The Effects of Restorative Practice Classroom Circles on Student Behavior and Classroom Culture

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the effects of daily Restorative Practice classroom circles on the behavior and classroom culture within a fourth-grade classroom. The study’s original design was to use frequency data concerning disruptive student behavior, as well as a pre/post student classroom culture survey across a period of two semesters, to investigate a null hypothesis of no medial change between behavior and perceived classroom culture when comparing pre and post implementation of Restorative Practices classroom circles. However, due to government mandated COVID-19 quarantine in March of 2020, the post data measures for the second quarter term of the study were unable to be gathered. Thus, the study found was found to be inconclusive in finding evidence of the effects of Restorative Practice classroom circles on student behavior and classroom culture. However, Restorative Practices has a growing body of research that consistently shows the positive effects of Restorative Practices on student behavior and school culture and will continue to be a growing topic that is researched and implemented within school systems to explore the short- and long-term behavioral and cultural effects on schools throughout the world as it compares to traditional exclusionary discipline approaches.