A Is for Apple, B Is for Bulletproof: Sociological Perspectives on the Racialized Fortification of the U.S. Education System

• In Event: Organizational Theory Practice and Promise

Abstract

From Colorado to Florida, school shootings have struck the U.S. education system. Fortification entails funding and prioritizing infrastructure, technology, and routines that militarize schools while defining 'safety' as a function of the building and framing educators as responders to gun violence. It is vital to comprehend the structures, policies, conceptualizations, resources, and activities linked with school safety. We apply structure-agency theory to advance arguments on the fortification of schools. We explain the interrelation between safety policies, conceptions of safety, and practices. Thus, we highlight educators’ agency in designing and enacting safety policy. Our discussion of fortification sheds light on the nexus of guns and schools, operationalizes facets of structure-agency theory, and provides recommendations for research and practice.

Authors

• Sarah L. Woulfin, University of Texas at Austin

• James Sadler, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill