Publication Date

8-2014

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Aaron Hughey (Director), Monica Burke, Fred Gibson, Karl Laves

Degree Program

Educational Leadership Doctoral Program

Degree Type

Doctor of Education

Abstract

College and university campuses are being scrutinized more stringently in regard to the issue of campus safety. While media reports and advocacy groups may suggest to parents that college campuses are becoming more dangerous, research continues to demonstrate that colleges are a relatively safe environment. A problem exists that, although the Clery Act and the Minger Act in the Commonwealth of Kentucky require colleges and universities to report campus crime rates in order that parents and students can make an informed decision on selecting a college based on campus safety, few parents tend to be familiar with this resource. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of campus safety for parents of three types of high school students in the Commonwealth of Kentucky as they assist their students in the college selection process. A key component to this research study was the parental awareness of the Clery Act and the Minger Act. The research design of this non-experimental study consisted of collecting the responses of 678 parents of three high school types (public high school, private high school, and home school). Literature on home schooling parents, in particular indicated that aspects for choosing this environment were related to safety. The instrument for this study, the Parental College Decision Inventory (PCDI), was created by the researcher. Frequency distribution analyses, as well as simple t-test procedures, were conducted in an effort to determine levels of awareness as well as importance of campus safety. Analyses indicated that a statistical significance existed for the level of awareness for the Clery Act for parents of private school environments. All types of parents indicated that the importance of campus safety was the top of ten factors when assisting their child in selecting a college or university to attend; however, a vast majority of the parents lacked awareness of the Clery Act and the Minger Act. Recommendations for future research focused on the techniques utilized by colleges and universities in creating an environment designed to partner with prospective parents would contribute to the current body of literature on parental influence and campus safety.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Leadership | Higher Education

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