Cyberbullying is an alarming phenomenon affecting the lives of adolescents across the country. Traditional bullying has moved from the playground to cyberspace. This online environment allows perpetrators to attack their victims beyond the walls of school, twenty-four hours a day. Advancements in and access to technology have made electronic communication the preferred method for adolescents to socialize. Although email, texts, social media sites, and websites were created to ease communication, some adolescents are using these tools to harass and harm their peers. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the existence and prevalence of Cyberbullying in middle schools across Region VII in southwest Virginia. Cyberbullying policies and strategies used to address Cyberbullying were examined. The experiences of middle school principals with Cyberbullying incidents were explored. The aim of this study was to address the following three research questions: 1. What is the status of Cyberbullying in Region VII of southwest Virginia? 2. What are middle school principals' perspectives regarding their schools' effectiveness in responding to Cyberbullying? 3. What are middle school principals' recommendations to strengthen Cyberbullying policies and procedures? A quantitative method was chosen and a survey was conducted with the goal of adding to the literature that existed on Cyberbullying in public schools. Through the development and administration of a survey, quantitative data was collected. A quantitative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics. The study adds to the current empirical research base on Cyberbullying in middle schools, especially in the rural area of a state. The perceptions of principals working in middle schools are valuable. This study tapped into this knowledge base and added to the literature on Cyberbullying by providing insights into the feelings and perceptions of administrators. Analyzing the experiences of the participants provided valuable information for those interested in learning more about Cyberbullying in middle schools in southwest Virginia. Findings of the study include information for Region VII of southwest Virginia on the status of Cyberbullying, middle-level schools' effectiveness in responding to Cyberbullying, and principals' recommendations to strengthen Cyberbullying policies and procedures. Based on the survey results, it is clear that Cyberbullying existed within the school systems in the region. Cyberbullying incidents occurred both at school and away from school. The largest percentage of these incidents occurred in the seventh and eighth-grades. Survey data indicated gender played a role in Cyberbullying with female students having the most reported incidents. Bullying prevention programs were being implemented in most school systems and schools in this region, and, in some cases, Cyberbullying was specifically addressed. In school systems and schools where no bullying or Cyberbullying prevention programs were implemented, overwhelmingly, principals felt they should be. Data revealed most principals found it difficult to identify Cyberbullying instances but believed they did report Cyberbullying incidents consistently. Most principals felt their school system's Cyberbullying policies were effective in dealing with Cyberbullying incidents, that the policies did not need revision, and that no additional policies were needed. Most principals felt Cyberbullying consequences implemented at their school effectively deterred Cyberbullying. Three strategies were identified by more than fifty percent of principals that would help in deterring Cyberbullying incidents. These strategies were increased parental involvement, encouraging students to report Cyberbullying, and anti-bullying education. / Ed. D. / Cyberbullying is an alarming phenomenon affecting the lives of adolescents across the country. Cyberbullying refers to any threats by one student toward another through on-line means including texting, emails, or other social media networks. Traditional bullying has moved from the playground to cyberspace. Advancements in and access to technology have made electronic communication the preferred method for adolescents to socialize. Although email, texts, social media sites, and websites were created to ease communication, some adolescents are using these tools to harass and harm their peers. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the existence and prevalence of Cyberbullying in middle schools across Region VII in southwest Virginia. Fortyone middle schools are identified within Region VII which contains 19 school divisions. Findings from the survey include information for Region VII of southwest Virginia on the status of Cyberbullying, middle-level schools’ effectiveness in responding to Cyberbullying, and principals’ recommendations to strengthen Cyberbullying policies and procedures. Based on the survey results, it is clear that Cyberbullying existed within the school systems in the region. Cyberbullying incidents occurred both at school and away from school. The largest percentage of these incidents occurred in the seventh and eighth-grades. Survey data indicated gender played a role in Cyberbullying with female students having the most reported incidents. Bullying prevention programs were being implemented in most school systems and schools in this region, and, in some cases, Cyberbullying was specifically addressed. In school systems and schools where no bullying or Cyberbullying prevention programs were implemented, overwhelmingly, principals felt they should be. Data revealed most principals found it difficult to identify Cyberbullying instances but believed they did report Cyberbullying incidents consistently. Most principals felt their school system’s Cyberbullying policies were effective in dealing with Cyberbullying incidents, that the policies did not need revision, and that no additional policies were needed. Most principals felt Cyberbullying consequences implemented at their school effectively deterred Cyberbullying. Three strategies were identified by more than fifty percent of principals that would help in deterring Cyberbullying incidents. These strategies were increased parental involvement, encouraging students to report Cyberbullying, and antibullying education.

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of school leaders, school division leaders, and non-SRO model employees regarding the transition from a school safety model with School Resource Officers (SROs) to a model with non-SRO (NSRO) employees in one urban school division in Virginia. The researcher sought to answer one research question: What are school leaders' and non-School Resource Officer employees' perceptions of the transition from a school safety model with School Resource Officers to a model with non-SRO employees? The researcher used interviews, an NSRO observation, and the content analysis of school division documents to learn about the school leaders', school division leaders', and NSRO employees' perceptions of the transition to the new school safety model. The study sample included two school leaders, six school division leaders, and three NSRO employees of the school division. The six findings from the study revealed: (a) challenges related to the process of the transition to the new school safety model, (b) challenges with communication and response time with emergency services, (c) the roles of NSROs are inconsistent, (d) similarities between SROs and NSROs, (e) school and school division leaders reported common contributing factors of the transition to the new school safety model, and (f) school leaders indicated concerns regarding a lack of SROs, whereas most school division leaders did not report being concerned about a lack of SROs. This study also proposed implications for school divisions and schools that may consider changing their school safety model. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of principals, school division central office employees, the school division superintendent, and non-School Resource Officer (NSRO) employees regarding the transition from a school safety model that had School Resource Officers (SRO) to a new school safety model with NSROs. The researcher interviewed two principals, five central office employees, the school division superintendent, and three NSRO employees to answer the study's research question: What are school leaders' and non-School Resource Officer employees' perceptions of the transition from a school safety model with School Resource Officers to a model with non-SRO employees? The researcher also observed one NSRO and reviewed publicly available documents related to the school division's transition to the new school safety model. This study had six findings: (a) challenges with the process of the transition to the new school safety model, (b) challenges with communication and response time with the police and fire departments, (c) inconsistency with the roles of NSROs, (d) similarities between SROs and NSROs, (e) common reports of contributing factors of the transition to the new school safety model between school and school division leaders, and (f) school leaders reported concerns regarding a lack of SROs, but most school division leaders did not report being concerned about a lack of SROs. This study also included implications for school divisions and schools that may consider changing their school safety model.

Thesis (MEd.) -- University of Limpopo, 2005 / This study is based on the research conducted in the Bakenberg District on the strategies and policies that the secondary schools employ to protect educators and learners from being harmed and attacked in school premises by thugs, dropouts or even learners present in school. The educators, learners and School Governing Bodies (SGB) were interviewed to capture the methods they applied in order to maintain safety in schools. The research also tried to capture the understanding of the stakeholders of the existing legislation about their safety in schools and the implementation thereof. It is imperative that the stakeholders should have the knowledge and the understanding of the relevant legislation and also acquire the skills to implement the legislations and policies. There is also a need for the School Governing Bodies to be trained on the legislation on conflict and resolution management. / University of Limpopo

In the current atmosphere of intense concern over school violence, steps are often hastily taken to “fortify” schools without forethought for how such actions may adversely impact the school environment and students’ psychological wellbeing. Given the paucity of evidence that unequivocally demonstrates the effectiveness of metal detectors, security cameras, and other security features (NASP, 2013; Addington, 2009), this study investigates a potentially more sound approach toward enhancing school safety initiatives. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is one philosophy that is commonly used in the design of safe schools, and—consistent with this philosophy—the present study investigates whether schools designed around CPTED principles are perceived as being safer and/or more psychologically comfortable when they are compared to schools that do not adhere to CPTED design elements. In the current study, the researcher visited three middle schools and four high schools across southern Arizona where students used their school laptops or computer labs to complete an online survey via Qualtrics survey software. Nine hundred students in grades 7 through 12 completed the survey, which included preexisting measures of risk behavior, previous exposure to violence, and school climate, as well as a novel instrument entitled the Preferable School Design Measure (PSDM). The PSDM presented pairs of photographs featuring a CPTED school design and a non-CPTED school design, then asked respondents in which school they would feel safer and more psychologically comfortable, respectively. Results indicate that students had a significantly greater preference for CPTED versus non-CPTED school designs (p <.001), both in terms of perceived psychological comfort (d = .70) and physical safety (d = .84). No significant differences were found in preferences for CPTED schools based on age, race/ethnicity, self-reported academic achievement, levels of previous exposure to violence, or socio-economic status, which suggests that identified preferences are generally robust to many common between-group demographic differences. Overall, study results suggest that implementing CPTED designs may be an effective approach to engender feelings of both safety and comfort among students. Moreover, it is conceivable that by changing the current landscape of mediocre school facilities, the academic and psychosocial outcomes of students inhabiting these facilities might be greatly enhanced.

<p>This qualitative study examined the thoughts and perceptions of Indiana public school superintendents overseeing school safety response and planning in their districts. The study was based on interviews of five public school superintendents overseeing safety planning and response in large Indiana school districts located in varying regions of the state. Participants were purposely sampled according to the number of students served in their districts and the number of schools that they were responsible for overseeing. Data were collected by conducting semi structured interviews via telephone with the researcher taking field notes and digitally recording dialogue from the interviews.</p> <p>Two theoretical frameworks were used in the study—phenomenology and reality testing. Phenomenology was used to focus on the lived experience of the participants in the study. This particular study examined the five participating superintendent’s experiences while overseeing safe school planning and response measures. The participants were asked to describe their experiences and share their perceptions (i.e., what they were doing, why they were doing it, and how it affected safety response and preparedness in their district). One of the planning measures involved participation in the recently mandated safe school plan audit. Reality testing was used to determine what is actually happening in the real world. The use of reality testing in this study focused on determining what was actually occurring in the districts that completed the safe school plan audit process. </p> <p> </p> <p>As a result of the study, three themes emerged. Superintendent lived experiences, thoughts, perceptions, and actions regarding school safety planning and response are centered on consistency, reaction, and security. Superintendent responses reflected the importance they placed on establishing consistency within their safety planning and response efforts. Despite their efforts to plan and establish consistent mitigation, response, and recovery efforts superintendents lived experiences presented that their thoughts and efforts were often times reactionary. Throughout the interviews, superintendents represented security to be a pivotal element of their safety efforts.</p> <p>The three themes were further grounded into two assertions. First, Indiana public school superintendents live with a number of uncertainties as they oversee and plan safe school efforts in their districts. Second, Indiana public school superintendents plan and oversee safety operations in the absence of viable quantitative safety incident data.</p> <br> <p> </p>

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2016 / Violence in schools is one of the most challenging issues facing educators, policy makers, learners, parents and the community in South Africa at large. Sometimes it occurs without educators and parents being aware of it and in most cases, learners specifically girls are reluctant to report their experiences of violence. Because the entire community is continually searching for ways to address this problem in schools, it is hoped that this study may offer some valuable insights. This study focuses on school violence in the Umbumbulu circuit affecting the safety and learning of learners. Educators are also affected to a great extent. Many factors were considered when investigating the problem of school violence. The problem was traced from the theorist’s perspectives and the factors related to the family, school and the community. An extensive literature review shows that the above-mentioned factors contributed to school violence. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, qualitative research was conducted. Empirical data from four high schools in the Umbumbulu circuit in Durban in the South region of KwaZulu Natal were collected by means of individual interviews. Thirty two educators were interviewed including principals and senior educators in order to determine whether violence is increasing or decreasing. The study was aimed at investigating the common types of violence and the nature thereof. The causes of violence including the triggers, all form an integral part of this investigation. The teacher experiences and responses to the interviews as part of the qualitative research revealed that a culture of violence existed in these schools, and that corporal punishment was still practised. Educators’ perceptions on school violence at their schools revealed that bullying persisted, especially when there was no teacher supervision. Deep anger from learners, tribal disputes and drugs were some of the factors that triggered violence in the Umbumbulu circuit. Based on these findings recommendations for the implementation of prevention programmes were made.

Bullying is a pervasive concern across the nation. Positive school climate is related to a reduction in bullying behaviors; thus, researchers aim to determine ways to enhance school climate in an effort to address bullying in schools. Many factors contribute to a positive school climate, including an authoritative leadership approach that provides consistent and fair discipline and positive support of students. In contrast, inconsistent and unfair discipline negatively impacts school climate and may exacerbate bullying among students. In some schools, discipline strategies are not applied equally to all students, and findings have consistently demonstrated that students from underrepresented groups, especially Black students, have been disproportionately affected. Moreover, the utilization of zero tolerance policies often disparately impacts minority students, with more frequent consequences such as suspension and expulsion for minor infractions. This study assessed the impact of unfair discipline on perceptions of school climate, safety, and bullying in predominantly rural schools, with specific examination of the experiences of Black students. The results of the study indicated that significant discrepancies continue to exist with Black students receiving a significantly greater proportion of suspensions than their proportion of enrollment in the schools. Surprisingly, disciplinary discrepancy did not significantly predict student perceptions of school climate, school safety, or bullying behaviors. Alternately, interesting findings emerged with respect to other student-level variables. Students who selected Black as their race had significantly less positive perceptions of school climate and the addition of student perceptions of unfair rules to the model significantly predicted perceptions of school climate. School-related variance did not significantly contribute to these findings. Next, students who perceived their school climate as more positive were significantly more likelihood to perceive their school to be safe. Furthermore, consistent with previous research, student likelihood of being bullied in the last 4 weeks increased significantly as grade decreased, meaning bulling experiences are more frequent in middle school and early high school as opposed to late high school years. Finally, negative perceptions of school climate significantly predicted the likelihood of student experiences of bullying. Overall, the findings suggest a need for disciplinary reform where the focus is on reducing bias and increasing positive supports for students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and report the perceptions of principals of high schools built prior to 1999 and high school principals of high schools built in the past five years as well as the perceptions of architects who build and design schools on the physical design elements that support a safe school environment. Qualitative methods of survey research were utilized to collect, analyze and interpret the data regarding the perceptions of principals and architects on the design elements that influence safety in select old and new high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Data collection consisted of recorded and transcribed interviews from a select group of questions tailored for each group of participants. The data were analyzed and emergent themes were generated from the results of the transcribed interviews. The analyzed data found consistency in all three groups in their response to the interview questions. Common themes from all three groups focused on wide open spaces that increase visibility and hallways wide enough to support the smooth flow of students. All three groups mentioned controlling access to the building by the use of security vestibules and the use of cameras to record and provide surveillance as design elements that support a safe school environment. The location of the school office was cited by all three groups as paramount to school safety. The ability of staff to see who enters the school building and the ability to funnel visitors to the main office and not allow access to other parts of the school building was cited as crucial to a safe environment. All three groups spoke of doors and windows and the ability to secure the large number of doors as problematic. This study also determined the need for doctoral and principal preparation programs to include specific coursework or training that involves principals in the design phase of constructing schools. Principals need to be involved in the planning and design process to insure new and renovated school buildings have the needed safety features they believe will help them in their work of educating students and providing for the safety of faculty and students. The principal should know and understand the workings of a school building and how a school organization operates. The result of such training would allow the principal to anticipate the effectiveness and consequences of certain designs in regards to the movement of students, program demands and requirements. / Ed. D.

A safe (free from gang activity) and disciplined school environment conducive to learning is mandated by federal legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act. Research has concentrated on reasons for gang activity in the school and the community as well as leadership in general but there is a void in the literature as it relates to the type of leadership in schools that is successful in limiting gang activity in schools that are less gang-impacted than the community from which they draw. Research questions include: (1) what do principals say about how they lead in gang-impacted schools that have fewer gang-related incidents than the community from which they draw their population and (2) what is the connection between principal leadership style and the presence of relatively fewer gang-related incidents in schools than in the community from which they draw their population? This phenomenological study answered the question of how principals lead in gang-impacted schools with a more favorable environment than the communities they serve through interviews, observations and document analysis. The final product is the portraits and stories of principals' relationships with gang-impacted schools and the central concept of leadership in these types of schools. According to the three participants interviewed in this study, both transactional and transformational leadership attributes are necessary to lead a gang-impacted school that has fewer gang-related incidents than the community from which it draws. The underlying conclusion in this research study is that leaders who display more transformational leadership than transactional leadership attributes are more successful in gang-impacted schools. As a result of this study, principals who are placed in schools identified as being gang-impacted will be better equipped to identify and practice leadership behaviors that have worked for other school leaders. In addition, school districts will be better able to identify and provide staff development to and for potential leaders as it relates to leadership. / Ed. D.

When students perceive their surroundings as being safe and comfortable, they can concentrate on higher order tasks such as learning (Bowen et al., 1998); a perception of safety is a "basic requirement" for academic success (Hernandez, Floden, and Bosworth, 2010). The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify building features that affect the safety perceptions of high school students and teachers, from one school district in rural Virginia. The study employed aspects of the methodology used by Biag (2014) in the study 'Perceived School Safety: Visual Narratives from the Middle Grades'. Comparisons were drawn between the areas and characteristics that influence the safety perceptions of students and teachers. This study was conducted in one high school (N=14) in rural Virginia. All findings and suggestions were shared with the school and district participating in order to assist with future improvements in their safety practices. Results show windows, lighting and accessibility to be among the most common items influencing perceptions of safety. Items such as cameras and proximity to administration were discussed the least for their influence. / Ed. D. / When students feel as though their surroundings are safe and comfortable, they can concentrate on learning (Bowen et al., 1998); a sense of safety is a “basic requirement” for academic success (Hernandez, Floden, & Bosworth, 2010). The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify building features that affect the safety perceptions of high school students and teachers, from one school district in rural Virginia. The study was inspired by Biag’s (2014) study ‘Perceived School Safety: Visual Narratives from the Middle Grades’. The current study sought the opinions of students and teachers from one high school (N=14) in Rural Virginia. Comparisons were drawn between the areas and characteristics that shape the safety perceptions of students and teachers. All findings and suggestions were shared with the school and district participating in order to assist with future improvements in their safety practices. Results show windows, lighting and accessibility to be among the most common items influencing perceptions of safety. Items such as cameras and proximity to administration were discussed the least.