Educational Policy Trajectories to address the Issue of Pupils' (In)Safety at School

Abstract

When analyzing the issue of students' (in)safety at school, researchers often define the phenomenon in terms of lack (deficit, dysfunction). In school, lack of security (dysfunction) is considered to be a situation that actually or potentially affects the physical and psychological security of pupils, violation of human and children's rights, human dignity, failure to ensure legitimate expectations of health, the existence of a physically dangerous environment, lack of psychological comfort and a favorable social climate, encroachment on personal and school property, etc. The most important subject and social actor in school security is the pupil. School security dysfunctions include the actual circumstances occurring inside and outside the school environment. Thus, pupil (in)safety at school is a multifaceted issue that requires constant attention and investment in ensuring physical, psychological, digital, etc., safety at school. It is one of the important and complex issues addressed not only by educational, psychological and management researchers, but also by educational policy researchers and policy makers. Recent analyses of education policy practices in different regions and countries show that the focus is not only on physical security measures, but also on the emotional and psychological well-being of students. This underlines the need for coherent and evidence-based education policies to address the challenges of pupils' (in)safety at school. This study examines Lithuanian education policy responses to the issue of pupil safety at school by assessing the different experiences and practices of education policies in different countries. The analysis of strategic documents, legal acts and scientific literature allows to reveal the expression of the concept of (in)safety of pupils at school and the main directions and trends of educational policies to overcome this problem.