The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance

The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance

The first problem statement is about education in a school shooting. Shootings have major effects on students learning ability. Those involved during school shootings usually have their mental states and academic performance affected negatively. If we fail to fix this, we will continue to lose more innocent lives and have school learning impacted negatively. Such disorders will only increase the number of such shooters. The vision is to have schools with zero shootings and massacres. The potential solution to this is to encourage pro-social behaviors among students, encourage communication, incorporate counseling departments in schools, tighten security within the school premises, and research and provide continuous education about the traits of shooters. Schools should also conduct sober threat assessments and provide strategies to curb such occurrences.

How do school shootings affect their minds? The first article looks at how students perform in tests, how enrollment in schools is affected, the rate of suspension in the schools, the number of teachers, and graduation attendance in schools after shootings. Research and data reveals reduced enrollment in grade 9 in schools with prior history of shootings compared to schools with no shooting history. Students and parents avoid selecting schools with such history. Second, performance in English and mathematics subjects is also effected. Research shows that schools that experience have their students perform poorly in the above subjects as compared to schools with no shooting history. Reduced proficiency in those subjects, in the long run, affects the student’s employability and wage rates after school. Students’ mental health is also affected, and their ability to concentrate and understand in class reduced. They are likely to suffer depression and other mental disorders. The first literature review for this article refers to data from the Safe Schools Initiative report. Although in the literature about gun violence, there is a gap (Vossekuil et al, 2017).,the U.S department and Secret Service issued the final investigation report. The literature focused on identifying pre-attack behaviors on how to identify communication alerts and future violence mitigation measures. The two major causes of school massacre attacks are, bullying (87%) and non-compliance and adverse effects of drug consumption (12%) (Lee, 2019). The model of mass murder in schools is associated with shooters’ loss of self-worth (Levin & Madfis, 2019). Exposure to media violence in films also creates aggression in viewers and curiosity to try out (Anderson et al, 2017).

The second article focuses on the impacts of massive shootings in school on student’s mental health. It found out that students who undergo shooting experiences suffer from anxiety and fear, which affects their ability to learn effectively. Academic performance is reduced, and this can have lifelong effects on the student’s life. It also promotes school dropouts since students often suffer from trauma and depression. Gun control is one of the measures schools can take to prevent and reduce school shootings. A good example is an attack that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School by perpetrator Adam Lanza in the year 2012, December. It applies Levin and Madlif’s model about the five sequential stages. He killed twenty-first-grade pupils and six adults at the School in Newtown. The shooters do the plans on shooting locations in advance (Vossekuil et al, 2017). It took over one year for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to organize the Columbine High School attack (Larkin, 2016).

It found out that most shooters were suffering from personal problems, most had accessed the guns and weapons from families. Some of the prevention measures that schools can embrace are an increase in security in the form of security devices and trained person (Addington, 2019). Creating safe school environments is also an excellent measure to mitigate, such as forming anti-bullying programs. Also, conduct threat assessments to identify communication, actions, and any warning situation suggesting a plan of a massacre (Fein et al, 2015). These mass shootings affected the mental state of the involved parties. It often leads to depression, anxiety, and traumatic disorders.

In conclusion, school shootings have become rampant. They have adverse effects on students’ ability to learn and perform efficiently. Shootings influence the post behavior of students, and they have to decide whether to continue staying at the school. Their cognitive skills are also greatly affected.

Discipline: Psychology; Article 1

Louis-Philippe Beland, Dongwoo Kim. (March 2016). The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/0162373715590683

Discipline: Psychology; Article 2

Carolyn Fagan. (December 2019). The Impact of Mass School Shootings on the Mental Health of Survivors: What Parents Need to Know

Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/mental-health-wellbeing/school-shooting-survivor-mental-health/

The second problem statement is the English language being a problem. Good command of language is fundamental for academic success. Currently, most students suffer from the inability to communicate effectively in the English language, which hinders their excellence in class. Little research exists on the extent of this problem because of ignorance. Universities can incorporate a requisite pre-requirement for proficiency in the English language before enrollment. They can also conduct pretests to examine how effective they can communicate in English. Is the English language a problem? The first article illustrates how the English language is a problem for students who come from countries that do not speak English. The contributors to the problem are cultural barriers and cultural perception of knowledge and authority. Speaking of parents’ native language at home also contributed to difficulties in comprehending English among such students (Cameroon, 2019).

In the second article, English has become a dominant language in most countries. It’s quite a problem for non-English speaking students. Some of the meanings are lost when translating. Some you cannot find a precise translation into English. The main challenge is the capital needed to study a foreign language as you continue with your course. To solve this problem, large multinationals media companies can provide financial support to assist authors who have challenges communicating and writing in English with editing their work. More research should also be done to assess the level and extent of the problem (Lorenz, 2018).

In conclusion, the English language is a problem for many students who come from English speaking countries. Certain factors significantly contribute to this problem. Research indicates that there is little knowledge of the extent of this problem. Thus more focus should be put into the challenge to help support such students, and preventive measures should be incorporated to mitigate like issues after students’ admission.

Discipline: Education; Article 3

Ruth, N. (December 2015). English Language Problems and University Students from a Non-English Speaking Background. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233274451_English_Language_Problems_of_University_Students_from_a_Non-English_Speaking_Background

Discipline: Education; Article 4

Peter, M. (July, 2015). English as a problem language. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274546321_English_as_a_Problem_Language

Consulted Discipline

Title of the article

Author of the

article

the Focus of the Insight

Evaluation of the Insight

Psychology

The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance.

Louis-Philippe Beland, Dongwoo Kim.

• Effects of shootings on academic performance
• Effects on English and math proficiency
• Effects on enrollment rates and graduation attendance
• Past literature review on gun violence
• Impact on students mental health
• Prevention and mitigation measures

Very Useful

Psychology

The Impact of Mass School Shootings on the Mental Health of Survivors

Carolyn Fagan

• Effects on learning after shootings
• Effects on mental health after the incident
• Describes theories and investigation findings of shooting incidents
• Shooters mental health and prevention measures

Partially Useful

Education

English Language Problems and University Students from a Non-English Speaking Background

Ruth Neumann

• Challenges students face with the English language
• Causes of English problems
• Corrective and preventive measures

Very Useful

Education

English as a problem language

Peter Moss

• Identifies challenges faced by non-English speakers
• Provides potential solutions to the problem

Partially Useful