The author reviews some of the literature on the causes, extent, and prevention of violence and vandalism in the schools. Two programs designed to incorporate preventive mental health into the schools--Model Me, and Magic Circle--are discussed. (KC)

Investigated public school vandalism with 7th through 12th grade students. Found vandalism highest in 7th grade, decreasing progressively with each increase in grade level. Predictors of vandalism included being from the lowest academic track, having committed acts of vandalism during junior high school (for high school students), coming from…

The literature on school vandalism is reviewed, emphasizing strategies found successful in reducing school vandalism. It is interpreted in terms of three ideological orientations: conservative, liberal, and radical. Action research approach, which continually assesses strategy effects on a specific school system, is recommended for future…

Describes public school responses to crime and student delinquency in terms of behavioral expectations. The authors conclude that school discipline policies are often based more on the fear of violence, disruptive behavior, and unpredictable situations than on actual incidents. (AM)

This paper examines national data from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s in order to identify trends in student and teacher victimization in schools. All the student and teacher victimization data reviewed in this paper contradict the notion of a progressive worsening of the school crime problem. Assault statistics showed little change, robberies…

If the findings of recent research are any guide, the dollars that are now spent on security devices and personnel, and the educational time now lost by involving teachers and administrators in expanding security programs, would be better spent on strategies for making schools more humane places in which learning can take place. We should look for…

This study examines and evaluates security issues in academic libraries and examines how educators in institutions of higher learning deal with them. Security issues include: the theft of library materials, the mutilation or vandalism of library materials, dealing with deranged and/or disruptive patrons, and assaults on library patrons and staff.…

School attorneys are primarily concerned with such issues as search and seizure, chain of custody, civil rights liability, and tort liability. Members of the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education (NOLPE) working within school districts can help reduce crime in the schools. NOLPE members could contribute to the clarity of thought and…

The experiences of the National School Resource Network form the basis for suggestions about how schools can improve themselves as a means of reducing student violence and vandalism. Effective school programs utilizing curriculum innovation, changes in school environment, and student, parent, and community involvement in policy making are…

This article reviews statistics on the growth of vandalism and personal violence by secondary school students; suggests possible causes and motives; and describes programs designed to reduce and prevent the incidence in the nation's schools. (Author/SJL)

A review of the problems of vicarious liability of parents for their children's vandalism to school property reveals that in all states parents can be held responsible if it can be established that the vandalism was the reasonably traceable result of lack of supervision or misdirected parenting. Almost all legislatures feel it is appropriate to…

Each year, millions of Canadian taxpayers' dollars are spent on repairing or replacing school property because of student vandalism. The literature reveals that there is no single factor that fully explains the causes of student vandalism. Includes strategies for combatting school vandalism that focus on the school environment, the school system,…

The nature of school discipline problems has changed over the past few decades. In the 1950s, teachers thought that fighting, stealing, and disrespect toward authority were the most serious forms of student misbehavior. Violent assaults on teachers and pupils, gang warfare, burglary, extortion, and destruction of school property are included among…

This description of the research, the development of state laws, and the origins of practices attempting to restore safe schools suggests that there was a relationship among research, policy, and practice. The Congress of the United States enacted the Safe School Study Act in 1974 to ensure a safe environment for education. In response to this…

The chapters in this book contain a comprehensive reference to recent state appellate and federal court decisions affecting the operation and governance of public elementary and secondary schools. The chapters are: (1) "The Use of School Facilities by Student Groups for Religious Activities," (2) "Denial of Standard Diploma to…