Date of Award
2024
Type
Dissertation
Major
Doctor of Education
Degree Type
Doctor of Education In Curriculum and Leadership
Department
Teacher Education
First Advisor
Dr. Erinn Bentley
Second Advisor
Dr. Toni Franklin
Third Advisor
Dr. Kristie Smith
Abstract
Zero tolerance behavior management policies in secondary schools contribute to high student suspension and dropout rates. Zero tolerance policies do not provide an alternative solution to correct undesired behaviors and do virtually nothing to target a solution to reduce suspensions and student dropout. The purpose of this qualitative research was to gain insight into secondary school administrators’ perceptions of restorative practices and the impact of restorative practice programs. The researcher analyzed participating administrators’ perspectives regarding their behavioral management beliefs towards restorative practices and practices through interviews and open-ended questionnaires. Five school administrators with some familiarity with the concept of restorative practices were sampled from a school district within the state of Georgia in the United States. Data for this study were collected using open-ended questionnaires and interviews. After the thematic analysis, seven themes emerged including, adaptive behavior management and restorative engagement, comprehensive student support and behavior management framework, challenges in implementing restorative practices and zero tolerance policies in education, transformative student engagement, students embrace restorative practices amidst uncertainty, community connection and accountability, and empowering ownership, peer support, and personal growth. Administrators viewed effective restorative programs as incorporating comprehensive adaptive frameworks tailored to address individual needs. Therefore, schools implementing restorative practices should ensure they have a comprehensive, multi-pronged framework in place utilizing a variety of restorative tools and coordinated protocols. The researcher recommends conducting mixed-methods or larger scale quantitative studies to expand on these exploratory findings
Recommended Citation
Murray, Antron, "A Qualitative Descriptive Study on Secondary School Administrators’ Perception of Restorative Practices and the Impact of Restorative Practice Program" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 540.
https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/540
