Many urban school districts are adopting restorative practices (RP) as a means to reduce suspensions and resolve racial discipline gaps. In this study, we use a sensemaking framework to examine educators' beliefs about discipline and their perceptions of RP and its implementation. We draw on survey responses (N = 363) administered after educators…

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine elementary general music teachers' familiarity with, agreement with, and perceptions of restorative justice practices. Participants (N = 49) included practicing elementary general music teachers who were members of the "California Music Educators Association," the "Florida Music…

Utilizing a person-centered approach, the present study explored two-hundred and sixty-five adolescents' reports of self-disclosure, help, conflict, and conflict resolution with a close friend to investigate variability in profiles of friendship quality, whether gender and gender homophily and ethnicity homophily of friends are associated with…

In California, Black students have markedly lower academic achievement than their White peers and Black students are also more likely to experience exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions (Cano, 2020, Losen & Martinez, 2020). What can be done to mitigate these racial disparities in schools? In this brief, we investigate whether increasing…

There are numerous theories that offer cognitive processes of students of mathematics, all documenting various ways to describe knowledge acquisition leading to successful transitions from one stage to another, be it characterized by Dubinsky's encapsulation, Sfard's reification or Piaget's equilibration. We however are interested in the following…

Good mentoring of graduate students influences their perseverance and success to completion, whereas bad mentoring can result in negative outcomes, including delayed degree completion or non-completion. What the authors refer to as the gray zone is that which falls between good and bad mentoring. Examples are partial mentoring or changes in…

Due to the complex nature of global understanding and practice of citizenship, it is essential to understand how to educate for a responsive public sphere with active and emancipated citizens. This study aims to clarify how social movements (through a case illustration of Occupy) are representative of global citizenship goals while illuminating…

Seven schools in an economically challenged area of an urban school district in central California implemented mentored peer mediation programs under the guidance of a university-K-12 partnership project, Mediator Mentors. Individual student outcomes for social-cognitive dispositions, perceptions of school climate, conflict strategy choices, and…

In this article, we tackle the disadvantaging conditions of zero tolerance policies in school settings and advocate using an alternative approach--critical restorative justice through peacemaking circles--to nurture resilience and open opportunity at the school level. In the process, this article builds on theory and qualitative research and…

This case study examines Black-Latino/a relations at a public university in California, which has a 31% Black and 40% Latino/a student population. In-depth interviews with students and administrators indicate that Black and Latino/a students do recognize that they share similar educational and socioeconomic obstacles; however, there is little to…

The present study investigated how maternal HIV and mediating family processes are associated with adolescent distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. Mother-adolescent (ages 12-21) dyads (N = 264) were recruited from neighborhoods where the HIV-affected families resided (161 had mothers with HIV). Mediating family processes were youth…

The divorce explosion has placed a substantial burden on the judicial system of the United States. About 10 percent of divorce cases involve child custody battles. The adversarial legal process may be contrary to the children's best interest. Custody mediation has been used as an alternative to court litigation. California law requires an attempt…

This study reports on in-depth interviews with 57 highly religious, middle-aged married couples representing the major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) residing in New England and Northern California. The study uses grounded theory methods to create themes and a model describing the ways that religiosity influences marital conflict.…

A study of 122 high school students investigated how gender, self-esteem, attitudes toward cohabitation, family openness, parents' annual income, and race were related to attitude towards dating violence. More family openness correlated with use of reasoning in dating conflicts. Low self-esteem correlated with high verbal aggression. (Contains 67…

California is the only state to require school-violence training as a condition for state certification of teachers, school administrators, and pupil service personnel. This report presents findings of a study conducted by the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing's advisory panel on school violence. The study identifies the…