Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Chair

Eric Platt

Committee Chair Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Member 2

Steven Chesnut

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Member 3

Holly Foster

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Member 4

Lilian Hill

Committee Member 4 Department

Educational Research and Administration

Abstract

In recent years, the occurrence of active shooter incidents has become more prevalent within the United States. Since the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, there has been an increase in active shooter incidents at institutions of higher learning (IHLs). Educational settings have been identified by the FBI as the second most common place for active shooter incidents to occur. As a result, there has become an increased need for administrators at IHLs to create and maintain cultures of preparedness that include effective active shooter training. In this research study, Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory was used as a framework to explore faculty active shooter preparedness. A cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the environmental factors, behaviors, and personal and cognitive factors that contributed to faculty active shooter preparedness. A snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants for this study. This study was conducted in May of 2018. Participants completed the Faculty Active Shooter Preparedness Survey (FASPS) online. Findings from the FASPS revealed that only 57% of the respondents received active shooter training from their institution. In conjunction with that, about half of the respondents perceived themselves as being prepared for active shooter incidents on campus. Additionally, findings revealed that active shooter training at IHLs was limited to discussion-based training exercises and operations-based training exercises were rarely conducted. As a result, there is a need to improve the active shooter preparation efforts among IHLs, so that all faculty are prepared for the onset of an active shooter incident on campus. There is also a need to ensure that active shooter preparation efforts align with the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s active shooter preparation recommendations.

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