[[Dissertation Proposal] Safety in Public Schools: the case of Saudi Arabia]

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible (Ball & Bass (2000) Interweaving content and pedagogy, 2000,, 101).

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University (Ball & Bass (2000) Interweaving content and pedagogy, 2000,, 101).

Signed __________________ Date _________________

CHAPTER 01 - INTRODUCTION

Background of the research

The security and safety of any establishment, whether economic, educational, sporting or industrial gives a spiritual momentum for the further production and creativity to those who work within this establishment. Therefore, the availability of security and safety is one of the motivations of creativity and production as this generates comfort and which in turn enables a worker, an employee or a student to become competent and creative. When we talk about an educational establishment, we mean the students themselves. They are the future men and the leaders. This pushes us forward to find all means of comfort to them so that they can master all the knowledge provided to them within this establishment, and the first of which is the security of such educational establishment and establishing the safety of this educational establishment.

I think that scientific progress and education is not only confined to changing curriculum and teachers, but also includes the development of culture in several things, mainly the security and safety of educational establishment and this is one of my goals in this research.

Conceptual Underpinnings for the Study

The presence of armed police officers in the halls of school buildings signifies different concepts to different people (Walker, 2006). To the faculty, staff, and student body, a school resource officer may suggest a safe environment, which is conducive to learning. To the surrounding community, the presence of a school resource officer may indicate a commitment to violence prevention and school safety by the school district (Walker, 2006). Hernandez and Susan (2004) reported that, “school violence not only creates a climate of fear and emotional unrest, it is also an obstacle within the learning process”. Furthermore, as stated by Morrison, Placier, Levitch, Zhang, Lambert, and Pearce (2008), “in any society, schools are the means by which children are prepared to become successful adults”. School resource officer programs are developed to provide a safe-school environment conducive to learning which is free from violent behaviors for students and teachers (Riverside Department of Public Safety, 2010). According to a study on safety and bullying prevention, conducted by the Student Wellbeing Branch (2006), safe schools are effective schools; therefore, the Correlates of Effective Schools (Lezotte, 1991),were chosen as the framework to examine the impact of school resource officers in public high schools in Saudi Arabia. Research concerning the basic frameworks of school improvement, ...