Restorative Practices

Restorative practices is a field within the social sciences that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities. Restorative practices as a science studies how to build social capital and achieve social discipline through participatory learning and decision-making.

Restorative Practices helps to:

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, rather than to them or for them.

Restorative practices are not limited to formal processes, such as restorative conferences or family group conferences, but range from informal to formal. 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 before hand are less successful than those that also employ the proactive.

A circle is a versatile restorative practice that can be used proactively, to develop relationships and build community or reactively, to respond to wrongdoing, conflicts and problems. Circles give people an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety, decorum and equality. The circle process allows people to tell their stories and offer their own perspectives.

The central idea of fair process is that “…individuals are most likely to trust and cooperate freely with systems—whether they themselves win or lose by those systems—when fair process is observed”

The three principles of fair process are:

Engagement—involving individuals in decisions that affect them by listening to their views

and genuinely taking their opinions into account

Explanation—explaining the reasoning behind a decision to everyone who has been involved or who is affected by it

Expectation clarity—making sure that everyone clearly understands a decision and what is expected of them in the future (Kim & Mauborgne, 2003)

Learn more about Restorative Practices by reading the full article here

Restorative Practices can be a key component of the integrated systems of support triangle. Restorative practices can help reduce ODRs and infuses social & emotional learning throughout the system. See the example below for how Restorative Practices can fit into the systems triangle.

Building and strengthening relationships and community is a critical component of school culture. Restorative practices is an essential process for creating a positive learning environment, building social capital, and resolving relational issues.

During this two-day introductory experience, you will learn the fundamental theory and practices for engaging with students, staff, and parents in your school setting.

Topics include the importance of being explicit about practice, how to set high expectations while being supportive, and ways to build community in your setting. We will discuss giving direct feedback and asking questions that foster accountability, as well as utilizing effective methods to resolve common conflicts.

You will learn to apply the restorative practices continuum, understanding which restorative processes are best for achieving certain goals or responding to particular situations. We will focus specifically on facilitating circles, an essential process for creating a positive learning environment and school culture. Circles can be used both proactively and responsively to build social capital, sustain relationships, address social problems, and respond when harm occurs. Participants will spend time planning circles to use in their schools immediately.

Designed for:

K-12 teachers, staff, administrators. This experience is applicable to other audiences, but school-based examples are used.

Learning Format Options:

• Online: Two consecutive 4.5-hour days of live instruction via Zoom.
  (2 hours of pre-work required prior to each session.)
• In Person: Two consecutive 8-hour days of live instruction (two breaks and time for lunch included).

If you would like to learn more about Restorative Practices and how this training might help your district, please reach out to Mandi Anderson at ARIN IU. A formal 2-day in-person training can be hosted at ARIN IU or in your district. Additionally, the TaC Team offers a variety of professional learning sessions already infused with restorative practices and circles.

Schedule a consultation by clicking below!

aanderson@iu28.org

721 463 5300 x1106

724 762 0213