Few studies explicitly examine how opportunity structures impact school safety, school climate, or bullying. This article applies school-centered ecological theory as a heuristic conceptual framework that links opportunity structures and school safety. Historically, opportunity structures identified how institutional characteristics such as labor…

All that we are certain of today is that all is uncertain. Uncertainty has become the new normal, affecting our family lives and routines, our professional goals and activities and our relationship with local, regional and national governments. We have seen, in just a few months, how our freedom to move and associate has been challenged and…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the effects of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on school safety in grades PreK-8 in the Northeast Region of the United States. As districts, schools and policymakers continue to dive deeper into supporting students' emotional and social needs, SEL programs are being implemented…

In this study, we extend prior research in the role of school climate in civic education by exploring the relationship between immigrant students' experiences of bullying and their attitudes toward their countries of settlement. Using the 2016 IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, we employ a multiple regression analysis with…

Inspired by fears of school shootings and supported by substantial federal funding, the number of school resource officers (SROs) on our nation's K-12 campuses has increased exponentially. The consequences of this sea change have yet to be fully evaluated. What we do know suggests cause for concern. Specifically, SROs' presence may be contributing…

The shooting on Virginia Tech's campus that left 32 dead in 2007 and other incidents since then resulted in active threat preparations at institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States. Little is known about how emergency managers understand campus preparedness and what enhanced learning in the implementation, training, and…

School administrators across the U.S. continuously face increasing pressure to meet specific standards for student achievement through performance on standardized tests, causing conditions in which they focus their attention on improving student test scores, leaving relatively little to no time to address matters involving incidents that can…

By many accounts--on August 11th and 12th, 2017--a "Unite the Right" rally organized by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, catalyzed a series of violent events culminating in the injury of dozens of people and the death of three people (Alvarez, 2017; Astor, Caron, & Victor, 2017; Heim, 2017; McKelway, 2017).…

Few evaluations have focused on the supply and demand within the education marketplace in a school choice environment. Because traditional public schools are not subject to the same level of competitive pressures as private schools, we expect that measures of school quality--enrollment, academic achievement, and safety--will be more likely to…

The author, director of UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, shares results of a study he led exploring how principals in U.S. high schools are responding to five specific societal challenges; he highlights what principals said about the challenge of gun violence in their schools. More school leaders reported their school being…

Background and Context: Career academies emphasize learning in specific occupational contexts to enhance the relevance of student experiences. The premise is that the authenticity of occupational contexts provides for opportunities to make learning more meaningful for students. Objective: The purpose of this case study was to examine the school…

School leaders are feeling conflicted about their school buildings. On the one hand, they want to provide children with safe, secure spaces. On the other, they want to provide open, collaborative, and exceptional 21st century learning environments. By taking a holistic approach, they can have both. It's important to remember that many current…

Campus crisis responders are critical to ensuring the safety of students on a college campus. However, attrition in student affairs and specifically in the field of residence life (the department that most professionals that serve in an on-call rotation would fall under), continues to be a concern (Marshall et al., 2016). I assert that burnout of…

No parent, student, employee or visitor should ever fear walking the halls and grounds of a college or university campus. Over the past two decades, this country has witnessed many tragic mass shootings, which resulted in multiple deaths and countless injuries. One of the deadliest on record occurred April 16, 2007, at Virginia Tech. Today,…

School safety and security strategies is a generic qualitative study that seeks to comprehend school safety and disciplinary strategies through the perspectives and opinions of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the strategies used in secondary inner-city schools to regulate student discipline…