Abstract
Few research studies on school violence policies use quantitative methods to evaluate the impact of policies on workplace violence. This study analyzed nine different written violence policies and their impact on work-related physical assault in educational settings. Data were from the Minnesota Educators’ Study. This large, nested case control study included cases (n=372) who reported physical assaults within the last year, and controls (n=1116) who did not. Multivariate logistic regression analyses, using directed acyclic graphs, estimated risk of assault. Results of the adjusted multivariate model suggested decreased risks of physical assault were associated with the presence of policies regarding how to report sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and threat (OR 0.53; 95 per cent CI: 0.30–0.95); assurance of confidential reporting of events (OR 0.67; 95 per cent CI: 0.44–1.04); and zero tolerance for violence (OR 0.70; 95 per cent CI: 0.47–1.04).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dinkes, R., Kemp, J. and Baum, K. (2009) Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008 (NCES 2009–022/NCJ 226343), U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Osler, A. and Starkey, H. (2005) Violence in schools and representations of young people: A critique of government policies in France and England. Oxford Review of Education 31 (2): 195–215.
Bauer, J. et al (2007) Working conditions, adverse events and mental health problems in a sample of 949 German teachers. International Archives of Occupational Environmental Health 80 (5): 442–449.
Han, S. and Akiba, S. (2005) School liability for student injury from school violence: Comparison between South Korea and the USA. Education and Law 17 (4): 161–172.
Munn, P., Johnstone, M., Sharp, S. and Brown, J. (2007) Violence in schools: Perceptions of secondary teachers and head teachers over time. International Journal on Violence and Schools 3: 52–80.
Mercy, J., Rosenberg, M., Powell, K., Broome, C.V. and Roper, W.L. (1993) Public health policy for preventing violence. Health Affairs: 12 (4): 7–29.
Pipho, C. (1998) Living with zero tolerance. Phi Delta Kappan 79: 725–726.
Ashford, R. (2000) Can zero tolerance keep our schools safe? Principal 80 (2): 28–30.
Casella, R. (2001) At Zero Tolerance: Punishment, Prevention and School Violence. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Rozaliski, M.E. and Yell, M.L. (2004) Chapter 19, law and school safety. In: J.C. Conoley and A.P. Goldstein (eds.) School Violence Intervention: A Practical Handbook. New York: Guilford Press.
Bon, S.C., Faircloth, S.C. and LeTendre, G.K. (2006) Protecting the rights of students with disabilities while maintaining teachers’ sense of safety in schools. Journal of Disability Policy Studies 17 (3): 148–157.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2002) OSHA Fact Sheet: Workplace Violence. Washington DC: US Department of Labor.
Yell, M. and Rozalski, M. (2000) Searching for safe schools: Legal issues in the prevention of school violence. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 8 (3): 187–196.
Simonowitz, J.A., Rigdon, J.E. and Mannings, K. (1997) Workplace violence: Prevention efforts by the occupational health nurse. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal 45 (6): 305–315.
Nachreiner, N.M., Gerberich, S.G. and McGovern, P.M. et al (2005) Relation between policies and work-related assault: Minnesota Nurses’ Study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 62 (10): 675–681.
Blair, F.E. (1999) Does zero tolerance work? Principal 79 (1): 36–37.
American Psychological Association. (2008) Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools? An evidentiary review and recommendations. American Psychologist 63 (9): 852–862.
Skiba, R. and Knesting, K. (2001) Chapter 1, zero tolerance, zero evidence: An analysis of school disciplinary practice. In: R. Skiba and G. Noam (eds.) New Directions for Youth Development. Zero Tolerance: Can Suspension and Expulsion Keep School Safe?, Vol. 92. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Skiba, R. and Leone, P. (2001) Zero tolerance and school security measures: A failed experiment. In: T. Johnson, W.J. Pittz and B. Cross (eds.) Racial Profiling and Punishment in US Public Schools: How Zero Tolerance Policies and High Stakes Testing Subvert Academic Excellence and Racial Equity. ERASE Initiative. Oakland, CA: Applied Research Center.
Cassidy, W. and Jackson, M. (2005) The need for equality in education: An intersectionality examination of labeling and zero tolerance practices. McGill Journal of Education 40 (3): 445–466.
Fries, K. and DeMitchell, T. (2007) Zero tolerance and the paradox of fairness: Viewpoints from the classroom. Journal of Law and Education 36 (2): 211–229.
Camras, L. and Rappaport, S. (1993) Conflict behaviors of maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Child Abuse & Neglect 17 (4): 455–464.
Baker, J. (1998) Are we missing the forest for the trees? Considering the social context of school violence. Journal of School Psychology 36 (1): 29–44.
Valois, R.F. and Garrison, C.Z. (2002) Correlates of aggressive and violent behaviors among public high school adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health 16 (1): 26–34.
Daniel, Y. and Bondy, K. (2008) Safe schools and zero tolerance: Policy, program and practice in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 70: 1–20.
Cheurprakobkit, S. and Bartsch, R.A. (2005) Security measures on school crime in Texas middle and high schools. Emotional Research 47 (2): 235–250.
Gerberich, S.G. et al (2005) Risk factors for work-related assaults on nurses. Epidemiology 16 (5): 704–709.
Minnesota Department of Education. (2005) List of Licensed Minnesota Educators. Roseville, MN: Minnesota Department of Education.
Center for Violence Prevention and Control Research. (2008) Minnesota educators’ study: Violence against teachers – Data collection instruments and associated materials, http://www1.umn.edu/cvpc/research.html, accessed 1 May 2009.
Gerberich, S.G. et al (2008) Violence Against Teachers: Etiology and Consequences (R01 OH007816). Final Performance Report to the Sponsor, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health.
Hernán, M.A., Hernández-Díaz, S. and Werler, M.M. et al (2002) Causal knowledge as a prerequisite for confounding evaluation: An application to birth defects epidemiology. American Journal of Epidemiology 155 (2): 176–184.
Greenland, S., Pearl, J. and Robins, J.M. (1999) Causal diagrams for epidemiologic research. Epidemiology 10 (1): 37–48.
Mongin, S.J. (2001) Adjustment for non-response in the Minnesota nurses study, http://enhs.umn.edu/research/pdfs/response.adjustment.1.pdf, accessed 1 May 2009.
Decisioneering. (2007) Crystal Ball 7.3 User's Manual. Denver, CO: Decisioneering.
Bucher, K.T. and Manning, M.L. (2003) Challenges and suggestions for safe schools. Clearing House 76 (3): 160–164.
Rothman, K.J. and Greenland, S. (1998) Modern Epidemiology, 2nd edn. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company.
Gerberich, S.G. et al (2002) A Study of Risk Factors for Violence among Nurses (R01 OH03438). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Minneapolis: Regional Injury Prevention Center, University of Minnesota. Technical Report.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Do written policies about workplace violence reduce work-related physical violence in educational settings? This analysis suggests that they do and why.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Feda, D., Gerberich, S., Ryan, A. et al. Written violence policies and risk of physical assault against Minnesota educators. J Public Health Pol 31, 461–477 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2010.32
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2010.32