Justice in Schools Project
Mission Statement
The Justice in Schools research team is funded by a National Science Foundation grant and seeks to understand the experience of school discipline, connection and safety from the full range of students in the Chicago area. Representation is at the forefront of our research and we have prioritized this through: allowing all participants a safe space to discuss any and all identities they feel relate to our research, asking all participants and researchers to list their pronouns so they can be referred to and addressed appropriately, a safe space within the research team to discuss intersectionality and all identities and how that influences this research project and other research, have actively sought out a variety of organizations so that students of all identities are represented in this research, and seek to expand our efforts as a research team by contributing to other organizations that seek to help our Chicago community.
This research has been created to acknowledge and address the lived experiences of students of diverse backgrounds in the Chicago area. This research seeks to allow students who feel like they have been unheard the opportunity to not only voice their lived experiences and concerns but reach the end goal of addressing these concerns through actual systemic change. We understand the language and knowledge regarding diversity is ever-changing and developing, and as researchers so are we. We are committed to diversity and inclusion and seek to continuously work on educating ourselves. We are passionate about the process of educating ourselves on diverse populations and how given populations have been marginalized.
This research has been created to acknowledge and address the lived experiences of students of diverse backgrounds in the Chicago area. This research seeks to allow students who feel like they have been unheard the opportunity to not only voice their lived experiences and concerns but reach the end goal of addressing these concerns through actual systemic change. We understand the language and knowledge regarding diversity is ever-changing and developing, and as researchers so are we. We are committed to diversity and inclusion and seek to continuously work on educating ourselves. We are passionate about the process of educating ourselves on diverse populations and how given populations have been marginalized.
GoalsThe goals of this project are to understand (1) how school justice practices impact students’ self-reported sense of safety, belonging, and learning about law and authority; (2) how school staff perceive and engage with different justice practices; (3) how justice policies predict larger school outcomes; and (4) how restorative justice works with or against other school safety structures.
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Research & Methods
This research study will collect both quantitative and qualitative data through surveys, focus groups, and interviews. A mixed-methods approach will be utilized to gain a comprehensive understanding of how school justice practices and responses to violence and harm interact to impact student outcomes and perceptions of school safety and belonging.
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Principal Investigator: Dr. Yael Granot
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Maryse Richards
A host of graduate students and undergraduates are research assistants conducting field and clerical work.
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Maryse Richards
A host of graduate students and undergraduates are research assistants conducting field and clerical work.
Local School Council Project
In addition to the above research, the team is also collaborating with Dr. Charles Tocci on a project exploring the decisions about retaining or removing school resource officers (SROs) in the midst of the broader social movements to defund and abolish police. This study also utilizes a mixed methods approach, drawing from media coverage of police presence in schools, as well as local school council votes on the retention of SROs. The study is examining community based and school based data as possible predictors of these decisions, as well as minutes from local school council meetings when these decisions were discussed.