School Social Workers’ Perceptions of School Safety and Security in Today’s Schools: A Survey of Practitioners Across the United States

To understand the effects of school safety practices and strategies on the school environment, researchers have consistently investigated the perceptions of students and various school personnel concerning school safety. Yet school social workers, professionals commonly employed in today’s schools to address the mental health needs of students, are often left out of the school safety discussion. Data were collected from 229 school social workers across the United States to examine: (a) school social workers’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of various school safety strategies; (b) differences in these perceptions based on student- and school-level variables; and (c) comments from participants regarding school safety in U.S. schools. The purpose of this article is to provide timely implications concerning school safety from a unique and unstudied perspective.