Newly available survey data show victims of school violence would feel less safe with armed teachers

During the 25 years since the Columbine school shooting, some people have advocated that arming teachers could protect students and improve their perception of safety. Yet, according to McCuddy et al., “To date, most of the empirical evidence accumulated on arming teachers involves public opinion research, with minimal attention devoted to the opinions of those the policy is aimed at protecting: the students.” So in this article, McCuddy et al. analyzed survey data gathered from high school students, in order to learn how allowing teachers to carry guns could impact students’ feelings of safety at school. The data that McCuddy et al. used are contained in a study released last year by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), called the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, St. Louis County, Missouri, 2016-2019 (ICPSR 37929). Its purpose was to investigate the patterns and root causes and consequences of school violence and victimization, as well as factors contributing to safe learning environments. A longitudinal study of two student cohorts from St. Louis, Missouri, it initially enrolled participants from 12 middle schools across six school districts. In-school surveys were administered to the students between 2016 and 2019 in three waves as they transitioned from middle to high school. Additionally, in-home, in-depth interviews with a subsample of students were conducted during the summers of 2018 and 2019. These interviews provided more detailed information about victimization experiences, perceptions of school safety, and contacts with the police. The study also conducted anonymous surveys of school personnel during its first and third years.

For this article, McCuddy et al. used data from Wave 3, when students were in 9th and 10th grade, since this wave asked questions specifically about arming teachers. Using an analytic sample of 2,514 students, the researchers applied Ferraro’s risk assessment model, which proposes that defensive actions against victimization can unintentionally increase fear of crime. McCuddy et al. found that students who had experienced bullying, threats, theft, and assaults reported greater fear of future crimes at school. These students also felt that having armed teachers would make them less safe. For these victims of violence, more guns signaled more danger, not more protection. However, students who admitted to delinquent acts like vandalism and selling drugs viewed armed teachers differently. This group felt teachers carrying weapons would improve school safety.