“Harmonizing Restorative Justice Values, Programmes, and Whole School Culture”

Source: (2006) Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA, Nov 01, 2006.

What is the role of restorative justice in the institutions of civil society? It is a question that restorative justice advocates ought to give great consideration to. The purpose of this thesis is to generate meaningful discussion around the arrangement of policies, practices and program development that collectively form the culture of a school, and how they reflect the values and principles of restorative justice. In examining closely the relationship that exists at the intersection of policy (written or unwritten), practice (formal or informal), and restorative justice values, the overall goal of this study is to better understand what exactly that relationship is, and how it can be strengthened. A case study of a school district using Peacemaker initiatives is presented. Youth Services Workers, teachers and administrators in five secondary schools are interviewed as per their perceptions of the relation between restorative justice and the actual and intended practices of their schools, particularily around conflict situations. The insights gained through this curious look at the disconnect between policy and practice helps to answer in part the question, “What conditions need to exist for restorative justice to be reflected in schools?” (author’s abstract)