“I felt good being up here!” Empirically evaluating what happens when students gain exposure to a core restorative practice

Conflict resolution—a core restorative practice—is theorized to strengthen scholastic relationships and reduce stress, supporting improvements in behavior, academic performance, health, and school climate. Federal support for conflict resolution has fluctuated, leading some schools to invest in, and others to disinvest from, these practices. This research exploits variation between schools (across space) and within schools (over time) to estimate the effects of changes in student exposure to conflict resolution practices. We first track over 30,000 California students from 5th to 6th grade and find that increases in exposure are linked to higher academic achievement, reduced suspensions, and smaller related racial disparities. We then analyze data from 200+ middle schools and find that increases in conflict resolution are associated with reductions in misbehavior, depression, and substance use, and growth in GPA and school climate. We conclude by exploring directions for future research and discussing the policy implications of these findings.