Preparing Restorative Justice Educators: A Discussion of Effective Models

When: Oct. 29, 2014

Hosts and Panelists: Carl Stauffer, Kathy Evans, Fania Davis, and Eric Butler

Historically, restorative justice in school settings has been implemented by teachers who have picked up knowledge and skills through a variety of formats, from faculty in-service trainings to webinars (such as this one) to week-long workshops.

More recently, colleges of education have begun to offer courses in restorative justice in school settings and this year, EMU became the first university to offer a graduate degree in restorative justice in education, housed in an education department. In this webinar, we will examine various ways that restorative justice educators are being prepared and equipped to be more effective in their work.

Participants will hear from Fania Davis, Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth; Eric Butler, a school restorative justice coordinator from Oakland, CA; a workshop facilitator; and Kathy Evans, a professor in the EMU teacher education department about how they are working with teachers to ensure that they have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to act as restorative justice agents in school settings.

We will consider the following questions:

  • What are the best ways to prepare large numbers of teachers in a school without compromising the integrity of RJ?
  • Are some approaches better than others?
  • What principles should guide us as we prepare teachers?
  • How can we more effectively move restorative justice in education forward by equipping teachers to work in their various contexts?