm between individuals and communities to promote healing. This proactive approach to inevitable tensions and equitable, responsive approach to conflict and wrongdoing can have a positive impact on all students, staff, and stakeholders (Zehr, 2015). Restorative practices create an actionable pathway for individuals who have committed wrongdoing to take responsibility for their actions by addressing the individuals and community harmed. The process of taking responsibility requires the following: (a) empathy and perspective-taking in understanding how the behavior impacted others; (b) acknowledgment that the behavior was harmful to others; (c) taking action to right the wrong; and (d) making changes to avoid future harms (Schott Foundation for Public Education, 2014).
Restorative practice lives at the intersection of behavior and discipline and people, relationships, and community. There is no longer a divisive need to choose between paths, those who are right and those who are wrong, those who are good and those who are bad, and those who punish and those who are punishable. Individuals can engage with one another to move forward together.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Punitive Discipline: Disciplinary actions meant to punish an offender and reduce the probability of a recurrence of the negative behavior.
Zero-Tolerance Policy: School discipline policies and practices that have predetermined punitive and exclusionary consequences.
School-to-Prison Pipeline: A phenomenon where students receive retributive and exclusionary discipline that creates a pathway to the justice system.
Restorative Practice: Processes that proactively focus on preventing harm and being responsive when harm occurs, particularly regarding relationships and community.
Social Emotional Learning: Processes for students to learn, integrate, and embody social skills and emotional competencies to develop healthy relationships with themselves and others.
Restorative Justice: A rehabilitative response (reconciliation) to offenders after harm that stems from a worldview that considers misconduct a relational harm done to people and/or communities.
Retributive Discipline: Contrary to rehabilitation, this form of discipline seeks to punish offenders and deliver consequences that correspond to the offense.