Safe School Study, 1976-1977

This data collection contains information obtained from atotal of 31,373 students, 23,895 teachers, and 15,894 principals inthe United States in 1976-1977 in the Safe School Study, mandated bythe United States Congress under Public Law 93-380 (Section 825). Thelegislation was in response to growing public concern regardingincidents of violence and vandalism occurring in the nation'sschools. The objectives of this study were to determine the frequencyand seriousness of crime in elementary and secondary schools in theUnited States, the number and location of schools affected by crime,the cost of replacement or repair of objects damaged by school crime,and possible methods of prevention. The legislation specified that thestudy was to be conducted by the National Institute of Education(NIE). The NIE designed the study in three phases, and data collectionwas carried out by the Research Triangle Institute, with computer worksupervised by Sheldon Laube of C.M. Leinwand Associates. The primarydata for the study were collected in two concurrent sample surveys:Phase I and Phase II. Phase I, a mail survey, asked more than 4,000elementary and secondary school principals to report in detail on theincidence of illegal or disruptive activities in their schools. Nineone-month reporting periods between February 1976 and January 1977,excluding summer months, were assigned to participating schools on arandom basis. Parts 2 and 11 contain data gathered from schoolprincipals in this phase. In Phase II, field representatives conductedon-site and follow-up surveys of junior and senior high schoolstudents and teachers in public secondary schools. They were asked toreport any experiences they might have had as victims of violence ortheft in the reporting month. In addition, they provided informationabout themselves, their schools, and their communities. Also, theprincipals in this sample were asked to keep a record of incidentsduring the reporting month, including robberies, attacks, andthefts. They also supplied information about their schools'characteristics and crime prevention methods. Parts 7, 16, 19, 24, 29,30, 35, 39, 43, and 47 contain the data gathered in this phase. Part18 contains the combined data gathered in the Principalquestionnaires, utilizing both Phase I and Phase II samples. Part 51is a file created to supply community information about each Phase IIschool. Most of its information was extracted from the 1970 Census,but it also includes weather and unemployment data. Phase III involveda more intensive qualitative study of 10 schools, most which had had ahistory of problems with crime and violence, but which had improveddramatically in a short time. Some crimes explored were vandalism,theft, personal violence, and verbal abuse. The place of occurrenceand characteristics of each offender were also examined. The 10 casestudies created as a result of Phase III can be read in the primarycodebook for this data collection: United States Department of Health,Education, and Welfare. National Institute of Education. VIOLENTSCHOOLS -- SAFE SCHOOLS: THE SAFE SCHOOL STUDY REPORT TO THE CONGRESS,VOLUME 1. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health,Education, and Welfare, 1978.