School Violence and Safety Policies and Practices in Urban and Rural Communities: Does Location Matter?

Abstract

While there is a large body of literature on school violence and security policies in urban areas, school violence in rural areas has gained considerably less academic attention. Recent research in this area has indicated that rural schools and communities have experienced rates of violence that are similar to their urban counterparts. However, the generalizability of findings from these exploratory research projects is limited. The current study investigated the impact of school location on school violence incidents and compared correlates of school violence in rural schools to correlates of school violence in urban schools. Specifically, upon analyzing the 2010 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) data, this study found that rural schools reported more incidents of school violence than urban schools, and different predictors affected school violence based on school location. In light of these findings, potential implications for location-specific school safety strategies are discussed within.