Term of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Juliann McBrayer

Committee Member 1

Antonio Gutierrez

Committee Member 2

Eric Landers

Abstract

School safety remains a critical concern in education, particularly in rural settings where resources, staffing, and community dynamics may differ from urban and suburban environments. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine staff perceptions of the roles, responsibilities, and effectiveness of school resource officers in maintaining and enhancing school safety within a rural school system. A researcher-designed survey using a 4-point Likert scale was administered to teachers and staff members (N = 417). Descriptive statistics summarized overall staff perceptions, and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) examined differences based on demographic and professional characteristics. Findings indicated that staff generally held positive perceptions of school resource officers, particularly regarding their visibility, approachability, and contributions to school safety. Significant differences emerged by staff roles, with administrators reporting higher perceptions than other staff groups. Additional differences were identified based on content area, while perceptions were largely consistent across years of experience, gender, and ethnicity. The findings provide insight into staff perceptions of school resource officers’ roles, responsibilities, and effectiveness regarding school safety within a rural context intended to inform educational leaders and policymakers. Future research should examine these perceptions across settings and explore relationships between school resource officer practices and measurable safety outcomes.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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