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…

The Conflict Resolution Advisory Team has been involved with establishing and maintaining Conflict Resolution programs at Toronto Board (Canada) elementary and secondary schools. Research and Assessment was requested to support the Advisory Team in an evaluation of the programs in 1995. Questionnaires were sent to students (n=1181) and teachers…

In today's schools bullies have the power to be more tenacious, more vicious, and meaner than ever. We are all beginning to understand that victims of bullying are at a greater risk for depression, suicide, and hurting others through violent acts. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate common threads of effective Bully-Free…

As part of the evaluation of the High School Improvement Project (HSIP), a survey was conducted to measure staff perceptions of school and instructional effectiveness behaviors and activities at Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan. The questionnaire used was an abbreviated version of the School Effectiveness Questionnaire developed by…

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…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Making Schools Safer for LGBT Youth: Despite Signs of Progress, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students Say Harassment Persists (Michael Sadowski);…

Across the country, states are pushing to close their small rural schools with the mistaken hope of saving money, in spite of overwhelming evidence that smaller schools are beneficial for students, and that they frequently function as the glue that binds together small communities, serving as their economic and social hub. The battle is even more…

As part of a series of studies on the concerns and aspirations of American teachers, this report illustrates the concerns of teachers, students, and law enforcement officers about the increasing violence and fears of violence in U.S. schools. The survey is based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 teachers from grades 3…

Chicago public elementary school students and teachers report a growing number of crimes and violent incidents on school property. This paper, which includes a lengthy literature review (14 pages), describes a study conducted to examine the opinions of one group of teachers regarding the safety and security climate in the school where they teach.…

While violence in Texas schools is unacceptably frequent, some types of school violence have declined in recent years--most likely because of programs designed to improve safety in schools and in the community. This report examines data on juvenile violent crime in Texas as well as the incidence of violence in the schools over recent years.…

The Council for Unity began in 1975 in response to repeated incidents of interracial violence in a New York City high school. The program's primary goal has been to promote intergroup awareness, sensitivity, and cooperation among groups from diverse ethnic, racial, and religious groups and to reduce bias. The program currently operates in 15 high…

Individual, semi-structured interviews were administered to 154 elementary school children and 47 elementary teachers drawn from middle class suburban schools. Children and teachers were questioned about their perceptions of the social and territorial constraints and prerogatives children have in school (their felt status) and those they ought to…

Secondary analysis of the 1993 Metlife survey of teachers' perceptions of and experiences with violence examined the issue in more detail. Most teachers felt safe and had not experienced violence. They perceived violence as more likely in secondary schools, urban schools, and schools with predominantly minority student populations. (SM)

Recently the issue of health and safety procedures on field trips and school visits has come to the fore, as a result of a series of tragedies involving the deaths of pupils. A review of some of the recent court cases and inquests involving the victims of field trips was undertaken. This indicated that schools and teachers are failing to implement…

This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the factors perceived by teachers as significant to the development of a safer school-work environment. The case study involved a 4-year project to decrease school violence in an urban, elementary, Chapter 1 school. Data were obtained from administration of the School Level Environment…