Restorative Practice

Catalog description

Students in this course explore theories and practice of Restorative Practices within alternative dispute resolution models. Restorative practice is a philosophical approach to be used in conjunction with traditional justice and conflict resolution systems. This concept is increasingly used when an offense has occurred, as a method of healing individuals and communities who have been harmed/impacted by that action. With beginnings in indigenous societies, the basic principle is to bring those harmed together with the community in a dialogue aimed at reestablishing personal and relational balance for all involved. Restorative practice’s initial practitioners were often within the traditional justice system, yet this method of conflict resolution has expanded to a wide range of applications including education, non-profit, government, human resources, classroom management, and healthcare.