Empirical Research
School Administrators’ Perceptions of School Violence
By Stephanie Garrett, Casey Graham Brown
Volume 7 - Issue 4
Dec 7, 2009 - 12:20:30 PM

This study focused on the correlation between school size and incidents of school violence in Texas public high schools. The study also examined selected subgroups within school size groups to determine if a correlation existed between these groups and incidents of school violence. Additionally, randomly selected administrators were surveyed to determine if administrators’ perceptions regarding school violence and school size matched the actual data collected about Texas high schools.

The findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between school size and incidents of school violence, both in raw numbers and as a percentage of the overall population. Statistical data showed that in the categories of gender and socioeconomic level, school violence increased as school size increased. Analysis also revealed that males show a slightly higher tendency than females for incidents of school violence.

Conclusions from the survey responses indicated that a large number of high school administrators consider that school violence is not a serious problem, and that factors such as gender, grade level, and socioeconomic level do not greatly impact school violence. These findings from the survey data are directly opposite to the findings using state data, in which a significant relationship was indicated.