The Restorative Approach & Restorative Practices

The Restorative Approach is a philosophy or guiding principle (not a

program or specific activity) that sees relationships as central to learning,
growth and a healthy school climate for students and adults.

Restorative Practices enable us to integrate and normalize this approach

within a school culture. Restorative practices focus on building, maintaining
and, when necessary, repairing relationships among all members of a school
community.

A comprehensive, whole-school approach incorporates various restorative

practices throughout the school, with an emphasis on building a culture of
respect and care. These practices may include: language that invites and
encourages curiosity, empathy, respect, trust, honesty, compassion,
accountability, inclusion, repairing harm and collaboration; conflict resolution,
peer mediation and relational literacy programs; Community Circles for
relationship-building and problem-solving; Resolution Circles for deciding on
consequences for students behavior; restorative dialogue between staff and
students to address behavior; and formal, facilitated Restorative Conferences
for more serious situations.

Restorative rather than punitive approaches to discipline deal more effectively

with student behavior by encouraging students to be accountable for their
actions and find ways to "make things right" with those they may have
harmed. Restorative approach empowers students by helping them to learn
from their mistakes in a school environment that is caring and responsive.
Restorative approach focuses on relationships and community, rather than on
punishment (often isolation) for breaking rules. The accountability comes from
the harmer recognizing the impact of their actions on others and agreeing to
repair the harm caused. The process includes the person or persons harmed
in deciding on the consequences. Restorative consequences may be
apologies, restitution, community service and other agreed-upon ways to
make amends and move forward.
Restorative practices is a social science that integrates developments from a variety of disciplines
and fields - including education, psychology, social work, criminology, sociology, organizational
development and leadership - in order to build healthy communities, increase social capital,
decrease crime and antisocial behavior, repair harm and restore relationships.

TO WITH
punitive restorative

authoritarian authoritative

NOT FOR

e1: neglectful permissive

8
Ii:.ow -support
irresponsible paternalistic
(encouragement, nurture)_..HJG'H

The social discipline window is a concept with broad application in many settings. It describes four
basic approaches to maintaining social norms and behavioral boundaries. The four are represented
as different combinations of high or low control and high or low support. The restorative domain
combines both high control and high support and is characterized by doing things with people
(collaboratively), rather than to them (coercively) or for them (without their involvement).
The social discipline window also defines restorative practices as a leadership model for parents in
families, teachers in classrooms, administrators and managers in organizations, police and social
workers in communities and judges and officials in government. The fundamental unifying
hypothesis of restorative practices is that "people are happier, more cooperative and productive, and
more likely to make positive changes when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather
than to them or for them. This hypothesis maintains that the punitive and authoritarian to mode and
the permissive and paternalistic for mode are not as effective as the restorative, participatory,
engaging with mode.
I
The social discipline window reflects the seminal thinking of renowned Australian criminologist John
Braithwaite, who has asserted that reliance on punishment as a social regulator is problematic
because it shames and stigmatizes wrongdoers, pushes them into a negative societal subculture
and fails to change their behavior.l1fil The restorative approach, on the other hand, reintegrates
wrongdoers back into their community and reduces the likelihood that they will reoffend.
Restorative .practices. continuum.
informal formal
I. I
• • • £ •
affective affective small impromptu group formal
statements questions conforenoo or circle conference

Restorative practices are not limited to formal processes, such as restorative conferences or family
group conferences, but range from informal to formal. On a restorative practices continuum, the
informal practices include affective statements that communicate people's feelings, as well
as affective questions that cause people to reflect on how their behavior has affected
others. Impromptu restorative conferences, groups and circles are somewhat more structured but do
not require the elaborate preparation needed for formal conferences. Moving from left to right on the
continuum, as restorative practices become more formal, they involve more people, require more
planning and time, and are more structured and complete. Although a formal restorative process
might have dramatic impact, informal practices have a cumulative impact because they are part of
everyday life.
The aim of restorative practices is to develop community and to manage conflict and tensions by
repairing harm and building relationships. This statement identifies both proactive (building
relationships and developing community) and reactive (repairing harm and restoring relationships)
approaches. Organizations and services that only use the reactive without building the social capital
beforehand are less successful than those that also employ the proactive.