February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, But Schools Have No Idea How to Stop Such Acts

  • 02/12/18

Muncie, Ind. – February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, but a study by Ball State University found that 76 percent of the school principals reported that they did not have a protocol in their schools to respond to an incident of teen dating violence.

About 57 percent of school principals said that they had assisted a survivor of teen dating violence in the past two years. Disciplinary action against perpetrators of teen dating violence was sanctioned by 27 percent principals only.

Preventing and responding to incidents of teen dating violence is not a high priority for most American schools, even though the majority of high schools have assisted survivors, says Jagdish Khubchandani, a community health education professor in Ball State's College of Health and author "Preventing and Responding to Teen Dating Violence: A National Study of School Principals' Perspectives and Practices.” The study was published in Violence and Gender, and is based on a national survey of high school principals.

“The lack of formal protocol is a key element in assisting student survivors of teen dating violence,” Khubchandani said. “School principals also perceived that dating violence is a minor issue and ‘we are not here to deal with dating problems,’” he said “Some principals who wanted to help victims of dating violence reported personnel shortage in their schools and that faculty and staff don’t have good training and skills.”

About 62 percent of respondents also said training to assist survivors of dating violence has not been provided to personnel in their schools in the last two years, and 68 percent of responding principals had never been formally trained and educated on issues related to teen dating violence.

The study also found:

  • The most common method of responding to a survivor of teen dating violence was referral to a school counselor, calling the parents and guardians or referral to legal authorities and police.
  • School principals who received formal training on teen dating violence and perceived dating violence to be a serious problem were significantly more likely to assist survivors of dating violence.  
  • The majority of school principals could not answer four out of nine knowledge questions related to teen dating violence.
  • Most schools do not post information on teen dating violence that is easily and publicly available to students.
  • Most of the principals believe that school counselors have a major role in assisting survivors of teen dating violence, but did not believe that health teachers or students have a major role in assisting survivors.

Khubchandani points out that the study is the first national assessment of the role of school principals in preventing and responding to teen dating violence.

Featured

  • Missouri State University Debuts Construction Education Center

    Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., recently opened a new 10,000-square-foot addition and renovation to support the School of Construction, Design, and Project Management, according to university news. The Construction Education Success Center, built onto the existing Kemper Hall, provides academic space for the school’s construction managers and cost $9.6 million.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • Extron, CENTEGIX Partner for Comprehensive School Security Solution

    Professional audiovisual solutions provider Extron recently announced a partnership with CENTEGIX, which provides rapid incident response technology, to integrate two of their top products in the name of school safety.

  • North Dakota State University Completes Music School Renovation

    North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., recently announced that construction on the Challey School of Music has finished, according to a news release. The university partnered with Foss Architecture & Interiors for design and Kraus-Anderson for construction services, and construction began in July 2024.