K-12 Parents Say School Shootings Are Top Concern This Back-to-School Season, Qualtrics Study Shows
August 18 2022 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Nearly half (46%) of parents say they had their
children change schools or have considered doing so due to safety
concerns
School shootings are the top safety concern for parents of
children in grades K-12, and only 31% of parents feel their
children are “very safe” at school, according to the 2022
Back-to-School Study from Qualtrics (Nasdaq: XM). More than one
tenth (13%) of parents have moved their kids to new schools due to
safety concerns, with an additional third (33%) considering doing
so.
These findings indicate a shift in conversations around school
safety since the pandemic began in 2020 with only 22% of parents
now reporting COVID as their top safety concern. While worries
about COVID wane and most U.S. public schools make masks optional
for the new academic year, parental perceptions of safety continue
to impact enrollment and retention. These challenges occur amidst
ongoing learning gaps and staffing shortages. See the full study
results here.
Parents say the top actions they want schools to take to improve
safety are hiring security guards and conducting safety trainings
with students. Almost a third (29%) of parents say they have taken
measures into their own hands by personally teaching their children
techniques for staying safe at school.
Parents are also taking on the responsibility of closing
learning gaps caused by the pandemic. Last year, when parents were
asked who held the primary responsibility to help kids get caught
up on their education, the top answer was school districts. This
year, however, the top answer is parents. Even after a year of
mostly in-person learning, more than half (56%) of parents say
their children are still behind — with one in five (19%) saying
their children are six months behind or more.
Teacher retention is part of the problem, as the majority of
parents (57%) say their children’s education has been negatively
impacted by school staffing shortages, which have led to parents
reporting increases in substitute teachers, teachers who are burned
out and teachers leaving in the middle of the year.
“The past two school years have required K-12 institutions to
learn how to rapidly adapt to changing circumstances, and this year
is no exception as focus shifts from the pandemic to school safety
and persisting learning gaps,” said Byron Adams, head of K-12
education industry at Qualtrics. “As schools tackle these big
challenges, it’s critical that they listen to what students and
families are saying about their priorities and their concerns, so
they can respond with speed and empathy.”
Methodology
This study was fielded between July 19 and July 29, 2022.
Respondents were selected from a randomized panel and considered
eligible if they live in the United States, are at least 18 years
of age and have a child who will be enrolled in grades K-12 during
the 2022-23 school year. The total number of respondents was more
than 1,100. Respondents who did not pass quality standards were
removed.
About Qualtrics XM for Education
With over 20 years of experience in education, Qualtrics now
serves over 1,000 education institutions across K-12 and Higher
Education around the world—including 99 of the top 100 business
schools and over half of the top 50 U.S. school districts—helping
them understand and improve the experiences they deliver. Qualtrics
solutions are purpose-built to help leaders in education understand
experiences across departments, take the right actions to attract
and retain students and staff and increase engagement and success.
Qualtrics’ XM for Education solutions uncover unique insights into
the student journey and empower school leaders to close experience
gaps—driving increases in enrollment, retention and graduation.
About Qualtrics
Qualtrics, the leader and creator of the experience management
category, is changing the way organizations manage and improve the
four core experiences of business—customer, employee, product and
brand. Over 16,750 organizations around the world use Qualtrics to
listen, understand and take action on experience data (X-data™)—the
beliefs, emotions and intentions that tell you why things are
happening, and what to do about it. The Qualtrics XM Platform™ is a
system of action that helps businesses attract customers who stay
longer and buy more, engage employees who build a positive culture,
develop breakthrough products people love and build a brand people
are passionate about. To learn more, please visit
qualtrics.com.
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Erica Evans press@qualtrics.com
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