Influences on Authoritarian and Educational/Therapeutic Approaches to School Violence Prevention

• NCJ Number: 221404
• Journal: Journal of School Violence Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: 2007 Pages: 3-31
• Author(s): Amanda B. Nickerson; William H. Spears
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 29 pages
• Grant Number(s): REC-0310268
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; National Ctr for Education Statistics
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The study examined the use of two philosophical approaches to school violence prevention and the factors that influence the use of specific strategies.

Abstract

Results indicated that principals reported using a wide range of violence prevention and intervention strategies in their schools. Characteristics such as school level, size, location, and socio-economic differences predicted the use of selected authoritarian practices, and the number of mental health professionals, as well as school location and size, influenced the reported use of selected education and/or therapeutic practices. Principals of large urban schools are making efforts to address violence prevention using both authoritarian and therapeutic approaches, whereas principals of rural schools were much more likely than principals in other locations to use corporal punishment and suspend students without providing curriculum or services. Large urban school administrators might recognize a more imminent need to take a comprehensive approach to violence prevention and reduction since previous research has demonstrated that larger schools have more crime than smaller ones. Principals of rural schools were less likely to report using violence prevention programs or providing parent training. Also, principals of schools from low income backgrounds were more likely to use restrictive disciplinary procedures, though neighborhood crime was a less common predictor of the use of these practices. Combined schools report using more authoritarian approaches than elementary schools which suggests that the experience of the younger students in combined schools may be different than that of their same-age counterparts who are in elementary school. Better mental health professional-to-student ratios not only predicted the use of violence prevention programs, but also influenced student involvement in resolving conflict and provided parent training to deal with children’s behavior. The School Survey of Crime and Safety (SSOCS) Public-Use Data File collected data from a nationally representative sample of 2, 270 principals of public schools. Tables, references