Justice on Both Sides

Maisha T. Winn is the Chancellor’s Leadership Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis, where she also co-directs (with Torry Winn) the Transformative Justice in Education (TJE) Center. Winn’s program of research examines the relationships between language, literacy, justice, and school policies. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher and eventually a high school English teacher. In 2012 she received the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award and in 2016 was named an American Educational Research Association Fellow. As a 2014 William T. Grant Distinguished Fellow, Winn shadowed restorative justice attorneys and practitioners in the West and Midwest. She is the author of several books, including Writing in Rhythm: Spoken Word Poetry in Urban Schools (published under her maiden name, “Fisher”); Black Literate Lives: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (published under “Fisher”); Writing Instruction in the Culturally Relevant Classroom (with Latrise P. Johnson); and Girl Time: Literacy, Justice, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline; and coeditor of Humanizing Research: Decolonizing Qualitative Research (with Django Paris). She is also the author of numerous articles in journals such as Review of Research in Education; Anthropology and Education Quarterly; International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education; Race, Ethnicity and Education; Research in the Teaching of English; Race and Social Problems; and Harvard Educational Review.

"Winn makes a compelling case for the use of restorative justice practices in schools as ... as a way to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline that has destroyed the lives of too many young people of color." —Zahra Bokhari, Philanthropy News Digest "In a nation that is hyper-socialized to preserve the concepts of law, order, and punishment, especially with regard to Black and Brown bodies, shifting one’s mindset is no simple undertaking. However, Justice on Both Sides is an accessible guide that serves as both a 'compass' and a 'map' for PreK-12 educators, administrators, policymakers, and all others whose work has implications for education." —Darius O. Johnson and Dorinda J. Carter Andrews, Teachers College Record "Winn shares the insights of teachers, students, administrators, support staff and parents who each look at restorative justice through their own lenses." —Bob Schultz, School Administrator "This book serves as a compass for educators committed to justice and transformation. It compels us to resolve the inequities in school while we seek to support all students." —Nadira Baksh, Professionally Speaking "[Justice on Both Sides] bridges the theory of restorative justice with teacher practice while highlighting tensions that practitioners are likely to encounter. For researchers, Winn’s book provides plenty of inspiration for future studies that examine the link between teachers’ perspectives on restorative justice and their enactment of it across school sites." —Education Review