Assessment and monitoring of safety in special education schools is imperative to establish and maintain a safe environment in which students can develop academic and social-emotional skills. The present study describes the development of a student self-report measure, the Safe at School questionnaire. Factorial validity, reliability and…

In 2009, School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) was introduced in the Netherlands to support schools in creating safe learning environments. In this longitudinal study, we explored effects of SWPBIS on student outcomes in the Netherlands. Fidelity of implementation of SWPBIS has been associated with improved student…

In this study, we extend prior research in the role of school climate in civic education by exploring the relationship between immigrant students' experiences of bullying and their attitudes toward their countries of settlement. Using the 2016 IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, we employ a multiple regression analysis with…

In the Netherlands, all schools are required to develop a wellbeing and social safeness policy. Despite this legislation, there is currently no adequate instrument available to measure the wellbeing and social safeness. Therefore, the present study investigates the psychometric properties of the Wellbeing and Social Safeness Questionnaire (WSSQ).…

So far, few articles about innovations in Dutch or American honors programs appear to link their findings to an existing body of research about innovations in higher education in general. Although scholars are starting to make this connection more and more (see Kallenberg; NRO, "Excellentie" and "EXChange"; NWO,…

Violence directed toward teachers has been understudied despite significant media and empirical investigation on school violence, such as student-to-student victimization and bullying. To date, there are relatively few published studies scattered across many countries. To address this void, the American Psychological Association, in collaboration…

Violence assessment can potentially be improved by Item Response Theory, that is, ordinal Mokken Scale Analysis. The research question is as follows: Does Mokken Scale Analysis of secondary pupils' experience of violence result in a homogeneous, reliable, and valid unidimensional scale that fits all the requirements of Mokken scaling? The method…

A plethora of studies have appeared which argue that, prior to their attack, the perpetrators of school shootings had experienced intense conflicts and problematic relations (e.g. bullying) with peers and teachers, and were on the periphery of the schools' social life. This in turn resulted in the perpetrators' view of themselves as marginalized…

Teachers conceptualise and interpret violent behaviour of secondary students in different ways. They also differ in their estimates of the relevance of student and contextual school variables when explaining the severity of violence experienced by students. Research can assist here by explicating the role of different types of contextual school…

Social cohesion in school is reflected in social discrimination processes and the complementary social roles of teachers, pupils, other staff and pupils' relatives. School social cohesion varies in level from high, characterised by prosocial interactions, to low, characterised by antisocial or violent interactions. Antisocial behaviour is usually…

In line with fear of crime research, schools should be secure places where pupils feel safe in order to function well. Various types of risk and promotive variables at school and pupil level may differently influence a pupil's feelings of safety in school, the school surroundings, and at home. The aim is to elaborate and test a theoretical…

Background: School safety and corresponding feelings of both pupils and school staff are beginning to receive more and more attention. The social cohesion characteristics of a school may be useful in promoting feelings of safety, particularly in pupils. Aims: To conceptualize theoretically, and check empirically a two-level model of social…

Different types of variables seem to influence school safety and a pupil's feelings of safety at school. The research question asks which risk and promotive variables should be integrated in a theoretical model to predict a pupil's feelings of safety at school, in the school surroundings and at home; what the outcomes are of an empirical check of…

Socially problematic and violent behaviour of pupils in and around schools is undesirable from pedagogical, social and societal perspectives. The motives underlying violence between different social actors in school may help explain and improve this behaviour. The aim is to investigate the relationship patterns between characteristics of secondary…

Ensuring a safe learning environment for students is a major responsibility of educators and policymakers around the world. Based on the secondary analyses of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data collected from 33 countries in 1999, the study found that 8th graders who witnessed their friends' violence…