What’s good for the student is good for the teachers. Restorative Practice (RP) is an educational approach that focuses on the importance of relationships. Many schools that use this approach apply it to students only, however research shows it is most beneficial when the whole school community is involved.
Monash Adjunct Associate Professor Kristin Elaine Reimer shares why RP is more impactful for students and teachers and even parents when they all play a part.
What is Restorative Practice?
Restorative Practice (RP) is an approach to education that starts with the premise that our relationships – to one another, ourselves, the planet, and ideas – are central. RP helps us handle the complexities of relationships in schools as we constantly build, evolve, and repair our connections.
In many schools, RP is seen as an integral part of the culture. For example, Fairholme College describes RP as “just the way that we do things,” emphasising that relationships are at the heart of all educational activities.
RP can be used proactively to ensure that every voice in the classroom is heard, allowing students to learn about one another’s lives, dreams and struggles. RP can also serve as a responsive role when conflict or harm arises, as a way to repair relationships and address the root causes of issues. This approach contrasts sharply with traditional disciplinary responses.
Despite its benefits, RP is often applied primarily to student interactions – addressing student conflict, improving student relationships, and managing student behaviour. However, RP is most impactful when embraced as a whole school approach as Kristin Elaine Reimer shares in this article.
What’s in it for all school staff?
If RP is valuable for students, wouldn’t it also be valuable for the adults in school communities?
Just like students, adults in schools also: have a wide assortment of relationships; sometimes act in ways that are life-affirming and sometimes in ways that are destructive; and engage in both minor and major conflicts.
Research shows that the ‘kids do a better job of it than we do’ when it comes to RP. The teachers in one study expressed a need to work on their personal relational and restorative capacities for their own health and so as to not appear hypocritical to their students.
The benefits of Restorative Practice for the whole school community
When RP is practiced in a whole school approach, the evidence shows that the impact is widespread. Studies have found that the school climate improves as does student and staff perceptions of their wellness.
When all members of a school community are asked to share their ideas and feel that they are seen and valued, they can engage constructively and the school community as a whole is more robust.
When all members of a school community know that there are processes in place to deal with conflict and harm in a real way, they are more likely to address issues and seek to find solutions and ways forward.
CASE STUDY: Restorative Practice in action at Balaklava High School
RP can look very different from school to school. In 2024, I visited Balaklava High School in South Australia.
Balaklava HS began its restorative journey in 2019. Sonia Pringle, principal from 2019-2023, recalls the daily fights and weekly visits from police officers in 2019. She says that students and staff did not feel safe.
After attending a workshop on RP, Sonia asked for help, recognising that something different needed to be done to address the school culture at the time. Over the next few years, Balaklava HS began to train all their staff, their students and families on restorative principles and practices. The culture did not change overnight, but by 2022 suspensions, expulsions and incidents of violence had reduced dramatically; students and staff were noticeably more relaxed; and student enrolments were increasing alongside the public perception of the school.
An important initial focus was on the staff rather than the students. The leadership team at Balaklava worked intentionally to support teachers in building connections with one another, running circles in staff meetings. They noted how empowering it was for staff to develop their own restorative capacity to support themselves and students. Some of the restorative concepts also helped teachers to understand their own emotions and responses – as well as those of their students and families.
Lucy Thiel, Assistant Principal and Head of Middle School (2015-2024) reflected “It’s changed me as a person and I believe that’s happened for a lot of staff here. So although it’s had a great impact on this town and this community, personally, I’ve seen a lot of growth within myself.”
Sustainability of Restorative Practice at Balaklava High School
An approach such as RP can only have a widespread impact if there is an intentional and thoughtful implementation plan. At Balaklava, the leadership team recognised the need to focus not only on one part of their school community but on everyone.
- The team arranged for training sessions for all staff, built staff relationships and engaged restorative practices in staff meetings and adult interactions.
- Students transitioning into Balaklava were trained in restorative principles; all students encountered ‘circle time’ and other RP approaches in their classrooms and if conflict or harm arose.
- Families and community groups were invited to RP information nights as well as individually introduced to restorative ways of handling conflict.
- Yearly training continues at Balaklava for new staff, students and families, and as a way to refresh practices and policies.
Conclusion
RP is at its most powerful when viewed as an approach that should impact all of us – in how we relate to one another, ourselves, and the world. If it’s good enough for students, it’s good for us all.
This project was supported by the NED Foundation and Monash University's Advancing Women's Research Success Grant.
References / Resources
Aquino, E., Wadhwa, A., & Manchester, H. B. (2021). The Little Book of Youth Engagement in Restorative Justice: Intergenerational Partnerships for Just and Equitable Schools. Simon and Schuster.
Brown, M. A. (2018). Creating restorative schools: Setting schools up to succeed. Living Justice Press.
Evans, K.R. & Vaandering, D. (2022). The little book of restorative justice in education: Fostering responsibility, healing, and hope in schools: Revised and updated. Good Books.
Gregory, A. & Evans, K.R. (2020). The starts and stumbles of Restorative Justice Education: Where do we go from here? National Education Policy Center.
Reimer, K. (2019). “The kids do a better job of it than we do”: A Canadian case study of teachers addressing the hypocritical application of restorative justice in their school. The Australian Educational Researcher, 46(1), 59-73.
Reimer, K.E. & Parker-Shandal, C. (2023). Restorative justice in education. In G. Noblit (Ed.). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1828
