Safe and unsafe school spaces: Comparing elementary school student perceptions to common ecological interventions and operationalizations

There is a burgeoning literature on school safety in the United States. Often, researchers determine the problem and intervention. Few studies, however, examine how students understand school safety. In this study, elementary school students in the United States (n = 225) marked safe and unsafe scho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of community & applied social psychology 2011-01, Vol.21 (1), p.71-86
Main Authors: Langhout, Regina Day, Annear, Lori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Children
Comparative analysis
Educational psychology
elementary school
Elementary School Students
Elementary Schools
Environmental Factors
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Intervention
Interventions
Miscellaneous
Perception
Perceptions
Physical environment
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Public spaces
Safety
School safety
Social psychology
Students
Territoriality
U.S.A
United States of America
Unsafe
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Summary:There is a burgeoning literature on school safety in the United States. Often, researchers determine the problem and intervention. Few studies, however, examine how students understand school safety. In this study, elementary school students in the United States (n = 225) marked safe and unsafe school places; this was correlated with other commonly used school safety measures. Results indicate that children have different perceptions of safety based on school location. Additionally, for older children, unsafe places correlated with injury data, adult absence and low levels of territoriality. For younger children, unsafe places were associated with adult absence and referrals. Safe places were places that were more likely to have an adult. Results bring into question some common safety interventions. Implications include working with children to determine what is meant by ‘safe’ and interventions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1052-9284
1099-1298
DOI:10.1002/casp.1062