The Impact of Restorative Practices and Positive School Climate on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD)

Restorative practices and positive school climate models have emerged as promising frameworks for addressing school disciplinary issues, while fostering students’ social-emotional learning. Restorative practices (RP) emphasize healing, accountability, and relationship-building, offering an alternative to exclusionary discipline. Similarly, the Enhanced Positive School Climate Model (EPSCM) integrates social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies, cultural responsiveness, and proactive climate strategies to promote inclusive school environments. This dissertation evaluates the effectiveness of these interventions in the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), a large, equity-focused district serving a majority-Latino student population. This dissertation consists of two major studies. The first evaluates the effect of restorative practices and combines two papers I proposed for this dissertation: one focused on student behavior (e.g., student misbehavior and academic performance), and the other focused on school responses to misbehavior (e.g., school disciplinary practices). Using a quasi-experimental design, I analyze whether introducing RP reduces reliance on exclusionary discipline, affects student infractions, and influences school-level disciplinary responses. While the intervention had no statistically significant effect on academic or attendance outcomes, it did yield a statistically significant reduction in out-of-school suspensions, which is an important equity-relevant outcome. At the same time, reports of defiance and noncompliance increased, suggesting possible shifts in how misbehavior was categorized. These findings point to the complexities of adult adaptation to RP frameworks and the importance of implementation fidelity. My second study assesses the impact of the EPSCM on students’ perceptions of school climate and SEL competencies. Using student survey data, I evaluate whether EPSCM improves students’ sense of safety, trust in school staff, and perceptions of fairness in disciplinary practices. My findings indicate no significant improvements in these measures compared to control schools. SEL outcomes, including self-management, growth mindset, and social awareness, show small positive effects, but they are statistically insignificant at traditional levels. These results suggest that while the EPSCM is conceptually aligned with fostering a positive school climate, its implementation did not yield measurable improvements over my study period. These findings highlight the potential and limitations of restorative practices and enhanced positive school climate models in transforming school discipline and climate. While RP can reduce reliance on suspensions, its broader behavioral and academic impacts remain inconclusive. Similarly, EPSCM’s effectiveness in improving school climate and SEL outcomes warrants further investigation. My results underscore the challenges of implementing and evaluating large-scale school climate interventions and suggest the need for refinement to achieve their intended outcomes.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Fouché, Janelle Lauren

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Long, Bridget T

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Goodman, Joshua
• Blair, Peter

• Education
• Education policy
• Educational evaluation

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

32042677

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dash.harvard.edu:1/42725313