About 25 percent of child injuries occur in schools, most of them during physical education activities. Physical education safety guidelines are one strategy to reduce the number of student injuries. However, based on the findings of a recent evaluation of provincial safety guidelines, only two-thirds of physical education teachers use the safety…

This study is based on a sample of children from the Cape Town area in South Africa. The study compares the effects of witnessing school or neighborhood violence compared with being victimized in each context on psychological distress. The findings suggest that in the context of the school, victimization has a somewhat stronger effect on distress…

For young people it just gets worse. Ten years after the Columbine tragedy, the debate over school safety has clearly shown that educators, parents, politicians, and the mainstream media have created the conditions in which young people have increasingly become the victims of adult mistreatment, indifference, neglect, even violence. The tragic…

Students attacking other students. Students attacking teachers, support staff, and even community members. Disrespectful and threatening language, overwhelmed or inattentive parents, and an administrative system that often appears unable to bring back order in the classroom. These are stories have become an everyday part of teaching in urban…

This article explores how a curriculum of film becomes organized by the teacher's worries about what film may open up in class. The author focuses on her own worries about showing Gus Van Sant's (2003) film, "Elephant," an elliptical and dreamlike study of the murders in 1999 of twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School, to a class of…

The research on parent involvement in education indicates that, in most cases, when parents play an active role in their children's education, academic achievement improves. As a result, schools are now mandated to incorporate parent involvement in the educational process. Educators are faced with the challenge of creating ways to engage parents…

School safety is one of the most important issues facing administrators, teachers, and parents. Several risk factors have been identified as antecedents to aggression including poor social skills, difficulty dealing with anger and frustration, and inadequate problem solving abilities. "No Child Left Behind" requires all schools receiving…

The research summary "Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students" presents the research background for the Obama administration's proposals for comprehensive, community-wide services in high-poverty neighborhoods, extended learning time, family engagement and safe schools. While these policies have broad and common-sense appeal, the research…

The 2010 Public Policy Agenda summarizes the American Association of State Colleges and Universities' (AASCU's) principles and priorities in key areas of higher education policy. This paper is intended to serve as a point of reference for the association's members and other interested organizations, as well as federal and state policymakers.…

Schools across the nation report increases in the use of punitive disciplinary methods (e.g., suspension). The need for these disciplinary practices to address serious student misconduct is undisputed. What research has questioned is why some students seem to be suspended more often than others, what effects suspension has on students, and whether…

The U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention publishes "Catalyst," a newsletter covering current Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence (AODV) prevention issues at institutions of higher education. "Catalyst" discusses emerging issues and highlights innovative efforts on…

This article outlines a philosophical and theoretical framework for conducting school violence assessments at the local level. The authors advocate that assessments employ a strong conceptual foundation based on social work values. These values include the active measurement of ecological factors inside and outside the school that reflect the…

When the author first came to Virginia Tech years ago, she realized that family was a value shared by administrators, faculty, and staff. Here, there is a deep caring and sense of responsibility for the well-being of students. As an instructor and a staff member of the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office in the College of Liberal Arts and Human…

Because of the advent and growth of technology, a new variation of bullying--cyberbullying--has transformed from the physical to the virtual. Cyberbullying is a form of psychological cruelty. Although cyberbullying usually occurs off school grounds, schools are experiencing its repercussions (Li, 2006). This article provides an overview of…