The Effects of Using Restorative Practices on Office Discipline Referrals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using restorative practices on discipline referrals. Middle school like many other schools around the world has had a rising problem of disrespect, violence, and bullying among the students. To try and alleviate this growing problem, the administration of a public middle school in Baltimore County decided to use the intervention of restorative practices in addition to the already in place PBIS (Positive Based Intervention System). The main data source for determining discipline decisions in middle schools are office referrals. Research has shown that office discipline referrals are a valid source for determining a school’s behavior system. The sampling was the entire middle school population of 6th-8th graders of a public middle school in Baltimore County. This was a non-random convenience sampling. The results of the study show that the office referrals increased from quarter one to quarter three. There was a significant difference in the results between the quarters. The results did reject the hypothesis that there would be no difference. While there was a significant difference, that difference suggested that restorative practices did not influence office referrals.