Violence Prevention and School Safety: Issues, Problems, Approaches, and Recommended Solutions

This document addresses the twin issues of youth violence and school safety. Violence from the larger society has spilled over into schools in ways that can make them unsafe, and school safety has emerged as a pressing concern of public schools. Violence within the context of schooling is expressed...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inOSSC Bulletin Vol. 41; no. 1
Main Authors Walker, Hill M, Irvin, Larry K, Sprague, Jeffrey R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 1997
Subjects
Elementary Secondary Education
Oregon
Prevention
School Security
Student Behavior
Violence
Oregon
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This document addresses the twin issues of youth violence and school safety. Violence from the larger society has spilled over into schools in ways that can make them unsafe, and school safety has emerged as a pressing concern of public schools. Violence within the context of schooling is expressed in extreme forms of reactive and proactive aggression, antisocial behavior patterns and oppositional-defiant behavior. Schools are highly vulnerable to the damaging effects of these student behaviors and often must take radical steps to prevent, control and offset their toxic effects. This report addresses with key issues, problems, approaches and recommended solutions to these challenges to the schooling process. In addition, additional resources are recommended to establish and maintain a safe school environment and teach all students how to resolve conflicts peacefully, express empathy, develop friendships and positive relationships with others, regulate one's behavior, and accept the consequences of one's actions. It is essential that schools take steps to address two key goals in making the school safe: (1) to insure that the physical facility is designed appropriately and that the school environment is supervised carefully and (2) to establish a safe, positive, inclusive and academically effective school environment. Achievement of these two goals will make it possible for schools to again become safe havens in which to teach and socialize children. (Author)
ISSN:0095-6694