During adolescence, many students engage in maladaptive behaviors that may reflect a lack of knowledge in social-emotional skills. Oftentimes these behaviors lead to conflicts and school-related disciplinary actions. Therefore, conflict resolution skills are vital for academic and social success. Conflict resolution is one component of a…

Many school leaders with decision-making authority over discipline have been historically traditional in their approach to misbehavior with the default consequences involving classroom removals and the wide-spread use of zero-tolerance policies (Skiba et al., 2014; Skiba, 2015). Unintended negative consequences have emerged as a result of these…

Schools across the United States exercise an exclusionary practice that involves the removal of a student from the academic setting, as a consequence for minor to severe infractions to the code of conduct. Research on exclusionary practices has shown that students who are frequently suspended are more susceptible to developing negative perceptions…

Some educational systems have been making a transformation in practices from punitive discipline practices to restorative justice practices. School systems have been using a zero-tolerance policy, which has shown a negative effect on students with disabilities and low-income students of color (Waggoner, 2018). Even more specifically, these same…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Restorative Justice Practices (RJ/RP) strategies being implemented at one urban elementary school that were shown to be highly effective in reducing suspensions and discipline infractions, and isolate key factors critical to the implementation of this approach. In this qualitative embedded case…

Many public urban K-12 schools are in neighborhoods that struggle with systemic social injustices that include poverty, racism, violence, and lack of meaningful opportunities. These realities threaten students' success in school and contribute to injustices in the school system, such as disproportionality in discipline for students of color. In…

Mounting public concern about a school-to-prison pipeline has put schools and districts under increasing pressure to reduce their use of suspensions, expulsions and arrests. Many are turning to restorative justice practices (RJP) as a promising alternative for addressing school discipline and improving school climate. However, implementing RJP in…

This study explored restorative justice arising in the context of an academic high school course in which students learned restorative justice principles and strategies. Given that the literature provided limited guidance of restorative justice in this context, these novel circumstances presented a unique opportunity for study. The central…