Ron Avi Astor
Biographic Data
| ID | 250411 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ron Avi Astor |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ron Avi |
| FAMILY NAME | Astor |
| SIGNATURE | ASTOR R A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern California |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0625-7061 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 49 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 323 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 49 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Necessary but Not Sufficient: School Administrator Support and Teacher Safety, Anxiety/Stress, Retention, and Victimization
With growing concerns about school violence and teacher victimization in U.S. schools, it remains unclear if administrator support is enough to address teacher safety, anxiety and stress, and retention. Using a national sample of 5,550 pre-K–12th-grade teachers, we examined the effect of administrative support on retention intentions, the mediating effect of perceived safety and anxiety and stress, and how teacher victimization by students modera…
Exploring the role of schools during prolonged crisis: Lessons learned from an armed conflict in Israel
1.08). Parents and teachers also differed in their expectations and perceptions, highlighting the need to include all stakeholder perspectives. The findings indicate the need for increased resources for emotional support, structured guidance, and systemic backing. Enhancing school-family communication and aligning expectations are also vital during crises. The authors stress the importance of preparing for future recurrent emergencies. (PsycInfo …
Social Workers’ Perspectives on the Climate of Trauma-Informed and Non-Trauma-Informed Schools
This study explored school climate from the perspective of social workers, documenting their perceptions of trauma-informed culture and climate in U.S. schools. Using logistic regression, we analyzed survey data from 538 school social workers to investigate whether their experiences of school climate characteristics associated with trauma-informed approaches—physical and psychological safety; a focus on strengths and equity; and supportive relati…
The Contribution of School Victimization to Sadness, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Among Bias-Based and Non-Bias-Based Victims and the Moderating Role of School Climate
We examine whether students’ victimization (nonvictims, non-bias-based, and bias-based victims) relates to reports on sadness and hopelessness (SH) and suicidal ideation (SI) and how school size, ethnic and socioeconomic status composite, and school climate relate to these outcomes through multilevel analyses of the California Healthy Kids Survey (2017–2019; N = 2,569 schools; N = 1,025,876 students). Bias-based or non-bias-based victims experien…
Violence and aggression against educators and school personnel, retention, stress, and training needs: National survey results
Aggression and violence against educators and school personnel have raised public health concerns that require attention from researchers, policymakers, and training providers in U.S. schools. School aggression and violence have negative effects on school personnel health and retention and on student achievement and development. In partnership with several national organizations, the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Violence…
How school policies, strategies, and relational factors contribute to teacher victimization and school safety
In this study, we examined how school policies and strategies (i.e., positive discipline, hardening strategies, and positive behavioral strategies) affect teacher relational factors and teacher reports of victimization and safety. Specifically, we examined the mediational roles of teacher support of student learning, maltreatment of students by teachers, and teachers' differential treatment of students in schools. Using a sample of 6643 pre‐K‐12t…
School Policing, Climate, and Safety: The Challenges for Local Policy Makers in Urban Districts
Currently, there is a national level debate on security-based school safety policies and practices, particularly in relation to the presence of police in schools. Decisions about school safety are discussed at the district level by administrators and board of education members who may not be aware of the importance of utilizing local data to ensure these decisions are data driven and beneficial to all the stakeholders they represent in diverse, u…
Districts' and schools' role in identifying and providing services for homeless students: Nested ecological case studies in school districts with high‐ and low‐socioeconomic status
Even though homeless students are nested in schools and districts with different socioeconomic status (SES) contexts, little is known about the role of schools and districts for homeless students in these differing contexts. This comparative case study explored the identification, service provision, and school experience of homeless students in high‐ and low‐SES districts. Mixed‐methods case study methodology was used to compare two school distri…
Integrating Policy into School Safety Theory and Research
Multiple fields including social work, public health, psychology, and education have been researching school safety issues for the past 40 years. Findings from research and intervention have been a driving force in school safety policy change. Likewise, policy and funding patterns created have dramatically altered how and what school safety researchers study. Yet school safety policy has not been the focus of empirical studies in social work or o…
Positive school climate for school staff? The roles of administrators, staff beliefs, and school organization in high and low resource school districts
Despite continued calls for positive school climate, school staff members are rarely included in school climate research or theories. This qualitative case study explored how socioeconomic status (SES), school districts, leadership, and school contexts combine to create school climate. Four schools were selected from a sample of positive and negative climate schools in one high and one low-SES district. Data collection involved key informant inte…
Practice in a Pandemic: School Social Workers’ Adaptations and Experiences During the 2020 Covid-19 School Disruptions
In March 2020, as American PreK-12 schools shut down and moved into online learning in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was little information about how school social workers (SSWs) were responding to the crisis. This study used a national online survey to understand how SSWs ( N = 1,275) adapted their school practice during the initial 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Findings from this study indicate that SSWs made swift and (relatively) sm…
Racism Obstructs the Path to School Safety and Educational Equity: The Need for an Anti‐Racism Focus in School Violence Prevention
This commentary was motivated by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement the federal executive order on September 4, 2020 banning anti-racism training of federal employees. We believe, and the empirical evidence suggests, that positive social interactions, celebration of diversity, equity in access to educational resources and equal treatment of behavioral issues are vital to ensure our schools are places where youth can learn free from being hurt,…
An exploratory study of the prevalence and correlates of student maltreatment by teachers in Cameroon
Maltreatment of children takes place in many contexts and places around the world. Based on the model of Bullying, School Violence and Climate in Evolving Contexts, this study describes the prevalence and characteristics of maltreatment of students by their teachers in Cameroon. It examined the bivariate and multivariate correlations between victimization by educational staff with victimization by peers, school climate, and the students’ perpetra…
A Conceptual and Large-Scale Empirical Examination of the Welcoming Empowerment Monitoring Approach (Wema) for School Safety and Substance Use Reduction
Purpose: Research shows that many evidence-based school programs are not sustained after the demonstration period is complete. This article outlines the Welcoming Empowerment Monitoring Approach and builds on data at each school—to address school safety and reduce substance use. Method: The study used California Healthy Kids Survey data across 145 schools in Southern California at five points in time over an 8-year period. Results: From project i…
Parental Involvement and Perceptions of School Climate in California
Parental involvement plays a significant role in students’ social and academic outcomes. Nevertheless, systemic ways of gathering parental views have not been used or highlighted in the policy arena or the literature. Using data from the first major statewide survey of parents in California, drawn from the California School Parent Survey ( N = 15,829), this study examined parental perceptions of school climate, school problems, and school encoura…
Needs of Children and Families during Spring 2020 Covid-19 School Closures: Findings from a National Survey
Despite extensive reports during the COVID-19 pandemic of the academic challenges facing students, and the effects of online learning on academic achievements, we have little information regarding the needs and difficulties of K-12 students and their families from a social work perspective. The present article shares findings from a nationwide survey of 1,275 school social workers (SSWs) reporting on their clients-schools, children, and families-…
School Staff Members in California: How Perceptions of School Climate are Related to Perceptions of Student Risk and Well-Being
Objective: Positive school climate is a protective factor for students, yet current conceptualizations of climate largely overlook the perspectives of school staff members (e.g., teachers, administrators, social workers), who are expected to take action to create a positive climate. This study explores the construction of staff-focused dimensions of school climate and associations between school climate and student outcomes. Method: Data are from…
Teachers victimizing students: Contributions of student-to-teacher victimization, peer victimization, school safety, and school climate in Chile
Although most of the school violence literature is focused on peer victimization, interest is growing in teachers being victimized by their students. However, there is far less interest in students being victimized by their teachers, patterns of mutual victimization, and how they are associated with other school factors. Using the conceptual framework of school violence in evolving contexts, the present study examined teacher-to-student victimiza…
Victimization of teachers by students in Israel and in Chile and its relations with teachers’ victimization of students
Although in recent years there has been a growing interest in victimization of teachers by their students (student-to-teacher victimization), it is not discussed in relation to students' victimization by their teachers (teacher-to-student victimization) across cultures. This study used a cross-cultural comparative design to examine the prevalence of students' reports of student-to-teacher and teacher-to-student victimization and the correlations …
Welcoming Parents to Their Child’s School: Practices Supporting Students With Diverse Needs and Backgrounds
While researchers acknowledge the importance of parents feeling welcomed and engaged in their child’s school, the school’s welcoming practices to engage parents have been rarely explored. Parents’ qualitative responses provide insight into what impacts their initial and ongoing experience of being welcomed into their child’s new school. In total, 1,020 and 191 parents and/or legal guardians of students enrolled in Grades pre-K through 12 across f…
School-related experiences of adolescents in foster care: A comparison with their high-school peers
Although adolescents in foster care are known to be more at risk for school-related academic challenges, there is a paucity of research on their school-related experiences, such as victimization and relationships with teachers, compared with their same-age peers not in care. The aim of this article is to compare foster-care adolescents and their schoolmates on data that was drawn from the statewide representative California Healthy Kids survey an…
School Climate, Deployment, and Mental Health Among Students in Military-Connected Schools
Research has found that when compared with civilian students, military-connected students in the United States have more negative mental health outcomes, stemming from the stress of military life events (i.e., deployment). To date, studies on military-connected youth have not examined the role of protective factors within the school environment, such as school climate, in the mental health and well-being of military-connected adolescents. Given t…
A Research Synthesis of the Associations Between Socioeconomic Background, Inequality, School Climate, and Academic Achievement
Educational researchers and practitioners assert that supportive school and classroom climates can positively influence the academic outcomes of students, thus potentially reducing academic achievement gaps between students and schools of different socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Nonetheless, scientific evidence establishing directional links and mechanisms between SES, school climate, and academic performance is inconclusive. This compre…
Associations between school violence, military connection, and gang membership in California secondary schools
Recent studies have found that military-connected students confront many challenges-such as secondary traumatization-that may stem from a parent's deployment and frequent relocations. It is possible that multiple moves and deployments of family service members are associated with military-connected students' gang membership and involvement with school violence behaviors. In this study, a total of 13,484 students completed the core and military mo…
Adult Relationships in Multiple Contexts and Associations With Adolescent Mental Health
Purpose: Adult relationships provide critical support for adolescents because of their potential to foster positive development and provide protective influences. Few studies examine multiple ecological layers of adult relationships in connection with well-being and depression. This study examines the influence of relationships from multiple contexts for adolescents and their mental health. Method: Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Surve…
The Contributions of Community, Family, and School Variables to Student Victimization
An ecological perspective was used to predict school violence from a number of variables describing the students and their families based on nationally representative sample of 10,400 students in grades 7–11 in 162 schools across Israel. Self‐administered anonymous questionnaires that included a scale for reporting victimization by serious and moderate physical violence, threats, and verbal–social victimization were filled out during class. Hiera…
Unowned Places and Times: Maps and Interviews About Violence in High Schools
Students and teachers in five high schools were given maps of their schools and asked to identify the locations and times of the most violent events and most dangerous areas in and around the school. Participants were also asked to identify the ages and genders of the perpetrators/victims of the violent events. Participants were then interviewed about why they believed violence occurred in the locations and times which were indicated on the maps.…
How Can We Improve School Safety Research
The authors of this article consider how education researchers can improve school violence and school safety research by (a) examining gaps in theoretical, conceptual, and basic research on the phenomena of school violence; (b) reviewing key issues in the design and evaluation of evidence-based practices to prevent school violence; and (c) suggesting new directions for a translational science agenda that can inform policy and practice. The author…
Testing the Causal Links Between School Climate, School Violence, and School Academic Performance: A Cross-Lagged Panel Autoregressive Model
The present study explores the causal link between school climate, school violence, and a school’s general academic performance over time using a school-level, cross-lagged panel autoregressive modeling design. We hypothesized that reductions in school violence and climate improvement would lead to schools’ overall improved academic performance. School-level secondary analysis of the California Healthy Kids Survey was conducted at three points in…
The Effects of School Climate, Socioeconomics, and Cultural Factors on Student Victimization in Israel
The study reported in this article is based on a nationally representative sample of 10,400 students in grades 7 through 11 in 162 schools across Israel. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the differences between Jewish and Arab schools in the relationships between school-level variables—socioeconomic status (SES) of the school's neighborhood and students' families, school size and class size, school level (junior high and h…
School Violence and Theoretically Atypical Schools: The Principal’s Centrality in Orchestrating Safe Schools
Theories often assume that schools in communities with high violence also have high rates of school violence, yet there are schools with very low violence in high violence communities. Organizational variables within these schools may buffer community influences. Nine “atypical” schools are selected from a national database in Israel. Three years of intense qualitative and quantitative methods are employed at these schools. The most important var…
Perceptions of School Violence as a Problem and Reports of Violent Events: A National Survey of School Social Workers
Awareness of violence as a problem is important in developing school-based interventions to reduce violence. How would social workers who reported a potentially lethal event in their schools within the past year rate the seriousness of the problem in their schools? What variables would be associated with the perception of a serious violence problem in a school? These questions were explored in a national survey of school social workers. The resul…
Perceptions of violence and fear of school attendance among junior high school students in Israel
This article examines an exploratory model of how variables in school settings affect school victimization and the consequences of victimization for junior high school students. The dependent variables are fear of attending school and the students' assessment of the severity of school violence. The model presents the ways in which school context and victimization affect these variables, examining separately male and female students and Jewish, an…
School Social Workers and School Violence: Personal Safety, Training, and Violence Programs
This article reports findings from a national survey that questioned school social workers on school violence. The article focuses on personal reports of victimization, precautions taken to avoid victimization, training needs to deal with school violence, programs in schools, and social workers' involvement with violence intervention. Findings suggest that many respondents believe social skills programs are not as effective as ecological interven…
The Conceptualization of Violence-Prone School Subcontexts: Is the Sum of the Parts Greater than the Whole
This article raises concerns about how context is conceptualized and researched in many current school violence inquiries. For example, research has shown that specific school subcontexts (e.g., hallways, cafeterias, and bathrooms) tend to be violence prone. Yet students’ and teachers’ understanding of violence in these school subcontexts remains an underresearched topic. Current school violence research often has a singular focus on either subje…
A Statewide Study of Gang Membership in California Secondary Schools
To date, there is a paucity of empirical evidence that examines gang membership in schools. Using statewide data of 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students from California, this study focuses on the prevalence of gang membership by county, region, ethnicity, and grade level. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed with gang membership as the outcome of interest. Approximately 8.4% of the student sample reported that they…
High school students' posttraumatic symptoms, substance abuse and involvement in violence in the aftermath of war
Parental Involvement and Perceptions of School Climate in California
Parental involvement plays a significant role in students’ social and academic outcomes. Nevertheless, systemic ways of gathering parental views have not been used or highlighted in the policy arena or the literature. Using data from the first major statewide survey of parents in California, drawn from the California School Parent Survey ( N = 15,829), this study examined parental perceptions of school climate, school problems, and school encoura…
Arab and Jewish elementary school students' perceptions of fear and school violence: Understanding the influence of school context
This inquiry explores variables that predict elementary school stsudents' fear of attending school due to school violence and their overall judgments of school violence as a problem. Using a nationally representative sample (Israel) of 5,472 elementary-school-aged children, this study tested the hypotheses that: (a) young students' personal fear of attending school due to violence, and (b) students' assessment of a school violence problem, are be…
Monitoring and Mapping Student Victimization in Schools
International data suggests that the most successful violence prevention programs are adapted to fit a specific school site and involve all of the constituents in a school setting. In contrast to many of the popular skills-based programs that are commonly implemented in schools across the United States, the authors explore the utility of combining monitoring and mapping techniques to prevent specific forms of school violence and aggression in spe…
Monitoring Indicators of Children's Victimization in School: Linking National-, Regional-, and Site-Level Indicators
School Variables as Mediators of Personal and Family Factors on School Violence in Taiwanese Junior High Schools
Using a nationally representative sample of 3,058 junior high school students in Taiwan, this study examines a model of how personal traits, family factors, and school dynamics influence school violence committed by students against students and teachers. This model proposed that school violence is directly influenced by personal traits, victimization, and parental monitoring as well as indirectly influenced by personal traits, victimization, and…
Student victimization by school staff in the context of an Israeli national school safety campaign
In this study, we examined and compared findings from four nationally representative studies of victimization of students by school staff in Israel. We explored whether levels of student victimization by school staff (teachers, principals, secretaries, janitors, etc.) have changed between 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2005, and whether patterns of group differences (gender, age, and cultural groups) were replicated across those four points in time. We em…
School Violence in Israel: Findings of a National Survey
The authors report preliminary findings of a national survey on school violence in Israel. The national representative sample was stratified on school type--elementary, middle, and high schools--and ethnicity--Jewish and Arab students. A total of 15,916 students from 603 classes and 232 schools participated in the study, resulting in a 91 percent response rate. Findings revealed high rates of violence in all areas and among all age groups, but re…
A Conceptual and Large-Scale Empirical Examination of the Welcoming Empowerment Monitoring Approach (Wema) for School Safety and Substance Use Reduction
Purpose: Research shows that many evidence-based school programs are not sustained after the demonstration period is complete. This article outlines the Welcoming Empowerment Monitoring Approach and builds on data at each school—to address school safety and reduce substance use. Method: The study used California Healthy Kids Survey data across 145 schools in Southern California at five points in time over an 8-year period. Results: From project i…
Welcoming Parents to Their Child’s School: Practices Supporting Students With Diverse Needs and Backgrounds
While researchers acknowledge the importance of parents feeling welcomed and engaged in their child’s school, the school’s welcoming practices to engage parents have been rarely explored. Parents’ qualitative responses provide insight into what impacts their initial and ongoing experience of being welcomed into their child’s new school. In total, 1,020 and 191 parents and/or legal guardians of students enrolled in Grades pre-K through 12 across f…
A Call to Duty: Educational Policy and School Reform Addressing the Needs of Children From Military Families
More than 90% of the nation’s 1.2 million military children attend civilian-operated public schools. Education researchers, however, often overlook the educational experiences and needs of military children attending civilian-operated public schools (i.e., schools that are administered by and under the purview of local education agencies). This article is the first in an educational research journal to examine the intersections among state policy…
School engagement, risky peers, and student–teacher relationships as mediators of school violence in Taiwanese vocational versus academically oriented high schools
Educational tracking based on academic ability accounts for different school dynamics between vocational versus academically‐oriented high schools in Taiwan. Many educational practitioners predict that the settings of vocational schools and academic schools mediate school violence in different ways. Alternatively, some researchers argue the actual mediating mechanism may not vary significantly between the different school types in different cultu…
Effects of Student Participation and Teacher Support on Victimization in Israeli Schools: An Examination of Gender, Culture, and School Type
Needs of Children and Families during Spring 2020 Covid-19 School Closures: Findings from a National Survey
Despite extensive reports during the COVID-19 pandemic of the academic challenges facing students, and the effects of online learning on academic achievements, we have little information regarding the needs and difficulties of K-12 students and their families from a social work perspective. The present article shares findings from a nationwide survey of 1,275 school social workers (SSWs) reporting on their clients-schools, children, and families-…
Ecological Approaches to Mental Health Consultation with Teachers on Issues Related to Youth and School Violence
Ron Avi Astor, Ronald O. Pitner, Brent B. Duncan, Ecological Approaches to Mental Health Consultation with Teachers on Issues Related to Youth and School Violence, The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 65, No. 3, Educating Children in a Violent Society, Part I (Summer, 1996), pp. 336-355
Perceptions of School Violence as a Problem and Reports of Violent Events: A National Survey of School Social Workers
Awareness of violence as a problem is important in developing school-based interventions to reduce violence. How would social workers who reported a potentially lethal event in their schools within the past year rate the seriousness of the problem in their schools? What variables would be associated with the perception of a serious violence problem in a school? These questions were explored in a national survey of school social workers. The resul…
School Social Workers and School Violence: Personal Safety, Training, and Violence Programs
This article reports findings from a national survey that questioned school social workers on school violence. The article focuses on personal reports of victimization, precautions taken to avoid victimization, training needs to deal with school violence, programs in schools, and social workers' involvement with violence intervention. Findings suggest that many respondents believe social skills programs are not as effective as ecological interven…
Unowned Places and Times: Maps and Interviews About Violence in High Schools
Students and teachers in five high schools were given maps of their schools and asked to identify the locations and times of the most violent events and most dangerous areas in and around the school. Participants were also asked to identify the ages and genders of the perpetrators/victims of the violent events. Participants were then interviewed about why they believed violence occurred in the locations and times which were indicated on the maps.…
The Conceptualization of Violence-Prone School Subcontexts: Is the Sum of the Parts Greater than the Whole
This article raises concerns about how context is conceptualized and researched in many current school violence inquiries. For example, research has shown that specific school subcontexts (e.g., hallways, cafeterias, and bathrooms) tend to be violence prone. Yet students’ and teachers’ understanding of violence in these school subcontexts remains an underresearched topic. Current school violence research often has a singular focus on either subje…
Perceptions of violence and fear of school attendance among junior high school students in Israel
This article examines an exploratory model of how variables in school settings affect school victimization and the consequences of victimization for junior high school students. The dependent variables are fear of attending school and the students' assessment of the severity of school violence. The model presents the ways in which school context and victimization affect these variables, examining separately male and female students and Jewish, an…
School Violence in Israel: Findings of a National Survey
The authors report preliminary findings of a national survey on school violence in Israel. The national representative sample was stratified on school type--elementary, middle, and high schools--and ethnicity--Jewish and Arab students. A total of 15,916 students from 603 classes and 232 schools participated in the study, resulting in a 91 percent response rate. Findings revealed high rates of violence in all areas and among all age groups, but re…
The Contributions of Community, Family, and School Variables to Student Victimization
An ecological perspective was used to predict school violence from a number of variables describing the students and their families based on nationally representative sample of 10,400 students in grades 7–11 in 162 schools across Israel. Self‐administered anonymous questionnaires that included a scale for reporting victimization by serious and moderate physical violence, threats, and verbal–social victimization were filled out during class. Hiera…
Monitoring and Mapping Student Victimization in Schools
International data suggests that the most successful violence prevention programs are adapted to fit a specific school site and involve all of the constituents in a school setting. In contrast to many of the popular skills-based programs that are commonly implemented in schools across the United States, the authors explore the utility of combining monitoring and mapping techniques to prevent specific forms of school violence and aggression in spe…
School Violence in Context: Culture, Neighborhood, Family, School, and Gender
The book explores and differentiates the many manifestations of school violence, such as verbal, social, threats, bullying, physical, sexual harassment, and weapons possession, as well as staff-initiated violence against students. It presents a socio-ecological model of school violence in context, and explores the role of culture, religion, neighborhood, family, school characteristics (such as size), age, and gender. The model outlines how aspect…
The Effects of School Climate, Socioeconomics, and Cultural Factors on Student Victimization in Israel
The study reported in this article is based on a nationally representative sample of 10,400 students in grades 7 through 11 in 162 schools across Israel. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the differences between Jewish and Arab schools in the relationships between school-level variables—socioeconomic status (SES) of the school's neighborhood and students' families, school size and class size, school level (junior high and h…
Arab and Jewish elementary school students' perceptions of fear and school violence: Understanding the influence of school context
This inquiry explores variables that predict elementary school stsudents' fear of attending school due to school violence and their overall judgments of school violence as a problem. Using a nationally representative sample (Israel) of 5,472 elementary-school-aged children, this study tested the hypotheses that: (a) young students' personal fear of attending school due to violence, and (b) students' assessment of a school violence problem, are be…
Effects of Student Participation and Teacher Support on Victimization in Israeli Schools: An Examination of Gender, Culture, and School Type
Monitoring Indicators of Children's Victimization in School: Linking National-, Regional-, and Site-Level Indicators
Student victimization by school staff in the context of an Israeli national school safety campaign
In this study, we examined and compared findings from four nationally representative studies of victimization of students by school staff in Israel. We explored whether levels of student victimization by school staff (teachers, principals, secretaries, janitors, etc.) have changed between 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2005, and whether patterns of group differences (gender, age, and cultural groups) were replicated across those four points in time. We em…
School Violence and Theoretically Atypical Schools: The Principal’s Centrality in Orchestrating Safe Schools
Theories often assume that schools in communities with high violence also have high rates of school violence, yet there are schools with very low violence in high violence communities. Organizational variables within these schools may buffer community influences. Nine “atypical” schools are selected from a national database in Israel. Three years of intense qualitative and quantitative methods are employed at these schools. The most important var…
How Can We Improve School Safety Research
The authors of this article consider how education researchers can improve school violence and school safety research by (a) examining gaps in theoretical, conceptual, and basic research on the phenomena of school violence; (b) reviewing key issues in the design and evaluation of evidence-based practices to prevent school violence; and (c) suggesting new directions for a translational science agenda that can inform policy and practice. The author…
Putting Context Into a Cultural Perspective: Examining Arab and Jewish Adolescents’ Judgments and Reasoning About Spousal Retribution
In this study, we examined what contextual factors influence adolescents' judgments and reasoning about spousal retribution. Adolescents were drawn from Central and Northern Israel and consisted of 2,324 Arab and Jewish students (Grades 7-11). The study was set up in a 2 (Arab/Jewish respondent) × 2 (spousal retribution scenarios) factorial design. Our findings suggest that societal and cultural norms may be more powerful contextual variables tha…
School engagement, risky peers, and student–teacher relationships as mediators of school violence in Taiwanese vocational versus academically oriented high schools
Educational tracking based on academic ability accounts for different school dynamics between vocational versus academically‐oriented high schools in Taiwan. Many educational practitioners predict that the settings of vocational schools and academic schools mediate school violence in different ways. Alternatively, some researchers argue the actual mediating mechanism may not vary significantly between the different school types in different cultu…
School Variables as Mediators of Personal and Family Factors on School Violence in Taiwanese Junior High Schools
Using a nationally representative sample of 3,058 junior high school students in Taiwan, this study examines a model of how personal traits, family factors, and school dynamics influence school violence committed by students against students and teachers. This model proposed that school violence is directly influenced by personal traits, victimization, and parental monitoring as well as indirectly influenced by personal traits, victimization, and…
A Call to Duty: Educational Policy and School Reform Addressing the Needs of Children From Military Families
More than 90% of the nation’s 1.2 million military children attend civilian-operated public schools. Education researchers, however, often overlook the educational experiences and needs of military children attending civilian-operated public schools (i.e., schools that are administered by and under the purview of local education agencies). This article is the first in an educational research journal to examine the intersections among state policy…
High school students' posttraumatic symptoms, substance abuse and involvement in violence in the aftermath of war
Adult Relationships in Multiple Contexts and Associations With Adolescent Mental Health
Purpose: Adult relationships provide critical support for adolescents because of their potential to foster positive development and provide protective influences. Few studies examine multiple ecological layers of adult relationships in connection with well-being and depression. This study examines the influence of relationships from multiple contexts for adolescents and their mental health. Method: Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Surve…
Testing the Causal Links Between School Climate, School Violence, and School Academic Performance: A Cross-Lagged Panel Autoregressive Model
The present study explores the causal link between school climate, school violence, and a school’s general academic performance over time using a school-level, cross-lagged panel autoregressive modeling design. We hypothesized that reductions in school violence and climate improvement would lead to schools’ overall improved academic performance. School-level secondary analysis of the California Healthy Kids Survey was conducted at three points in…
A Statewide Study of Gang Membership in California Secondary Schools
To date, there is a paucity of empirical evidence that examines gang membership in schools. Using statewide data of 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students from California, this study focuses on the prevalence of gang membership by county, region, ethnicity, and grade level. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed with gang membership as the outcome of interest. Approximately 8.4% of the student sample reported that they…
Psychology (41 works) · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression (30 works) · Education Discipline and Inequality (29 works) · Medicine (26 works) · Social Psychology (24 works) · Political science (22 works) · Poison control (17 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Sociology (17 works) · Developmental psychology (16 works)