Abstract
The present study investigated how young children understand the sophisticated concept of restorative justice in unintentional moral transgressions. A sex-balanced sample of 5-year-old (M = 5.67, SD = 0.34, 49.3% girls) and 8-year-old (M = 7.86, SD = 0.29, 46.0% girls) Chinese children (N = 193) participated in the study. In designing the materials, we distilled the multidimensional meanings of restorative justice into two stories, one addressing the theme of property violation and the other physical harm; both stories were set in an animal community. We then engaged the children in joint reading and an interview, during which they showed preference for the given treatments for the transgressor (two restorative treatments vs. two retributive treatments) and ranked two further sets of restorative vs. retributive treatments at the community level. The results indicated that most children favored restorative treatments over retributive treatments for a transgressor, and the 8-year-olds viewed psychological restoration more favorably and behavioral punishment less favorably than the 5-year-olds. The children also tended to endorse restorative treatments at the community level, revealing an understanding of the needs, and obligations of all parties concerned. Notably, more 8- than 5-year-olds showed a consistency in restorative orientation at this level. Interpreting our data through the lens of the Representational Redescription model, we attained a more refined account of young children's levels of understanding regarding restorative justice. These results provide insights for the early cultivation of restorative justice among young children, which is a cornerstone for its successful practice in any society.
Highlights
The means to achieve justice in responding to moral transgressions has been a matter of debate for thousands of years
Applying a choice-based paradigm embedded in interactive story reading, the overarching goal of the current study is to investigate young children’s understanding of restorative justice in unintentional moral transgression scenarios
Analyses of the data revealed that most children preferred restorative treatments to retributive treatments for the transgressor in both moral transgression situations
Summary
The means to achieve justice in responding to moral transgressions has been a matter of debate for thousands of years. There are two distinct paradigms of response to wrongdoing: retributive/punitive justice and restorative justice. Retributive justice emphasizes the punishment of wrongdoers and has long been the primary practice in the legal system. Retributive justice is criticized for destroying people’s social personality (Consedine, 1995), fueling conflict, and deepening harm, especially for relatively minor offenses (Daly and Immarigeon, 1998; Zehr, 2002/2015). Restorative justice is regarded as a meaningful solution to the excessive reliance on punishment (Barnett, 1977), and its value has been increasingly recognized globally (see Sullivan and Tifft, 2006; van Wormer and Walker, 2013).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
