School-based Violence Research Articles

A qualitative examination of weapon violence against teachers: A theoretical framework and analysis.

Weapon violence in schools is a pressing concern with serious consequences. In this study, we propose and evaluate a theoretical framework of school-based weapon violence comprised of contributors, triggers, and motivation leading to weapon behaviors, taking into account weapon type, origin, and availability. This framework provides a foundation to investigate the multifaceted nature of weapon violence in schools. Specifically, we examine the weapon violence experiences of 417 U.S. teachers based on their reports of their most upsetting experiences with violence in their schools from various aggressors (i.e., students, parents, colleagues). Qualitative open-ended survey data were coded in NVivo after achieving strong interrater reliability (Gwet's agreement coefficient with first-order chance correction, AC₁ = .97; κ = .80), and analyses were guided by the proposed theoretical framework. Results indicated that individual, school, peer, family, and community conditions contributed to situational triggers (teacher or other school-stakeholder actions), and aggressor motivation was typically instrumental or expressive. The type and origin of weapons also played a role in weapon behaviors of carrying, threats, and usage. Aggressors often used readily available objects (e.g., chair, pencil) as weapons against teachers in addition to traditional weapons (e.g., knives, guns). Findings suggest that weapon violence in schools requires a broader conceptualization beyond traditional weapons and violence between students. This study advances our understanding of pathways to weapon behaviors for prevention and intervention. Implications of findings for school-stakeholder training and policies are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Experiences of teachers and students on school closures and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania.

Tanzania has experienced several waves of COVID-19 since it was first detected in the country. During the first wave, Tanzania took several measures to prevent wider virus transmission with school closures being one of them. All areas and institutions were targeted, including the refugee camps in Kigoma region. Despite the abundant evidence generated in relation to the effects of the pandemic and associated school closures globally, there has been a paucity of literature exploring the experiences of teachers and students in humanitarian settings. We conducted a qualitative study to explore COVID-19 related school closures in Nyarugusu refugee camp. We aimed to describe teachers' and students' experiences and perceived consequences of school closures. In-depth interviews with teachers and students were conducted in September 2020 in Burundian and Congolese schools in the context of a cluster randomised trial of EmpaTeach, a school-based violence prevention intervention. A total of 44 individuals (29 teachers and 15 students) were interviewed. A phenomenological theoretical framework was used to guide the content analysis. Findings indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic was generally seen as frightening by refugees. Study participants understood the importance of school closures to prevent transmission of the virus, but various negative consequences were reported by both teachers and students. These included perceived mental health difficulties such as stress, depression and anxiety associated with the worry of infection, idleness, and disruption of education. Participants also perceived an increase in occurrences of early marriages and unplanned pregnancies, which they thought contributed to increased school dropout. Participants identified the main causes of such outcomes as a lack of parental supervision, children's lack of restraint and poor character, and a lack of alternative teaching practices (such as online or remote learning) to keep the students busy while at home. Children were held accountable for their faults with little support from the adults. Our findings suggest that there is an urgent need to strengthen child protection programming to support children and their communities during emergencies and provides protective environments such as school and education. There is a critical need to develop preparedness plans for future pandemics to support child safety, academic development and wellbeing.

Black Schoolgirls at the Intersection of Consent and Property: Mapping a Socio-Historical Analysis for Anti-Rape Education Futures in Schooling

ABSTRACT This article examines how the concept of consent, persons as property, with its links to the convergence of law, imperial governance and schooling reveal the fragility and possibilities of consent as a political refusal against school-based sexual violence for Black schoolgirls in the United States. Data in this research are drawn from a multiyear critical ethnography. Structural intersectionality is applied to map the contours of a socio-historical analysis for anti-rape education futures in public schooling. Refusal is also used as a discursive analytic and posture for considering modes of liberation in this context.

When Emotion Regulation Matters: The Efficacy of Socio-Emotional Learning to Address School-Based Violence in Central America

When Emotion Regulation Matters: The Efficacy of Socio-Emotional Learning to Address School-Based Violence in Central America

Correlates of Intentional and Unintentional Firearm-Related Injuries Among Pediatric Hospital Patients

ABSTRACT Gun violence has continued to be the leading cause of pediatric injuries in recent years (CDC, 2022). Given the sparse literature on this topic, the current study examined correlates of the types of firearm-related injuries (i.e. intentional and unintentional) among pediatric patients within the Trauma Services Division of a Level-1 pediatric hospital (N = 87). The results indicated that patients in later developmental stages, particularly adolescence, and those with higher ACE score were significantly more likely to experience an intentional firearm injury, whereas white patients were significantly less likely to experience an intentional firearm injury, highlighting the structural factors that increase the risk of firearm violence including poverty and systemic racism. We discuss the implications and need for expanded hospital- and school-based violence prevention programs.

Implementing school-based violence interventions from an ethics of care perspective: educators’ experiences

Even though numerous measures have been implemented to combat this issue, school violence still poses a significant challenge in South African schools. School violence is not just a challenge in regular schools, special schools also have to deal with it. Educators’ experiences with school violence interventions are covered in this article. This empirical paper uses the results from my doctoral thesis, which examined strategies for reducing school violence in a special needs school. An interpretive paradigm and a phenomenological case study design were used to perform a qualitative investigation. Five educators and 10 learners from a school with learners with disabilities were specifically chosen to participate in the doctoral study. Semi-structured interviews, qualitative questionnaires, and documents were employed to collect the data. The study found that because the participants believed their efforts were not appreciated, they lacked the motivation to contribute to the reduction of school violence. They believed that the present interventions were ineffective, and some participants complained that the educational system was overly forgiving of the learners. Additionally, they said that the Department of Basic Education and the parents were not providing them with enough support.

Racial Discrimination and Interpersonal Violence in Asian American Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

PurposeRacial discrimination targeting Asians in the United States has increased sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a well-established link with mental/physical health outcomes, little is known about how racial discrimination relates to interpersonal violence, particularly in adolescents. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined cross-sectional and longitudinal (1-year follow-up) associations between racial discrimination and interpersonal violence perpetration and victimization in Asian American adolescents in a large US city. MethodsData from Waves 3 (2020) and 4 (2021) of a randomized clinical trial of a school-based violence prevention program were examined. We limited our sample to participants who identified as Asian American (n = 344; 48.3% female; Meanage = 14.6 years at Wave 3). ResultsAt Wave 3, 26.5% of the adolescents reported experiencing some form of racial discrimination, including 18.3% experiencing verbal harassment due to race and 16.0% reporting inequitable treatment due to race. Relative to their nonvictimized counterparts, adolescents who experienced racial discrimination were more likely to report being a victim of bullying and teen dating violence cross-sectionally and being a bullying victim longitudinally. Moreover, those who experienced racial discrimination reported more bullying and teen dating violence perpetration concurrently, as well as more dating violence perpetration 1 year later. DiscussionIn the understudied population of Asian American adolescents, we found that experiencing racial discrimination contributes to both interpersonal violence victimization and perpetration. Youth violence prevention could include strategies addressing racial discrimination.

KOLABORASI GURU BIMBINGAN DAN KONSELING DAN AGEN PERUBAHAN (ANTI PERUNDUNGAN) DALAM MELAWAN PERUNDUNGAN DI SMK NEGERI 2 BANJARBARU

The anti-bullying and school-based violence program is an effort to prevent and deal with violence against children. This study uses a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. The purpose of this research is to describe the vision, mission and work programs of change agents, the impact of the existence of change agents, and how collaboration between Guidance and Counseling Teachers and Change Agents. The research subjects consisted of Guidance and Counseling Teachers, members of Change Agents and Students. Data collection techniques used are observation, interviews and documentation. Data analysis techniques consist of data reduction, data presentation, drawing conclusions and verification. The results of the study are (1) Vision and Mission of the program for preventing and overcoming acts of bullying within the education unit, as an effort to prevent and deal with violence against children. Aims to create a safe and comfortable climate for students to learn. (2) The impact of the existence of a change agent for SMK Negeri 2 Banjarbaru, namely the existence of an anti-bullying change agent has a positive impact on school residents, including self-awareness to always behave well and spread kindness to fellow human beings. (3) Guidance and Counseling Teachers and Change Agents collaborate well where the Guidance and Counseling Teachers become facilitators or coaches. Meanwhile, change agents are tasked with giving or influencing friends with positive behavior and always maintaining the comfort of the school.

“Let there be Peace”: An Exploratory Study of Peace Education as a Strategy to Combating School-Based Violence in South African Secondary Schools

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to discuss issues of school-based violence and how some secondary schools have been able to achieve relative peace. Framed by the Integrative Peace Theory, the study provided answers to three research questions. The qualitative research design was employed, and data was collected with semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Participants were comprised of learners, teachers, principals, and a project manager of a non-governmental organization. A thematic content analysis with an iterative process was employed for analysis of data collected. Findings revealed that there is a reduction in reported cases of school violence and three basic strategies were found to be employed by schools to ensure relative peace and a reduction in school-based violence. Time constraints and societal influence were found to be the potential barriers for effective peace education and sustenance of peace in secondary schools. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations were offered.

#MeToo movement as a syllabus for gender justice futures in U.S. Public schooling: a critical ethnography

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to examine how the #MeToo movement can serve as a curricular object of inquiry of gender justice futures in U.S. public schooling. Tarana Burke [2020. “A Conversation with Tarana Burke.” Uploaded 26 February. http://youtube.com/watch?v = z7FapboZddg] asserts that institutional courage and innovation is needed that goes beyond the limitations of Title IX and think about how schools understand their culpability in perpetuating the privileging of hegemonic gender in curricula. Intersectionality grounds the exploration of how historical and structural processes reproduce material, discursive, and political conditions of gender injustice in education systems and society. The methodology for this study is a part of a larger multiyear critical ethnography. The implication of this work considers how #MeToo has made school-based gender and sexual violence more visible and accountable to critique in public schooling in the U.S.

"I Wouldn't Believe Her at First"-A Qualitative Study of Young People's Sexual Consent Perceptions and Negotiation in Nairobi Informal Settlements.

Forced or coerced sexual experiences have serious consequences for young people's health and well-being. Healthy sexual consent communication can foster positive intimate relationships and help prevent unwanted sexual experiences. We aimed to explore how young people in Nairobi's informal settlements construct, communicate, and negotiate sexual consent within heterosexual partnerships, given the limited insight into such experiences from resource-poor, global-south contexts. A qualitative study with young men and women aged 15 to 21 years was conducted among former participants of a school-based sexual violence prevention intervention in four informal settlements (slums) of Nairobi. Twenty-one individual in-depth interviews (n = 10 females, n = 11 males) and 10 focus group discussions (five with n = 6-11 males vs. females, respectively), that is, n = 89 in total were conducted. Data were analysed using thematic network analysis and interpreted using the Sexual script theory. Participants' endorsement of incongruent sexual scripts shaped their perceptions and negotiations of sexual consent. Young men were committed to respecting sexual consent, but promoted male (sexual) dominance, and perceived women's refusals as token resistance. Per traditional scripts of sexual chastity, young women were largely bound by their use of a "soft no" to give consent, so as to not display direct sexual interest. Actual non-assertive refusals thus risked being interpreted as consent. Young women's "actual" refusals had to be more assertive (saying a "hard no") and were described as having been influenced by skills learned during the school-based intervention. Findings highlight the need for sexual consent education to address internalized gendered norms about female token resistance, destigmatize female sexuality, reduce male dominance norms, and encourage young people's respect for both assertive and non-assertive sexual consent communication.

School-Based Violence amongst Students in Private and Public Boarding Secondary Schools in Bayelsa State

The study compared school-based violence amongst students in private and public boarding secondary schools in Bayelsa State. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Two research questions and corresponding hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study was all students in the 21 boarding secondary schools (10 public and 11 private) in Bayelsa state. The instrument for data collection was a “School-based Violence in Boarding Schools Questionnaire” (SVBSQ) which was developed by the researchers and validated by experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha formula and a coefficient of 0.75 was obtained which was considered appropriate for the study. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using Z-test statistic at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that bullying, verbal abuse, corporal punishment, forceful collection of property, sexual violence, general beating and washing of toilets, sweeping the hostel are major forms of school-based violence displayed by students while killing and sexual violence are minor forms of school-based violence displaced by students in private and public boarding secondary schools and that there is no significant difference in the mean responses of students in private and public boarding schools in Bayelsa state . It was recommended amongst others that the school system should employ the services of matrons/warders/boarding house officers, to reduce violence and school management should be encouraged to implement the strategies for controlling students’ aggression in secondary schools in Bayelsa state.

Understanding why EmpaTeach did not reduce teachers' use of violence in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp: A quantitative process evaluation of a school-based violence prevention intervention.

EmpaTeach was the first intervention to address teacher violence to be tested in a humanitarian setting and the first to focus on reducing impulsive use of violence, but a cluster randomised trial found no evidence that the intervention was effective in reducing physical and emotional violence from teachers. We aimed to understand why. We conducted a quantitative process evaluation to describe the intervention implementation process (what was implemented and how); examine teachers' adoption of positive teaching practices (was the content of the intervention taken up by participants), and test mechanisms of impact underlying the program theory (how the intervention was supposed to produce change). Despite participation in the intervention activities and adoption of intervention-recommended strategies (classroom management and positive disciplinary methods), we show that teachers who used more positive discipline did not appear to use less violence; and teachers in intervention schools did not experience gains in intermediate outcomes such as empathy, growth mindset, self-efficacy or social support. Our findings suggest that the intervention did not work due to the failure of some key hypothesised mechanisms, rather than because of implementation challenges.

What makes for effectiveness when starting early – Learning from an integrated school-based violence and abuse prevention programme for children under 12

BackgroundIntegrated programmes addressing varying forms of violence and abuse are increasingly delivered to children under 12 but uncertainty remains about what should be delivered to whom, when and in what dose. ObjectiveTo examine the impact of Speak Out Stay Safe (SOSS) - an integrated prevention programme for children under 12 - and whether impact varied by age, gender and context. Participants and settingA representative UK sample of primary schools in receipt of SOSS was matched with comparison schools not receiving SOSS. At 6 months follow-up, 1553 children from 36 schools completed the survey. MethodsThe matched control study incorporated economic and process evaluations. Survey measures included: children's knowledge and understanding of different forms of violence and abuse, readiness to seek help, knowledge of sexual abuse, perceptions of school culture and health and wellbeing. Perceptions of children, teachers, and facilitators were captured. ResultsAt 6 months, children aged 9–10 who received SOSS retained their improved knowledge of neglect and their ability to identify a trusted adult who they would tell about violence or abuse. Children aged 6–7 receiving a shorter version of the programme were less likely to benefit and boys made fewer gains than girls. SOSS improved the knowledge of children with low knowledge of abuse. School culture was closely associated with programme impact. ConclusionSchool-based prevention programmes deliver benefits at low cost but should acknowledge and engage with the specific school context to achieve school readiness and embed programme messages.

Cameroon's Schools

Abstract In this article, the data for which I acquired through a systematic review of articles published over three years, focusing on analyzing the evolution of the situation over these past years, I discuss school-based gender violence in Cameroon. Considering the complexity of Cameroonian society and its responses to violence against girls and women, we need to establish that violence can be addressed, and we have to suggest how this can be done. From one region to another, a girl being denied access to education, being trafficked, or being forced into early marriage constitutes an experience of violence. Even though the government has been fighting these ills for the past twenty years the results show that girls are still highly vulnerable in the education system.

Effectiveness of Digital Health Tools to Prevent Bullying among Middle School Students

Bullying is a widespread public health problem with significant behavioral and mental health consequences. The current study tested the effectiveness of combining interactive digital material for students, educators, and parents with class sessions to prevent bullying among middle school students. Fourteen middle schools were randomly assigned to intervention and comparison conditions. Both conditions received a classroom-based drug and violence prevention program that taught social skills, self-management skills, and social resistance skills. The intervention condition included class material on bullying and an educational video game for students that reinforced the classroom program; it also included digital material on bullying for parents and school staff. All students completed online pre- and post-test surveys to assess bullying-related behavior, knowledge, and life skills. Results indicated that students in the intervention schools reported significantly less bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and increased life skills knowledge relative to comparison schools. This study provides evidence that a school-based drug abuse and violence prevention program, when enhanced with a set of digital tools for students, parents, and school staff, holds considerable potential for addressing bullying among middle school adolescents.

Investigating Factors Contributing to the Reading Challenges among Intermediate Learners of San Rafael-Agpo Elementary School

In the pursuit of the objectives, a qualitative case study is used to identify the factors that affect struggling readers of San Rafael-Agpo Elementary School. A total number of 11 struggling readers who met the criteria set in the study were interviewed in semi-structured interview using an open-ended interview guide questions about their experiences, and common problems they encounter that affect reading skills. The study identified the following factors: reading motivation, lack of parental involvement and support, school-based violence and bullying, lack of reading materials at home, and reading instructions that cause reading difficulties among intermediate grade pupils. Hence, the study propose that teachers should provide and implement more interactive teaching strategies to encourage reading motivation, inform parents of their child’s excessive number of missed classes and set up frequent meetings with parents, implement strong policies to address bullying and school-based violence, and to differentiate instruction to cater different learning needs.

Eager yet unprepared: Greek secondary education teachers facing homophobic violence in schools

The current study aims to investigate aspects of homophobic school-based violence from a teachers’ perspective. A sample of 453 secondary education teachers across Greece participated and reported their intention for reactions against four hypothetical scenarios of homophobic violence (psychological, verbal, cyberbullying, physical). When expressing high intention to intervene, teachers were more likely to inform other school staff. The majority of the respondents (86.1%) had not received training on homophobic violence during their university studies, while those who had received such postgraduate training manifested stronger intention to act. Female and middle school teachers reported a stronger intention to act compared to male and high school teachers, respectively. Only 11% of the participants stated that their school had an action plan against homophobic violence. These results call for the development of school personnel training on homophobic violence and for the implementation of LGBTQIA + inclusive anti-harassment policies.

Queering School Leadership Preparation Curricula for Gender Justice in Public Schooling

Recent education policies and laws such as a new rule to Title IX by the U.S. Department of Education (2020) and the Parental Rights in Education (HB 1557, 2022) also known as the “ Don’t Say Gay” law in Florida have important implications for how educational leaders are expected to address issues of gender, sexuality, and school-based sexual violence in public schools. The purpose of this article is to examine how education laws, policies, and practices privilege heteronormative values in our public schools and how the lack of educational preparation of school officials are complicit in the maintenance of hegemonic racial, gender and sexuality structures in public schooling. Structural intersectionality grounds this study and maps the corporeal consequences of systems of oppression while political intersectionality describes the strategies used to fight against those systems of oppression (Crenshaw, 2014). The study uses a qualitative narrative inquiry methodology to examine coursework data of doctoral students in an education leadership program to interpret their understanding of gender justice in teaching and leadership in public schools. Critical policy analysis as a discursive analytic is used in this study to reveal the interrelatedness of theory and method. The implications of this study bear important implications for understanding the need for gender justice curriculum in school leadership preparation programs and offers thoughts on how queering curricula can be an act of education activism.

Sexual minority status, school-based violence, and current tobacco use among youth.

Sexual minority individuals experience elevated risk for smoking and violence due to a combination of general and unique identity-based risk factors. This study examined associations among sexual minority status, school-based violence, and tobacco use, among youth. Data for this secondary data analysis consisted of Chicago-specific data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (n=1562). Current use (≥1 day during the previous 30 days) of any tobacco product (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars) and school-based violence (avoided school because they felt unsafe, were threatened/injured with a weapon, were in a physical fight, and were bullied) were estimated by sexual orientation (heterosexual vs gay, lesbian, bisexual, and unsure). A chi-squared test was used to investigate associations among the variables. Path analysis was employed to examine possible mediation effects of school-based violence. Thirty percent of sexual minority youth and 11.5% of heterosexual youth reported current tobacco use (χ2=55.91; p<0.001). Nearly one-third (31.8%) of youth reported school-based violence, with a higher rate (41.2%) reported by sexual minority youth compared to heterosexual youth (28.1%; χ2=19.48; p<0.001). Path analysis confirmed these associations, controlling for sex, age, and race/ethnicity. The model showed that sexual minority status increased odds of current tobacco use by a factor of 1.8 (95% CI: 1.3-2.6) via its relationship with school-based violence, explaining 33.8% of the total association between sexual minority status and tobacco use. Tobacco use was higher among sexual minority youth. School-based violence partially mediated the association between sexual minority status and tobacco use. Findings highlight the need for tobacco prevention and treatment efforts for sexual minority youth and school-based interventions to reduce exposure to violence.