While previous studies have assessed public opinions for arming teachers in K-12 schools in the United States, comparatively less research has focused on understanding teachers' opinions for such policies and assessed whether and to what extent school- and individual-level factors are associated with differences in support. The current study aims…

Calls to weaponize teachers with guns as a means of enhanced school safety and protection against a school shooting have intensified in recent years. Arguments for and against arming teachers are relatively well-established, but a paucity of scholarly research exists regarding its effectiveness and whether teachers generally support carrying guns…

This study examined the factors that influence support for campus carry laws among a sample of approximately 2,700 faculty/administrators, staff, and students at a large, public university in Georgia. Although previous research suggests that support for campus carry may differ across groups on campus, there have been no studies that have examined…

This study examined attitudes toward campus carry -- a policy that would permit individuals to carry concealed firearms on a university's grounds if they possess a permit. Survey data were collected from a sample of 1,380 members of a campus community -- undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff -- at a medium-sized public…

Although there has been an increase in research on support for campus carry laws, few studies have examined how these laws influence campus safety. Using longitudinal data from a university sample, this study compares measures of campus safety before and after the adoption of a campus carry law. We found statistically significant increases in…

Gun control is a highly debated and divisive social issue. In recent years, this issue has been thrust into the academic arena with the advent of campus carry legislation and policies. Researchers have taken up the task of attempting to better understand the attitudes of those most affected by campus carry legislation -- the campus community. The…

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…

Pre-service teachers who had completed their practicum or student teaching and in-service teachers in their first 3 years of teaching (n = 218) completed open-ended surveys about their beliefs and fears of school violence and rated their fears for such acts as use of weapons and the likelihood of those acts about their fears about schools and…

Despite the fact that many incidents of extreme violence have taken place in rural areas there is still some resistance on the part of rural school administrators to admit that violence is a problem in their schools. This article provides a comparison of rural and urban student and staff self-report of school violence (perpetration, victimization…