Research Paper: Restorative Justice
farra004
Article
The Effect of School Conditions on the Use of Restorative Justice in Schools
Allison Ann Payne 1
and Kelly Welch 1
Abstract Previous research has demonstrated beneficial outcomes of using restorative justice techniques, rather than traditional punitive approaches, in response to student misbehavior. As with the use of restorative justice in criminal justice contexts, restorative discipline shifts the focus from punish- ment and isolation to reconciliation and reintegration. Although the use of restorative justice techniques has decreased student delinquency, resulted in better academic outcomes, and improved school climate, many schools today continue to implement punitive practices to control student behavior. The current research uses data from a nationally representative sample of schools to examine school conditions that influence the use of restorative responses to violence and mis- behavior. Identifying the characteristics of a school that affect the likelihood that specific restorative justice techniques will be implemented can reveal opportunities for diminishing disparities, improving outcomes for students, and reducing the odds that students will subsequently become involved in the juvenile justice system.
Keywords restorative justice, school discipline, student violence
Student discipline in American schools has grown increasingly harsh, as evidenced by the greater
use of exclusionary punishments like expulsion and suspension, despite clear indications that student
delinquency, violence, and victimization have been declining (Gregory, Bell, & Pollock, 2014;
Kupchik & Monahan, 2006; Payne & Welch, 2010; Skiba & Rausch, 2006; Welch & Payne,
2010). The use of exclusionary discipline in K–12 public schools increased sharply from the early
1970s to the early 2000s, at which time it grew more gradually. Although the last few years have
seen these increases level off, the rates of expulsion and suspension are still remarkably high. The
most recent statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that in the 2011–
2012 school year, of the 49 million students enrolled in public schools, an astounding 3.5 million
students were suspended in school, another 3.5 million students were suspended out of school, and
1 Department of Sociology and Criminology, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Allison Ann Payne, Department of Sociology and Criminology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova,
PA 19085, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 2018, Vol. 16(2) 224-240 ª The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1541204016681414 journals.sagepub.com/home/yvj
130,000 were expelled (U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, 2014). Much of this
exclusionary discipline (in fact, nearly 30,000 of the expulsions in the 2011–2012 academic year)
has been the result of government-mandated zero tolerance policies that were developed in the wake
of high-profile school-based offenses (U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, 2014).
Thus, zero tolerance policies that suspend or expel students for the possession of contraband like
guns, drugs, knives, and even some prescription medications, as well as for certain behaviors, may
be partially responsible for expanding school punitiveness (Beger, 2002).
Schools are now responding to student violations—even minor ones—as if they are criminal
infractions, with various punishments and banishments that can be likened to those experienced in
the criminal justice system (Giroux, 2003; Kupchik & Monahan, 2006). The negative consequences
of exclusionary responses to misbehavior can be harmful in a number of ways. Students who
experience punitive discipline are more likely to experience poor school performance, grade reten-
tion, negative attitudes toward schools, and dropping out (Gardella, 2015; Skiba & Rausch, 2006).
Their graduation rates are lower and subsequent professional opportunities are limited (Lasnover,
2015; Vincent & Tobin, 2011). These students are also more likely to engage in physical fighting,
weapon-carrying, smoking, alcohol and drug use, and other delinquent acts (Lasnover, 2015;
Nichols, 2004; Skiba & Rausch, 2006), and ultimately more likely to end up in the school-to-
prison pipeline and eventually experience punishment by the juvenile and/or criminal justice system
(Fabelo et al., 2011; Wald & Losen, 2003). Regardless of school-based misbehavior, research shows
that these effects are even more pronounced for Black and Hispanic students in schools with
proportionally more minority students (Beger, 2002; Gregory & Weinstein, 2008; Welch & Payne,
2012). Statistics show that Black and Hispanic students are much more likely than White students to
receive every type of discipline—from minor office referrals to suspension and expulsions—for the
same or lesser offenses (Anyon et al., 2014; Gregory & Weinstein, 2008; Schollenberger, 2015; U.S.
Department of Education, 2013). And minority students are less likely to receive mild disciplinary
alternatives than White students (Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002). Thus, punitive and
exclusionary discipline not only fails to reduce school violence and misbehavior, but it may actually
increase the frequency and intensity of these incidents.
Alternately, research has shown many promising outcomes in schools that use a restorative
justice rather than punitive approach to student violations, including reduced recidivism and higher
academic achievement (Gardella, 2015; Morrison & Vaandering, 2012). Yet, very little is known
about what influences the implementation of a restorative disciplinary framework and under what
conditions it is most likely to be applied. Given the substantial positive opportunity that restorative
justice may represent for both students and schools, this information could be critically valuable.
This study is the first to examine how various school structural factors, student and faculty charac-
teristics, and community traits affect the likelihood that a restorative justice approach, which can
include restitution, peer mediation, community service, and student conferences, will be adopted.
Restorative Justice in Schools
Given these negative consequences for both students and schools, it is clear that schools need to
reconsider their responses to student misbehavior. Restorative justice approaches have been iden-
tified by many as a successful alternative to punitive discipline (Gardella, 2015; Morrison &
Vaandering, 2012; Payne & Welch, 2015; Skiba &Rausch, 2006; Stinchcomb, Bazemore, & Ries-
tenberg, 2006). Restorative justice is rooted in the practices of many premodern native cultures of
the South Pacific and Americas, as well as the community-based Mennonite initiatives that emerged
in Canada in the early 1970s (Morrison & Vaandering, 2012). Originally used in the criminal justice
system, restorative practices strive to repair the harm caused by an offense while preventing further
offenses from occurring, generally through reconciliation conferences involving offenders, victims,
Payne and Welch 225
and community members (Karp & Frank, 2015; Sherman, 2003). As opposed to student exclusion,
restorative approaches focus on relationships, shifting from the objectives of punishment and iso-
lation to reconciliation and community. Restorative practices were first implemented in schools in
Australia in the early 1990s, and in fact, some proponents argue that restorative justice is best
applied to the school context because of the structure of these institutions, where community
members see each other day after day and situations can turn dangerous if not adequately addressed
(Gonzalez, 2012; Morrison, Blood, & Thorsborne, 2005; Morrison & Vaandering, 2012). Within the
United States, schools in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Min-
nesota, Missouri, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut are currently using restorative
practices (Schiff, 2013). However, complete information is unknown, as many district and school
data systems do not track restorative justice efforts (Hurley, Guckenburg, Persson, Fronius, &
Petrosino, 2015).
The underlying thesis of restorative practices is that ‘‘human beings are happier, more coopera-
tive and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in
positions of authority do things with them, rather than to or for them’’ (Watchel et al., 2010, p.
156). Ultimately, humans are focused on relationships and are far more successful in environments
of social engagement rather than social control (Morrison, 2011). Thus, the goal of restorative justice
is to build positive emotions, such as empathy and excitement, and rid the community of negative
emotions, such as anger and humiliation. This is in contrast to a more punitive orientation, in which
the goal is fact building and punishment (Gardella, 2015). A restorative approach to discipline is
more responsive to the needs of the school community, by focusing on restitution, resolution, and
reconciliation: ‘‘Through restitution the harm is repaired; through resolution the community reduces
the risk of the harm reoccurring; through reconciliation comes emotional healing’’ (Morrison &
Vaandering, 2012, p. 140).
Zehr (2002), often considered the ‘‘grandfather’’ of restorative justice in schools (Morrison,
2011), suggests that this approach ‘‘moves school discipline away from ‘offend, suspend, and
reoffend’ by instead engaging in dialogue that helps people to understand why the incident occurred,
how to resolve the conflict, and teach alternatives to violence and aggression’’ (p. 5). Within the
restorative justice model, student misbehavior is viewed as a violation of a relationship, either
between the offender and a victim or between the offender and the overall school community
(Drewey, 2004; Gonzalez, 2012). In order to restore the harm caused, the offending student and
those individuals whose trust was violated must reconcile, thereby mending this relationship
(Gardella, 2015; Pavelka, 2013). The importance of building and maintaining positive relationships
among all members of the school community is continually stressed; community members will
adhere to school rules and norms so as to avoid violating these valued relationships (Hendry, 2009;
Riestenberg, 2013). Importantly, rather than punishing students for wrongdoings, a restorative
justice approach works with these students, helping them understand how their behavior impacts
others (McClusky et al., 2008).
Lockhart, Zammit, Charboneau, Owens, & Ross (2005) identified five key objectives of
restorative practices. The first objective is for the school community to understand the injury that
occurred and express empathy for both the person harmed and the person who harmed. This is
followed by the community listening and responding to the needs of both the harmed and the
harmer. Next, accountability and responsibility through both personal reflection and collaboration
is encouraged. Once responsibility and remorse are expressed, the harmer, and the harmed if
needed, is reintegrated into the community. The last two objectives are more focused on the macro
level: Caring and supportive school communities should be created and issues in the educational
system that may contribute to harm should be identified and addressed. As these objectives
demonstrate, the ultimate benefit of restorative justice is that it is strong on both accountability
and support (Morrison & Vaandering, 2012).
226 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2)
Specific techniques that exemplify restorative goals include restorative circles, in which all
members take turns speaking and listening in a safe environment; student conferences that
include those who are harmed and those who have done the harming; and peer mediation, which
allows students to guide other students through a restorative process. All of these practices allow
for the victim, offender, and members of the school community to understand the harm that
occurred, focus on what is needed to address this harm, accept accountability and take respon-
sibility, and reintegrate all parties back into the school community. These techniques often lead to
solutions such as restitution, which requires the offending student to repay the school or a victim
for damages or injury done, or community service, which allows students to simultaneously
repair the harm done to the community while observing the negative consequences of this harm
(Pavelka, 2013; Morrison & Vaandering, 2012). Restorative practices are generally preferred by
students over the traditional sanctions of detention, suspension, and expulsion and have had high
satisfaction rates among all school community members (Drewey, 2004; Fields, 2003; Karp &
Frank, 2015).
Research since the initial implementation has illustrated the effectiveness of restorative
approaches as a response to student misbehavior (Gregory et al., 2014; Karp & Frank, 2015; Schiff,
2013). Schools that use these practices have experienced a decrease in the use of suspensions and
expulsions (Campbell, McCord, Chapman, & Wilson, 2013; Gregory et al., 2014; McClusky et al.,
2008; Schiff, 2013; Sumnet et al., 2010). Students in these schools experience fewer disciplinary
infractions and office referrals (Gregory et al., 2014; Rideout, Roland, Salinitri, & Frey, 2010;
Schiff, 2013) and demonstrate lower levels of misbehavior and deviance (Penny, 2015; Rideout,
Roland, Salinitri, & Frey, 2010). These students also experience fewer incidents of victimization,
including bullying victimization (Morrison, 2007), and display a decrease in absenteeism (Rideout,
Roland, Salinitri, & Frey, 2010) and an increase in academic achievement (Rideout, Roland,
Salinitri, & Frey, 2010; Schiff, 2013).
Several studies have found these results remain strong across different racial and ethnic student
groups (Gregory et al., 2014), which is an important finding, given the well-established disparities in
school discipline (Payne & Welch, 2015). This research also indicates that morale and climate in
these schools improve as a result of these restorative approaches (Campbell et al., 2013; McClusky
et al., 2008; Sumner, Silverman, & Frampton, 2010). Students report more positive relationships
with their teachers and perceive them as more respectful and supportive (Gregory et al., 2014). Thus,
creating a ‘‘humanistic school culture focused on restoration and student engagement’’ shows
enormous potential as an alternative to the current state of punitive discipline (Rideout, Roland,
Salinitri, & Frey, 2010, p. 35) and would likely reduce school-based violence.
The Current Study
Identifying the influences on whether and in what ways restorative justice is implemented in
schools would be valuable, as it would allow for schools and communities to promote the struc-
tural conditions that will be most supportive of this beneficial approach to addressing delinquency
and violence in schools. Yet, surprisingly few studies have examined the factors that affect the
implementation of school-based restorative justice, and none that explore the effects of school
structure, student and faculty characteristics, and community traits. This study endeavors to
address this deficit.
Using a nationally representative sample of schools, the current research examines the possible
effects of several school characteristics. We first assess the effect of exogenous school structural
conditions on individual restorative practices and techniques often used within a restorative justice
framework with the following hypotheses:
Payne and Welch 227
Hypothesis 1: School structure affects the use of restitution, peer mediation, community
service, and student conferences.
Hypothesis 2: School structure affects the use of an overall restorative justice approach to
discipline.
Next, we test whether student and faculty characteristics affect schools’ use of restorative prac-
tices and overall disciplinary orientation:
Hypothesis 3: Student and faculty characteristics affect the use of restitution, peer mediation,
community service, and student conferences.
Hypothesis 4: Student and faculty characteristics affect the use of an overall restorative justice
approach to discipline.
Finally, we examine the extent to which community traits influence the implementation of
restorative school discipline:
Hypothesis 5: Community traits affect the use of restitution, peer mediation, community
service, and student conferences.
Hypothesis 6: Community traits affect the use of an overall restorative justice approach to
discipline.
Method
Data and Sample
The National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools (Gottfredson et al., 2000) was intended to
describe existing school-based prevention programs and practices and to examine factors related to
successful implementation of these programs and practices. It also provided national estimates of the
amount of crime and violence occurring in and around schools. The study was designed to describe
schools in the United States as well as characterize schools by level and location. A nationally
representative probability sample of 1,287 public, private, and Catholic schools, stratified by location
(urban, suburban, and rural) and level (elementary, middle, and high) was drawn from a mailing list
maintained by Market Data Retrieval, a commercial mailing list vendor which compiles and maintains
the most comprehensive list of schools available. The first survey was administered to school princi-
pals in 1997; 848 schools (66.3%) responded. A second survey, containing different questions from those asked in the first survey, was administered to these principals in 1998; 635 schools (74.9% of the 848) responded. Questionnaires were also administered to students and teachers in middle and high
schools in 1998; 310 schools (55.6% of the 558 secondary schools involved in Phase 2) participated in the student survey and 403 schools (72.2%) participated in the teacher survey.
When we examined the correlations between school and community characteristics and survey
participation, we found that schools located in small towns or rural areas were more likely to have
participated. Schools were less likely to have participated if they were located in communities with
more female-headed households with children, a larger urban population, and more households that
received public assistance. The implications of the low response rates and the nonrandom attrition
from the study are addressed in the Discussion section.
Certain categories of schools are excluded from these analyses. Elementary schools are not
included, because the student and teacher surveys were only administered in secondary schools.
Alternative schools for disruptive students are also excluded, because these schools include a large
number of outliers on several of variables of interest. Finally, private and religious schools are not
included because disciplinary policies and norms in public schools vary widely from these schools;
228 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2)
thus, assessing private and religious schools would require different analyses. In addition, past
discipline research focuses almost solely on public schools, leading this study to fit better within
established empirical frameworks. The final sample includes 263 public, nonalternative secondary
schools. Therefore, the results of this study are most applicable to the nation’s public, secondary,
nonalternative schools.
Measures
The measures and scales used in this study are described below and descriptive statistics are
provided in Table 1.
Dependent variables. Four specific restorative justice practices are operationalized with questions from the second principal survey regarding the use of restitution, peer mediation, community
service, and student conferences. Each question asks principals whether their schools use the par-
ticular practice, beginning with the following introduction: ‘‘Different schools make use of different
responses to student misconduct. Following is a list of possible responses to student misconduct
school administrators might use. Please indicate if your school uses these responses.’’ Possible
answers to the questions are ‘‘not used,’’ ‘‘used,’’ and ‘‘used often.’’ After an examination of
frequency distributions, these variables were collapsed into binary measures to allow for more
meaningful categories (Bernard, 2000). We split the variables peer mediation, restitution, and
community service according to whether they were ‘‘used’’ (¼1, which includes the responses ‘‘used often’’ and ‘‘used’’) or ‘‘not used’’ (¼0). Because the frequency distribution indicated that all schools used student conferences, this variable was split according to whether it was ‘‘used often’’
(¼1) or ‘‘not used often’’ (¼0). In addition, we created a Restorative Justice Approach Scale by producing a weighted factor score based on these four variables.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Study Measures.
Measure Mean SD Range a N
Restorative justice measures Student conference 0.72 0.45 0.00–1.00 .69
a 261
Peer mediation 0.61 0.49 0.00–1.00 .66a 215 Restitution 0.95 0.22 0.00–1.00 .66
a 241
Community service 0.58 0.50 0.00–1.00 .67a 245 Restorative justice approach 0.00 1.00 �2.79 to 3.03 .61 258
Structural predictors Grade level 0.35 0.48 0.00–1.00 — 263 School size (natural log) 6.50 0.64 4.57–8.41 — 263 Number of different students taught 88.34 14.57 24.64–120.00 — 258 Percent Black students 13.52 22.45 0.00–99.70 — 263 Percent Hispanic students 10.29 18.73 0.00–98.11 — 263 Percent male students 39.11 7.08 25.00–96.80 — 243 Percent free/reduced-price lunch 33.26 26.08 0.00–100.00 — 222 Percent Black teachers 6.93 15.60 0.00–90.60 — 258 Percent Hispanic teachers 4.45 10.17 0.00–93.60 — 258 Percent female teachers 65.45 12.45 31.30–92.00 — 258 Concentrated disadvantage �0.14 0.66 �1.20 to 3.00 — 252 Urbanicity �0.19 0.95 �2.13 to 2.39 — 252
Control variable School crime 0.00 1.00 �2.67 to 2.78 .54 220
a This value represents the individual variable loading on the Restorative Justice Approach factor score.
Payne and Welch 229
Independent variables. Going beyond what previous research has explored, we examine 12 school- level structural factors that are possible predictors of the use of restorative justice discipline. Grade
level is a binary variable indicating whether the school is a middle/junior high school (¼0) or a vocational/senior high school (¼1) and is included because of the possibility that restorative disci- pline is used more often in a particular level of school. School size is included to examine whether
the size of the student body influences the use of restorative discipline. This variable measures
principal reports of the number of students enrolled in the school from the first principal question-
naire. These principal reports were compared with data from the Common Core of Data and Market
Data Retrieval. We used the natural log of the enrollment to reduce skewness. Number of different
students taught is calculated from a question in the teacher questionnaire and is included in order to
examine whether the use of restorative discipline is dependent upon the number of students each
faculty member teaches. Teachers were asked to report how many different students they taught
within an average week; responses were ‘‘Fewer than 35,’’ ‘‘35 to 70,’’ ‘‘71 to 100,’’ and ‘‘More than
100.’’ Responses were then coded as follows: ‘‘Fewer than 35’’ was coded as 17.5, ‘‘35 to 70’’ was
coded as 52.5, ‘‘71 to 100’’ was coded as 85.5, and ‘‘More than 100’’ was coded as 120.
Several compositional traits of the student- and faculty bodies were also included in these
analyses, because past research has found they have some significant impact on school discipline.
Percent Black students is based on data from the Common Core of Data from the National Center for
Education Statistics. Percent Hispanic students and percent male students are aggregated from
responses to the student questionnaire. Percent students receiving free/reduced-price lunch is an
item from the first principal questionnaire. To describe the faculty, percent Black teachers and
percent female teachers are aggregated from responses to the teacher questionnaire.
Finally, characteristics of the surrounding community were examined, because communities
may influence how schools address student violence and misbehavior. Concentrated Disadvan-
tage is a factor score based on measures obtained from the 1990 Census for the zip code areas in
which the school is located. The following census variables are established components of the
factor: welfare (the average household public assistance income), female-headed household
(the rate of single females with children under 18 to married couples with children under 18),
median income (the proportion of households with income below $27,499), poverty (rate of
persons below the 1.24 poverty level to persons above), divorce rate (the rate of persons over
15 years who are married to those who are separated, divorced, or have a spouse absent), and male
and female unemployment (proportion of unemployed males/females in the labor force). In
addition, Urbanicity is a factor score based on 1990 Census data for the school’s zip code area
and includes population size (total population), urban level (city-level type), and urbanicity
(the proportion of people living within an urban area).
Control variable. In addition to the structural predictors examined in these analyses, we include a measure of the crime and victimization occurring in schools, because it seems reasonable to expect
that the nature of school delinquency and violence may influence schools’ approaches to discipline.
School Crime is an index based on a factor analysis of three scales. The first scale, teacher victi-
mization, is measured by 8 items from the teacher questionnaire counting the number of different
crimes or acts of incivility experienced by the teacher at school during the current school year.
Student victimization is measured by 7 items from the student questionnaire counting the number of
different crimes, ranging from thefts to physical attacks, experienced by the student at school during
the current school year. Finally, student delinquency is measured by four delinquency items from the
student questionnaire counting the number of different crimes and acts of violence committed by the
student in school during the current school year, including hitting or threatening to hit a student or
teacher, damaging or destroying property, and stealing or trying to steal something at school. For all
three scales, a school’s score is the mean across respondents of the proportion of items endorsed.
230 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2)
Analytical Strategy
Means and standard deviations were calculated and are reported in Table 1. Then, the distributional
characteristics of the measures to be included in the study were examined. Concentrated Disadvan-
tage and Urbanicity were trimmed to address three extreme outliers and resulting skewness. Due to
the dichotomous nature of the individual restorative justice items, four sets of binary logistic
regression models were estimated; each binary restorative justice outcome was regressed on all the
structural predictors as well as the School Crime control variable. In each analysis, the Hosmer and
Lemeshow w2 test examines the overall fit of the model; well-fitting models result in nonsignificant w2, indicating that the estimated model does not differ significantly from the observed values. Additionally, the Wald w2 test determines the significance of individual parameter estimates.
Finally, an ordinary least squares regression model was estimated in which the Restorative
Justice Approach factor score was regressed on all structural predictors as well as the School Crime
control variable. Tolerance values and variance inflation factors (VIFs) were examined to test for
multicollinearity. No tolerance values were smaller than 0.1, and no VIFs were larger than 2.5; thus,
multicollinearity is not an apparent problem (Freund & Little, 2000). In this model, the R 2
shows the
amount of variance in the Restorative Justice Approach Scale that is explained by the predictors and
the F statistic determines the overall fit of the model.
Results
The results of the four binary logistic regression models for the four individual restorative justice
outcomes is presented in Table 2. The use of restitution is significantly predicted by the number of
different students taught (b ¼ –.102, p < .05). The odds ratio of this parameter estimate shows that for each additional student taught, the odds of a school using restitution (vs. not using restitution) as
a response to student misbehavior decreases by a factor of .903. Percent Black students is also a
significant predictor (b ¼ –.080, p < .05) of the use of restitution by schools. The odds ratio of this parameter estimate shows that for each 1% increase in the percentage of black students, the odds of a school using restitution decreases by a factor of .923. The Hosmer and Lemeshow test suggests that
the model provides a good fit to the data.
The use of peer mediation is also significantly predicted by the number of different students
taught (b ¼ .051, p < .01), although in the positive direction. The odds ratio of this parameter estimate shows that for each additional student taught, the odds of a school using peer mediation in
response to student misbehavior (vs. not using peer mediation) increases by a factor of 1.053. School
size also increases the use of peer mediation (b ¼ .866, p < .05); the odds ratio shows that a one-unit increase in the natural log of student enrollment increases peer mediation use by a factor of 2.377.
By contrast, the variables percent students receiving free/reduced-price lunch and percent Hispanic
students are negatively related to the use of peer mediation (b ¼ –.022 and –.035, p < .05, respec- tively). For each 1% increase in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, the odds ratio shows the use of peer mediation decreases by a factor of .978. Similarly, for each 1% increase in the percentage of Hispanic students, the odds ratio shows the use of peer mediation
decreases by a factor of .935. Again, the Hosmer and Lemeshow test suggests that the model
provides a good fit to the data.
The use of community service as a response to misbehavior is significantly predicted by percent
Black students (b ¼ –.035, p < .05); the odds ratio of this parameter estimate shows that for each 1% increase in the percentage of black students, the odds of a school using community service as a response to student misbehavior (vs. not using community service) decreases by a factor of .966.
The use of community service is also significantly predicted by the amount of School Crime
(b ¼ .462, p < .05); the odds ratio shows that for each unit increase, community service use
Payne and Welch 231
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232
increases by a factor of 1.587. As before, the Hosmer and Lemeshow test shows that the model
provides a good fit to the data.
Finally, the use of student conference is predicted by percent students receiving free/reduced-price
lunch (b¼–.027, p < .05). The odds ratio of this parameter estimate shows that the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches decreases the odds of a school using student conferences often in
response to student misbehavior (vs. not using them often) by a factor of .973. As with the other three
models, the Hosmer and Lemeshow test indicates that the model provides a good fit to the data.
The results of the ordinary least squares regression model in which the Restorative Justice
Approach Scale are regressed on the structural predictors and the control variables are shown in
Table 3. As with several of the models assessing the influences on individual restorative justice
techniques, percent Black students, percent Hispanic students, and percent students receiving free/
reduced-price lunch are significantly predictive of the scale representing Restorative Justice
Approach, such that schools with greater percentages of black students, Hispanic students, and
students who receive free or reduced-price lunches are less likely to respond to student misbehavior
with an overall restorative justice framework for addressing harm (b ¼ –.400, p < .01; b ¼ –.322, p < .05; and b ¼ –.380, p < .01, respectively). In fact, the b values indicate that these three characteristics contribute substantially to whether restorative justice is used by schools. The R
2 in this model
demonstrates that 24.5% of the variance in the use of restorative justice practices is explained by the structural predictors and the F statistic indicates a good fit to the data.
Discussion
Previous research has demonstrated the considerable benefits of using a restorative justice frame-
work to address corrosive and harmful behaviors as well as direct and indirect victimizations in a
number of social settings, including juvenile and criminal justice systems and educational institu-
tions. In recognition of this, the current study used a nationally representative sample of schools to
Table 3. Ordinary Least Squares Regression Results for Restorative Justice Approach Scale on School Structural Characteristics.
Coefficients b SE b
Constant �1.406 1.597 Grade level �.201 0.225 �.088 School size (natural log) .291 0.167 .174 Number of different students taught �.002 0.007 �.025 Percent Black students �.019** 0.007 �.400 Percent Hispanic students �.018* 0.008 �.322 Percent male students .017 0.013 .105 Percent students free/reduced-price lunch �.015** 0.005 �.380 Percent female teachers .001 0.007 .013 Percent Black teachers .015 0.009 .209 Concentrated disadvantage .279 0.176 .181 Urbanicity .080 0.107 .074 School crime .152 0.089 .148 Model summary
R2 .245 Adjusted R2 .172 F statistic 3.365***
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Payne and Welch 233
explore whether and in what ways school structure, student and faculty characteristics, and com-
munity traits influence the implementation of reparative approaches to violence, delinquency, and
misbehavior among students. Our analyses produce a number of important findings worth review-
ing, particularly since there is some inconsistency across the various techniques that often comprise
restorative justice.
School structure predicts the use of some individual restorative techniques, only partially sup-
porting Hypothesis 1. While the grade level taught in schools does not affect the use of restorative
practices, larger schools are more likely to use peer mediation, but not more likely to use the other
techniques. Interestingly, schools in which teachers deal with a larger number of students are more
likely to offer peer mediation, but less likely to endorse restitution. This may be because larger
schools seek to use many different disciplinary responses in order to handle a large student body.
Hypothesis 2 is not supported here, as school structure does not impact the adoption of a compre-
hensive restorative justice approach to discipline. The reasons for these inconsistencies across
technique are certainly worthy of future exploration.
The analyses examining the influences on the individual restorative techniques, partially support-
ing Hypothesis 3, suggest that this effect is only present with regard to certain techniques. Schools
with proportionally more Black students are less likely than schools with more White students to
require student violators to provide restitution or community service, but Black student composition
appears to have no impact on whether peer mediation or student conferences are used. Similarly,
schools with disproportionately more Hispanic students are less likely to implement peer mediation
but are not significantly different from other schools with their use of other restorative techniques.
Schools with proportionally more students from low-income households who are provided free or
reduced-price lunches are less likely to offer the benefits of peer mediation and student conferences
but are not substantially different from other schools in their seeking restitution or community
service from students that break rules or cause harm. It is notable that the percentage of students
who receive free and reduced-price lunches is the only school characteristic that predicts the use of
student conferences. Despite these inconsistencies with regard to specific restorative justice tech-
niques, it is important to recognize that no other potential predictor significantly affects the like-
lihood that a comprehensive restorative justice program will be used by schools.
Hypothesis 4 is also partially supported by the present analysis, with regard to student race,
ethnicity, and economic disadvantage. Corroborating the findings of prior research showing that
punitive discipline is more likely in schools with proportionally more minority students (Kupchik,
2009; Peguero, Popp, & Shekarkhar, 2015; Peguero & Shekarkhar, 2011; Welch & Payne, 2010), the
present study finds that an overall restorative response to student discipline is less likely to be
implemented in schools with larger percentages of Black students, Hispanic students, and econom-
ically disadvantaged students. This suggests that the disparities evident here may be the result of
discriminatory policies that disproportionately disadvantage students in schools with more racial and
ethnic minority and lower-income students. Given that previous research has found that schools with
more Black, Hispanic, and poor students are likelier to use punitive discipline, it is not surprising that
these same school characteristics influence the use of restorative discipline in the opposite direction;
schools with these student characteristics favor harsh approaches over restorative ones.
Our results do not support Hypotheses 5 and 6; community characteristics do not seem to impact
the degree to which schools implement restorative practices or a more complete restorative justice
program. Perhaps equally as important is the finding that most of the school conditions assessed here
have no impact whatsoever on schools’ use of restorative justice techniques or overall framework. It
does not appear to matter whether a school is a middle/junior high school or whether it is a
vocational or high school; grade level of the school does not influence the likelihood of restorative
justice being used. Similarly, the percentage of the schools’ students who are male does not increase
or decrease the prevalence of restorative justice. Furthermore, the demographic characteristics of
234 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2)
schools’ teachers also do not influence the use of these restorative approaches. Schools in urban
settings and those characterized by concentrated disadvantage are not less likely to use less restora-
tive discipline, contrary to what might be expected. It is possible that the effects of the racial and
ethnic composition of schools’ students and the proportion of poor students in schools are so strong
(as evidenced by the b scores) that the effects of other structural influences are negated; perhaps the urbanicity and concentrated disadvantage of the community or the other predictors are inconsequen-
tial when the effects of these other influences are already so robust.
Study Limitations and Future Research
The cross-sectional nature of the data precludes us from determining the causal direction of the
associations found in this study’s analyses. For instance, while the associations between certain
school structural characteristics and restorative justice techniques and overall framework indicate
that these contexts predict the use of restorative responses to misbehavior and violence, it is also
possible that these relationships are the result of a shift in some of these exogenous structural
characteristics after these restorative justice policies were adopted. Although this seems unlikely,
future research would benefit from using a longitudinal methodology in order to assess proper
temporal ordering.
The relationship between survey participation and community characteristics presents another
potential limitation, because schools in areas with more female-headed households, greater urban
populations, and more households that receive public assistance were significantly less likely to
have participated in the original study. It is doubtful, however, that the basic conclusions of our
study would have changed had these schools been included. In order to investigate possible
nonrandom attrition bias, we conducted exploratory analyses that examined schools located in
communities similar to the nonparticipating schools and found that these schools had greater
percentages of Black students, Hispanic students, and students who received free or reduced-
price lunches and were also less likely to use restorative techniques or frameworks. Therefore,
this study’s results would have most likely been intensified had nonparticipating schools been
included, suggesting that the findings reported here may actually represent a conservative estimate
of the relationships between structural characteristics of schools and restorative justice. Another
possibility is that the relationships examined here are not linear in the distribution region of the
nonparticipating schools. However, the linear relationship between community characteristics and
nonparticipation, externally determined school characteristics, and restorative justice practices
suggests otherwise. Nevertheless, we would benefit from future research that replicates this study
with more representative samples.
The operationalization of the individual restorative justice techniques poses another potential
limitation for this study. As discussed in the Methods section, the principal survey does not specify
whether the specific restorative practices were part of an overall restorative approach in the school or
merely individual techniques unassociated with an overall restorative framework. We have no way
of knowing whether an individual restorative practice was used in a school that promotes a primarily
punitive disciplinary orientation. In addition, the data do not include information on how each
principal actually implemented these practices or for what types of student offenses they were used.
The inability to address this matter may be one explanation for the inconsistencies observed across
the different restorative justice categories. Given the findings surrounding these restorative prac-
tices, it is likely that the results would be intensified had this study been able to measure the nature
and implementation quality of the specific practices and the existence of a comprehensive restora-
tive model within the school. Even so, it would be useful for future research to attempt to measure
whether schools have adopted an overall restorative model to guide relationships within the school.
Payne and Welch 235
Policy Reform and Recommendations for the Use of Restorative Justice in Schools
Support for school-based restorative justice appears to be strengthening. Although a large portion of
the public is not familiar with this approach, those who are aware strongly favor it (Karp & Frank,
2015). With the recent national focus on criminal justice reform, many lawmakers from both
political parties are also supportive of it as an alternative to the costly and harmful methods that
have been used to punish rule breakers over the last 30 years. This mirrors the growing use of
restorative techniques in the juvenile justice system, which has become quite commonplace in the
United States; research has shown these practices, such as direct offender–victim dialogue and
sentencing circles, to be effective in reducing juvenile offenders’ recidivism, particularly with
minor delinquency (Bergseth & Bouffard, 2013). Within schools, federal mandates and state
legislation are increasingly supportive of restorative approaches to discipline, although this has
not yet led to widespread implementation. President Obama has brought the negative conse-
quences of harsh zero tolerance policies to the attention of the public and policymakers, and the
U.S. Department of Education now specifically encourages the implementation of restorative
justice practices in schools. Further, the federal government is spending millions of dollars to
evaluate the effectiveness of restorative justice programs in schools (National Institute of Justice,
2014). The popularity of these policies appears to be growing at the state level as well, although
there are inconsistencies with regard to which elements are implemented and how they are used.
These are all promising developments.
Proponents of school-based restorative justice do caution, however, that the implementation of a
comprehensive restorative approach to discipline requires a fundamental shift in thinking, one that
addresses not just school discipline and student delinquency and violence but the entire school
climate and community as well (Bazemore & Schiff, 2010; Cremin, 2010; Gregory et al., 2014;
Morrison, 2010). This significant paradigm change is ‘‘characterized by a shift away from being a
rule-based institution to a relationship-based institution, or from being an institution whose purpose
is social control to being an institution that nurtures social engagement’’ (Elliott, 2011; Morrison,
2011; Morrison & Vaandering, 2012, p. 145; Zehr, 2005). This kind of transformation can be
dramatic, but given the myriad benefits of using a restorative rather than punitive framework,
schools and school districts have every incentive to encourage policy reform.
It is important for members of a school community to realize that this change will not happen
quickly and that a long-term implementation plan should be created (Gonzalez, 2012). This shift
from ‘‘authoritarian and punitive to democratic and responsive’’ (Bazemore & Schiff, 2010, p. 8)
must take into account the complicated nature of education as an institution, acknowledging schools’
focus on teaching and learning along with safety (Cremin, 2010). Thus, in order for restorative
practices to be successful, schools must alter how they conceptualize discipline, viewing it not as a
function of a student’s ability to follow a set of rules, but rather as a student’s capacity to consider
how his or her behavior is impacting the greater school community and to grow from the experience
after a harm occurs (Gardella, 2015; Morrison et al., 2005).
Further, schools and districts should recognize that restorative justice is not simply a set of
disciplinary responses to misbehavior, delinquency, or violence, but rather a philosophical frame-
work that should be adopted not just in schools but at all levels of the educational system (Penny,
2015). Along these lines, studies have demonstrated that restorative policies will only continue to
produce positive results when restorative justice values are adopted as a philosophy by the entire
school community rather than implemented as one practice or program in one classroom or at one
level of administration (Fields, 2003; Gonzalez, 2012; Morrison et al., 2005).
There are many reasons for supporting an increase in the implementation of restorative policies
within educational institutions, and because of the findings of the present research, we know that
restorative techniques and overall framework are used more often in some types of schools than
236 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2)
others. Thus, attempts to promote policy reform would benefit from addressing school conditions
that may make it less likely that restorative approaches will be used. And, policies that appear to
disparately disadvantage schools with certain types of students should not be permitted. Restora-
tive justice has the potential to offer positive solutions for all students and should not be restricted
according to school structure, student-body or faculty characteristic, or community trait. Our
research may help policymakers and school administrators be more aware of the factors that can
have an unjust impact on students so that they may avoid exacerbating what may already be
difficult conditions.
Conclusion
The school-to-prison pipeline is producing collateral consequences for students akin to those result-
ing from mass incarceration for adults. In addition, it is now well established that harsh discipline
policies do not reduce school-based violence or misbehavior, and may even increase it. Given the
negative consequences of punitive punishment for individual students and for the overall school
climate, it is clear that schools need to reconsider their traditional responses to student misbehavior.
In spite of the enormity of the transformative shift that restorative practices would require, it
represents a powerful and productive response to student delinquency—one that has been tentatively
embraced by the federal government, some states, and much of the public (Karp & Frank, 2015).
This study measured the possibility that a number of school-level factors influence the likelihood
that restorative justice measures would be used in schools. Because we found that certain school-
level traits influence whether restorative practices are used, it would be important for policymakers,
school administrators, and districts that intend to adopt more restorative measures to actively guard
against differential implementation strategies according to those traits. Restorative justice has con-
sistently produced positive effects, regardless of school characteristics, so any disparate use of these
approaches would be unjust. If implemented more broadly within schools, restorative justice may
substantially reduce student offending, increase perceptions of safety, enhance learning, promote
positive school climate, and destroy the school-to-prison pipeline that is exacerbating inequality and
disadvantage for certain students.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or pub-
lication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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Author Biographies
Allison Ann Payne is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology and
associate director of the honors program at Villanova University. Her research interests include
juvenile delinquency, school violence and disorder, school-based delinquency prevention, and crim-
inological theory.
Kelly Welch is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Villanova
University. Her research interests include race and justice, sociology of punishment, school
discipline, and social justice.
240 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2)
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