In the majority of South African schools, maintaining discipline remains a challenge -- a situation which commands the attention of departmental officials both locally and internationally. When negative disciplinary approaches were prohibited in schools in this country, positive disciplinary measures were recommended in the form of a code of…

The purpose of this study was to understand one type of restorative discipline, collaborative conversations, which uses a structured dialogue process between an adult and a student to address disciplinary incidents. This study presents existing literature on restorative discipline and the benefits of a one-on-one model like the one discussed in…

Prior to 2020, schools across the nation undertook school discipline reform. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Unknown is whether schools remained steadfast in their commitment to restorative practice (RP). The current case study examined student (n = 53-86) and staff surveys (n = 49-62) before and during the pandemic. It also examined the…

Introduction: Learner indiscipline has emerged as a global cause for concern for educators and parents in the 21st century. This study sought to develop a framework for the successful implementation of positive discipline. The study sought to provide answers revolving around the contributing factors towards learner indiscipline, the effects of…

School districts historically approached conflict-resolution from a zero-sum perspective: suspend students seen as disruptive and potentially harm them, or avoid suspensions and harm their classmates. Restorative practices (RP) -- focused on reparation and shared ownership of disciplinary justice -- are designed to avoid this trade-off by…

Background: In recent years, school districts have experienced a complex policy environment with myriad reforms aimed at addressing longstanding and historically entrenched disparities in opportunities and outcomes between racially minoritized students and White students. One such reform is standards-based accountability, with its emphasis on…

This case study follows a district racial equity initiative from policy formulation through implementation, and finally to the review of a high school discipline measure. The initiative had a consistent theme of addressing implicit bias. However, over time, district equity champions expanded the definition of implicit bias beyond its conventional…

This study investigated whether a restorative practice initiative improved school climate. The study presents findings from a cluster randomized, controlled trial conducted with 2,248 students from grades 5 to 12 (38% Black, 32% Hispanic) attending 18 schools in the U.S. Northeast. After 1 year of implementation, the experimental analyses of the…

This study examines the case of one large urban school district's implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to review competing needs and challenges encountered over a four-year period. There are encouraging results supporting the finding of a successful PBIS implementation and plans for continued implementation of…

We report findings from a recent field test assessing the feasibility of training teachers in implementing restorative practices within a multi-tiered approach to supporting student behavior. First, we provide an overview of our training content, training delivery, and follow-up coaching. Second, we present overall outcomes from our field test…

Restorative justice is an alternative disciplinary approach to the traditional, punitive approach to discipline. This case study focused on exploring the implementation of restorative justice discipline practices within a middle school. Participants included students, teachers, and an administrator. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) different…

Restorative Justice Practices (RJP) offer a positive approach to discipline while also providing middle school students opportunities to develop social-emotional skills (conflict resolution and self-management). RJP contrasts sharply with traditional, punitive, zero-tolerance discipline models which perpetuate systemic inequity in schools,…

Schools are increasingly turning towards restorative practices as a pathway to building schools with stronger relationships, justice, and equity. While effectiveness studies are increasing, too little attention is focused on evaluating implementation. This resources is for audiences who evaluate implementation of whole school restorative practices…

Two years after the State of Illinois enacted an extensive non-exclusionary discipline reform in schools, 322 key discipline gatekeepers were surveyed about the extent and impact of the new state policy. The results showed that several core provisions of the reform had not been fully implemented or addressed through professional development.…

Biased-based bullying, a common form of aggression that occurs in schools, targets individuals because of stigmatized identities and characteristics. Because biased-based bullying has adverse impacts on the health and well-being of marginalized students, the management and prevention of biased-based incidents is a priority, but little is known…