Confronting the traditional system: a qualitative study on the challenges to school based restorative practices policy implementation

ABSTRACT With the abundance of research that has come to fruition in recent years about the school to prison pipeline and rampant disproportionality of exclusionary discipline, the United States is starting to see a shift to a school-based restorative practices approach. Because of the nascent nature of this framework, research is far behind practice in schools, and knowledge about barriers to implementation is limited. This qualitative research study used purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews to review the experiences of 12 education professionals in San Diego County involved with restorative practice implementation. Participants believe an absence of administrative buy-in and a lack of resources prevent restorative practices from being executed with efficacy. Participants also stated that the resistance to change and the drastic change in culture, as well as societal factors, challenged restorative practices implementation. Findings suggest that restorative practices should be prioritized with intentionality by all levels of the public education system for more effective implementation in schools and more equitable outcomes for students.