Students' Perception of School Violence and Math Achievement in Middle Schools of Southern Italy

Abstract

This study aims at both investigating bullying episodes occurring at school across different grades (from 6 to 8) and evaluating whether educational achievement in math can be predicted on the ground of students' perception of school violence. The sample was composed of 11,064 students coming from middle schools of Southern Italy. Standardized tests were submitted to measure students' performance in mathematics. Background questionnaires were used to assess students' perception of school violence in relation to some bullying episodes occurring in the last month. Students' perception of school violence, which tends to decrease from Grade 6 to 8, can be considered a valid predictor of their math performance, also controlling for both individual and family background, school context, and geographical characteristics.