Abstract
Restorative justice (RJ) has become increasingly accepted in schools worldwide as an effective way to build, maintain and repair student relationships and to deal with student conflict, harm and behavioural issues. It is rare, however, to find schools that utilise RJ to deal with adult relational and behavioural issues. Drawing on a case study in a Canadian school, this paper explores this hypocritical application of RJ, when teachers are not called to practice what they are teaching. The teachers in the school studied named the hypocritical application and openly struggled with it. I argue that the act of grappling with the inequity resulted in a deepened experience of RJ for both teachers and students. By naming and addressing their hypocritical actions, the teachers, paradoxically, acted in a restorative manner, modelling restorative principles and ensuring that RJ was made more comprehensible and relevant to students.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achinstein, B. (2002). Conflict amid community: The micropolitics of teacher collaboration. Teachers College Record,104(3), 421–455.
Amstutz, L. S., & Mullet, J. H. (2005). The little book of restorative discipline for schools: Teaching responsibility; creating caring climates. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
Arnold, J., Edwards, T., Hooley, N., & Williams, J. (2013). Site-based teacher eduction for enhanced community knowledge and culture: Creating the conditions for ‘philosophical project knowledge’. Australian Educational Researcher,40, 61–75.
Austin, M. S., & Harkins, D. A. (2008). Shifting spaces and emerging voices: Participation, support, and conflict in one school administrative team. Early Education & Development,19(6), 907–940. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409280802356653.
Bargen, C. (2010). Educating for peacebuilding: Implementing restorative justice principles and practices in a school system. Langley: Community Justice Initiatives.
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology,3, 77–101.
Brinkmann, S. (2014). Doing without data. Qualitative Inquiry,20(6), 720–725.
Cameron, L. & Thorsborne, M. (1999). Restorative justice and school discipline—mutually exclusive? A practitioner’s view of the impact of Community Conferencing in Queensland schools. Paper presented at Reshaping Australian Institutions Conference: Restorative Justice and Civil Society, Canberra.
Cavanagh, T. (2010). Restorative practices in schools: Breaking the cycle of student involvement in child welfare and legal systems. Protecting Children,24(4), 53–60.
Cavanagh, T., Vigil, P., & Garcia, E. (2014). A story legitimating the voices of Latino/Hispanic students and their parents: Creating a restorative justice response to wrongdoing and conflict in schools. Equity and Excellence in Education,47(4), 565–579.
Coke, P. K. (2005). Practicing what we preach: An argument for cooperative learning opportunities for elementary and secondary educators. Education,126(2), 392–398.
Cremin, H. (2018). An autoethnography of a peace educator: Deepening reflections on research, practice and the field. Emotion, Space and Society,28, 1–8.
Cremin, H., & Bevington, T. (2017). Positive peace in schools: Tackling conflict and creating a culture of peace in the classroom. Abingdon: Routledge.
Freire, P. (2002). Education for critical consciousness. New York: Continuum.
Fronius, T., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Hurley, N., & Petrosino, A. (2016). Restorative justice in U.S. schools: A research review. Retrieved from http://jprc.wested.org/new-report-restorative-justice-in-u-s-schools-review-of-research/.
Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers, changing times: Teachers’ work and culture in the postmodern age. New York: Teachers College Press.
Harrison, L. (2007). From authoritarian to restorative schools. Reclaiming Children and Youth,16(2), 17–20.
Hendry, R. (2009). Building and restoring respectful relationships in schools: A guide to using restorative practice. New York: Routledge.
Hopkins, B. (2011). The restorative classroom: Using restorative approaches to foster effective learning. London: Teach to Inspire, Optimus Education.
Johnstone, G., & Van Ness, D. W. (2007). The meaning of restorative justice. In G. Johnstone & D. W. Van Ness (Eds.), Handbook of restorative justice (pp. 5–23). Portland, OR: Willan Publishing.
Kaveney, K., & Drewery, W. (2011). Clasroom meetings as a restorative practice: A study of teachers’ responses to an extended professional development innovation. The International Journal on School Disaffection,8, 5–12.
Kupchik, A., & Monahan, T. (2006). The new American school: Preparation for post-industrial discipline. British Journal of Sociology of Education,5, 617–631.
Lewis, S. (2009). Findings from schools implementing restorative practices. Bethlehem, PA: International Institute of Restorative Practice Graduate School.
Llewellyn, K. R., & Llewellyn, J. J. (2015). A restorative approach to learning: Relational theory as feminist pedagogy in universities. In T. Penny Light, J. Nicholas, & R. Bondy (Eds.), Feminist pedagogy in higher education: Critical theory and practice. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
Losen, D. (Ed.). (2014). Closing the school discipline gap: Equitable remedies for excessive exclusion (disability, equity and culture). New York: Teachers College Press.
Loughran, J., Berry, A., Clemans, A., Keast, S., Miranda, B., Parr, G., et al. (2011). Exploring the nature of teachers’ professional learning. In A. Lauriala, et al. (Eds.), Navigating in educational contexts (pp. 93–102). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Lyubansky, M., & Shpungin, E. (2016). The unacknowledged power of power dynamics in restorative justice. In T. Gavrieldes (Ed.), The psychology of restorative justice: Managing the power within. London: Routledge.
Mayworm, A. M., Sharkey, J. D., Hunnicutt, K. L., & Schiedel, K. C. (2016). Teacher consultation to enhance implementation of school-based restorative justice. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation.,1, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2016.1196364.
McCluskey, G. (2013). Challenges to education: Restorative practice as a radical demand on conservative structures of schooling. In E. Sellman, H. Cremin, & G. McCluskey (Eds.), Restorative approaches to conflict in schools: Interdisciplinary perspectives on whole school approaches to managing relationships (pp. 132–141). London: Routledge.
McCluskey, G., Lloyd, G., Kane, J., Riddell, S., Stead, J., & Weedon, E. (2008). “I was dead restorative today”: From restorative justice to restorative approaches in school. Cambridge journal of education,38(2), 199–216.
McGraw, A. (2018). Freedom and constraint in teacher education: Reflections on experiences over time. Australian Journal of Teacher Education,43(3), 154–167.
Morrison, B. E. (2007a). Restoring safe school communities: A whole school response to bullying, violence and alienation. Leichhardt: Federation Press.
Morrison, B. E. (2007b). Schools and restorative justice. In G. Johnstone & D. W. Van Ness (Eds.), Handbook of restorative justice (pp. 325–350). Portland: Willan Publishing.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. New York: Sage.
Payne, A. A., & Welch, K. (2013). Restorative justice in schools: The influence of race on restorative discipline. Youth & Society,47(4), 539–564. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x12473125.
Raby, R. (2012). School rules: Obedience, discipline and elusive democracy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Reimer, K. (2009). Teachers, administrators and gatekeepers of change: A case study of the implementation of restorative justice in one Ontario public school. (Master’s thesis). University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Riestenberg, N. (2003). Restorative schools grants final report, January 2002-June 2003: A summary of the grantees’ evaluation. Minnesota Department of Education. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from, http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Learning_Support/Safe_and_Healthy_Learners/Safe_Learners/Violence_Prevention_Restorative_Measures/index.html.
Rubba, P. A., & Rye, J. A. (1997). The views of four elementary teachers on the importance of modeling responsible citizenship action. Journal of Elementary Science Education,9(2), 82–98.
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443–466). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Stinchcomb, J. B., Bazemore, G., & Riestenberg, N. (2006). Beyond zero tolerance: Restoring justice in secondary schools. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice,4, 123–147.
Thornberg, R. (2007). ‘It’s Not Fair!’-Voicing Pupils’ criticisms of school rules. Children and Society,22(6), 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2007.00121.x.
Thorsborne, M. (2013). A story of the emergence of restorative practice in schools in Australia and New Zealand: Reflect, repair, reconnect. In K. S. van Wormer & L. Walker (Eds.), Restorative justice today: Practical applications (pp. 43–51). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Vaandering, D. (2009). Towards effective implementation and sustainability of restorative justice in Ontario Public Schools: A critical case study. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Vaandering, D. (2011). A faithful compass: Rethinking the term restorative justice to find clarity. Contemporary Justice Review,14(3), 307–328.
Vaandering, D. (2014). Relational restorative justice pedagogy in educator professional development. Curriculum Inquiry,44(4), 508–530.
Victoria Department of Education and Training. (2018). Restorative practice. Retrieved from, http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/methodrestorative.aspx.
Wearmouth, J., McKinney, R., & Glynn, T. (2007). Restorative justice: Two examples from New Zealand schools. British Journal of Special Education,34(4), 196–203.
Williams, J. H. (2004). Civil conflict, education, and the work of schools: Twelve propositions. Conflict Resolution Quarterly,21(4), 471–481.
Woodbury, S., & Gess-Newsome, J. (2002). Overcoming the paradox of change without difference: A model of change in the arena of fundamental school reform. Educational Policy,16(5), 763–782.
Woolford, A. (2009). The politics of restorative justice: A critical introduction. Halifax and Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing.
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Zehr, H. (2002). The little book of restorative justice. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada who supported this research through the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Doctoral Scholarship, and I also acknowledge the support of the IODE War Memorial Scholarship. I also wish to recognise the educators in Alberta and the school leadership team who opened their school and their lives for this study. Deep appreciation to Dr. Lorna McLean, of the University of Ottawa, my PhD supervisor, who helped to guide the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reimer, K. “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. Aust. Educ. Res. 46, 59–73 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-018-0286-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-018-0286-7