Document Type
Doctor of Education Capstone
Original Publication Date
2024
Client
Restorative Practices Richmond
Location
Richmond, Virginia
Date of Submission
May 2024
Abstract
To address how key stakeholders experience restorative practices (RP), Restorative Practices Richmond (RPR) submitted a request for assistance (RFA) to Virginia Commonwealth University. This single case study responds to the RFA by examining how parents, caregivers, and community partners perceive school discipline and restorative practices and how this understanding supports RPR’s work to support restorative practices at Martin Luther King Middle School (MLK MS). Through a social justice lens, this capstone explores the challenges and needs of parents, caregivers, and community partners engaging with restorative practices. The findings that emerged included the following: parents and caregivers lack sufficient knowledge about what RP is, how it is implemented at the school, and how it will benefit their child; communication channels need to be expanded to increase awareness and participation in RP; as this key stakeholder group wants perceived biases dismantled and relationships and connections strengthened with the school and RPR program. The study also found that if information was presented to study participants in a culturally appropriate manner, if they were invited to take part in the RPR programming, and if barriers to RP access were recognized and removed, they would support the RPR program. Our team's work supported RPR in identifying ways to increase buy-in from parents, caregivers, and community partners to move towards providing a whole school restorative practices model.
Rights
© The Authors