Schools are accountable for providing all students a safe and caring learning environment. When a child feels unsafe at school, personal relationships, mental health, and academics are negatively affected. The entire school community -- staff, parents, and students -- must work together to develop an effective safe school program. A carefully…

Drawing on data from a larger feminist study that explored how secondary English teacher candidates responded to a sexual trauma text set and pedagogy for teaching such narratives with Canadian adolescents, this paper examines how caretaker discourses emerged in response to these stories and learning. This especially manifested as emerging teacher…

We summarize current data and understanding about the prevalence of gun violence at schools and risk of rampage school shootings. Following that comes a discussion of gun availability among youth and strategies and practices in the United States and abroad that have been implemented to limit access to firearms for minors. Next, we review the…

Teaching in a democracy is challenging and filled with dilemmas that have no easy answers. For example, how do educators meet their responsibilities of teaching civic norms and dispositions while remaining nonpartisan? "Democratic Discord in Schools" features eight normative cases of complex dilemmas drawn from real events designed to…

Pre-service teachers responded to two questionnaires regarding school violence, the Teachers' Attitudes about Bullying, and Trainee Teachers' Bullying Attitudes. Results suggest that teachers across all academic divisions view bullying as a serious concern important to their role within the profession. There were considerable differences regarding…

Recently in many Canadian schools, escalated violence presents an evident threat. Rates of severe youth violence are considerably lower than sensational media coverage would have people believe, but at the same time, many young people, as well as adults, do not feel safe, respected, or constructively engaged as they should be. While schools cannot…

Thirty per cent of school districts in British Columbia do not ban smoking outright on school grounds, and in several instances, smoking is permitted in smoking pits, regardless of school district policy. While there is evidence to suggest that enforcing a tobacco-free environment for students does reduce adolescent smoking rates, the concomitant…

New Brunswick is a small Maritime province in Canada bordering on Maine. With just 700,000 people, the population is clustered in small cities and towns. Nevertheless, tragedies happen here as they do elsewhere and there is a need to be prepared. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) had developed PREPaRE, a curriculum founded…

Inclusion of students with special education needs into regular classrooms, and prevention of violence in schools are two important social or public policies with which school administrators and teachers are faced in today's public education system. If school staffs are to be effective at implementing these two public policies, it seems reasonable…

Alberta Learning expects all schools to have a safe and caring teaching and learning environment to ensure students have the opportunity to meet the standards of education set by the Minister of Learning. The primary objectives of this manual are to facilitate action that is legally, professionally, and educationally sound; identify and support…

Examines the short-term outcome of an antibullying program by comparing children attending a school involved in the program to children not receiving the program. Results indicated that bullying did not decrease four months after the program was introduced. There were, however, improvements reported in the level of victimization, peer isolation,…

Summarizes findings of a survey of 126 Canadian school boards on the development of violence-prevention policies. Results indicate that a large majority of school boards have policies addressing the issue of violence and violent incidents. Most specify suspension and expulsion as preventive measures. There is considerable room for improvement in…

This publication presents the proceedings of the invitational forum on student conduct and violence in schools in Canada. Participants identified several key issues related to student conduct and violence in schools. Those internal to schools include school climate, student values and attitudes, consequences of behavior, and peer culture. Issues…

High-profile cases have made the public aware of the horrific consequences of bullying and school violence and have left educators wondering whether schools are safe places for students and staff alike. According to an Angus Reid poll conducted by telephone in March-April, 1999, among a representative cross-section of 894 Canadian teens between 12…

A study of junior high schools (MacDonald 1995) found that students and administrators held significantly different perceptions regarding the nature, extent, and management of violent behaviors. This paper presents findings of a study conducted 1 year later that more thoroughly examined students' perceptions of the effectiveness of current school…