Restorative Practices in Chicago Schools with Fatemeh Momeni, Ph.D., and Ben Feigenberg, Ph.D. – Part 1

Restorative Works!

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Fatemeh Momeni, Ph.D., and Ben Feigenberg, Ph.D., from the University of Chicago Education Lab to the Restorative Works! Podcast.

In partnership with Chicago Public Schools, the Education Lab research team, including Fatemeh and Ben, evaluated the effect of restorative practices implemented in schools across the district. Comparing student behavior before and after exposure to restorative practices and across multiple school environments provided insight into the effects of implementation and its impact across high schools. The schools that implemented restorative practices policies experienced a 35% reduction in in-school student arrests and a 15% reduction in out-of-school student arrests. Fatemeh points out the decrease in out-of-school arrests as it suggests that students are utilizing more conflict resolution skills and potentially becoming more community-minded as a result of their exposure to restorative practices.

Fatemeh is an applied microeconomist whose research focuses on the areas of labor and education. In her role as a research director at the Education Lab, Fatemeh provides scientific direction to a portfolio of education research projects studying programs designed to reduce academic and socio-emotional disparities for youth in the U.S. Before joining the Education Lab, she was a postdoctoral scholar in economics at the University of Chicago Economics Department and Chicago Experiments Initiative. She obtained her Ph.D. in economics in 2015 from Purdue University.

Ben is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. His research employs experimental and quasi-experimental methods to examine the consequences of policies and practices designed to promote public safety. His ongoing research investigates racial and socioeconomic disparities in U.S. criminal justice adjudication, the link between educational opportunity and criminal behavior in the U.S. and Honduras, and the effects of rehabilitative prison programming on post-release outcomes in Illinois. As a researcher, he has sought out opportunities to support innovative policy-making initiatives in the city and state.

Tune in to learn more about this research and Fatemeh’s and Ben’s perspectives on the future of restorative practices in schools based on their research. This conversation will continue in part two next week!