Safe environment training: Effects on Catholic schoolteachers\u27 and administrators\u27 school security and satisfaction

In 2002, in light of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic church, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops established The charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that mandated safe environment training for clergy personnel, and volunteers working in the Catholic church. In this study, under the auspices of a national Catholic organization, teachers and administrators in its schools were surveyed on their career satisfaction and sense of school security as a function of their safe environment training. The survey also assessed participants\u27 perceptions about what other aspects in their school community might contribute to creating a safe educational environment. The findings indicated that the teachers and administrators perceived the safe environment training as contributing minimally to their career satisfaction and to the creation of safe educational environments in their schools. The results consistently showed that distinction and clarity of roles and the quality of school leadership did contribute to the teachers\u27 career satisfaction and were viewed as major factors in the establishment of safe educational environments. These findings suggest that teachers and administrators in Catholic schools perceive the abuse crisis in the Catholic church as a catalyst in bringing the issue of safe environments to the forefront of educational discussion