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Inequality in School Discipline pp 153–170Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Potential of Restorative Approaches to Discipline for Narrowing Racial and Gender Disparities

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Abstract

Gregory and Clawson examine restorative practices (RP) for their promise in narrowing racial and gender disparities in school discipline. Their study of two high schools implementing RP finds that fewer discipline referrals for misconduct/defiance are issued to students, yet gender and racial disparities continue to persist. A closer examination of 29 teachers’ RP implementation, however, shows that RP has the potential for increasing equity through classroom practices. Teachers who are perceived by students as frequently using RP tend to issue few referrals for misconduct/defiance to male and female African American and Latino students, and have narrow racial and gender gaps in discipline referrals. This suggests high quality RP implementation across classrooms may be needed for RP to reach its promise as a civil rights remedy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Applied and Professional Pyschology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NY, USA

    Anne Gregory & Kathleen Clawson

Authors
  1. Anne Gregory
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  2. Kathleen Clawson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Evaluation and Education Policy School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Russell J. Skiba

  2. The Atlantic Philanthropies, New York, USA

    Kavitha Mediratta

  3. Center for Evaluation and Education Poli, Indiana University Center for Evaluation and Education Poli, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    M. Karega Rausch

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Gregory, A., Clawson, K. (2016). The Potential of Restorative Approaches to Discipline for Narrowing Racial and Gender Disparities. In: Skiba, R., Mediratta, K., Rausch, M. (eds) Inequality in School Discipline. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51257-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51257-4_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-51256-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-51257-4

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