The Promise of Restorative Practices to Transform Teacher-Student Relationships and Achieve Equity in School Discipline

TLDR

Restorative approaches to school discipline are being adopted nationwide to curb suspensions and close the racial discipline gap, yet student experiences with these practices remain largely undocumented. The study surveyed 412 students across 29 high‑school classrooms to assess the impact of restorative practice implementation. Teachers with high restorative practice implementation reported stronger, more respectful relationships with diverse students and issued fewer exclusionary referrals, particularly reducing discipline incidents for Latino and African American students, indicating early promise for narrowing the racial discipline gap.

Abstract

Restorative approaches to school discipline are increasingly being implemented throughout the United States in an attempt to reduce reliance on suspension and eradicate the racial discipline gap. Yet, little is known about the experience of students in classrooms utilizing restorative practices (RP). This study draws on student surveys (N = 412) in 29 high school classrooms. Hierarchical linear modeling and regression analyses show that high RP-implementing teachers had more positive relationships with their diverse students. Students perceived them as more respectful and they issued fewer exclusionary discipline referrals compared with low RP implementers. In addition, the findings demonstrate some initial promise of well-implemented RP for narrowing the racial discipline gap. The study found that higher RP implementers issued fewer discipline referrals to Latino and African American students compared with lower RP implementers. The study findings have implications for equity-focused consultation in schools that honor student experience of new programming.