School Violence Miniseries: Impressions and Implications

Abstract

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article by Miller was to summarize current research about the prevalence and causes of school violence and the ways school psychologists can work to prevent and deal with the problem. METHODOLOGY: The author employed a non-experimental research design in this paper. Her conclusions and recommendations were based on a review of literature in the area of school violence. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: The author organized this article around four questions. The first question was, Is school violence really a major problem? It was posited that school violence estimates are difficult to judge because violence is difficult to operationally define. It was asserted that when records are kept they must be interpreted with caution, for the record-keeping of such incidents is often imprecise and nonstandardized, and because some school officials are unwilling to report the true extent of the problem in their schools. It was argued that these factors have led to a serious underestimation in the rates of violence. Additionally, it was argued that violence estimates do not include threats and other less obvious offenses, nor do they include the secondary effects of school violence, such as fear or avoidance of school. The author argued that several trends suggest that school violence is a major problem. For example, it was noted that children are becoming involved in violence at younger ages, that drug and alcohol abuse is a widespread problem, that weapons are more likely to be used in school fights, that membership in gangs is increasing, and that trivial matters are increasingly resulting in violence. The question, What contributes to youth violence?, was posited next. It was argued that such factors as stressful environment, family circumstances, individual personality characteristics, and attributes of the school itself have been found to be associated with school violence. However, it was suggested that the most powerful predictors of school violence are those factors which predict the resiliency and healthy development of youth. Additionally, it was suggested that the most successful violence prevention efforts have been those which focused on the school climate and culture, the individual characteristics of students and staff members, and the physical environment of the school. The question, What role should school psychologists play?, was also addressed in the article. It was recommended that school psychologists make violence prevention and school safety a priority by creating a nurturing environment for students. It was recommended that they design extensive policies and programs to achieve this goal. Finally, the author posited the question, Is there a consensus on how to combat school violence? The author asserted that there are several points of similarity among effective school-based violence prevention efforts. These findings were presented in the form of recommendations for other educators to follow. For example, it was suggested that effective programs treat school violence as an educational issue which is integrated into the curriculum, rather than treated as an issue for law enforcement to deal with. It was also recommended that violence prevention, school safety and crisis management be emphasized as goals, instead of focusing on reactionary efforts to reduce violence. The author suggested that the goal of school safety be worked towards with the cooperation of educators, law enforcement, health and human service agencies, students, parents, and community members. Together, these groups could design policies and procedures for dealing with and preventing crises such as school violence. Finally, it was recommended that efforts to combat school violence be tailored to the specific needs of students, taking into account their individual family and community backgrounds. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) Violence Causes School Personnel School Counselor Violence Prevention Violence Intervention Intervention Recommendations Prevention Recommendations School Mental Health Literature Review Mental Health Personnel School Based School Violence Student Violence Juvenile Offender Juvenile Violence Violence Effects School Safety Violence Incidence and Prevalence Violence Rates 04-05