Restorative Justice in Everyday Life: Beyond the Formal Ritual.

Abstract

Building upon Braithwaite’s (2002) notions of restorative justice and responsive regulation, this chapter explores the growing concern for regulating safe school communities, so that the needs of all members of the school community are addressed. The chapter touches on the findings of reviews of school violence in the United States, re-integrative shaming theory (Braithwaite 1989; Ahmed, Harris, Braithwaite and Braithwaite 2001) and procedural justice theory (Tyler and Blader 2000), grounding a responsive and restorative approach to regulating safe school communities, as well as best practice models. Central to these theoretical perspectives and the various practical interventions covered in the chapter is a discussion of the importance of shame-management and identity-management for students. Finally, the chapter will develop a regulatory framework within which to place the range of interventions.