Nonviolent discipline practices within classrooms: Best practices from a trauma-informed perspective

This chapter focuses on nonviolent discipline practices within classroom settings. The authors draw upon a trauma-informed perspective as a means to encourage professionals working with children to engage in best practices as they decide how to best discipline children under their care. They also address a few examples of nonviolence in U.S. history because peace has worked multiple times as a means to solve social problems. In addition, they provide a brief history of discipline in U.S. schools and how that has evolved over time. Furthermore, they explain possible causes of trauma in children, how to discipline children with histories of trauma, how to implement trauma-informed care in K-12 settings, as well as provide examples of trauma-informed classroom strategies. Using a case study, they provide an example of how to guide teachers to use nonviolent discipline in their work with children with histories of trauma.