There is growing concern about zero tolerance disciplinary practices in schools throughout the US. High suspension rates, specifically amongst African American and Latinx students are strongly correlated with negative student outcomes, and for some students may create an entry point into the school-to-prison pipeline. Furthermore, discipline data…

This research describes the application of improvement science focusing on implementing restorative practices (RP) to decrease suspension and expulsion rates of Black students. Black students are suspended and expelled disproportionately compared to their White peers in South Carolina. Due to the high suspension and expulsion rates, school…

School safety and security strategies is a generic qualitative study that seeks to comprehend school safety and disciplinary strategies through the perspectives and opinions of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the strategies used in secondary inner-city schools to regulate student discipline…

Zero-tolerance discipline policies have been in use in U.S. schools for almost 25 years. Since their enactment in the 1990s, researchers have found that zero tolerance disciplinary policies and practices can cause students to enter the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perceptions of…

The implementation of zero-tolerance policies in the educational system has laid the foundations for the criminalization of minority youth and the school-to-prison pipeline (Mora & Christianakis, 2013). In 2015, the passage of Every Student Succeeds Act sought to decrease the schools-to-prison pipeline and minimize discipline and achievement…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of participants who work as educators in the Northeastern Region of the United States regarding the use of Restorative Practices versus Zero Tolerance measures. These two disciplinary measures address disruptive behaviors in the classroom to establish and maintain a safe learning…

This narrative study examined how the life experiences of high school administrators impact how they conceptualize and understand school discipline. These experiences were then positioned within the current context of COVID-19 pandemic related school closures and protests associated with George Floyd's death which brought light to systemic racism…

Recently, much public attention has been focused on racial inequalities in who is subjected to exclusionary school disciplinary policies, and consequently, forced to miss hours of instruction. Over the past two decades, researchers have documented the disparate impacts that zero-tolerance policies have had on students of color, low-income…

Restorative practices emerged on the scene within the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) as of recent. In 2006, CPS revamped their Student Code of Misconduct handbook from a strict and stern "zero-tolerance" voice to a more sensitive and subtle "restorative talk" approach. With this transition in effect, the school's culture and…

This research uses both quantitative and qualitative methodology in a mixed methods research model to explore the implementation of a policy to integrate iPads as an instructional tool through the experiences of classroom teachers and students. The study's participants consist of classroom teachers and students involved in an iPad implementation…

Seclusion and restraint are aversive behavioral practices used in schools for control and punishment. The practices were first used in psychiatric hospitals as a means of control over patients. Eventually, the practices began being used in schools alongside other aversive and exclusionary discipline practices, including corporal punishment,…

The problem of this project study was that middle school teachers in a public school district in southwestern United States did not understand the principals' expectations for implementing the team model and its effect on their relationship with administrators the team model regarding the relationship between administrators and teachers. The…

This dissertation study investigates the complexities of the relationship between literacy and international development in Indonesia. I focus on the Literacy Boost program from the international non-governmental organization Save the Children, and I explore how the program was differentially implemented and received in two sites:…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the implementation of Restorative Practices in selected elementary schools in southeast Texas. Restorative Practices will generally be defined as a social science that studies how to build social capital and achieve social discipline through participatory learning and decision…

Exclusionary discipline practices (EDPs) have been linked to poor academic performance and student dropout rates. Research shows that students suspended, expelled, or placed in alternate learning environments fare worse academically than their peers. This qualitative case study explores the experiences of classroom teachers in Northwest Louisiana…