Spring 2025 SOWK 587 Week 13 - Restorative Justice Practice in Schools

Spring 2025 SOWK 587 Week 13 - Restorative Justice Practice in Schools

title: Spring 2025 SOWK 587 Week 13 - Restorative Justice Practice in Schools
date: 2025-04-17 11:34:25
location: Heritage University

tags:

• Heritage University
• MSW Program
• SOWK 587

presentation_video: Spring 2025 SOWK 587 Week 13
description: >

In Week 13, we return our focus to direct practice with individuals, a core component of school social work. This unit explores assessment and intervention skills, emphasizing specialized modalities such as restorative justice, play therapy, and Hip Hop Therapy. Through reflective discussion and case-based application, students will deepen their understanding of how to engage students. This week, students also submit their larger assignment. In this Social Policy Macro Issue paper, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyze and make recommendations related to social policies. The lecture video focuses on restorative justice practices in a school context.

The agenda for the lecture video includes:

• Week 13 Activities
• Overview of Restorative Practices and Circle-Based Approaches
• Exploring Proactive and Responsive Circle Formats
• Guidelines and Facilitation Strategies for Restorative Circles

The learning objectives for this week include:

• Identify and describe the core goals and formats of restorative justice circle practices used in school settings.
• Understand the different formats that restorative groups can take.
• Identify and describe direct practice with individuals in a school setting.
• Analyze the application and appropriateness of selected intervention models in school-based contexts.
• Apply intervention strategies to a case study using principles of school social work and ethical decision-making.
• Explore how personal and systemic factors (e.g., trauma, school culture, socioeconomic status) shape individual student behavior and support needs.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to support the outcomes for all students through strategies such as scientifically-based practices, collaborative teaming, and ethical decision making.

Week 13 Lecture Video Plan

Agenda

• Week 13 Activities
• Overview of Restorative Practices and Circle-Based Approaches
• Exploring Proactive and Responsive Circle Formats
• Guidelines and Facilitation Strategies for Restorative Circles

Learning objectives for video

• Identify and describe the core goals and formats of restorative justice circle practices used in school settings.
• Understand the different formats that restorative groups can take.

SOWK 587 Week 13: Tasks for the Week

The following is what we are looking at for this week.

• Read Chapter 9 Section II: Jarolmen and Batista-Thomas (2023) Chapter 09: Engagement, Assessment, and Intervention Skills for Individuals - Section II
• Engage with the extra resources provided Spokane Public Schools (2017) and Restorative Practices Working Group. (2014)
• Submit your A-05: Social Policy Macro Issue
• Make three replies in the forums: Topics include your practice with individuals, relating to a case study, and textbook prompts

Consider Attending Graduation Celebrations

Tri-Cities or the Toppenish Campus

I’m still not exactly sure what is happening with the Toppenish one, but Tri-Cities one of your peers will be speaking.

Restorative Justice Practice Overview

Restorative justice is a big topic, and we are just going to look at some of the practicalities of circle groups

Experience in Africa Training and experience

Core Goals of Restorative Practices

• Build healthy relationships between educators and students
  Strengthen trust, empathy, and connection within the school community.
• Reduce, prevent, and improve harmful behavior
  Proactively address issues before they escalate and respond in a constructive manner when they do.
• Repair harm and restore positive relationships
  Focus on accountability and healing after conflict or rule-breaking.
• Resolve conflict and hold individuals/groups accountable
  Provide structured opportunities for reflection, dialogue, and making amends.
• Address and discuss the needs of the school community
  Ensure that all voices are heard and that community wellbeing is a shared responsibility.

There are a number of ways these goals get implemented into practice. These include:

• Restorative Justice: Focuses on repairing harm by bringing together those affected to share experiences and agree on steps toward healing and accountability.
• Community Conferencing: A structured process where all parties impacted by a conflict collectively discuss the incident and work toward a resolution.
• Community Service: Offers students a way to repair harm by contributing positively to the school community in meaningful ways.
• Peer Juries: Trained student jurors facilitate reflective conversations with peers who have violated school rules to determine how harm can be repaired.
• Circle Process: A versatile format for proactive relationship-building or reactive conflict resolution that emphasizes equal voice and shared understanding.
• Preventative and Post-Conflict Resolution Programs: Teach students emotional regulation, empathy, and conflict de-escalation to reduce future incidents and promote reconciliation.
• Peer Mediation: Trains students to serve as mediators who help peers resolve conflicts peacefully and constructively.
• Informal Restorative Practices: Everyday actions like affective statements and questions, relationship-building chats, or mentoring that promote a restorative climate.
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Develops essential life skills like emotional awareness, responsible decision-making, and positive relationship management, foundational to restorative environments.

Group Categories: In Restorative Justice Circle Groups

There are two general categories we can put groups into.

• Proactive: Community or team building Proactive groups build trust, foster connection, and develop social-emotional skills that prevent conflicts and create a positive, supportive classroom environment
• Responsive: Problem solving or repairing harm Responsive circles create space for honest dialogue after harm has occurred, helping participants understand impact, restore relationships, and collaboratively make things right.

(Clifford, 2013)

Circle Core Guidelines

Group norms and guidelines are important in working in circles. The following is what I have used, and been trained using.

• Respect the talking piece: everyone listens, everyone has a turn
• Speak from the heart: your truth, your experiences, your perspective
• Listen from the heart: let go of the stories that make it hard to hear each other
• Trust that you will know what to say: no need to rehearse
• Say just enough: without feeling rushed, be concise and considerate of the time of others

(Clifford, 2013)

Varieties of Circle Formats: Different Methods of Facilitation

There are a number of ways that we might format our groups. the following are some examples.

• Basic Circle: A traditional circle using a talking piece passed around so everyone gets a turn to speak.
• Popcorn Circle: Participants speak in no particular order, without using a talking piece—whoever is ready “pops” in.
• Fishbowl (Witness) Circle: A small group discusses a topic in the center while others observe silently from an outer circle.
• Spiral Circle: The talking piece spirals inward or outward through the group, changing the usual speaking pattern.
• Feedback Circle: Participants share reflections or feedback about a shared experience or issue, encouraging personal growth.
• Wheelhouse Circle: Students lead discussions on topics they are passionate or knowledgeable about, showcasing their strengths.
• Small Group/Student Circle Leaders: Student-led circles held in smaller groups, building leadership skills and peer engagement.