The institutionalisation of restorative justice in schools: a critical sensemaking account. Issue 2 (3rd May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Russell, Scott; Crocker, Diane
• Is Part Of: Restorative justice. Volume 4:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 195
• Page End: 213
• Publication Date: 2016-05-03
• Subjects: School discipline -- restorative justice -- schools -- organisational change -- sensemaking; Restorative justice -- Periodicals; Social justice -- Periodicals; 364.68
• DOI: 10.1080/20504721.2016.1197524
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-473X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In this paper we use a case study to describe how one school successfully implemented restorative justice (RJ). We ask: how do teachers and administrators make sense of a shift from traditional discipline to RJ? How might their sensemaking process affect whether a shift toward RJ is sustainable? We answer these questions by drawing on critical sensemaking—a set of heuristics designed to map social-psychological processes underlying organisational change. Our findings affirm that RJ in schools cannot be mandated as a policy change or implemented through training in practices isolated from changes in organisational rules and formative context. In the language of critical sensemaking, implementing RJ as a programme or set of tools will not 'make sense' to teachers. In contrast, the approach at St Catherine's school leveraged specific sensemaking properties in a way that allowed the change process to become empowering, develop from the ground up and generate radical change in the school.