Healing, Transforming, Empowering: Galvanizing Cultures of Understanding

Galvanizing Cultures of Understanding at Grand Canyon University (GCU) is an in-school initiative involving the completion of learning modules that reestablish healthy practices for junior high school age youth who have instigated conflict and disruption. This program was developed through a collaboration between Phoenix Restorative Justice Center and GCU's College of Education, College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Multicultural Office.

Through our missional vision and integrated Christian worldview, GCU values strengthening foundational characteristics that can lead to a more flourishing society.

The Galvanizing Cultures of Understanding was designed to provide educators, administrators and superintendents with access to effective tools for public, private and charter schools, and districts to assist with peer resolution. This initiative helps K-12 schools implement restorative practices to address students’ challenging behaviors and help school leaders, teachers and students resolve conflict in a productive and healthy manner.

The series of eight virtual training modules are available as in-person trainings, virtual trainings or may be taken as a hybrid. The participants will examine schoolwide disciplinary plans, learn hands-on conflict mediation and uncover resolution skills which they can immediately apply in their professional practices.

Participants will interact with peers, instructors and materials in this online learning platform featuring topics such as:

• Methods to manage conflict ranging from avoidance to collaboration and their application on specific situations.
• Mediation skills training which includes ways of speaking, listening and understanding when in the middle of disagreements.
• Implicit bias training which teaches how to adjust attitudes and stereotypes to avoid discrimination and inequality specific to perceptions about involved individuals.
• Trauma-informed care training which seeks to understand traumatic events in a person’s background that drive behaviors.

The guiding knowledge from this restorative practice program is brought to students through individualized mediation plans, restorative re-entry circles, peer support and socialization, family conferencing, school activities that stress cooperation and support from school leaders to the commitment of student success. The program intends to focus on strengthening relationships and restoring those that have been harmed to assist youth in discerning the appropriate action or re-action in a range of situations.