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Principles of Restorative Practice

The principles of restorative practices flow from the principles of restorative justice:

  1. Victims and/or the community have been harmed and are in need of restoration.
    • The primary victims are those most directly affected by the offense. Others such as family members of both the victims and offenders, and members of the affected community, are also victims. The relationships affected by the offense must be addressed. Restoration is a continuum of responses to the range of needs and harms experienced by the victims, offenders, and the community.
  2. Victims, offenders and the affected communities are the key stakeholders.
    • The restorative process maximizes the input and participation of the parties, especially the victims as well as the offender(s), in seeking restoration, healing, responsibility, and prevention. The roles of each person will vary according to the nature of the offense as well as the capacities and preferences of the individuals. The jurisdiction in which the offense has occurred (town, county, state, etc.) may have a mandated role, such as investigating facts, facilitating processes and ensuring safety, but the jurisdiction is not a primary victim.
  3. The offender has an obligation to make things right as much as possible.
    • The primary obligation is to the victim(s). The restorative process empowers the victim(s) to participate in defining the obligation. The offender is provided with opportunities and encouragement to understand the harm he or she has caused and to develop a plan for taking appropriate responsibility. To assist the offender in seeing this as an obligation, voluntary participation is promoted and coercion and exclusion are minimized. However, an offender may be required to accept the obligation if they do not do so voluntarily. Any obligation that follows from the harm inflicted by the offense must be related to making things right. While the obligation may be experienced as difficult by the offender, it must not be intended as painful, vengeance, or revenge. Obligation to the victim(s) must take priority over other sanctions or obligations to the school or the jurisdiction. The offender also has an obligation to himself or herself, to be an active participant in addressing his or her own needs.

(Adapted from Zehr & Mika, 1998)

The principles in the following sections reflect the values and concepts for implementing restorative practices in the school setting. Listed under each principle are some of its important implications.

Relationships

Relationships are central to building community. To achieve the benefits of restorative practices in the classroom:

  • Considerable effort and time is spent on building and sustaining positive, trusting relationships among all members of the school community.
  • Every student, teacher, administrator, staff member, and parent/guardian must be treated as and be seen to be a valued member of the school community.
  • All members of the school community are involved in a process of naming the values and principles to live by within their school community.

This requires that all voices are valued and everyone is heard, ensuring equity of voice among all members of the community. To accomplish this:

  • Systems and structures are established to ensure that all members of the school community have equal opportunities for meaningful participation.
  • A culture of non-judgmental, authentic listening and sharing is encouraged and reinforced.
  • Inclusive decision-making practices are utilized to ensure that those impacted by decisions have a voice in the process by providing opportunities for input. Once decisions are made, the reason for the decision and new expectations are clearly communicated.
  • Negotiation and cooperation are key components towards building a collaborative classroom and school environment.

Expectations

School leaders and classroom teachers establish a culture of high expectations with high support. Emphasis is on doing things “with” students and community members, not “to” or “for”. Educators support high standards and expectations for both learning and behavior in the school and classroom community. They offer high levels of support to create positive change.

Everyone in the school community has the expectation that school systems will address misbehavior in a constructive way. The school builds systems that address misbehavior and harm in a way that strengthens relationships and focuses on the harm done rather than only on rule-breaking:

  • Schools establish policies to provide a safe place for learning. Real safety however comes from fostering and maintaining caring relationships.
  • Misbehavior is recognized as an offense against people and relationships, not just a violation of rules.
  • Policies need to address the root causes of discipline concerns rather than only the symptoms. The causes of misbehavior may be multiple and should be addressed by all members of the school community equally asserting high levels of expectation within a supportive environment.
  • The person(s) harmed is the center of the primary relationship that needs to be addressed. Secondary relationships that may have been impacted might include other students, teachers, parents, the administration, and the surrounding community.

These steps are visible and known to all, creating the expectations of fairness, justice, obligation and restoration.

Collaboration and Accountability

The school engages in collaborative problem solving:

  • There is a shared responsibility and participation among all members of the school community in contributing to the sustainability of positive relationships. This is achieved by working together to identify potential problems and determine solutions.
  • Misbehavior can become a teachable moment and the community/relationships can be restored when all of those impacted or harmed by an incident are involved in a collaborative process. The process is designed to determine unmet needs and the solutions required to make things as right as possible.
  • The process recognizes all people act to satisfy human needs (e.g., belonging, freedom, power, and fun). Behaviors are chosen to meet these underlying needs.

Restorative practices enhance accountability and responsibility, and empower change and growth when conducted in a collaborative environment.

  • All members of the school community are responsible for contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a positive school culture by taking personal responsibility to follow through and hold one another accountable to the collective values and principles that define the community.
  • Conflict presents opportunity for change if the process includes careful listening, reflecting, shared problem solving and trust.
  • High accountability occurs when systems and structures are in place that allow for one to take responsibility for their actions by providing them the opportunity to learn and understand the impact of their actions, determine how to make things as right as possible, AND follow through with the plan.
  • Consequences as part of the restorative process should be evaluated based on whether they are reasonable, related to the offense, and respectful.
  • Some students choose to resist participation in a process that will allow for change and may need adults to support and guide them in decision making concerning their accountability.

(Adapted from Amstutz & Mullet, 2005; Wachtel & Costello, 2009).