The Cart Before the Horse: The Challenge and Promise of Restorative Justice Consultation in Schools

Abstract

Restorative justice (RJ) in schools is an increasingly popular approach to responding to discipline issues including bullying and aggressive behaviors. However, RJ research in schools is dramatically lagging behind its practice. Specifically, there is a large void within the school consultation literature that examines the use of RJ and the role of the consulting school psychologist. To help address this gap, this article reviews contextual and definitional issues of RJ, introduces the special issue articles within the RJ literature, and provides recommendations for future research, training, and practice in RJ. Notably, this is the first special issue that brings together RJ scholarship and research in schools under a consultation framework.