How Safe Do Students Feel at School and While Traveling to School? A Comparative Look at Israel and the United States

Despite increased interest in studying school violence, much less attention has been given to examining students' fear of experiencing this violence. A better understanding is important, because fear of victimization can generate negative academic consequences for the individual student and larger school environment. To explore students' fear, our study takes a cross-national approach and compares the United States and Israel. Previous victimization experience is universally associated with fear at school. With regard to other correlates, greater similarities are found between U. S. and Israeli-Jewish students than for either group with Israeli-Arab students. Our study also examines students' fear while traveling to school. Here, similarities are found among all students. Girls and students victimized at school report being fearful more often while traveling to school than boys and students who were not victimized. Explanations for our findings are discussed as well as possible implications for future policy and research.