Students' Perceptions of the Importance of School Safety Strategies: An Introduction to the IPSS Survey

Many research-based safety strategies and school violence prevention measures are available for schools to implement; however, little is known about which strategies are important to students. The current study was designed to explore students' perceptions of the importance of specified safety strategies. A new quantitative measure (Indicators of Preferences for School Safety [IPSS]) was developed using successful safety strategies and best practices identified in the current literature. A principal components analysis of 184 student reports revealed that four factors emerged from the IPSS survey: Rule Enforcement, Education, Control and Surveillance, and Counseling. Additionally, grade level differences were found in students' perceptions of these four categories, but gender differences were not evident.