Date of Degree
2024
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Hutchings, Quortne
Committee Members
Jaekel, Katy; Hu, Xiaodan
Keywords
Restorative Practices, Restorative Justice, Community Colleges, Empowerment Theory
Abstract
Restorative justice provides a relationship-centered framework for addressing challenges that build community and promote social justice. While there are various applications of restorative justice in U.S. Public Education, criminal justice and juvenile justice, there is a dearth of research on how restorative justice practices have been applied at community colleges. The purpose of this qualitative multisite case study was to explore how community colleges are using restorative justice practices in order to build better relationships and improve campus culture. This study was conducted using Perkins and Zimmerman’s (1995) Empowerment Theory, which asserts that engaging in empowering processes will result in improved outcomes that enhance individual well-being and increase capacity within restorative justice practices at community colleges. The data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with six practitioners at three community colleges in the West and Midwest. Three themes emerged from the research: 1) Community college practitioners define and use restorative justice practices in a wide variety of ways; 2) Community college practitioners use restorative justice practices to support and empower underrepresented student groups; and 3) Practitioners face common challenges when implementing restorative justice practices. The findings of this research can provide aspiring restorative justice practitioners with actionable ways to define and operationalize restorative justice initiatives while shedding light on common challenges practitioners face when facilitating restorative initiatives.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Birch, Mikel, ""The Impact of Being Seen": A Study of Restorative Practices at Community Colleges" (2024). Dissertations of Practice. 34.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/34
