Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety
Issues with school safety and violence have raised concerns that warrant attention from researchers, policy makers, and practitioners alike. In this study, we explored how school social workers—a group of school personnel who are understudied in the school violence literature—experience school safet...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/627 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849711889168203776 |
|---|---|
| author | Natalie Fensterstock Kate R. Watson Luz E. Robinson Vanessa R. Warri Anthony A. Garcia Chaoyue Wu Sawyer Hogenkamp Yinuo Xu Hannah Garner Danielle Dunn Ron Avi Astor Dorothy L. Espelage Susan D. McMahon Linda A. Reddy Andrew Martinez Eric M. Anderman Frank C. Worrell |
| author_facet | Natalie Fensterstock Kate R. Watson Luz E. Robinson Vanessa R. Warri Anthony A. Garcia Chaoyue Wu Sawyer Hogenkamp Yinuo Xu Hannah Garner Danielle Dunn Ron Avi Astor Dorothy L. Espelage Susan D. McMahon Linda A. Reddy Andrew Martinez Eric M. Anderman Frank C. Worrell |
| author_sort | Natalie Fensterstock |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Issues with school safety and violence have raised concerns that warrant attention from researchers, policy makers, and practitioners alike. In this study, we explored how school social workers—a group of school personnel who are understudied in the school violence literature—experience school safety and violence in the United States. Using a sample of 271 school social workers, we analyzed qualitative responses to two open-ended survey questions: (a) What are the most concerning safety issues facing educators and staff in your school? (b) What policies, procedures, resources, or interventions are needed to better prevent or address violence in your school? Data were collected online between March and June 2022 by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Violence against Educators and School Personnel. Derived using a socioecological framework, findings reflect school social workers’ needs for workplace safety and perspectives on how to prevent and mitigate school violence at the school site, district, and community levels. Implications range from promoting strong relationships in schools and between the school and community to bolstering funding sources that can sustain programs, training, and staffing aimed at improving experiences for all students. The implications of our findings for future research and practice are presented. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dc4db1476a4e423b9e895dbdf555fcc9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-dc4db1476a4e423b9e895dbdf555fcc92025-08-20T03:14:30ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-05-0115562710.3390/bs15050627Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School SafetyNatalie Fensterstock0Kate R. Watson1Luz E. Robinson2Vanessa R. Warri3Anthony A. Garcia4Chaoyue Wu5Sawyer Hogenkamp6Yinuo Xu7Hannah Garner8Danielle Dunn9Ron Avi Astor10Dorothy L. Espelage11Susan D. McMahon12Linda A. Reddy13Andrew Martinez14Eric M. Anderman15Frank C. Worrell16Department of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USASchool of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USAGraduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USASchool of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USASchool of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USASchool of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USAGraduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USACenter for Court Innovation, New York, NY 10018, USADepartment of Educational Studies, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USABerkeley School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USAIssues with school safety and violence have raised concerns that warrant attention from researchers, policy makers, and practitioners alike. In this study, we explored how school social workers—a group of school personnel who are understudied in the school violence literature—experience school safety and violence in the United States. Using a sample of 271 school social workers, we analyzed qualitative responses to two open-ended survey questions: (a) What are the most concerning safety issues facing educators and staff in your school? (b) What policies, procedures, resources, or interventions are needed to better prevent or address violence in your school? Data were collected online between March and June 2022 by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Violence against Educators and School Personnel. Derived using a socioecological framework, findings reflect school social workers’ needs for workplace safety and perspectives on how to prevent and mitigate school violence at the school site, district, and community levels. Implications range from promoting strong relationships in schools and between the school and community to bolstering funding sources that can sustain programs, training, and staffing aimed at improving experiences for all students. The implications of our findings for future research and practice are presented.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/627school safetyschool social workstudent mental healthqualitative |
| spellingShingle | Natalie Fensterstock Kate R. Watson Luz E. Robinson Vanessa R. Warri Anthony A. Garcia Chaoyue Wu Sawyer Hogenkamp Yinuo Xu Hannah Garner Danielle Dunn Ron Avi Astor Dorothy L. Espelage Susan D. McMahon Linda A. Reddy Andrew Martinez Eric M. Anderman Frank C. Worrell Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety Behavioral Sciences school safety school social work student mental health qualitative |
| title | Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety |
| title_full | Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety |
| title_fullStr | Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety |
| title_short | Social Workers’ Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety |
| title_sort | social workers reports on needs and recommendations to enhance school safety |
| topic | school safety school social work student mental health qualitative |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/627 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nataliefensterstock socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT katerwatson socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT luzerobinson socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT vanessarwarri socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT anthonyagarcia socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT chaoyuewu socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT sawyerhogenkamp socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT yinuoxu socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT hannahgarner socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT danielledunn socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT ronaviastor socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT dorothylespelage socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT susandmcmahon socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT lindaareddy socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT andrewmartinez socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT ericmanderman socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety AT frankcworrell socialworkersreportsonneedsandrecommendationstoenhanceschoolsafety |