Students' and parents' understandings of school safety in relationship to emergency crises

Abstract

This dissertation is a qualitative case study based in teacher research that focuses on the understandings of student and parent participants about school safety in relationship to emergency crises issues. Fourteen seventh-grade Eastern Magnet Middle School students and fourteen of their parents participated in the research. The purpose of the study was to develop findings that would enhance the safety and crisis management techniques of a school in which I taught named Eastern Magnet, based on the understandings of the children and adults in the study. Additional goals of the investigation were to develop findings that could enhance crisis management at additional schools and workplaces, and to carry out a project that would expand the school safety literature base and the field of qualitative case study teacher research. Data were generated from August of 2002 to January of 2003 through interviews, interview notes, surveys, and school and district documents addressing crisis-related issues. The data were primarily analyzed through the constant comparative method. Analytic notes, participant profiles, and data tables and figures were also elements of the analytical process. The findings of this study point to the need for schools to establish procedures to effectively manage crises to maximize the safety of all children and adults within educational institutions. The research highlights aspects of Eastern Magnet's crisis management that were effective and areas that needed improvement, and it demonstrates that all individuals expect schools to promote and ensure safety. Implications are presented for students, parents/guardians, teachers, school administrators, educational policy makers, school safety theorists, and educational researchers. The investigation reveals the significance of children and adults making concerted efforts to uphold safety and to manage crises.