DOI: 10.3886/icpsr07662.v1
title: Safe School Study, 1976-1977
title: Version 1

description: This data collection contains information obtained from a
total of 31,373 students, 23,895 teachers, and 15,894 principals in
the United States in 1976-1977 in the Safe School Study, mandated by
the United States Congress under Public Law 93-380 (Section 825). The
legislation was in response to growing public concern regarding
incidents of violence and vandalism occurring in the nation's
schools. The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency
and seriousness of crime in elementary and secondary schools in the
United States, the number and location of schools affected by crime,
the cost of replacement or repair of objects damaged by school crime,
and possible methods of prevention. The legislation specified that the
study was to be conducted by the National Institute of Education
(NIE). The NIE designed the study in three phases, and data collection
was carried out by the Research Triangle Institute, with computer work
supervised by Sheldon Laube of C.M. Leinwand Associates. The primary
data for the study were collected in two concurrent sample surveys:
Phase I and Phase II. Phase I, a mail survey, asked more than 4,000
elementary and secondary school principals to report in detail on the
incidence of illegal or disruptive activities in their schools. Nine
one-month reporting periods between February 1976 and January 1977,
excluding summer months, were assigned to participating schools on a
random basis. Parts 2 and 11 contain data gathered from school
principals in this phase. In Phase II, field representatives conducted
on-site and follow-up surveys of junior and senior high school
students and teachers in public secondary schools. They were asked to
report any experiences they might have had as victims of violence or
theft in the reporting month. In addition, they provided information
about themselves, their schools, and their communities. Also, the
principals in this sample were asked to keep a record of incidents
during the reporting month, including robberies, attacks, and
thefts. They also supplied information about their schools'
characteristics and crime prevention methods. Parts 7, 16, 19, 24, 29,
30, 35, 39, 43, and 47 contain the data gathered in this phase. Part
18 contains the combined data gathered in the Principal
questionnaires, utilizing both Phase I and Phase II samples. Part 51
is a file created to supply community information about each Phase II
school. Most of its information was extracted from the 1970 Census,
but it also includes weather and unemployment data. Phase III involved
a more intensive qualitative study of 10 schools, most which had had a
history of problems with crime and violence, but which had improved
dramatically in a short time. Some crimes explored were vandalism,
theft, personal violence, and verbal abuse. The place of occurrence
and characteristics of each offender were also examined. The 10 case
studies created as a result of Phase III can be read in the primary
codebook for this data collection: United States Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare. National Institute of Education. VIOLENT
SCHOOLS -- SAFE SCHOOLS: THE SAFE SCHOOL STUDY REPORT TO THE CONGRESS,
VOLUME 1. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, 1978.
description: Phase I: Nationally representative stratified cluster
 sampling. Phase II: Nationally representative stratified multistage
sampling.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Contents File
DS2: Principal Questionnaire Phase 1 Data
DS3: Principal Questionnaire Phase 1 Codebook
DS4: Principal Questionnaire Phase 1 Brief Codebook
DS5: Principal Questionnaire Phase 1 Response Codes
DS6: Principal Questionnaire Phase 1 Edit Checks
DS7: Principal Questionnaire Phase 2 Data
DS8: Principal Questionnaire Phase 2 Codebook
DS9: Principal Questionnaire Phase 2 Brief Codebook
DS10: Principal Questionnaire Phase 2 Edit Checks
DS11: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 1 Data
DS12: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 1 Codebook
DS13: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 1 Brief Codebook
DS14: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 1 Response Codes
DS15: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 1 Edit Checks
DS16: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 2 Data
DS17: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 2 Edit Checks
DS18: Principal Reporting Sheet Phase 1 and 2 Combined Data
DS19: Student Questionnaire Data
DS20: Student Questionnaire Codebook
DS21: Student Questionnaire Brief Codebook
DS22: Student Questionnaire Response Codes
DS23: Student Questionnaire Edit Checks
DS24: Teacher Questionnaire Data
DS25: Teacher Questionnaire Codebook
DS26: Teacher Questionnaire Brief Codebook
DS27: Teacher Questionnaire Response Codes
DS28: Teacher Questionnaire Edit Checks
DS29: Teacher Adjusted Data
DS30: Student Interview Detail 1 Data (Robberies)
DS31: Student Interview Detail 1 Codebook (Robberies)
DS32: Student Interview Detail 1 Brief Codebook (Robberies)
DS33: Student Interview Detail 1 Response Codes (Robberies)
DS34: Student Interview Detail 1 Edit Checks (Robberies)
DS35: Student Interview Detail 2 Data (Attacks)
DS36: Student Interview Detail 2 Codebook (Attacks)
DS37: Student Interview Detail 2 Brief Codebook (Attacks)
DS38: Student Interview Detail 2 Edit (Attacks)
DS39: Student Interview Detail 3 Data (Thefts)
DS40: Student Interview Detail 3 Codebook (Thefts)
DS41: Student Interview Detail 3 Brief Codebook (Thefts)
DS42: Student Interview Detail 3 Edit Checks (Thefts)
DS43: Post-Interview Checks Data
DS44: Post-Interview Checks Codebook
DS45: Post-Interview Checks Brief Codebook
DS46: Post-Interview Checks Response Codes
DS47: Telephone Follow-Up Data
DS48: Telephone Follow-Up Brief Codebook
DS49: Telephone Follow-Up Codebook
DS50: Telephone Follow-Up Response Codes
DS51: Community Variable Data
DS52: The Safe School Study Report to the Congress: Volume One
DS53: Volume 2: Methodology
DS54: Volume 3: Data Files Documentation
DS55: Executive Summary
description: Phase I: All United States elementary and secondary public
schools in local education agencies with more than 50 students. Phase
II: All 7th-12th grade teachers and students in the United States.
description: Users are advised that 51 files in this data
collection are grouped as data files. However, some of them contain
textual information and should be treated as documentation rather than
data. The user should consult the dataset names for the study to
determine which files are documentation files and which are data
files.Users are advised that, according to the NIE, the data in
Part 51 have not been as extensively checked and edited as the other
files in the collection.The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a
Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed
by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader
software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to
obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web
site.