Congratulations to Bryan Arochas who on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, successfully defended his dissertation.
The title of Bryan’s dissertation is, "GUN VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS: SUBURBAN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS PERCEPTION OF LOCKDOWN DRILL."
Overview of Problem: School shootings have become an increasingly frequent and tragic reality in the United States, prompting schools to implement lockdown drills as a key safety measure. Despite their widespread use, there is limited research on how teachers perceive these drills or how effectively they prepare staff and students for real emergencies. Understanding teachers’ perspectives is essential to improving the design and implementation of lockdown procedures while balancing safety and emotional well-being.
Research Purpose: The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study is to explore how suburban public high school teachers make sense of lockdown drills, focusing on the design, implementation, and teacher preparedness. Drawing upon Weick’s (1995) sensemaking theory, this study focused on how suburban public high school teachers perceived and make meaning of lockdown drills based on their experiences, the implementation process, and their sense of preparedness.
Research Design: This interpretive qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore how suburban public high school teachers make sense of lockdown drills.
Sample: This study included 15 suburban public high school teachers from southeastern New York, each with at least five years of experience. I recruited a diverse group of participants who vary in years of teaching, subject area, and overall school experience.
Data Collection and Analysis: To collect the data for this study, I conducted semi-structured interviews with suburban public high school teachers to gain insights into the perspectives of stakeholders regarding lockdown drills. This method will provide detailed descriptions of teachers’ personal stories and emotions associated with lockdown drills. In addition, I completed a document analysis to support the participants experiences. All interviews were recorded on Zoom and transcribed using Otter AI, and all transcripts and recording were saved on a password-protected computer. After condensing the transcripts, I used Delve, which is a qualitative data analysis program. During the coding and categorizing process, I applied an inductive approach to identify emerging patterns in the data. The coding strategies I employed with my data were in vivo and process coding.
Findings/Results: Five themes emerged that highlighted varying teacher experiences with lockdown drill and the factors that influenced how they perceive school safety procedures. The major findings of this study suggest that teachers often experience discrepancies between current protocols and their own personal judgement when picturing how they would respond during a real emergency. Teachers discussed how classroom location, door locking mechanisms, and open spaces influenced their perception of school safety procedures. In addition, participants reflected on the experiences and behaviors of their students noted that some students appeared desensitized while others seemed anxious. Teachers discussed that school culture influenced how they perceived lockdown drills, including the predictability of the drills and lack of preparation. Lastly, participants described variations in communication before and after the drills.
Conclusions/Implications: This study contributed to the ongoing research on how school safety procedures are interpreted by revealing that teachers’ perception are shaped by discrepancies between established protocols and personal judgement, physical classroom conditions, student responses, and school culture. This study highlights the importance of practical and informed training with clear communication to enhance the effectiveness of the lockdown drills.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR(S):
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEMBER(S):
Dr. Robert Feirsen
Dr. Frank Zamperlin
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