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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study by Morrison et al. was to present a school safety model for the prevention of violence at school. The model combined educational and developmental concepts from prevention and school effectiveness frameworks.
METHODOLOGY:
A non-experimental review of the pertinent literature on school violence prevention was employed in order to develop a school safety model for school violence prevention.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The authors reported that the majority of school violence research has been conducted by professions outside of education. The authors stated that school violence has not been seriously considered by school psychologists and educators since, historically, it has been defined as a criminal justice problem rather than an educational issue. The authors claimed that educators have not acknowledged school violence at their schools because it damages the reputation of a school. However, as stated by the authors, by allowing others (e.g., law enforcers, the juvenile justice system) to manage school violence, solutions to violence at school reflect the direction of those agencies rather than the orientations of school psychologists and educators. The authors suggested that, although alternative agency solutions may be beneficial in the short term, strategies that focus upon school safety rather than school violence would be more successful since they would promote a nurturing, educative and safe school environment.
The authors argued that the school violence problem needs to be conceptualized correctly and in the context of prevention/intervention. The authors suggested that the conceptualization of violence at school should go beyond aggressive behavior reduction towards positive and nurturing alternatives. The authors also stated that school safety must include all individuals within the school community, not just the perpetrators of violence.
The authors discussed school safety in the context of basic needs and suggested that school safety is necessary for the optimal achievement of educational goals (e.g., it effects the development of personal and interpersonal competencies and strategies). The authors contended that, therefore, academic learning should not be the only focus for achieving educational goals but that it should include personal and social development.
The authors asserted that school safety implies more than the absence of violence; it denotes safe, secure and peaceful schools. Safe was defined by the authors as freedom from danger and harm (this was described as a physical freedom). Secure was defined as freedom from fear and freedom from anxiety of risk or danger (this was described as a psychological freedom). The authors stated that it would be possible to feel secure yet if one was not aware of danger, to be unsafe. Also, one could feel insecure, yet physically be safe. Safety was referred to as being both psychologically and physically safe.
The authors also contended that school violence needed to be reframed as harm since the criteria for the definition of violence can include both intent to be violent or the unavoidability of violent behavior. Therefore, a school environment that limits all types of harm would be more successful. The authors suggested, as a counteraction to violence at school, the promotion of safety at school which would include a focus on the entire school environment. The authors also suggested that educators needed to understand harm risks present in the school environment. Risk factors included: school experiences (e.g., rejection by peers, poor academic achievement); school factors (e.g., disorganization, lack of commitment to school, teacher apathy), and developmental risks (e.g., child abuse at elementary school age to sexual assault during teens).
It was stated that school safety should be based on recognizing that a) children experience multiple risks of which violence is only one, b) violence impacts physical and psychological well-being, and c) safety is a basic need that should be educationally addressed. The authors discussed what a safe school would be and presented a Safe School Model to improve school safety. The conceptual plan for the model included: 1) attention to resiliency factors (e.g., personal and social skill development, norm structure examination, connection/support, skill application and service opportunities, and mastery). 2) Attention to school effectiveness factors (e.g., strong leadership, non-oppressive orderly environment, interactive decision making, high student learning expectations, academic emphasis in curriculum, monitoring and feedback of student performance). 3) The Safe School dimension. This model was developed by the authors based on a previous model of school safety. The model comprised student and staff attributes, the physical environment (e.g., school location, grounds & buildings) and the social environment (e.g., day to day school activities, organization of school systems to achieve goals/outcomes). The school culture (e.g., collective assumptions about the knowledge, beliefs and expectations that staff, students and parents have about school behavior) was also included. The authors proposed that these above factors contribute to school safety. They also contended that their model provides a structure for ensuring safety at school by drawing upon components from effective schools.
The authors concluded by stating that school psychologists are in a unique position to meaningfully contribute towards the promotion of a safe school environment, the reduction of violence at school and towards the educative mission of America.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors recommended that school psychologists be professionally trained in addressing school violence and in implementing safety programs that enhance safety in the school setting.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
School Safety
School Violence
School Based
School Personnel
School Counselor
Mental Health Personnel
Resiliency
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Violence
Violence Intervention
Violence Prevention
Model
School Security
Student Violence
Juvenile Development
Social Development
Child Development
Child Offender
Child Violence
Prevention Recommendations
Intervention Recommendations
School Mental Health
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