Why Restorative Practices Benefit All Students
Punitive discipline can be harmful and unfair鈥攔estorative practices offer hopeful solutions.
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Did you know that a significant percentage of the achievement gap between students of color and white students is caused by punitive discipline? African American and Latino children are much more likely to face school suspension and expulsion鈥攅ven for the same behaviors鈥攖han white students.
As a response to this inequitable school model of punitive discipline measures, restorative practices are growing in schools across the nation.
I asked Brian H. Smith, Ph.D., a research scientist with the , to share his perspectives on the current status and future directions of discipline in schools.
贰顿鲍罢翱笔滨础:听What is the current status of the discipline system and such practices as zero tolerance?
DR. BRIAN SMITH: Suspension and expulsion disrupt students鈥� learning and erode their connection to school. More than that, however, recent research conducted by sociologists Brea Perry and Edward Morris shows that exclusionary discipline also harms the 鈥渁cademic achievement of non-suspended students鈥� (American Sociological Review, December 2014,聽vol. 79,聽no. 6,聽1067-1087).
Suspension rates increased dramatically in the 1990s as schools embraced zero-tolerance discipline policies. But these are approaches that criminalize misbehavior without reducing it. This kind of punitive discipline is a failed strategy that harms the education of millions of students, especially the most disadvantaged.
贰顿鲍罢翱笔滨础:听Why do you think these practices persist?
DR. BRIAN SMITH:聽Part of the value of research is it helps us question and test things that seem obvious but might not be true. Removing students when they are struggling to behave can appear successful because students don鈥檛 cause difficulties in school if they鈥檙e not there. But this new research clearly shows the longer-term negative effects of this punitive approach, particularly on students of color who particularly need strong connections to school and who often face multiple challenges to school success.
贰顿鲍罢翱笔滨础:听There has been a growing emphasis recently on preventive and restorative approaches.聽What are they and how do they work best?
DR. BRIAN SMITH: We鈥檝e only recently begun to understand how childhood stress and adversity powerfully affect development and impair students鈥� ability to behave and learn in school. We also increasingly understand the importance for all children, especially those who struggle, of having supportive school environments where they feel accepted. Research shows it is effective to provide clear expectations for behavior, teach skills needed to succeed in the school environment, and respond to problems with strategies to strengthen connections and relationships, rather than push students away.
Schools seeking to create a positive school community and respond in an effective way when problems do arise are increasingly turning to restorative practices. According to the , 鈥淭he aim of restorative practices is to develop community and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm and building relationships.鈥�
Restorative practices strengthen students鈥� connections to both staff and other students, and that鈥檚 why restorative practices support both prevention and response. Focusing on positive connections and support contributes to a positive school climate. Repairing harm and restoring relationships after transgressions helps keep students connected to a positive school community.聽
贰顿鲍罢翱笔滨础:听How do these practices relate to social-emotional and character development?
DR. BRIAN SMITH:聽These approaches fulfill two key character education principles: providing students with opportunities for moral action and creating a caring school community.
Clear expectations, fair consequences, and restorative conversations and agreements only work when students have self-regulation, emotion knowledge, and social skills鈥攃ompetencies taught through social-emotional learning (SEL). Social-emotional competence prepares and supports all children for the intellectual and interpersonal challenges of the formal school environment.聽
Restorative practices that build positive school climate and healthy relationships depend on the foundation provided by SEL: students鈥� abilities to take other鈥檚 perspectives, be aware of their own thoughts and feelings, communicate effectively, and solve problems.