School violence includes violence between school students as well as attacks by students on school staff and attacks by school staff on students. It encompasses physical violence, including student-on-student fighting, corporal punishment; psychological violence such as verbal abuse, and sexual violence, including rape and sexual harassment. It includes many forms of bullying (including cyberbullying) and carrying weapons to school. The one or more perpetrators typically have more physical, social, and/or psychological power than the victim. [1] It is a widely accepted serious societal problem in recent decades in many countries, especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved.
School violence occurs in all countries and affects a significant number of children and adolescents. It is mostly perpetrated by peers but, in some cases, is perpetrated by teachers and other school staff. School violence includes physical, psychological and sexual violence. [2]
Bullying, in its broadest sense, can be defined as a form of aggressive behavior characterized by unwelcome and negative actions. It entails a recurring pattern of incidents over time, as opposed to isolated conflicts, and typically manifests in situations where there exists an imbalance of power or strength among the individuals involved. [2] It is important to distinguish bullying from occasional conflicts or disagreements that may arise among peers. [3]
Various forms of bullying exist, including physical, psychological, sexual, and cyber-bullying. [2]
According to the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSSHS), a physical fight “occurs when two students of about the same strength or power choose to fight each other” and therefore is a form of physical violence between peers. [2] The Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) does not refer specifically to school-related violence or to violence between peers, as it can occur between a student and “a total stranger, a parent of other adult family member, a brother or sister, a boyfriend or girlfriend or date, a friend or someone known by the student”. [2]
According to Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), sexual violence is forced sexual intercourse or any other sexual acts against one's will. Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) defines it as completed non-consensual sex acts (such as rape), attempted non-consensual sex acts, abusive sexual contact (such as unwanted touching), and non-contact sexual abuse (such as threatened sexual violence, exhibitionism, and verbal sexual harassment). [2]
This is defined as the intentional use of physical force with the potential to cause death, disability, injury or harm, regardless of whether it is used as a form of punishment. [2]
In school, corporal punishment is defined as any punishment in which physical force is used against a student and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort. This often involves hitting children with a hand or implement, but it can also involve kicking, shaking, throwing or scratching children. [2]
A distinction is made between internalizing and externalizing behavior. Internalizing behaviors reflect withdrawal, inhibition, anxiety, and/or depression. Internalizing behavior has been found in some cases of youth violence although in some youth, depression is associated with substance abuse. Because they rarely act out, students with internalizing problems are often overlooked by school personnel. [4] Externalizing behaviors refer to delinquent activities, aggression, and hyperactivity. Unlike internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors include, or are directly linked to, violent episodes. Violent behaviors such as punching and kicking are often learned from observing others. [5] [6] Just as externalizing behaviors are observed outside of school, such behaviors also observed in schools. [4]
A number of other individual factors are associated with higher levels of aggressiveness. Compared to children whose antisocial conduct begins in adolescence, early starters have a worse prognosis in terms of future aggression and other antisocial activities. [7] Lower IQ seems to be related to higher levels of aggression. [8] [9] [10] Other findings indicate that motor, attention, and reading problems predict later persistent antisocial conduct in boys. [11]
The influence of the home environment on school violence has been a subject of study from the Constitutional Rights Foundation. According to this foundation, various factors within the home contribute to the acceptance of criminal and violent behavior among children. Long-term exposure to gun violence, parental alcoholism, domestic violence, physical abuse, and child sexual abuse all play a role in shaping children's perception of acceptability regarding such activities. [12] Research indicates a correlation between harsh parental discipline and increased levels of aggression in youth. [13] Additionally, exposure to violence on television [14] [15] and, to a lesser extent, violent video games [16] has been linked to heightened aggressiveness in children. These aggressive tendencies can carry over into school environments.
One line of research, led by Straus, suggests that parental corporal punishment heightens the risk of aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. [17] However, these findings have been challenged by Larzelere [18] and Baumrind. [19] [20] Nonetheless, a comprehensive meta-analysis of numerous studies on corporal punishment suggests that it leads to unfavorable outcomes for children and young people. [21] The most methodologically sound studies demonstrate a "positive, moderately sized association between parental corporal punishment and children's aggression". [21] Gershoff found that the trajectory of mean effect sizes (the size of the effect of corporal punishment on children's problem behavior) was curvilinear with the largest mean effect size in middle school (M = 0.55; on average the mean of corporal punishment group was more than half a standard deviation higher than the mean of the non-punishment group) and slightly smaller effect sizes in elementary school (M = 0.43) and high school (M = 0.45). [21]
Another influential model in understanding the development of aggressive behavior is Gerald Patterson's social interactional model. [22] [23] This model highlights the dynamic between the mother's use of coercive behaviors and the child's counter-application of such behaviors. Coercive behaviors can include actions that are typically punishing, such as whining, yelling, and hitting. Abusive home environments can hinder the development of social cognitive skills necessary for understanding others' intentions. [12] [24] Short-term longitudinal evidence supports the idea that a lack of social cognitive skills mediates the relationship between harsh parental discipline and aggressive behavior in kindergarten. [25] Follow-up studies indicate that the mediating effects persist until third and fourth grade. [24]
Hirschi's control theory, proposed in 1969, suggests that children with weak emotional bonds to their parents and school are more likely to engage in delinquent and violent behavior both within and outside of the school setting. [26] Hirschi's cross-sectional data from northern California largely support this view. [26] Findings from case-control [13] and longitudinal studies [27] [28] also align with this perspective.
Neighbourhoods and communities provide the context for school violence. Communities with high rates of crime and drug use teach youth the violent behaviors that are carried into schools. [12] [29] [30] [31] Children in violent neighborhoods tend to perceive that their communities are risky, and that these feelings of vulnerability carry over to the school environment. [32] Dilapidated housing in the neighbourhood of the school has been found to be associated with school violence. [33] Teacher assault was more likely to occur in schools located in high-crime neighbourhoods. [34] Exposure to deviant peers is a risk factor for high levels of aggressivity. [6] [10] Research has shown that poverty and high population densities are associated with higher rates of school violence. [29] Controlled longitudinal research indicates that children's exposure to community violence during the early elementary school years increases the risk of aggression later in elementary school, as reported by teachers and classmates. [35] Other, well controlled longitudinal research that utilized propensity score matching indicates that exposure to gun violence in early adolescence is related to the initiation of serious physical violence in later adolescence. [36] Neighbourhood gangs are thought to contribute to dangerous school environments. Gangs use the social environment of the school to recruit members and interact with opposing groups, with gang violence carrying over from neighbourhoods into some schools. [37] Alternatively, many children who grow up in violent neighborhoods learn to deliberately find and make "street-oriented" friends as an instrumental tactic used to avoid being victimized. [32] Without the threat of violence, children more commonly develop friendships based on homophily, or shared traits.
Recent research has linked the school environment to school violence. [33] [38] Teacher assaults are associated with a higher percentage of the male faculty, a higher proportion of male students, and a higher proportion of students receiving free or reduced cost lunch (an indicator of poverty). [34] In general, a large male population, higher grade levels, a history of high levels of disciplinary problems in the school, high student to teacher ratios, and an urban location are related to violence in schools. [33] [39] In students, academic performance is inversely related to antisocial conduct. [8] [40] The research by Hirschi [26] and others, [13] [27] [28] cited above in the section on the home environment, is also consistent with the view that lack of attachment to school is associated with increased risk of antisocial conduct.
The goal of prevention and intervention strategies is to stop school violence from occurring. According to the CDC, there are at least four levels at which violence-prevention programs can act: at the level of society in general, the school community, the family, and the individual. [41]
Not only does physical violence in schools affect its victims, it also affects the witnesses. In elementary schools, young students tend to copy their peers actions in schools, which may lead to more physical harm towards other students.
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source .(June 2023) |
According to a UNESCO report on school violence and bullying, research on violence affecting children in schools is challenging for a variety of reasons. [1]
When assessing the extent of violence within educational settings and understanding the various types of violence experienced by students, several crucial considerations arise. These include determining the sources of data within the school community, specifying the data to be collected from each source, and selecting appropriate methodologies for data collection. [1] [ page needed ]
One significant question[ according to whom? ] is whether researchers should directly inquire about violence in schools by engaging students in studies or surveys. These methods might involve self-reports from students regarding their personal experiences as victims or perpetrators of violence. Alternatively, researchers may ask students about instances of violence they have observed as bystanders. Moreover, the choice of administering these questions through self-administered questionnaires or researcher-administered surveys within schools must also be deliberated.[ citation needed ]
According to the UNESCO report, the decision regarding data collection location is another aspect to consider. Researchers may contemplate gathering data outside of schools, such as through household surveys. Alternatively, online surveys could be employed, taking advantage of students' internet accessibility. Another option is to rely on existing mechanisms for reporting violent incidents in educational institutions. These mechanisms could be internal to the schools themselves or external, encompassing governmental hotlines, internet-based reporting systems, and involvement from the police and justice sectors. When formulating questions for children, UNESCO argues that it is imperative to use terminology that is easily understandable, age-appropriate and culturally sensitive. This ensures that the queries are comprehensible and relevant to the target audience, taking into account their developmental stage and cultural context. [1] [ page needed ]
In many countries, strict regulations govern research involving children due to their status as minors who are unable to provide legal consent. Consequently, obtaining informed consent for a study necessitates the involvement of parents and legal guardians. However, broaching the subject of violence with children, particularly inquiring about their personal experiences, can potentially be distressing and traumatic. Moreover, investigating matters concerning sexual orientation and gender identity within the realm of education, specifically in relation to children, presents additional challenges. In certain contexts, discussing these topics is legally prohibited both within and outside educational institutions. Even in cases where it is legally permissible, addressing issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity/orientation in education with children and young people is regarded as highly sensitive. Considerations of ethical implications arise, as engaging children and young people in discussions regarding their sexual orientation and gender identity in a school setting may lead to embarrassment and expose them to potential stigma and discrimination. [65]
To mitigate these concerns, UNESCO argues that questions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity should be handled with care and recommends that inquiries be conducted under confidentiality and anonymity, external to the school environment. [65]
According to UNESCO, these considerations surrounding legal regulations, the potential for distressing children when discussing violence, and the sensitivity surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity underscore the need for researchers to exercise caution and adhere to ethical guidelines when conducting studies involving children and young people. [65]
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0( license statement/permission ). Text taken from School Violence and Bullying: Global Status Report , 9, 110-111, UNESCO, UNESCO. UNESCO.
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Text taken from Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying , 70, UNESCO, UNESCO. UNESCO.
Violence is the use of physical force to cause harm to people, animals, or property, such as pain, injury, death, damage, or destruction. Some definitions are somewhat broader, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation."
Aggression are behaviors involving an intention to oppose or attack. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In humans, aggression can be caused by various triggers. For example, built-up frustration due to blocked goals or perceived disrespect. Human aggression can be classified into direct and indirect aggression; whilst the former is characterized by physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm to someone, the latter is characterized by behavior intended to harm the social relations of an individual or group.
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. The term delinquent usually refers to juvenile delinquency, and is also generalised to refer to a young person who behaves an unacceptable way.
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other types of aggression. To these descriptions, one can also add the Kantian notion of the wrongness of using another human being as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. Some sources describe abuse as "socially constructed", which means there may be more or less recognition of the suffering of a victim at different times and societies.
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception of an imbalance of physical or social power. This imbalance distinguishes bullying from conflict. Bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behavior characterized by hostile intent, imbalance of power and repetition over a period of time.
Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully. Anger is frequently a result of frustration, or of feeling blocked or thwarted from something the subject feels is important. Anger can also be a defensive response to underlying fear or feelings of vulnerability or powerlessness. Anger management programs consider anger to be a motivation caused by an identifiable reason which can be logically analyzed and addressed.
Antisocial behaviours are actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviours such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disruptive to others in society. This can be carried out in various ways, which includes, but is not limited to, intentional aggression, as well as covert and overt hostility. Anti-social behaviour also develops through social interaction within the family and community. It continuously affects a child's temperament, cognitive ability and their involvement with negative peers, dramatically affecting children's cooperative problem-solving skills. Many people also label behaviour which is deemed contrary to prevailing norms for social conduct as anti-social behaviour. However, researchers have stated that it is a difficult term to define, particularly in the United Kingdom where many acts fall into its category. The term is especially used in British English.
Psychological abuse, often called emotional abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Bobo doll experiment is the collective name for a series of experiments performed by psychologist Albert Bandura to test his social learning theory. Between 1961 and 1963, he studied children's behaviour after watching an adult model act aggressively towards a Bobo doll. The most notable variation of the experiment measured the children's behavior after seeing the adult model rewarded, punished, or experience no consequence for physically abusing the Bobo doll.
Sex differences in crime are differences between men and women as the perpetrators or victims of crime. Such studies may belong to fields such as criminology, sociobiology, or feminist studies. Despite the difficulty of interpreting them, crime statistics may provide a way to investigate such a relationship from a gender differences perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors for example, testosterone or sociobiological theories). The nature or motive of the crime itself may also require consideration as a factor.
Relational aggression, alternative aggression, or relational bullying is a type of aggression in which harm is caused by damaging someone's relationships or social status.
Sibling abuse includes the physical, psychological, or sexual abuse of one sibling by another. More often than not, the younger sibling is abused by the older sibling. Sibling abuse is the most common of family violence in the US, but the least reported. As opposed to sibling rivalry, sibling abuse is characterized by the one-sided treatment of one sibling to another.
School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim and who repeatedly act aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verbal or physical. Bullying, with its ongoing character, is distinct from one-off types of peer conflict. Different types of school bullying include ongoing physical, emotional, and/or verbal aggression. Cyberbullying and sexual bullying are also types of bullying. Bullying even exists in higher education. There are warning signs that suggest that a child is being bullied, a child is acting as a bully, or a child has witnessed bullying at school.
Research has found that attempted suicide rates and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are significantly higher than among the general population.
Biosocial criminology is an interdisciplinary field that aims to explain crime and antisocial behavior by exploring biocultural factors. While contemporary criminology has been dominated by sociological theories, biosocial criminology also recognizes the potential contributions of fields such as behavioral genetics, neuropsychology, and evolutionary psychology.
Peer victimization is the experience among children of being a target of the aggressive behavior of other children, who are not siblings and not necessarily age-mates.
Debra Pepler is a Canadian psychologist known for her research and advocacy within the field of childhood aggression and bullying. She is currently a distinguished research professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario.
David Philip Farrington is a British criminologist, forensic psychologist, and emeritus professor of psychological criminology at the University of Cambridge, where he is also a Leverhulme Trust Emeritus Fellow. In 2014, Paul Hawkins and Bitna Kim wrote that Farrington "is considered one of the leading psychologists and main contributors to the field of criminology in recent years."
Dan Olweus was a Swedish-Norwegian psychologist. He was a research professor of psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway. Olweus has been widely recognized as a pioneer of research on bullying.
Christina Salmivalli is a Finnish professor of psychology and the deputy head of the INVEST research flagship at the University of Turku in Finland. Salmivalli is recognized as an expert on peer relations and school bullying.
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