Abstract In response to the harmful effects of punitive school discipline in the United States, there has been a call for change to move towards non-exclusionary and non-discriminatory interventions, such as peer mediation. In peer mediation programs, a cohort of students at a given school are trained on how to mediate conflicts between peers, working towards mutually beneficial solutions. While this alternative approach to school discipline has been adopted by schools across the United States, there remains minimal guidance for how schools should implement peer mediation programs to support meaningful change in school disciplinary culture. In this paper, we evaluate the implementation and perceived impacts of a peer mediation program implemented across four schools in partnership with a non-profit organization. Through the lens of institutional and organizational theory, we explore factors that led to the partial implementation of the program despite widespread support from educators and students alike. Based on findings derived from observations, surveys, and interviews, this paper offers actionable knowledge on factors that hinder and support the success of peer mediation programs. Additionally, the findings of this study demonstrate that despite the program’s partial implementation, students still derived benefits which supported a shift from punitive to restorative school cultures.
Kho et al. (Wed,) studied this question.