A Case Study Examining the Restorative Justice Practices Implemented in Three California High Schools PDF Download

Author: Michael K. Zulfa
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Restorative justice
Languages : en
Pages : 133

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Book Description
This qualitative study uses a multiple case study research design to examine the implementation and development of restorative justice (RJ) practices currently adopted by three high schools in California. Interviews were held at each of three participating public high school sites with the principal, an administrator in charge of student discipline, and a school counselor. Documentation, such as office referrals, and archival records were analyzed as part of the data collection process. The participating high schools are all located in California and have enrollments between 1,600 and 2,000 students. Each of the schools adopted RJ programs to address student misbehavior in place of traditional exclusionary practices, suspension and expulsion. This study highlighted the use of mediation, peace circles, and Behavioral Support Centers as the most popular, and most effective, RJ strategies. Students referred to RJ programs were perceived by the participants to exhibit improved behavioral decision making and lower levels of recidivism than students experiencing the punitive discipline programs in place prior to RJ. This study also identified the resource commitment required for RJ to succeed. The investment in both time and money required for the implementation of RJ is significant. Community involvement in the process of RJ was not found to be an essential component of the program at any of the three schools. Data was analyzed through a process of coding and a cross-case synthesis was developed.

Author: Oladapo Adekunle Ariyo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : California
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Despite widespread acknowledgment about the viability of alternative behavioral interventions in our urban high schools across the nation, there is scarcity in research studies that specifically examine the impact of restorative justice practices on school climate. This mixed method study used a case study research design to examine the impact on school climate of the implementation of a restorative justice (RJ) practice in an urban high school in the State of California. Data were collected using interviews, survey, district documents and school site archival documents. Triangulation of data from these sources was used to validate the research findings. The high school chosen, California City High School (CCHS), a pseudonym, was a public high school located in a southeastern neighborhood of a large metropolitan city in southern California. District documents indicated that the school was in its third year of RJ implementation having completed the training necessary to facilitate the shift from traditional approaches of behavior management to a RJ approach, making this school a good fit for the study. This study highlighted the use of restorative circles and community building, and positive behavior support as the most pragmatic and effective RJ practices in the CCHS school environment. Students who have undergone restorative circles, and community building mediations, are perceived by teachers and administrator as exhibiting improved behavioral decision-making, and lower levels of recidivism when compared to similar age students before implementation of restorative circles. The school district's disciplinary data of 2007 through 2014 showed a marked decline in both instructional days lost to suspension and suspension rate following the implementation of restorative justice practices. Problems encountered during implementation at this school site involved inadequate and inconsistent training methodologies, time constraints for implementation, metrics for rating implementation success, and staff's attitude to change. This study would have benefited from the inclusion of data from additional schools and from parent and student interviews. The inclusion of additional schools would have enabled the analysis of staff perceptions at the school level. Hence, future studies should employ data from a larger number of schools to cross-validate the current findings. Some limitations should be noted when drawing conclusions from this research. The study examined staff and teacher survey and discipline referrals during three years of RJ implementation at CCHS. However, I did not have outsider observers to verify quality of RJ implementation, which many consider the "gold standard" for measuring fidelity of implementation. Also given CCHS has only been implementing its RJ program across a 3-year period, this study may not have captured the full effect of RJ implementation on school climate. Similar to most of the school climate research, this study was neither longitudinal nor experimental. This is a problem for the research because causal inferences are not possible. Future studies examining causal relationships with interventions or a longitudinal design are clearly warranted. A longitudinal design would also account for the fact that school climate perception is not static. It potentially changes and evolves during different points in the school year (e.g., proximity to holiday periods or examination periods) and corresponding with different events at the school (e.g., administrative changes or the introduction of a new initiative). Hence, longitudinal designs should be adopted in future research, as they would account for the impermanency of school climate perception.

Author: Kristin E. Reimer
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1641135069
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
Restorative justice (RJ) is an idea whose time may have finally arrived. Although the concept has ancient roots and the term has existed in Western societies since the 1970s, only recently has it gained general public recognition. In schools, RJ’s popularity is rising world-wide. In fact, education is the fastest growing area for the practice of RJ. Despite an increasing number of schools embracing the approach, it is not clear what educational RJ practitioners are trying to achieve. Adult Intentions, Student Perceptions: How Restorative Justice is Used in Schools to Control and to Engage focuses on the use of RJ in one school in Scotland and one in Canada. While important to understand the intentions of educators in using RJ in schools, those aims must be examined alongside the actual impact that such practices have on students. RJ can be understood and experienced in dramatically different ways by those implementing it. For some, RJ is about creating an environment of and for student engagement that challenges traditional systems of discipline and facilitates learning. For others, RJ is simply another tool for solidifying compliance and meting out punishment, albeit in a kinder, gentler way. Adult Intentions, Student Perceptions provides the opportunity to delve deeply into the stories of two schools and the adults and young people who inhabit them, and consider the broad impact that differing educator understandings of RJ have on students. Adult Intentions, Student Perceptions is a timely book for RJ advocates and critics alike. It challenges a common assumption of some RJ advocates that implementing RJ necessarily creates a classroom environment of social engagement (where students are empowered to engage with one another and think critically, and school relationships and hierarchies are transformed). The student experience relayed in this book shows that RJ can as readily be mobilized to create classroom environments of social control (where students are taught obedience and compliance, and authority and hierarchy are reinforced). Reimer argues that RJ, by itself, does not guarantee certain qualities of relationship, but RJ does allow us to examine relational qualities and ask questions of how school relationships are used to engage and/or control students.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
The concept of integrating restorative justice into schools is an idea that is gaining in popularity and implementation attempts. Many institutions are turning to this approach when their traditional discipline policies are seen as failing, or in response to external legislative pressure. However not all programs with the words "restorative justice" in them are created equal, and not all such programs can be said to result in "restorativeness." In this dissertation, two sequential phases of attempted implementation of restorative justice elements were examined, in three alternative education high-schools. Both theoretical and practical outcomes were assessed. The first effort mainly consisted of an in-school-suspension classroom and a staff-student mediation process, as well as a new school posture and training. The second effort consisted of minor modifications to the staff-student mediation process, and attempted skills and ethos training in basic restorative practices, including affective statements, restorative questions, and circles. Four years of data on suspensions and suspensions incidents were collected and analyzed, as well as three years' worth of staff and student surveys, and a sample from two consecutive years of discipline referral forms used in a staff-student mediation process. The data was then analyzed using a combination of ARIMA modeling for time series data, ANOVA, and T-Tests. The findings provide some mixed support for both phases of intervention but more strongly for the second phase, including an observed reduction in suspensions and suspension incidents--but not a hoped for improvement in teacher-student relationships. Further, a process change in the language of the main discipline referral form used in the staff-student mediation process provides some insight into the power of language to impact engagement in the process. Specifically, the form was changed to include a set of restorative questions instead of the previous set of questions, which coincided with greater engagement on the part of staff and students. These and several more nuanced results are discussed in relation to the theoretical ideals of restorative justice or restorative practices in a school setting, and where the efforts went well or could have been improved. Future directions for research and implementation efforts are highlighted

Author: Margaret Thorsborne
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351704052
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description
Outlines the techniques to learn and apply when planning and facilitating school conferences. This book contains key documents such as preparation checklist, conference script, typical agreement, evaluation sheet and case studies. It includes guidance on: analysing school practice; deciding whether to hold a conference; and preparing a conference.

Author: Maisha T. Winn
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
ISBN: 1682531848
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Restorative justice represents “a paradigm shift in the way Americans conceptualize and administer punishment,” says author Maisha T. Winn, from a focus on crime to a focus on harm, including the needs of both those who were harmed and those who caused it. Her book, Justice on Both Sides, provides an urgently needed, comprehensive account of the value of restorative justice and how contemporary schools can implement effective practices to address inequalities associated with race, class, and gender. Winn, a restorative justice practitioner and scholar, draws on her extensive experience as a coach to school leaders and teachers to show how indispensable restorative justice is in understanding and addressing the educational needs of students, particularly disadvantaged youth. Justice on Both Sides makes a major contribution by demonstrating how this actually works in schools and how it can be integrated into a range of educational settings. It also emphasizes how language and labeling must be addressed in any fruitful restorative effort. Ultimately, Winn makes the case for restorative justice as a crucial answer, at least in part, to the unequal practices and opportunities in American schools.

Author: Lori Gattuso
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education, Secondary
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
Improving student behavior is one of the most significant challenges schools face today. In an effort to improve student behavior and reduce suspension rates, many schools are adopting less punitive discipline programs based on the Restorative Justice principles that were established in the criminal justice system. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of Restorative Justice in decreasing the number of suspensions in an alternative education high school setting. The study examined the total number of full and partial day, off-campus suspensions between students who attending an alternative education high school during the 2011–2012 academic year when a Restorative Justice program was not in place and the students who attended an alternative high school during the 2014–2015 academic year when a Restorative Justice program was in place. The hypotheses stated there would not be a significant difference in the reduction of full or partial day, off-campus suspensions. Through statistical analysis, this researcher discovered that the results of t-tests for independent samples indicated that there was a significant difference in the number of full days (p

Author: Elmar G. M. Weitekamp
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1903240735
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
" ... Moves beyond a focus on restorative justice for juveniles to a broader concern with the application of restorative justice in such areas as corporate crime, family violence and the application of restorative justice in cases of extreme violent crimes. The contexts examined are drawn from Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan."--Back cover

Author: Kristen Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780438372733
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
School discipline in K-12 public schools in the U.S. is an ongoing topic of concern and disagreement. Restorative Justice is defined as a process of addressing harm that involves the victim and offender, as well as community stakeholders collectively resolving harmful actions by enhancing accountability, increasing empathy and invoking and inclusionary, reparative focus (Guckenberg, Hurley, Persson, Fronius, & Petrosino, 2016). The Dochas School District, one of the largest districts in Southern California, is currently implementing Restorative Justice as its main form of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support district-wide in an attempt to remedy the harmful effects of zero tolerance that have disproportionately impacted youth of color and youth with disabilities. This qualitative case study explored teacher understandings of Restorative Justice at one school site in the Dochas School District by examining the perspectives of teachers who are positioned as street level bureaucrats (Lipsky, 2010). Sensemaking theory (Weick, 1995) was used to uncover teacher understandings of the policy implementation process. Evidence from this study indicates a gap between the district's intended implementation of Restorative Justice and teacher understandings of the discipline approach due to three reasons. Inadequate access to resources were reported in the form of a lack of training and support from RJ experts. Interviews revealed increased demand for services due to the perceived additional mandates placed upon teachers in the Restorative Justice policy. Vague and conflicting demands were also reported through confusion about teacher expectations regarding this new policy. Using sensemaking theory when creating future Restorative Justice trainings would increase teacher buy-in and aide in the paradigm shift necessary for the successful implementation of RJ in school districts.

Author: Jesus Marron (Jr.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 666

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Book Description
This qualitative study examines the implementation of Assembly Bill 1729 in four high schools in the Silicon Valley. The study assesses the impact of this bill in reducing the suspension disparity amongst African American and Latino students in the four high schools. The study was guided by the following four research questions: Is there a pattern of disparity between high schools regarding the impact of AB1729 on student suspensions, expulsions, and academic performance? What are former adult high student's perceptions of their high school experience with school discipline? What are high school teachers' perceptions regarding the impact of AB1729 on their classroom experiences with student discipline and school safety? What are school site administrators' perceptions of AB1729 and the impact on their leadership practices on student discipline and maintaining a safe school? The researcher used Critical Race Theory, General Systems Theory and Multiple Ethical Paradigm as the main theoretical frameworks in examining the study. The three theories were used through out the study, as there were three participant sample groups, which involved former high school students, teachers and school site administrators. Due to the findings of the participant interviews the data was framed into mediating themes and meta themes, this further provided a chain of evidence that formed a model of six frames under the concepts, of Culture and Pedagogy. Marron's Circularity of Culture Interdependency Model was framed as a codependent framework that is necessary in order for schools to be effective. The study revealed through Critical Race Theory that attitudinal, ideological, individual and institutional racism hinder our schools and educators. As the study exposed that African American and Latino students are still disproportionally suspended more then other student groups. Special education students are still blatantly suspended in schools. Moreover, the study revealed that Title-one schools suspend more students then non-Title 1 schools. This outcome reaffirms that schools continue to discipline students who need the most assistance. The researcher concludes with making recommendations. For example, professional development and education in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, where teachers and school site administrators need to cultivate a culturally diverse knowledge of the students and community they serve. In addition, schools need to implement and practice culturally relevant instructional and curriculum. School site leaders and teachers need to practice data driven decision making when addressing issues. School site leaders and teachers need to practice strategic planning in order to understand data more profoundly in addressing student and school concerns.