Potential Causes of Mass School Shooting Incidents

Over the past several years, American educational institutions have seen an increase in gun violence by students. This increase has erupted calls for stricter gun control and larger gun-free zones at institutions of learning. There have been many theories to why American schools have become a place of fear instead of institutions of learning. Some explore the cause of mental illness; some investigate bullying, and a few acknowledge the lack of administrative follow-up on in-school incidents. This chapter will explore the relationships and correlations between the shooter, the victim(s), school zero-tolerance policy and how previous incidents of violence or threats of violence were/are processed in the school systems where these incidents have occurred.

Incidence, Severity and Responses to Reportable Student Self-Harm and Suicidal Behaviours in Schools: A One-Year Population-Based Study

School staff have a unique opportunity to detect and respond to mental health issues including self-harm and suicidal behaviour in adolescents. There is limited knowledge about how these incidents are managed in schools. This study aims to understand the incidence rates, perceived severity and management of self-harm and suicidal behaviour incidents by schools. A total of 1525 school incidents were analysed for rate, severity and response. Pearson’s χ2 test was used to understand incident rates of self-harm and suicidal behaviours compared to all other incidents, and if incident category was related to emergency service involvement. A Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA analysed differences in severity ratings for incidents, and relative risk ratios determined the probability that first responder services will be engaged in self-harm and suicidal behaviour incidents. Self-harm and suicidal behaviour incidents (n = 77) accounted for 5.05% of all incidents and were more likely to be rated highly severe compared to other incidents. Incidents of self-harm and suicidal behaviours were 1.43 times more likely to have police involvement and 8.37 times more likely to have ambulance involvement compared to other incidents that caused harm to students, staff or property including welfare and violence incidents. The findings highlight the severity of reportable self-harm and suicidal behaviour incidents as they required an emergency response. We discuss the potential missed opportunity for early intervention by school staff and services, which may hinder future disclosure or help-seeking by at-risk young people. Training of school staff may provide knowledge and confidence to respond appropriately to self-harm and suicidal behaviour incidents and prevent escalation requiring emergency intervention.

Potential Causes of Mass School Shooting Incidents

Over the past several years, American educational institutions have seen an increase in gun violence by students. This increase has erupted calls for stricter gun control and larger gun-free zones at institutions of learning. There have been many theories to why American schools have become a place of fear instead of institutions of learning. Some explore the cause of mental illness; some investigate bullying, and a few acknowledge the lack of administrative follow-up on in-school incidents. This chapter will explore the relationships and correlations between the shooter, the victim(s), school zero-tolerance policy and how previous incidents of violence or threats of violence were/are processed in the school systems where these incidents have occurred.

The Contribution of a Decision Support System to Educational Decision-Making Processes

In the light of reports of bias, the present study investigated the hypothesis that administrative educational decisions assisted by Decision Support Systems (DSS) are characterized by different pedagogical and organizational orientation than decisions made without computer assistance. One hundred and ten high school teachers were asked to suggest solutions to problems that arose in two school incidents. After reaching decisions, respondents were asked to rank, in order of importance, the considerations that guided them. The data were processed by DSS software, which calculated the highest-scoring option for each incident. This option was compared with the one chosen by the respondents, taking into account variables of seniority, educational level, specialization, and self-efficacy. DSS-aided decisions promoted greater moderation and enhanced cooperation among interested parties in comparison to decisions made without computer aid. The implications of these findings for future division of decision-making tasks between people and computers is discussed.