"It Can't Help but Have an Effect": Changing Faculty Roles During Campus-Carry Policy Enactment

• In Event: 31.051 - Mentoring and Student-Faculty Interactions

Abstract

Texas became the eighth state to allow concealed handguns on postsecondary campuses in 2016. Limited data exist regarding the educative consequences of campus-carry laws on higher education. This narrative inquiry identified how the new Texas law influenced the postsecondary learning environment, examining how faculty responded in real-time during its enactment. Findings included changes to teaching decisions and faculty-student interaction, and a new conceptual model of faculty sensemaking regarding controversial state policy. This study provides the first known evidence suggesting campus-carry policies influence faculty teaching and student interaction in ways that are detrimental to student success and faculty academic freedom.

Author

• Nathaniel W Cradit, National-Louis University