Adult Intentions, Student Perceptions: How Restorative Justice is Used in Schools to Control and to Engage

Restorative justice (RJ) is an idea whose time may have finally arrived. Although the concept has ancient roots and the term has existed in Western societies since the 1970s, only recently has it gained general public recognition. In schools, RJ’s popularity is rising world—wide. In fact, education is the fastest growing area for the practice of RJ.

Despite an increasing number of schools embracing the approach, it is not clear what educational RJ practitioners are trying to achieve. Adult I...