TY - JOUR
T1 - How safe is a school? An exploratory study comparing measures and perceptions of safety
AU - Hernandez, Diley
AU - Floden, Lysbeth
AU - Bosworth, Kris
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - This exploratory study investigates the relation between incident reports to local law enforcement, and students' and teachers' perceptions of school safety. Using a combination of grounded theory and statistics, we compared quantitative data collected from law enforcement agencies with qualitative data provided by students and teachers during focus groups. Findings show that incidents of serious violence and attacks, minor violence, and other school-related crime, in that order, constituted the most frequently reported incidents. Infrequently reported events included intimidation and bullying, and weapon and alcohol possession. In some cases, even though both students and teachers had similar perceptions of safety, their perceptions did not necessarily match the frequency of official incident reports.
AB - This exploratory study investigates the relation between incident reports to local law enforcement, and students' and teachers' perceptions of school safety. Using a combination of grounded theory and statistics, we compared quantitative data collected from law enforcement agencies with qualitative data provided by students and teachers during focus groups. Findings show that incidents of serious violence and attacks, minor violence, and other school-related crime, in that order, constituted the most frequently reported incidents. Infrequently reported events included intimidation and bullying, and weapon and alcohol possession. In some cases, even though both students and teachers had similar perceptions of safety, their perceptions did not necessarily match the frequency of official incident reports.
KW - Law enforcement reports
KW - Perceptions
KW - School safety
KW - Students
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957878018&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77957878018&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15388220.2010.508133
DO - 10.1080/15388220.2010.508133
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77957878018
VL - 9
SP - 357
EP - 374
JO - Journal of School Violence
JF - Journal of School Violence
SN - 1538-8220
IS - 4
ER -