Restorative Justice in Schools

Source: (2002) Newsletter of the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice. 3(2):3.

Belinda Hopkins writes in this article that restorative justice in schools brings an entirely new approach to offending behavior even as it does in the criminal justice system. In contrast to a retributive approach, restorative justice focuses on who has been harmed and on what those involved can do to repair the harm. She argues that at the very least school personnel need to know more about restorative justice principles and practices. At the same time, she goes further to advocate for restorative justice as a whole school approach to relationships, teaching, and learning. To present the outlines of this comprehensive perspective, she sketches a typology of restorative and relational justice in the entire school setting.