Despite a lack of empirical support for its efficacy in reducing violence, there remains a strong tendency among schools to respond to the threat of school violence via increased security measures, such as school resource officers (SROs) (Jonson, 2017). Although the implementation of SROs continues to center on their law enforcement background and…

Violence and bullying in schools keep escalating and have become a world-wide problem -- also in South Africa. This problem is continuing unabated, despite the different intervention strategies in place. Intervention strategies include the Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) programme, the National School Safety Framework (NSSF), the Safe Schools…

With increased media coverage of school violence, communities and schools have hired school resource officers (SROs) in an attempt to reduce the violence. These SROs often have a variety of duties and training depending on a variety of factors both related and unrelated to school crime and violence prevention. These may include typical school…

A rise in the number of school shootings over time has driven increasing attention to school safety. However, school shootings are not the only physical safety threat students may encounter at school. Other types of violence include sexual assault, robbery, physical attack or fights, and threats of physical attack (with or without a weapon). In…

Bullying is a global social phenomenon that negatively affects learners' psychological functioning, social life, and academic performance. This challenge is notable among senior phase learners in Amathole East secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This study responds to the problem by exploring the challenges and possible…

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS is managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of…

School safety has emerged as an issue at the forefront of American society, particularly since the tragic events at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado on April 20, 1999. The magnitude of school violence has been perpetuated by not only the level of violence, but also the media coverage and availability afforded to these events. In…

This article summarizes the accomplishments of research on school safety in the past quarter century, identifies important gaps, and indicates promising directions for further progress. Although closely related, there are distinguishable bodies of research on physical and psychological safety. Physical safety research concerns the prevention of…

School preparedness is strengthened by prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities (also known as the five preparedness mission areas). This fact sheet describes what response is, how response is connected to the other preparedness missions, what response efforts planning teams may want to consider, and how response…

Recent incidents of school-based violence have resulted in the widespread implementation of school safety strategies across the United States. While research on these strategies has grown over the past decade, there is little understanding about their collective influence on indicators of school violence. Using data from the 2007-2008 School…

U.S. policymakers, educators and advocates have identified a need to increase school safety following several high-profile incidents of school violence. Some of the proposed solutions are not supported by evidence of their effectiveness. In the 2018-2019 budget process, both the Colorado State House and Senate amended the budget to address school…

School social workers and school security personnel are increasingly being integrated into U.S. schools; however, there is little available literature concerning the interactions between school social workers and school security personnel. This article will report descriptive findings of a study that investigated school social workers'…

In the United States, more than 70 million students are enrolled in public elementary and secondary (K-12) schools or degree-granting postsecondary institutions. School and campus safety and security for these students encompasses many issues, including violence prevention and response, school climate, and the physical and mental health of the…

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It addresses one central question: How can schools create contexts that foster safety and prosocial behaviors in the wake of…