Expanding vision : Exploring value in youth-led restorative practice

Sattler, Heather Restorative Practices (RP) continue to grow within schools around the country. Studies tend to focus on how to support school personnel in implementing RP and deal with young people rather than how to partner with them to create spaces for young people to emerge as practitioners in their communities. The young people in my RP class and I engaged in a Participatory Action Research study within our small RP school to explore the ways they defined value in relation to their work as practitioners, how the school community experienced their work, and the impact of the school community’s feedback on their practice. The young people defined the value of their work by creating a model that highlights their strengths as RP practitioners as ancestors, circle keepers, authors, protagonists/antagonists, learners/teachers, and changemakers. The model serves as an organizing principle for the data that were collected during virtual class sessions as well as from the virtual circle with members of the school community because it is illustrative of what was found. A community of practice is more likely to nurture youth practitioners and encourage them to pursue their work beyond the school. This has important implications as young people move out into a community of practice where they are able to work as practitioners and collaborate with local organizations and the justice system to transform oppressive structures, racist systems, and punitive discipline practices.

Grantor dc:publisher

Alverno College

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Sattler, Heather

• Youth-led restorative practice
• Youth-led restorative justice
• Participatory action research
• Co-constructed model
• Strengths-based model
• Restorative justice in schools

Statement dc:rights

• These materials may be used by individuals and libraries for personal use, research, teaching (including distribution to classes), or for any fair use as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://alverno.omeka.net/items/show/250

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:alverno.omeka.net:250