Date of Award

2019

Degree Name

Educational Leadership

College

College of Education

Type of Degree

Ed.D.

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Dr. Charles Bethel, Committee Chairperson

Second Advisor

Dr. Edna Meisel

Third Advisor

Dr. Louis Watts

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to determine if West Virginia (WV) PK-12 public school principals and assistant/vice principals perceive they are receiving suitable professional development to provide a secure school environment. This mixed methods study utilized non-experimental survey research to determine which professional development training school principals report participating in; to determine principals’ perceptions of the suitability of their own training; and to determine the influence of demographics on principal perceptions of training related to specific security events listed within the WV Schools Crisis Prevention and Response Plan. Data were collected by a researcher created, online survey consisting of 7 multiple-choice questions, 26 Likert scale responses, and one open response question. The population included in this study were WV PK-12 public school principals employed in the five Mountain State Educational Services Cooperative WV member counties (N=111). Data gathered in this study appears to indicate that while principals and assistant principals report receiving training for school security events contained within the WV Schools Crisis Prevention and Response Plan, the majority of trainings do not meet the principals’ and assistant/vice principals’ perceptions of adequacy in equipping school administrators to respond successfully to potential school security events. Significance was attained in all events in the participant perceptions of training Chi Square analysis. There were nineteen areas of significance reached across demographic categories for specific events using both Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis analyses.

Subject(s)

Educational leadership -- West Virginia.

School administrators -- Training of -- West Virginia.

School violence -- Prevention.

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