Locked Bathrooms and Canine Searches: High School Students’ Safety and Security in Diversifying Suburbs

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Schools and Contentious Policies and Politics (Table 10)

Abstract

The continued threat of school violence along with an ambitious technology sector offering advanced surveillance to schools has led K-12 schools to greatly expand their use of security. This comparative case study of four high schools in a large, diversifying suburban district investigates how students describe their experiences with security overall and by their racial identity. Through a comprehensive understanding of schools’ use of security and surveillance technology, we analyze student focus group transcripts to reveal students' mixed reactions to the intensive physical security in their schools. The study aims to contribute to the understanding of security as part of the school-prison nexus and to inform policies on school security and surveillance.

Authors

• Samantha L. Viano, George Mason University

• Abigail J. Beneke, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Catalina Valdez, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Alyssa Barone, George Mason University

• Aishia Brown, University of Louisville

• Benjamin W. Fisher, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Kristina N. LaVenia, Bowling Green State University