Student perception of school safety and how it affects their academic achievement

Abstract

The high-profile lethal violence that has occurred in multiple schools around the country has brought school safety to the forefront of educational concerns. These high-profile cases are rare, but when they do occur, they create serious concern for parents, teachers, students, administrators, and communities about school safety. Accountability has become a buzzword in today’s educational setting. When students do not feel safe at school, their academic success suffers. This study was designed to encompass a variety of research methods, using a mixed-methods research study to examine the relationship between students’ perception of safety in the schools and how it affects their academic success. There have been multiple studies on high-profile school shootings, but there has not been enough research on everyday issues that students face, such as bullying, discipline issues, or simply reacting to being a student. Research has shown that students who feel unsafe or threatened at school have a harder time academically and have a high probability of dropping out of school. There have been many studies on the effects of unsafe learning environments. This research was designed to address what makes students feel unsafe at school and to address areas to help students overcome these issues. Students, teachers, and administrators were interviewed, and they completed a survey designed to analyze issues of safety impacting academic performance. Student data, including discipline records, attendance, demographics, and grade point averages, were analyzed. The quantitative data were examined and compared to see if there were significant differences between students with discipline problems and academic success, and if demographics play a role in the feelings of being unsafe. Analysis of data from previous research has shown that students who feel safe at school do better academically. Students who feel unsafe at school have lower grades, no grade improvement, or an increase in disciplinary action.