Between Wholeness and Restoration - IIRP

In summary, Zehr defines restorative justice in a criminal justice setting as
“a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in
a specific offence and to collectively identify and address harms,
needs, and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as
possible” (Amstutz and Mullet, 2005, p. 15).
Ted Wachtel, an American educator who used restorative justice principles
successfully in a school for delinquent youth, has been a leader in seeing its potential for
educational institutions of all kinds. Initially after using formal restorative justice
conferences that included the victims, offenders and their supporting community
members for serious incidents of wrongdoing, he began to realize “a restorative school
climate requires more than just formal restorative processes like conferencing. We will
need to employ informal restorative practices as well—integrated systematically as part
of everyday school life” (Wachtel (1999, p. 2). This expansion which included a
continuum of practices to promote a supportive, yet limit-setting environment was
dubbed restorative practices. The foundational principles, like those of restorative
justice, aim to repair the harm done to people and relationships. However, Wachtel, in
pulling the emphasis away from an environment of criminal justice has identified the
underlying hypothesis of restorative practice to be “that human beings are happier, more
cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in behaviour when
those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them” (p. 1,
What is …). The continuum of practices where teachers engage with students who have
harmed and are harmed includes several fundamental elements:
• Foster awareness: affective statements or questions by the teacher
addressed to the offending students draw attention to how their behaviour
has impacted others around them. Empathy is then possible.