¶ … Gun Safety Be Taught in Schools? The purpose of this 2009 mixed method study by Cecelia Obeng was to ascertain the need for teaching gun safety to students in pre-K to grade 6. Additionally, the researchers hoped to determine who teachers felt were most qualified to teach children about gun safety and to determine if gun safety were to be, taught the most appropriate grade level. In 2005 there were 3,006 firearms related deaths in among children aged 15 and younger. Of these 822 (27%) were children that committed suicide with a gun, 1,972 (66%) were gun related homicides, and 212 (7%) were a result of accidental death related to firearms. Approximately one-third of U.S. homes with children have firearms. Research indicates that levels of firearm deaths among children are closely related to the availability of guns in the home.

This study was conducted in two counties in a single Midwestern state, was designed for both public and private schools, and involved 102 respondents. Purposeful sampling, a type of non-probability sampling in which the researcher consciously selects specific elements or subjects for inclusion in a study...

Questionnaires inquiring relating to the purpose of the study were distributed to 150 subjects and were designed to be anonymous. The study took place between April and September of 2008. The quantitative portion of the study involved recording variables and calculating frequencies for age, gender, type of school, grade level taught, years of experience, level of education training in health and safety, and opinions on the three primary subjects of inquiry. The qualitative portion looked for themes and subthemes in the respondent's responses to the three primary questions.
Participants in the study were mostly younger women. Half of the population was between 18 and 34 years of age and in general respondents had less that 7 years teaching experience. The study found a significant difference on the question of whether gun safety should be taught in school, with affirmative responses outnumbering negative responses. The study found no significant difference in responses between groups based on age, 28.4% felt gun safety should be taught in pre-K…