Özet:

Background. News in print and visual media about school incidents in recent years show an increase in safety and security problems in schools. Outside interferences, fights between students, physical violence between students and teachers, accidents, suicides, theft, gang formation among students feature quite frequently in the news. These incidents damage school climate, threaten students and school staff both physically and psychologically, and ultimately shake people's trust in schools. A hampered school climate also disrupts the delivery of effective educational services. Schools should provide a comfortable work environment to teachers and students. The main determiner of comfort and peace at schools is safety and security. It is possible to see the issues of safe schools or school safety and security from multiple perspectives and define them in many ways. From the perspective of teaching and learning, school safety is defined as the provision of a safe learning environment; from the perspective of public order, it means school order; from the perspective of physical environment, it means having safe physical elements at schools; and from the perspective of food safety, it means having clean and healthy food at schools. For effective instruction to take place, it is essential that students and teachers feel safe and secure in their instructional environment. When an individual does not feel so, s/he cannot teach or learn effectively. Every single corner of a school should therefore make students feel as safe and secure as in their own home (Işık, 2004). This study aims to assess the safety and security levels of secondary schools as reported by teachers, students, school managers and parents, and reveal their relevant problems and recommendations. Purpose. The main purpose of the study is to identify student, teacher, school manager and parent views about safety and security in secondary schools around Turkey. Method. This is a descriptive survey. The study population includes school managers, teachers, students and parents from secondary schools in central Elazığ, Mardin and Yozgat. The sample comprised 963 participants selected randomly. The scale used in the study was shaped around the data obtained from a literature survey. For data analysis purposes, the data obtained were entered into SPSS for Windows statistical package with a numbering system appropriate for the format of the scale. The data were analyzed with the same program by using exploratory factor analysis, frequencies, percentages, mean values and t-test techniques. The reliability coefficient of the final form of the scale was .68 and KMO = .79. Results and Suggestions. The findings of the study were as follows: a) Food sold at school canteens or around schools are not fully safe for healthy consumption. School canteens are not inspected enough. b) School security personnel cannot fully ensure school security and order. c) Schools are not adequately prepared for natural disasters. d) There are certain hazardous physical elements at schools (such as stairwells or cesspools). In addition, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights and overpasses around schools are also not conducive to student safety. There are many alcohol and tobacco vendors around schools who do not observe the minimum age limit for buying these items. These findings suggest that there are serious safety and security problems at schools. The following has been suggested to minimize them: a) Inspection of school canteens should be undertaken seriously. Students should be informed about the outcomes of consuming unhealthy food sold around the school. b) The number of security staff around schools should be increased. Coordination should be encouraged between education institutions and the police so that officers may be assigned to work around schools based on their location, number of incidents, number of students, etc. c) measures should be taken against a possible natural disaster. d) The physical conditions of school buildings and their surrounds should be examined by experts based on the criteria of engineering sciences. e) Selling of tobacco and alcohol around school should be stopped and deterring legal regulations should be made. f) Teacher-student communication should be strengthened in order to minimize security and safety problems at schools. g) In educational branch studies, safety and security should be included.

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