Designing Professional Development in Restorative Practices: Assessing High School Personnel's, Students’, and Parents’ Perceptions of Discipline Practices

Abstract

We conducted focus groups with high school staff, students, parents, and administrators to gain information about how to design professional development training supporting high school staff in implementing restorative practices within a multitiered support system. Results indicated that all stakeholders valued trust and relationship building and identified equity, accountability, and home−school communications as key elements of effective discipline approaches. We provide recommendations for designing professional development for high school staff in effectively and sustainably integrating restorative practices with existing multitiered student support systems.