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To better understand school counselors' experiences related to implementing restorative practices (RP) in schools, the authors conducted a qualitative study with eight practicing school counselors working in schools that were in the early phases of implementation. Four major themes emerged from the Consensual Qualitative Research methodological analysis of the data: enthusiasm and optimism for a relational approach to education; goodness-of-fit between school counselor identity and the RP way of being; potential for advancing equity; and challenges. Drawing from these themes, this article presents implications for school counseling training, practice, and research.

Across the United States, schools are implementing Restorative Practices (RP) in an effort to reduce exclusionary discipline and improve school climate through fostering a relationally driven school community. Emerging research has begun to examine the implementation and efficacy of RP as an alternative to punitive discipline approaches. While most research has focused on middle and secondary school implementation, this mixed method bounded case study adds to the body of knowledge by exploring how an elementary school began RP implementation. The case study specifically describes the RP processes utilized during the first year of RP implementation, structural facilitators, and alignment with Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support, Second Step, and Responsive Classroom. Data include 19 interviews with teachers, staff, and parents, as well as analysis of administered staff surveys. Findings indicate staff implemented tier one community building RP circles, integrated RP with other behavioral supports, and that staff buy-in was influenced by strong leadership and ongoing professional development. Additionally, we explore ways in which the school integrated RP practices across all facets of the school community, including within classrooms and during staff and parent teacher organization meetings.

This case study describes the experiences and perceptions of school staff and students participating in restorative practices (RP) community building circles during the first year of school-wide RP implementation. Data sources include (a) beginning- and end-of-year surveys of school staff perspectives and experiences with implementing RP, (b) semistructured interviews conducted with 17 school staff, and (c) surveys of third- to fifth-grade (N = 107) students regarding their experiences participating in RP classroom circles. Across all data sources, the connection between community building circles and social-emotional learning (SEL) was evident and well articulated. Additionally, students and staff highlighted challenges in circle participation, equitable circle accessibility for all students, and tensions between RP and school discipline. The promise of RP to support SEL curriculum may only be realized if RP implementation is designed as a school-wide system to promote social development for both students and the adults who serve them.

Persistent disparities in exclusionary discipline procedures continue to portent negative educational outcomes for students from specific racial, income, and ability categories. Restorative practices (RP) has emerged as a promising approach to mitigate these disparities and improve school climate. This study describes the utility of field-initiated implementation readiness assessments that might guide school districts by targeting the needs of faculty and staff. This study is a part of a mixed-methods Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project made possible by a university and school-district partnership. The results reveal potential challenges and opportunities related to RP implementation and hold implications for professional development trainings for school districts that aim to implement RP as a foundation to employ more just and effective disciplinary mechanisms.

Drawing from three case vignettes and the extant literature, the authors seek to identify, problematize, and expand the discussion on colorblind approaches to diversity within the practice of school counseling. The authors discuss how such an approach to working with students from under-represented groups subtly blames the victim, limits the development of equity by positioning critical dialogues as counter-productive, and inhibits the understanding of within-group differences. The article concludes with suggestions for how school counselors can enhance the services they provide to students of various social locations by abandoning colorblind practices and choosing to remove their difference blindfolds.

This paper considers the emancipatory potential of incorporating youth participatory action research (YPAR) and restorative practices (RP) implementation into a transformative mixed methods study design as a means to create equitable and caring school systems for marginalized youth. The utilization of "transformative mixed methods" research offers a methodological orientation to legitimize, illuminate, and prioritize perspectives from "marginalized youth" that may be undervalued, decontextualized, and oversimplified in traditional quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Furthermore, the authors suggest that YPAR and RP align with Critical Theory and Quantitative Criticalism, which are theoretical and methodological frameworks consistent with the transformative paradigm. The integration of these various theoretical, methodological and applied frameworks provides researchers opportunities to flatten hierarchies and actively engage marginalized youth to address the structural and programmatic inequities they experience in schools. Informed by the authors' multi-year university-school district action research partnership, this paper explores how the alignment of YPAR, RP, and transformative mixed methods may promote critical consciousness amongst students, families, staff, and administration in schools. Finally, we also demonstrate how social science researchers can blend YPAR, RP, and transformative mixed methods design to partner with school districts to address structural societal problems, such as racism and inequity.

In this article, Kervick and colleagues posit that restorative practices (RP) implementation promises to mitigate educational inequities resulting from discipline disparities for youth with disabilities and youth of color. Recent efforts to reduce these disparities have emphasized more relational approaches to behavioral change. Kervick et al. argue that nonpunitive restorative approaches promise to mitigate discipline disparities for racialized youth and youth with disabilities within a schoolwide multitiered systems of support framework only if implemented with an emphasis on educational access and equity. They offer practical tools and strategies to support teachers with implementation of inclusive, accessible, and equitable Tier 1 restorative circles.

Using a case example, the authors explore how the counseling field's participation in the discourse of heterosexist dominance fosters microaggressions toward sexual and gender-transgressive minorities. Specifically, the authors deconstruct four linguistic assumptions of the discourse of heterosexist dominance: (a) the sex/gender binary, (b) decontextualized disposition language of homophobia, (c) hierarchical disposition language of affirmation, and (d) gendered pronouns. The authors will also examine how these assumptions influence egalitarian, well-intended counselors and counseling psychologists to engage in microinvalidations of LGB and transgender clients. Implications regarding more effective practice, training, and research will be discussed.

The doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision is the terminal degree in the field of counselor education within the U.S. The authors surveyed CACREP-accredited doctoral programs to assess department characteristics, clinical experience and credentials, research experience, and the admission, retention, and evaluation of students. Results indicated that the PhD was a preferable degree to other degree offerings. Programs were found to be diverse in their policies and procedures relating to admissions and retention, time to complete the program, and student expectations. International students and faculty representation was found to be sparse in CACREP-doctoral programs. Implications for future research and practice are offered.

Extant research has neglected to explore the diversity representation of counselor education programs. This pilot study sought to examine the extent to which CACREP-accredited master's-level programs attend to the representation of people of color, individuals with dis/abilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), and transgender persons within admissions, enrollment, and graduation data. The findings indicated little consistency in the maintenance of students' demographic characteristics among participating programs. The authors contend that counseling programs need to critically analyze their policies and procedures to ensure a responsive milieu for students from diverse backgrounds. Implications for the counseling field are presented.

The construct of social privilege is ubiquitous within the multicultural and social justice literature. However, the group work literature has yet to integrate the construct into group theory, processes, and training. In this article, we review the group literature on multicultural and diversity issues. Also, we examine the multicultural and social justice literature for an operational definition of social privilege. Finally, we make an argument for the impact of social privilege on group work and for the necessity of integrating social justice competencies into group work.

The heterosexism erasure construct captures attitudes, which deny or minimize the systemic oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) persons in the United States. Heterosexism erasure expands the interrogation of denying or minimizing discrimination (Neville at al., 2006) beyond the realm of White supremacy and into the domain of heteronormativity. The purpose of this project was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of heterosexism erasure. Two independent samples were gathered to conduct exploratory (n = 425) and confirmatory (n = 367) factor analyses to assess for initial reliability and validity evidence of the Heterosexism Erasure Scale (HES). Results suggest that the final 13-item HES provides a general index of heterosexism erasure as well as assesses two related, but distinct factors named Heterosexism Denial and Heterosexism Minimization. Results support the internal consistency and factor structure of the measure. Expected relationships between the HES and existing measures provide validity evidence for the instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]