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The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the perspectives of teachersregarding the impact of the use of restorative practices on school climate. Specifically,this research study focused on teacher perceptions of the impact of restorative practiceson the elements of school climate as defined by the National School Climate Center(NSCC) (2017): school safety, teaching and learning, interpersonal relationships, theinstitutional environment, and leadership and professional relationships. The review ofliterature opens with a discussion of the origins, history, and theory of restorative justicefrom which school-specific restorative practices emerged. Teacher perceptions ofrestorative practice are reviewed and the literature review concludes with a discussion ofthe relationship between restorative practices and the elements of school climate. Tomeasure teacher perceptions, a cross-sectional survey was distributed electronically to 98teachers who worked in a high school in which restorative practices were embeddedschoolwide. From the responses of the 24 teacher-respondents, which were analyzed byone-sample t tests, the researcher determined that teachers agree that the use ofrestorative practices improves feelings of safety among students and adults, improvedsupportive teaching practices, increased respect and social support for both adults andstudents, enhanced students’ feelings of connectedness toward their school, clarified theadministrators’ vision for the school and support for the school’s staff, and developedprofessional relationships among the staff that fostered effective working and learning.The results of the study support the idea that restorative practices can be worth therequired investment of resources to address student behavior in a manner that decreases the application of punitive disciplinary measures and increases positive relationshipsamong students, their peers, and their teachers. |
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