Reducing Classroom Disruption through Restorative Practices

Abstract

Trauma is an unfortunate reality in the lives of many students, and their behaviors in school reflect the past they have experienced with students responding aggressively to traditional discipline involvement from adults. Discipline as it has been traditionally used- suspending or expelling highly disruptive students- has not been effective in improving student behavior in classrooms. The study investigated the impact of discipline style on student disruptions. Participants were 52 diverse students in two sections taught by one teacher at a large public high school in the mid-Atlantic. Disruption totals were gathered for classes during traditional discipline use, and then both classes were instructed in a Restorative Practices method for improving interactions during conflict. Disruption totals were gathered again after students had time to practice the method. Data was gathered using a counter app on the teacher’s phone and based on a list of disruptive behaviors developed by the students in the respective classes. Analysis on the disruption totals before the intervention showed no significant differences between the sections, so all students were combined into one test group for analysis. Comparing the pre- and post-intervention disruption totals did not indicate a significant difference in student behavior, although anecdotal observations do demonstrate changes in the behavior of many students’ behavior. This research question may demonstrate different results with further study if a larger sample is used.