"Restorative Justice" or Restoring Order? Restorative School Discipline Practices in Urban Public Schools. (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lustick, Hilary
• Is Part Of: Urban education. Volume 56:Number 8(2021)
• Page Start: 1269
• Page End: 1296
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: school discipline -- culturally responsive education -- race and schools -- urban education -- adolescents -- restorative justice; Education, Urban -- Periodicals; Enseignement en milieu urbain -- Périodiques; Éducation; Milieu urbain; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 370.91732
• DOI: 10.1177/0042085917741725
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0042-0859

Abstract

Suspension rates for students of color are higher than for White students, even in schools that utilize alternatives to suspension like restorative practices. This study draws on data from a year-long multicase ethnography that sought to elucidate why such disproportionality prevails in schools that use restorative practices. This article focuses on one finding: that the individuals hired to be restorative coordinators were consistently young, non-White staff from the same neighborhoods as their students. The majority-White faculty and administration greatly depended on these coordinators to bond with, contain, and compel obedience from students of color.