The influence of school culture and school climate on violence in schools of the Eastern Cape Province

Kalie Barnes,Susette Brynard,Corene de Wet

doi:10.15700/saje.v32n1a495

Abstract

This article reports on research undertaken about the influence of school culture and school climate on violence at schools in the Eastern Cape. An adapted California School Climate and Survey – Short Form (CSCSS-SF), which was used as the data-collection instrument, was completed by 900 Grade 10 to 12 learners. With the assistance of Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient, it was found that the better the school culture and school climate are at a school, the lower the levels of school violence. On the other hand, a lack of school safety contributed to learners experiencing higher levels of violence at schools. The results of hierarchy regression analyses indicated that school culture and school climate can be used to explain a significant percentage of variance in school violence. The f 2 values indicate that, with the exception of two aspects of the variance physical and verbal harassment, the results did not have any practical value. The article concludes with a few suggestions on how the results can be used to address school violence. Keywords: CSCSS-SF; school climate; school culture; school violence

Highlights

Violence and crime in South African schools are a critical problem (Le Roux & Mokhele, 2011)
Conclusion crime and violence is a way of life in South Africa in general (Le Roux & Mokhele, 2011) and in the Eastern Cape Province in particular (Mlisa, Ward, Flisher & Lombard, 2008), schools in the Eastern Cape are relatively safe places
Findings from studies that have shown that schooling has a profound influence on school violence (Bandyopadhyay, Cornell & Konold, 2009; Benbenishty & Astor, 2005; Harber, 2002, 2008; Morrell, 2002; Potts, 2006) resonate well with results from this study

Summary

Introduction

Violence and crime in South African schools are a critical problem (Le Roux & Mokhele, 2011). According to the South African Institute for Race Relations, South African schools are viewed as the most dangerous in the world. If the problem is not addressed, it could influence the education and training of many learners negatively (Khumalo, 2008). Cohen et al (2008) emphasise the responsibility that rests on the shoulders of policy makers and educational leaders to establish a positive school culture and school climate. If they forsake their responsibility, it will violate the learners’ right to quality education

Objectives

Results

Conclusion