An investigation of transformational leadership practices utilized to create an affirmative school culture amid post traumatic events such as COVID-19

This phenomenological qualitative research aimed to examine transformational leadership practices that cultivate an affirmative school culture amid post-traumatic events such as Covid19. The study explored the extent to which crisis management was incorporated within the school safety plan. This research was grounded in two theoretical frameworks, Bridges' (2009) Transition Model and Scharmer's (2017) Theory U, focusing on the social-emotional effects of change throughout the public health crisis. Educational leaders in the Northeastern region of the United States were interviewed. The research gathered the participant's perception of a school's culture and crisis management as a public health crisis disrupted traditional instruction and leadership.The study found that cultivating collaborative relationships rooted in shared vision and trust was fundamental to creating an affirmative school culture. Additionally, the study revealed the significance of creating culturally responsive school safety plans grounded in the historical context of the community's shared lived experiences. Finally, the research highlights how the Covid-19 global pandemic presented an opportunity for educational leaders and stakeholders to develop culturally responsive support systems and structures, which created learning partnerships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

School-related violence during the COVID-19 pandemic

During a global pandemic, there are unique and unprecedented challenges to all segments of society. For more than 3 years, schools and families alike have been faced with compromising life situations that have resulted in forms of anxiety and violence. Early studies are provided as are directions for further research in this area. Addressed are issues related to violence in the home, issues related to quarantined situations, some of the stresses of the global COVID-19 pandemic on children, parents, teachers, and community members, and the lessons learned during this very difficult time frame. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Preventive Action and Control Measures Model of Critical Incident Management for COVID-19 Pandemic in University

Critical incidences in the event of a Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak will have a very high impact, the severity on the implementation of an institution/ university core teaching and learning mission in many ways as the temporary closure of schools, adaptation, and modified methods of teaching and learning processes or supplementary activities to differentiate or change to a new practice of new normal. The universities must recognize and realized that if they need to achieve a condition of safety, security, or sustainability for the implementation of the teaching and learning mission, it is possible to continue in the future as well. They must be understood and act to conform to the so-called system of "Critical Incident Management (CIM)”, which seems to be the right solution exactly as the same situation that the universities are facing today. The main purposes of this article need to present the details of the conceptual framework for the appropriate model and main components that are necessary for CIM, by showing relevance as a preventive action and control measures for Covid-19 in the long-term implementation. The universities must set up guidelines for self-control such as the appointment and assignment of authorities to the CIM team and person in charge, considering the cause or sources of the incident, assessment, and evaluation of the main impact to universities, CIM planning, establishing the appropriate control measures and procedures for incident management, continued peer review with communication, and identification the level of Covid-19 incident management success or indicated as the best effectiveness in the next opportunity, respectively.

School climate and culture impact on middle school students and their attendance

Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact school climate and culture has on student achievement, but little has been studied on how climate and culture impacts student attendance. This study focuses specifically on the teacher-student relationship, parent engagement, and school safety and how these three areas of emphasis affect student attendance. When students feel disconnected, parents are unengaged, and safety concerns are present within the school setting, attendance barriers are created for students. This mixed-methods explanatory approach provided researchers the opportunity to survey all middle school students and interview 10 individual students per grade level for further investigation into what barriers are present at Rural #0535 Middle School. Although the results from the student body were generally favorable, there were pockets of concern in each of the three areas that indicate the reasons why students are absent from school. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as chronic absenteeism, school leaders must identify ways to address the concerns identified within the investigations. Once identified, school administrators can begin to eliminate the obstacles that are hindering students from attending school. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The Development of a Counseling Service Questionnaire: Study of Validation and Reliability

The study developed items of a counseling service questionnaire to aid counselors and universities in supporting students ' mental health. The participants of this study were 1,022 Chinese college students from three universities in Thailand. The questionnaire included development items and content validity and reliability testing. The questionnaire contained 17 items covering four aspects: (1) developmental counseling;(2) adaptive counseling;(3) disorder counseling;and (4) intervention in psychological crises. The results showed that the counseling services questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to determine students' mental health.

Understanding the impacts of floods on learning quality, school facilities, and educational recovery in Indonesia.

This research is among the first pieces of work to use the comprehensive school safety (CSS) framework to assess the impacts of floods on quality learning and education infrastructure. The CSS framework is employed here to identify the level of disruption to education services following floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2013. The paper poses three key questions, concerning: (i) disruption to children's access to quality education during the flood emergency in 2013 and the early recovery phase; (ii) the impact of the floods on a school's physical infrastructure; and (iii) the effectiveness and level of success of the 2013 flood responses by relevant stakeholders. Combining quantitative and qualitative strategies, the paper examines the experiences of 100 schools in Jakarta. The findings suggest that the CSS framework offers a more nuanced approach to assessing post-disaster education needs. Moreover, it is also relevant for examining the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and relative losses in the education sector.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through the Power of Play

As we work to educate our children in effective ways, supporting their efforts to make a positive difference reaps benefits for both students and society.

State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results. Research Report. RR-A1108-3

This technical report provides information about the sample, content, and administration of the 2022 State of the American Teacher (SoT) and State of the American Principal (SoP) surveys. The SoT survey was completed by 2,360 American Teacher Panel members, and the SoP survey was completed by 1,540 American School Leader Panel members. The American Life Panel (ALP) companion survey was administered to 500 ALP members in January and February 2022. The report also describes the teacher interview protocols and qualitative methods used for interviews with SoT respondents. The SoT and SoP surveys addressed teachers' and principals' well-being (e.g., job-related stress, depression, burnout), school climate (e.g., physical safety, teacher/principal voice, staff diversity, equity, and inclusion), teachers' and principals' working conditions this school year (e.g., instructional mode, hours worked, coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] mitigation policies, beliefs about the teaching of race, racism, and bias), and teachers' and principals' careers as educators (e.g., preparation, retention, decisions to exit). Teachers were also asked about policies that they believed would be effective for recruiting, hiring, and retaining educators of color. Principals were also asked a series of questions related to their preparation to address political topics in their schools.

Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools in 2019-20: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety. First Look. NCES 2022-029

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects data on school security measures, school security staff, mental health services, parent and community involvement at school, and staff training. SSOCS data can be used to study how violent incidents in schools relate to the programs and practices that schools have in place to prevent crime. Data collection began in February 2020 and was conducted mostly using an online survey instrument. In March 2020, many schools began closing their physical buildings due to the coronavirus pandemic. This affected data collection activities. Also, the change to virtual schooling and the adjusted school year may have impacted the data collected by SSOCS. Readers should use caution when comparing SSOCS:2020 estimates with those from earlier years. The national sample for SSOCS:2020 was made up of 4,800 U.S. public schools. Of these schools, 2,370 elementary, middle, high/secondary, and combined/other schools responded. The results showed that nonresponding schools were significantly different from responding schools. However, the results also showed that weighting adjustments removed most of the observed nonresponse bias. [For the summary report, see ED621594. For the 2019 report, see ED596638.]

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on First-Generation, Low-Income and Rural Students in Indonesia and Vietnam: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study

Comparative studies around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are still limited. This paper explores the question: how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected higher education students, and which ones have been most impacted? Indonesia and Vietnam are our focus. We leveraged a rich set of data collected online from both countries (n = 2600). We used regression analyses to measure students' wellbeing, financial hardships, access to technology, and educational satisfaction. As expected, we found statistically significant differences between both countries except for the wellbeing domain. For within-country comparison, consistent for both countries, low-income students were less likely to access technology and were more likely to experience financial distress than their counterparts. Indonesian first-gen students also showed a similar trend. Lastly, we observed a lower likelihood of satisfaction from rural and low-income students in Indonesia for their education during the pandemic. We provide our policy recommendations for both countries. [This manuscript accompanied a conference presentation at the 50th Annual Conference of Mid-South Education Research Association (MSERA) in New Orleans, Louisiana (November 9-12, 2021).]

Confronting COVID-19 Whilst Elementary School Students Resume In-Person Learning

Resuming in-person teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic implies that schools must deploy strategies to enforce adherence to the safety protocols to help contain and reduce the spread of the corona virus disease among school children. Thus, the current qualitative study adopted a case study design to explore strategies that were deployed to enforce adherence to the COVID-19 safety protocols among elementary school students. A semi-structured interview guide was used to gather data from 30 teachers enrolled in a one-year master's degree in Educational Leadership and Management program at a public university in Ghana. The study showed that strict and compulsory handwashing before entering the school was deployed to ensure adherence to handwashing safety protocol, provision of veronica buckets contributed to adherence to handwashing. Also, interventions that were deployed to enforce social distancing were spacing of desk, having mealtime in class, eating meals in turns, suspension of assembly and other social gatherings, split class for shift system. Additionally, schools ensured students wore nose masks by providing nose masks to students who could not afford.

Resilience Is the Key: A Concurrent Mixed Methods Study on Surviving the Challenges of COVID-19 among Philippine Schools Overseas

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges among schools across the globe, including the Philippine Schools Overseas (PSOs). Using a convergent mixed methods design, this study investigated the perceptions, views and experiences of the respondents to the unexpected occurrence of COVID-19. In this approach, quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used in parallel with each other. Datasets were analyzed separately and merged at the point of integration where they are arrayed side-by-side and by using a joint display. A total of eighty-eight participants from PSOs participated the survey, and nine respondents participated in the phenomenological interviews. The chi-square analysis revealed non-significant association between the respondents' designation and their perceptions to surviving the challenges of COVID-19 in relation to challenges encountered, learning continuity, health and safety protocols, and lessons learned. Qualitative findings revealed that mitigating the challenges, pursuing learning continuity, observing stricter health and safety protocols, and learning from experiences are the best approaches to survive the challenges. The direct comparison of the quantitative and qualitative results allowed us to draw meta-inferences which were classified as confirming and expanding. The mixed methods analyses illuminated the overall aspects of how schools survived the COVID-19 challenges, thus creating a more complete picture of the phenomenon under study.

School climate and culture impact on middle school students and their attendance

Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact school climate and culture has on student achievement, but little has been studied on how climate and culture impacts student attendance. This study focuses specifically on the teacher-student relationship, parent engagement, and school safety and how these three areas of emphasis affect student attendance. When students feel disconnected, parents are unengaged, and safety concerns are present within the school setting, attendance barriers are created for students. This mixed-methods explanatory approach provided researchers the opportunity to survey all middle school students and interview 10 individual students per grade level for further investigation into what barriers are present at Rural #0535 Middle School. Although the results from the student body were generally favorable, there were pockets of concern in each of the three areas that indicate the reasons why students are absent from school. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as chronic absenteeism, school leaders must identify ways to address the concerns identified within the investigations. Once identified, school administrators can begin to eliminate the obstacles that are hindering students from attending school. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Empowering Elementary and Middle School Youth to Speak Up and Be Safe: Advancing Prevention of Child Maltreatment with a Universal School-Based Curriculum.

Child maltreatment is a global public health problem, and school-based universal prevention programs such as the Speak Up Be Safe (SUBS) curriculum can be an effective solution to help address child violence. This randomized control study employed a pre-, post-, and six-month follow-up design for students in kindergarten to grade 8, approximately ages 5-13 (n = 2797). Surveys measured the efficacy of the curriculum in increasing students' knowledge of safety rules and self-protection strategies. The analyses explored the differences at follow-up between the conditions for each index/scale for each grade using an analysis of covariance, which controlled for the pre-survey scores. The SUBS group had significantly higher scores at follow-up than the students in the control group. This study showed that the students learned new knowledge and skills to act upon and identify child abuse and neglect in keeping themselves and others safe. Policy- and decision makers now know that as a child maltreatment prevention program, SUBS can be implemented universally in schools at a low cost, delivering an essential evidence-based safety curriculum that protects students from child maltreatment.

Gun violence in K-12 schools in the United States: Moving towards a preventive (versus reactive) framework.

Intentional shootings in K-12 schools in the U.S. persist as a public health problem. The number of shootings in K-12 schools has increased precipitously since 2017. And with approximately 100,000 K-12 public schools nationally serving 51 million children, investing in a comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy is critical. Unfortunately, our current school gun violence prevention approach almost exclusively centers reactive strategies that are in place to respond to acts of gun violence in the moment, rather than preventive strategies that would prevent them from occurring at all. Reliance on these strategies alone, however, is not sufficient. In line with the core tenets of public health prevention and the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community model, we present a more expansive school gun violence prevention framework that broadens the spectrum of what constitutes "school gun violence prevention." Our work highlights how enhancing basic neighborhood and school structures-including investments in public libraries, affordable housing, and universal school-based violence prevention programs-are key to both preventing gun violence and promoting well-being. We also highlight the role of stricter gun laws, reasonable school security efforts, bystander interventions, building awareness within school communities, and meaningful investments in early interventions and mental health services. Children, who have been tragically exposed to any number of adverse experiences in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, deserve more reasoned choices and large-scale investments in understanding and cutting off the root causes of school gun violence; not just a reliance on strategies that focus on what to do in the moment of a violent act. As gun violence in K-12 schools persists, we must reframe the discourse about school gun violence around prevention, not reaction.

COVID-19 School vs. Community-Based Outbreak Trends among New Jersey K-12 Schools during the 2020-2021 School Year.

Identifying potential rapid methods to track COVID-19 trends within schools has become a necessity in understanding how to provide both education and maintain health and safety during a pandemic. This study examined COVID-19 trends and sociodemographic information in New Jersey (NJ) schools during the 2020-2021 school year. A database was compiled for this study in Microsoft Excel using various state and federal resources. Data used in the study are a combination of extracted data from weekly NJ Spotlight reports, weekly NJ COVID-19 Activity Level Index (NJ CALI) reports, and reports of school-based outbreaks via the NJ Department of Health (NJDOH). In 2020-2021, in NJ K-12 schools, the NJDOH defined a school-based outbreak incidence as two or more students and/or adult staff with a laboratory-confirmed positive molecular test for COVID-19 based on transmission occurring on campus. Data were organized into six regions across 21 counties within NJ (3-4 counties per region per NJDOH). COVID-19 trends in NJ schools mirrored trends in their districts, i.e., communities, within the state's region; noticeably, there were consistently high trends during the winter holiday season (November 2020-January 2021). The cumulative number of incidences of school-based outbreaks remained relatively low but, nevertheless, increased throughout the 2020-2021 school year. This study recommends increased accessibility to COVID-19 reports for school and public health officials, and in the future for data to be reported to identify rates of transmission of other communicable diseases within K-12 students, and to further reinforce established mandates and other preventative measures in public while traveling during holiday seasons.

How school administrators create safe learning environments in response to a pandemic: A holistic multiple case study of private elementary schools

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, private schools in the United States have reported unusually high numbers of applications from public school parents. School administrators have been required to manage the redesign of the school environment to ensure the safety of students without compromising student learning. Yet, it was unknown how private school leaders were addressing the redesign of the school environment while prioritizing student learning during COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to explore how administrators at private elementary schools ensure a safe school environment and support student learning during COVID-19. Rational choice theory guided this holistic multiple case study with embedded units of analysis. Six school administrators were purposefully sampled from two private elementary schools located in the same county in North Carolina. Data were collected through a questionnaire and one-on-one virtual interviews. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis: individual level of preparedness, prevention measures and support, and safety challenges. The first key finding was that participants supported the administrators' role in providing for the safety of students and teachers during the pandemic by implementing safety precautions such as hygiene practices and protocols to prevent outbreaks among students or staff. The second key finding was that schools were not fully prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, and the majority of school staff were not educated on pandemic preparedness. Responses also showed a need to refine certain classroom safety measures, such as class size and the availability of critical resources for student safety. Additionally, school leaders should establish pandemic management committees comprised of all major stakeholders to increase safety preparedness in schools. Although most schools already have general safety measures in place, such as locks on doors and windows, leaders should strive to strengthen their pandemic preparedness. . (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Safety Risks of Primary and Secondary Schools in China: A Systematic Analysis Using AHP–EWM Method

Owing to the frequent accidents in primary and secondary schools (PSS) in China in the past decades, a systematic analysis of indicators influencing safety risks in PSS is critical to identifying preventive measures. A two-hierarchy structure of indicators was identified by analyzing various cases, intensive interviews, and related previous literature. A combination of the analytic hierarchy process and the entropy weight method was developed to synthetically assess the primary and secondary risk indicators through a case study of Ma Shan School in China. The results are as follows: (1) the primary risk indicators, namely, natural disasters, public health, facility safety, accidental injury, public security, school bullying, and individual health constitute the evaluation framework of the safety risks in PSS. (2) Public health risks and accidental injury risks are the most critical factors that should be prioritized. In addition to providing academic implications, several managerial implications are proposed for these stakeholders to reduce the safety risks in PSS.

The Sense of Safety and Active Leisure in Gated Enclaves: Evidence from Fuzhou University Campus

Scientific interest in how residential patterns affect both people’s subjective sense of safety and their behavior is increasing. The surge of gated communities in the world has changed the way we live to a great extent. Research on the gated development trend in postmodern cities is still limited;therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between residents’ attitudes toward gated enclaves and their sense of safety. At the same time, the relationship between a sense of security and active leisure behavior was also investigated. Using data collected from 350 college students in Fuzhou University Town, this study introduces a conceptual model to test the relationship between closed enclaves, campus security, and active leisure behavior while controlling population and community characteristics. The results of structural equation model analysis show that gated enclaves positively correlate with campus safety and positively correlate with active leisure behavior, and a safe campus positively correlates with active leisure behavior. The results of this study focus on the importance of gated enclaves as a living environment, and the discovery of functional characteristics of gated enclaves supports future interventions. In other words, when promoting active leisure behavior and increasing the sense of safety in the neighborhood environment, attention must be paid to the characteristics of these gated enclaves. In addition, the simultaneous measurement of these structures provides a dynamic observation of the existing environment, as well as information for future research and construction. Decision makers and urban planners can use these results to promote interaction and healthy behavior in the community under the multi-angle development of the existing access control, thereby improving residents’ sense of security, and increasing leisure participation.

School leaders' responsibilities for ensuring safe schools for teaching and learning during COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease was declared an international public health emergency as the virus spread across many countries and territories. Due to the rapid rate the virus was spreading, the South African president announced the closure of schools in March 2020. The protection of children and teachers was incredibly important. Precautions were necessary to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 in school settings;however, care had to be taken to avoid stigmatising students and staff who may have been exposed to the virus. With a phased-in approach to grades returning to school, school leaders had to ensure that their environment was safe, conducive, welcoming, respectful, inclusive and supportive at all times. A qualitative case study, involving individual interviews with principals, was conducted using the Health Theoretical Framework of attitudes, behaviours and communication (ABCs) to investigate how school leaders were ensuring a safe and conducive environment for teachers and learners. The findings highlighted establishing an emergency School Management Team to be the COVID-19 point of contact, implementing social distancing, frequent sanitising, mask-wearing, daily screening, encouraging flexible school times and promoting the outdoor classroom. Staff with comorbidities were assigned noncontact duties.