Values and Restorative Justice in Schools

Morris and Young conclude their essay in this collection recognizing that punishment processes and practices are a reflection of the sort of society we are and want to be. The connection between punishment institutions and a society's values extends from the macro level discussed by Morris and Young to the micro level where connections are mirrored in the belief systems of ordinary people. The belief systems of individuals allow experiences, observations and aspirations to be connected in personally meaningful ways. At the heart of these connections are basic beliefs and values about individuals, social relations, and institutions. Morris and Young along with Daly provide some clues as to how restorative justice connects with the belief systems of individuals. Morris and Young refer to restorative justice in terms of a new set of values and priorities. Daly suggests that restorative justice is a package that brings retributive and rehabilitative notions of justice together with an extra quality that is relational and that extends beyond victim and offender to include community. These accounts have been defended in this volume through teasing out the features of restorative justice and traditional justice in action. The present chapter shifts the frame of analysis in two respects. First, the focus changes from what happens, to what people think should happen when rules have been broken and others harmed. Perceptions and expectations that individuals have of justice practices is a topic that Daly touches upon in her argument for why retributive and restorative practices should not be conceptualized as oppositional forms of justice. Second, this chapter looks behind the practices that individuals favour in particular situations, and seeks to identify broad and widely held value systems that explain why certain justice practices resonate more strongly with some constituencies than with others. In the process, the age-old question of personal experiences versus social ideals as shapers of our policy preferences is addressed.