School Leader Perceptions on Preventing School Violence: A Five-Year Longitudinal Analysis on A Quantitative Empirical Study

Abstract Book of the  9th International Conference on Future of Teaching and Education and Humanities

Year: 2025

DOI:

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School Leader Perceptions on Preventing School Violence: A Five-Year Longitudinal Analysis on A Quantitative Empirical Study

Prof. Dr. Dixie F. Abernathy, Ed.D.

ABSTRACT:

In February of 2018, a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, claimed the lives of fourteen students and three faculty, all of them killed by a 20-year-old shooter. At the time, the Parkland shooting was one of the deadliest in the history of the United States, and while the nation once again mourned its schoolchildren, the national dialogue on how best to prevent such tragedies continued. Shortly after that tragedy, and aligned with the national outcry for solutions, a research study designed to gage school leader perceptions of school-based violence prevention strategies was prepared for distribution to a random selection of North Carolina public and private school leaders. This study and the survey used within it included an opportunity for school administrators to rate, in terms of perceived effectiveness, fifteen commonly discussed actions related to school violence prevention. While much of the ongoing debate on this topic is at many times focused on gun control, parental supervision, video game influence, and other pertinent national debate points, the survey and study remained aligned with school-based strategies under the control of school or district leadership. Using ANOVA statistical tests, this quantitative empirical study produced several compelling results, including a general support for alternative school options for students, a general perceived strength regarding full-time police presence in schools, and an overwhelming rejection of arming teachers and school leaders. Five years later, the question that begs to be asked is, “What, if anything, has changed?” Utilizing a longitudinal analysis to produce action research that may contribute to the active solving of school violence problems, this more current analysis seeks to highlight each of the 15 strategies and to compare these to implementation (or lack thereof) in the U.S. Progress or changes are represented in terms of data, and impact is measured in terms of effectiveness in keeping students safe in all school settings. Each of the originally ranked strategies are studied in terms of use in American schools and discussed in terms of progress (over the five-year period) in ensuring school safety.

keywords: school leadership, school safety, violence prevention, school shootings, defunding polices