School Stakeholders' Acceptance of School Security Technologies

• In Event: Unforgetting Punishment: How Safety Policies Reproduce—or Resist—Inequity in Schools

Abstract

School security technology (SST) is commonplace in schools in the United States, with nearly all schools reporting the use of at least one form of SST and the vast majority using multiple. Although SST continues to expand rapidly, little is known about the complexities of school stakeholders’ interpretations of or experiences with SST. Using theoretical tools from neoliberalism and a qualitative case study, this study analyzes how students, teachers, and administrators across four high schools in one suburban school district interpreted SST. We find that school stakeholders expressed multiple concerns about SST. However, despite raising these concerns, participants were generally willing to accept the shortcomings of SST and to call for the continuation and/or expansion of SST.

Authors

• Abigail J. Beneke, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Samantha L. Viano, George Mason University

• Catalina Valdez, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Benjamin W. Fisher, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Alyssa Barone, George Mason University