Peer Reviewed Publications
Article Synopses with Links to Articles
School Safety and Security
The Third Administrator? Perceptions of School Resource Officers in Predominantly White Elementary Schools
(With F. Chris Curran, Benjamin W. Fisher, & Aaron Kupchik)
Educational Administration Quarterly (2023)
School resource officers (SROs) have become increasingly common in suburban, predominately White schools and elementary schools, yet little is known about the SROs’ impacts in these settings. In this mixed methods study, we draw on interview and survey data collected from SROs, administrators, teachers, students, and parents to examine their perceptions of the impacts of SROs in elementary school. All stakeholders perceived SROs as having a wide variety of impacts on students and schools. In ways that are likely informed by being in White educational spaces, the impact of SROs is generally perceived as beneficial, and SROs are often described as a "third administrator" in teh building despite SROs having no educational training and working for a law enforcement agency. SROs tend to over-estimate their positive effects compared to school-based stakeholders, and non-White school-based stakeholders report stronger SRO impacts on student discipline than White stakeholders.
Black, Indigenous, People of Color and feelings of safety in school: Decomposing variation and ecological assets
(with Natalie Truong)
AERA Open (2022)
Using two nationally representative, longitudinal surveys of high school students, we explore why students who identify as Black, Latine, and American Indian (i.e., BIPOC) feel less safe at school than White students and how BIPOC students leverage their assets to succeed post-high school despite feeling unsafe. We use a QuantCrit framing to examine these areas to advance social justice through assets-driven analyses of systemic racism and inequality. We find Black students' higher probability of feeling unsafe is primarily explained by discrimination in school assignment while Latine and American Indian students' higher likelihood of feeling unsafe that White students is explained by within-school conditions. The association between feeling unsafe and early adulthood socioeconomic status is fully mediated by ecological assets for Black and Latine students but not White students.
Protecting the flock or policing the sheep? Differences in school resource officers' perceptions of threats by school racial composition
(With Benjamin W. Fisher, Ethan Higgins, Aaron Kupchik, F. Chris Curran, Suzanne Overstreet, Bryant Plumlee, & Brandon Coffey)
Social Problems (2022)
This study uses interviews with 73 SROs from two different school districts that encompass schools with a variety of racial compositions. Across both districts, SROs perceived three major categories of threats: student-based, intruder-based, and environment-based threats. However, the focus and perceived severity of the threats varied across districts such that SROs in the district with a larger proportion of White students were primarily concerned about external threats (i.e., intruder-based and environment-based) that might harm the students, whereas SROs in the district with a larger proportion of Black students were primarily concerned with students themselves as threats.
Exclusionary school discipline and delinquent outcomes: A meta-analysis
(With Julie Gerlinger, Joseph H. Gardella, Benjamin W. Fisher, F. Chris Curran, & Ethan M. Higgins)
Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2021)
This article synthesizes existing empirical evidence (274 effect sizes from 40 primary studies) examining the relationship between exclusionary discipline and delinquent outcomes, including school misconduct/infractions, antisocial behavior, involvement with the justice system, and risky behaviors. We find exclusionary discipline is an important and meaningful predictor of increased delinquency. These findings indicate exclusionary discipline may inadvertently exacerbate rather than mollify delinquent behaviors.
Kindergarten cop: A case study of how a coalition between school districts and law enforcement led to school resource officers in elementary schools
(with F. Chris Curran & Benjamin W. Fisher)
Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis (2021)
Adopting school resource officers (SROs) is a popular response to school shootings. Using the advocacy coalition and multiple streams frameworks, we explore how school districts in one county formed a coalition with the Sheriff’s Department, adopting SROs in elementary schools following the Sandy Hook shooting. We describe how this coalition was bound together by shared beliefs on school safety and the goodness of law enforcement. The implementation activities of SROs related to the beliefs of the coalition, focusing on security and relationship building. The beliefs were not uniformly understood by SROs – many interpreted their role to include student discipline and managing behavior of students with disabilities. The findings show the utility of comparing policy adoption processes with implementation activities.
How do interactions with school resource officers predict students’ likelihood of being disciplined and feelings of safety? Mixed-methods evidence from two school districts
(with F. Chris Curran, Aaron Kupchik, & Benjamin W. Fisher)
Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis (2021)
School resource officers (SROs) are common in schools, yet consequences of their presence are poorly understood. This study leveraged mixed-methods data from student surveys and group interviews across twenty-five schools to examine how the frequency of interactions and trust/comfort between students and SROs relates to disciplinary outcomes and feelings of safety. We found no evidence that, in this context, more frequent interactions or differing trust/comfort with SROs increased disciplinary consequences, perhaps because, as students report, SROs tended to not engage in formal discipline. We found that, although SROs were seen as increasing safety, interactions with SROs may have heightened students’ sense of danger, potentially mitigating any benefit to students’ overall feelings of safety. Implications for use of SROs are discussed.
Police ambassadors: Student-police interactions in school and legal socialization
(With Aaron Kupchik, F. Chris Curran, & Benjamin W. Fisher)
Law and Society Review (2020)
In this study, we analyze data from interviews with school police officers as well as focus group data from school staff, parents, and students that shed light on how school police interact with youth. In particular, school police officers discussed their desire to build relationships with students that instill trust in police among students. Importantly, officers discussed how they devote particular attention to imparting these lessons on youth of color and others who may see police in a negative light.
Mass school shootings and the short-run impacts on use of school security measures and practices: National evidence from the Columbine tragedy
(With F. Chris Curran & Benjamin W. Fisher)
Journal of School Violence (2020)
We used regression analysis to examine
the use of seven security measures and practices before and after Columbine. Elementary schools were 16 percentage points more likely to lock exits after Columbine and, over time, were more likely to use visitor sign in procedures.
Why and when do school resource officers engage in school discipline? The role of context in shaping disciplinary involvement
(With F. Chris Curran, Benjamin W. Fisher, & Aaron Kupchik)
American Journal of Education (2019)
Using data from over 50 schools in a county in the southeast, we found although 79% of SROs initially report not being involved in discipline, the majority involve themselves in nuanced ways that are shaped by relationships with school staff, official policies, and the characteristics of students served.
Teacher victimization, turnover, and contextual factors promoting resilience
(with F. Chris Curran & Benjamin W. Fisher)
Journal of School Violence (2018)
We examine the extent to which being threatened or attacked by students predicts higher rates of teacher turnover and whether this relationship differs due to factors that may promote teacher resilience.
Students’ feelings of safety, exposure to violence and victimization, and authoritative school climate
(with Benjamin W. Fisher, F. Chris Curran, F. Alvin Pearman, & Joseph H. Gardella)
American Journal of Criminal Justice (2018)
With data from two nationally representative datasets, this study uses path analysis to examine the relationship between authoritative school climate and feelings of safety, as well as the extent to which this relation is explained by exposure to violence and victimization.