What Is The Goal Of Restorative Practices?
When we think about school discipline, what often comes to mind is a traditional system built on rules, consequences, and authority. But what if the goal wasn’t just to punish misbehavior but to prevent it? What if we focused on actually repairing the harm that occurred and building up relationships rather than simply enforcing compliance? That’s the core of Restorative Practices Training in schools—a proactive, relationship-centered approach that transforms how we think about conflict, accountability, and community.
What Is the Purpose of Restorative Practices or Restorative Justice in Schools?
At its heart, Restorative Practices is about connection. The purpose isn’t just to address harm when it happens but to build a culture where harm is less likely to occur in the first place. Schools that adopt Restorative Practices aim to create environments where students feel safe, valued, and heard. And for adults, this means creating professional cultures that prioritize collaboration, engagement, listening, trust, and support. Proactively building these relationships ensures smoother conflict resolution when tensions inevitably arise, fostering a work environment where teachers and staff feel connected and supported by their peers.
Unlike traditional disciplinary methods, which often focus exclusively on consequences and the offender, Restorative Practices in schools emphasize:
Repairing harm: Ensuring that conflicts are addressed in ways that strengthen relationships rather than fracture them further. This means the person harmed also receives time and attention.
Building social capital: Creating connections and trust within the school community to prevent conflicts from escalating.
Fostering accountability: Encouraging students to take true responsibility for their actions and the impact they have on others, not just taking time away from school with a suspension.
Research supports these goals. For example, studies in Chicago Public Schools and Pittsburgh schools have shown reductions in suspensions, improvements in school climate, and narrower disparities in discipline for marginalized students when schools implement Restorative Practices with fidelity.
What are the Goals of Restorative Practices or Restorative Justice in Education?
The goals of Restorative Practices align closely with their purpose, focusing on both prevention and resolution:
Building a Positive School Culture
Proactive strategies like circles and check-ins create a sense of ownership and mutual respect. Students are less likely to act out when they feel connected to their peers and teachers. Staff are more likely to feel included, take ownership, enjoy being at work, and be equipped to have hard conversations.Addressing Root Causes of Behavior
Restorative conversations go beyond surface-level misbehavior to explore underlying emotions and needs, helping students and staff understand and address what’s driving their actions.Reducing Exclusionary Discipline
By focusing on alternatives to suspension, Restorative Practices aim to keep students in the classroom, minimizing the academic and social setbacks associated with being removed from school.Strengthening Relationships
At its core, the restorative approach is about relationships—explicitly building them as a preventative measure and repairing them when harm occurs.
Examples of Restorative Practices or Restorative Justice in Schools
Restorative Practices are versatile and can be adapted to meet the unique needs of any school community. We’ve given a lot of examples of Restorative Practice strategies and tools in our prior blogs. Here are some additional examples:
Community-Building Circles
These circles are proactive and create a sense of belonging. They can be used during morning meetings, advisory periods, or staff meetings to strengthen trust and foster connections. For example, teachers might use a circle to discuss weekly highlights, challenges, or student goals.
Academic Content Circles
Restorative Practices aren’t limited to behavior. Academic content circles encourage student engagement by providing a collaborative space to share ideas, discuss texts, or reflect on projects. For instance, a literature teacher might use a circle to explore different interpretations of a poem.
Check-In and Check-Out Circles
These are quick, informal routines at the beginning and end of the day. Students (or staff) share how they’re feeling, their goals, or what they need to focus on. This practice builds emotional awareness and empathy while giving educators a snapshot of how their class is doing.
Responsive Circles
These are used reactively to address specific issues, conflicts, or harms. For example, if a class-wide disagreement arises, the teacher might hold a responsive circle where all students can share their perspectives and ideas for resolution.
Classroom Re-Entry Conversations
After suspensions or absences due to disciplinary issues, these short restorative conversations reintegrate students into the community. They focus on repairing harm, rebuilding trust, and clarifying expectations moving forward.
Curbside Conversations
These informal, quick discussions between teachers and students (or colleagues) help address small tensions before they escalate. For example, a teacher might pull a student aside after class to acknowledge a pattern of interruptions and ask what’s going on using a casual combination of Affective Statements and Questions.
Restorative Conferences
These structured, formal meetings involve all parties impacted by a significant conflict. They aim to repair harm collaboratively, often resulting in a written agreement outlining how the harm will be addressed.
Restorative Leadership Practices
Administrators use restorative approaches in decision-making and conflict resolution. For example, a principal might hold a circle to address staff concerns or gather input on a new initiative, modeling the process for others.
Family Engagement Circles
Schools hold circles with families to discuss shared goals, address concerns, or build stronger home-school partnerships.
Fair Process Decision-Making
Leadership incorporates Fair Process by involving staff and students in decision-making, ensuring clarity, input, and shared accountability, while still holding the final decision-making authority.
By embedding these practices into existing systems like PBIS or classroom management frameworks, schools create a seamless approach to both prevention and intervention.
How to Find Restorative Practices Training or Restorative Justice Training for Educators
High-quality training is essential for implementing Restorative Practices effectively. It’s not enough to watch a few videos or attend a lecture—successful implementation requires practice, coaching, and ongoing support. That’s why Collaborative School Culture designs training that is:
Practical: Educators learn strategies like how to start a restorative conversation with a student or colleague and how to facilitate a circle.
Engaging: Role-playing, feedback, and real-world applications ensure participants feel confident using Restorative Practices both in the classroom and with colleagues.
Tailored: CSC’s experience in schools means we know how to help integrate Restorative Practices into existing systems, ensuring alignment with PBIS and behavioral flowcharts.
Participants in our training often describe it as transformative, practical, and engaging. Survey results consistently highlight that 95% of attendees feel highly and actively engaged, with many stating that the training provided tools they could use immediately in their classrooms and communities. Feedback includes sentiments like, "This is the best training I’ve attended in years—both personally and professionally impactful," and "I appreciated how practical and engaging the training was. I left with tools I could immediately use in my classroom and strategies that will help build stronger relationships with both students and colleagues."
Though you may be able to find some short clips for free restorative justice or restorative practices training online, the most impactful training involves in-person or virtual sessions where staff can reflect, practice, role-play, discuss the application, build on resources, and plan.
The Big Picture: Transforming School Culture
The goal of Restorative Practices isn’t just to fix problems—it’s to create a culture where relationships thrive, conflicts are addressed constructively, and both staff and students feel empowered to contribute to their community. Whether through community-building circles, restorative conversations, or listening circles, this approach reimagines what education can look like when relationships are at the center.
If you’re ready to explore what a restorative approach could mean for your school, reach out to us at Collaborative School Culture. We’ll help you build a thriving, restorative school community.