This paper offers a focus group approach to the understanding of student perceptions of campus community. Using the Strange and Banning (2001) framework of community, the author argues that students' sense of campus community should be studied as it exists within the institutional environment. The results of the study include: 1) There is a strong…

A campus violence survey was completed by 189 students, most of whom were in a developmental studies program or an enrichment (honors) program. There was no difference in violent acts based on developmental or enrichment courses taken. Males were more likely to be perpetrators of crimes, especially vandalism. (SLD)

Interviews with students at an alternative high school for at-risk students in Estes Park, Colorado, reveal their attitudes toward learning, the instructional program, and the learning environment. Finds, for example, that students value teachers who care and hands-on learning experiences. (PKP)

A study investigated the perceptions of five male elementary students with behavior disorders regarding aggression and violence in schools. Students associated aggressive and violent behavior with drug use, stealing, destruction of property, fighting, and gangs. Participants suggested adding more police to schools and involving students in…

In an effort to assess students' perceptions of victimization in their schools, as well as their schools' safety, over 1,900 students from elementary, middle, high, and alternative schools were administered a 154-item questionnaire. The responses on the items were used to establish the psychometric properties of 19 theoretically driven scales and…

By devolving authority to local schools, the 1988 Chicago School Reform Act sought to weaken central power in the school system and to promote greater site-based control. This report presents the voices of Chicago Illinois public school students regarding their school experiences--how they describe their teachers and peers, their classes, and…

Research on school violence has slowly gained momentum in Canada, underscoring the concern some educators are expressing about the frequency of behaviors that seriously disrupt student learning. This paper presents findings of a study that compared students' and administrators' perceptions of the nature, extent, awareness, and management of…

Although Switzerland is a small country, it has a highly diverse population, and with that diversity has come the potential for violence in the schools. In the last 2 or 3 years, school violence has become a major issue in Swiss education. This paper involves an intervention undertaken by specially trained school psychologists to reduce violence…

This report summarizes students' responses regarding crime at school collected by the National Crime Victimization Survey in a special supplement during the first half of 1989. The data represent an estimated 21.6 million students, ages 12 to 19. The analysis accounts for crime experienced by different groups--males and females; blacks and whites;…

This publication is concerned with how to keep schools safe. The spring 2000 issue "Zero Tolerance: Effective Policy or Display of Administrative Machismo?" (James W. Fiscus) discusses how difficult it is to determine just what zero tolerance means and reminds readers that schools were required to pass zero tolerance rules to remain…

The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) Act of 1986 provides funding to school districts to supplement local efforts to eliminate violence as well as drug and alcohol use by their students. In 1996-97, the Austin Independent School District (Texas) (AISD) received $622,692 from the SDFSC grant, with supplemental funds later bringing…

This document is comprised of summaries of six papers presented at a symposium on the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, a federal grant to school districts intended to promote health and safety in schools and communities. The Initiative was designed to confront school violence, safety, and mental health needs through the provision of a…

This article discusses a project that investigated a student-based problem-solving model for reducing crime in the nation's schools. A quasi-experimental research design was employed that captured data in three waves from more than 450 students attending 11th grade social studies classes in two schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Public Schools…

This study analyzed base-year student data files from the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) cross-sectionally to identify relationships between school violence and student achievement in reading and mathematics. The analysis identified student behavior variables related to three measures of school violence: (1) personal…

The Wake County Public School System, North Carolina, conducted the High School Student Survey of students in grades 9 through 12 during the 1998-99 school year. The return rate for the survey was 80.4%. Students responded to a variety of questions related to homework, technology use, fairness, safety, support, and future plans. A majority of the…