An Exploratory Investigation of Student-Level Factors and Perceptions of Safety in Secondary Schools Implementing SWPBIS

Past and recent violent incidents (e.g., shootings, bullying) within schools in the United States have caused great concern among the public about the safety of students. Although research has shed light upon the positive and negative impacts of current crisis prevention initiatives (e.g., federal and state legislation, security cameras, trauma-informed practices) on student perceptions of safety, the breadth of literature focused on the impact multitiered systems of supports (i.e., school-wide positive behavior supports and interventions [SWPBIS]) have on student perceptions of safety is limited (Nowicki, 2020). This exploratory investigation utilized a multivariate analysis of variance to examine perceptions of safety across student-level predictors (i.e., grade level and race/ethnic identity) of secondary students in two schools implementing SWPBIS. Additionally, this study investigated the interaction effect between grade level and race/ethnic identity. Findings included significant differences within specific domains of school safety between student racial and ethnic identities and between grade levels. Findings indicate the importance of disaggregating student-level data when evaluating school safety. Directions for future research pertaining to SWPBIS and school safety are also presented