Restorative Justice, Civic Education, and Transformative Possibilities

Around the country, schools are using restorative justice circles as an approach to conflict resolution among students. This group work focuses on listening and speaking, knowledge sharing, and problem solving; and as such, it serves as an ideal space for civic education. I offer a vision of restorative justice practice in schools that emphasizes its potential to create social networks that are foundational to civic education. I draw on my experience as a restorative justice theorist and practitioner and on data collected from a midwestern high school that trained students in restorative justice theory and practice to show how restorative justice processes can be leveraged to support civic education. I posit that if learning communities practice fidelity to restorative justice theory and circle processes, they can support youth in becoming agents of civic change with experience as active community stakeholders, reflective listeners, and leaders.