NCJ Number
76543
Journal
CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1980) Pages: 18-23
Date Published
1980
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Research on fear of crime in secondary schools is examined, with particular attention to an analysis of the National Institute of Education's (NIE's) Safe School Study and a survey conducted in the St. Louis schools.
Abstract
Fear of crime in schools is a special concern because safety is a minimum requirement in a learning environment. The validity of studies concerning students' fear of crime, however, depends on the setting and the methodology. For example, although 22 percent of young black males interviewed in Philadelphia rated schools as dangerous, over half considered streets, subways, and movie houses as far more threatening. As part of the Safe Schools study, a questionnaire administered to more than 30,000 students in over 600 public junior and senior high schools during 1976 and 1977 contained questions asking if students were afraid that they might be hurt or bothered. Since 'bother' could also refer to minor annoyances, the NIE conclusion that 20 percent of the students were afraid of crime at school is questionable. Other researchers analyzed the Safe Schools data using a scale of apprehensiveness and found that 55 percent were not appehensive, 28 percent were slightly apprehensive, 15 percent were moderately apprehensive, and 3 percent were very apprehensive. A St. Louis study of approximately 1,800 secondary school students reported that 40 percent admitted being afraid someone would hurt or bother them at school. Both research projects found that victimization increased apprehension and that students from high crime areas were more likely to fear crime than ones from low crime neighborhoods. Junior high students were more apprehensive than senior high students, probably because they have less social and physical power. According to the analysis of the Safe School Study, highly apprehensive students tended to be isolated from their peers, alienated from parents, and had lower grades. Newcomers to a school were more apprehensive than other students. These findings suggest that fear of crime is part of a broader complex of feelings, attitudes, and perceptions regarding self, school, other students, and teachers. In urban schools, racial tensions may underlie much of what is termed fear of crime. Little is known about the impact of school security programs on fear of crime, but an alternative approach is to identify the most fearful students and then design programs to help reduce their stress. The article contains 24 notes.