**Professors Jimerson and Furlong’s Handbook of School Violence and School Safety emphasizes strategies that can protect our children**

On October 10 the White House convenes a special conference on school safety led by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings in response to the recent wave of violence in our schools in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Colorado. During this period of examination many of the answers to our concerns can be found in the comprehensive and indispensable Handbook of School Violence and School Safety: From Research to Practice (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006). Editors Shane R. Jimerson and Michael J. Furlong, Professors at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UC Santa Barbara, take an objective look at the causes of and solutions for school violence. Their book maps the boundaries of a rapidly growing, multidisciplinary field that now makes it possible for schools and communities to implement school safety programs founded on sound scientific research.

“Our children deserve the best we can offer when it comes to ensuring their safety in schools,” Dr. Furlong asserts. “The best we can offer involves being both concerned for them in our hearts and in our actions by making available research-supported violence prevention and intervention programs.”

Dr. Jimerson highlights, “In the wake of tragic events at school impacting children, families, and communities across the nation, it is clear that when it comes to preventing violence at school, one size does not fit all. Maintaining safe, supportive, and effective schools requires knowledge of factors associated with preventing school violence and promoting school safety. Providing such knowledge was the primary objective in developing The Handbook of School Violence and School Safety, which includes evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies and lessons learned from implementing comprehensive safe-school plans.”

This 41-chapter handbook is the first attempt to profile – comprehensively and globally – the emerging field of school violence and safety research and practice. It covers the full range of school violence from harassment and bullying to serious physical assault. It also examines existing school safety programs and the research and theories that guide them.

“The measurement and assessment section is the centerpiece of the book,” states Jim Larson, Program Coordinator of the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin/Whitewater. “It’s one thing to have the skills to implement a research-supported school violence prevention program, but quite another to know how to measure whether or not it’s working. I believe this handbook will take its place alongside the Handbook of School Psychology (National Association of School Psychologists) as an essential reference in the field.”

[Michael Furlong and Shane Jimerson are available for interviews; contact George Yatchisin at 805 893 5789.]

School-wide Links
Courses Apply	Computing Contact