CRJU 334 - Restorative Justice in Educational Settings

3 Credits

(Fall)
Prerequisite(s): CRJU 201 & CRJU 329 Safe, nurturing and engaging educational settings are the foundation of healthy communities. This course emphasizes the importance of building community and trusting relationships, creating just and equitable communities, and repairing harm in an educational setting. This course will focus on implementing restorative justice in educational settings. We will highlight the distinctive features and challenges of this complex issue, particularly in the context of biased and racist education policies, where opportunities are emerging to interrupt the negative impact of these practices on diverse learners. While the course content emphasizes K-12 schools, modified assignments can meet the needs of educators working in other educational settings. Topics include: the history and state of education in North America; restorative justice theory and social justice; privilege, bias and racialized educational policies; social and emotional learning; trauma- informed practices; whole-school restorative practices; restorative and relational teaching and learning; interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline; and how to implement and evaluate changes in educational environments as they shift from punitive to restorative.