Although viable leadership models for schools with differing social contexts are in great demand, empirical studies of high school principals have not produced consistent results. This paper summarizes part of a larger project designed to identify leadership behaviors of principals in "gang-impacted" and other secondary schools. The…

Factors that influence principals in decisions related to violence in schools were studied through semi-structured interviews with 12 junior high school principals in a large western Canadian school district. Participants were selected on the basis of their known involvement in school violence prevention initiatives. Several decision-making…

This paper reports on the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools, the first national study of problem behavior containing information from multiple sources -- principals, teachers, and students. Nationwide, 7% of schools or an estimated 6,451 schools reported to law enforcement personnel at least one incident of physical attack or…

The Survey of School-Based Gang Prevention and Intervention Programs is a study of approaches used by schools to reduce or prevent gang involvement among schools. Principals in a probability sample of 1,287 schools were asked what they were doing in their schools to prevent problem behavior or to promote a safe and orderly school environment.…

This description of the research, the development of state laws, and the origins of practices attempting to restore safe schools suggests that there was a relationship among research, policy, and practice. The Congress of the United States enacted the Safe School Study Act in 1974 to ensure a safe environment for education. In response to this…