Date of Award
3-24-2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Amany Saleh
Committee Members
Ashraf Elsayed; Audrey Bowser; Sarah Kendig
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2020 H46
Abstract
Over the past several decades there has been an increase in school shootings across the nation. In response, School Resource Officer programs have been created in addition to increased security measures. It is believed that the increase of police officers in schools has funneled students into the criminal justice system, through what is called the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of stakeholders of the impact School Resource Officers have on the education of youth in Arkansas. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to explore the perceptions of School Resource Officers, law enforcement agencies, school administrators, and educators of SROs’ presence in schools. Surveys were distributed to each of the four groups to gather quantitative data on the prevalence, characteristics, roles, and perceived effectiveness of SROs in schools. A qualitative interview was conducted with members of each group to gain deeper insights into their views of the impact SROs have on students’ academic performance, the roles of an SRO, their perceptions on the school-to-prison pipeline, and suggestions for future SROs. According to the participants, SROs have a positive effect on student’s academic performance due to an increased sense of safety, positive relationship with students, faculty/staff, and parents. Additional positive effects included reduction in physical fights/assaults and drug and weapons violations, shorter response time should a violation occur, mentorship of students, sense of order, positive climate, and crime deterrence.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Henderson, Pamela Shultz, "The Impact of School Resource Officers on the Education of Youth in Arkansas" (2021). Student Theses and Dissertations. 342.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/342
