School Violence Research Articles (Page 1)

This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the process through which adolescents, who discontinued their studies due to experiences of school violence, left school and subsequently encountered experiences of social withdrawal. To achieve this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with five out-of-school adolescents who had experienced school violence and exhibited socially withdrawn behaviors. The collected data were analyzed using Giorgi’s phenomenological method. Analysis revealed 57 meaning units, which were organized into 17 subcomponents and further clustered into five major components. The essential meaning of the socially withdrawn experiences of school violence victims was derived as “retreat and echo within the spiral shell—protection from wounds and a deep inner resonance.” This study contributes to understanding the life situations and meanings of adolescents who drop out of school due to school violence and become socially withdrawn. By presenting vivid experiential data in the voices of the adolescents themselves, the study highlights considerations necessary for supporting this vulnerable population.

School climate is an important factor related to socioemotional well-being and learning for students. It impacts students’ academic achievement, as well as the way they relate to each other and the school community. This study was conducted in the urban public high school in Santo Domingo Norte aiming to analyze the relationship of school climate, teacher-student interaction, and socioemotional well-being with teaching and learning tasks. Methods For this purpose, as part of this explorative-descriptive qualitative analysis, we interviewed 237 students, conducted focus groups, engaged in participant observation, and documentary analysis with 10 teachers and 3 management team members. The research findings disclosed the following issues: coexistence problems, conflicts, student engagement, academic performance, and isolation and school violence. We identified six dimensions that characterize the school climate: relationships, self-actualization, emotional stability, openness to change, participation and sense of belonging, and the provision of supporting infrastructure. Our results indicate that the provision of socioemotional support, teaching styles, student participation, infrastructure investments, and school community commitment are vital to establish a positive school climate. These perspectives lay down valuable premises for policy-led education, teacher preparation and inclusive practices that promote motivation, deep learning and holistic student experience thereby positioning school climate as an important component in urban environments.

Studies on gender-based violence (GBV) among students in Kenya have focused mostly on the physical and sexual aspects of the violence and have not paid much attention to the psychological aspects and their direct effects on the academic performance of students. This article was specialized to look at the correlation between psychological GBV and the test scores of students in the public secondary schools in Bungoma County. The research design utilized in the study was a correlational research design based on the social feminism theory and the resilience theory to comprehend the impact of emotional abuse, insults, threats, isolation, and intimidation of learners on their academic accomplishment. There was a stratified random sample size of 1,104 students in a population of estimated student age of 15 to 17 years, amounting to about a quarter of a million students in 184 randomly selected secondary schools. Also, 184 guidance and counseling teachers, 3 sub-county directors of education, 13 GBV survivors, and 1 county woman representative were qualitatively sampled through purposive sampling. Collection of data was carried out by use of questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. Likert-type scales saw into the psychological experiences of GBV, and the internal reliability of instruments was checked through the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used (Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and linear regression) to analyze quantitative data, whereas the qualitative data were analyzed on the basis of the themes. The findings showed a weak negative significant correlation between psychological violence and the student grades in internal school tests (r = -.076, p = .037), which meant that in cases of students exposed to emotional and psychological abuse, their performance in internal school exams was degraded. These results were also supported by qualitative data analysis, as the predominant themes identified involved constant experiences of verbal abuse, manipulation, and ostracism by peers and teachers that negatively affected self-esteem and academic motivation of the students. These findings are the testimony of the need to be more attentive to psychological violence in schools, which is one of the risky types of GBV. The study suggests specific recommendations, and they are the provision of adequate psychosocial support, emotional safety training, and inclusive school environments that are responsive and sensitive to emotional harm in students. Addressing psychological GBV, the article also provides stewardship in understanding the premise of educational equity and student well-being, in turn, in advocating the need to move policy and practice to promote safer and more supportive learning environments.

Abstract This study examines the effect of class size on the academic achievement of ninth‐grade students, using random variation in enrollment as an instrument for class size. I find a substantial improvement in reading test scores after a reduction in class size. These favorable effects are especially strong for students in coeducational schools and for boys. Distributional analysis shows a beneficial effect on reading across all percentiles and on mathematics and English in the lower and middle percentiles. I find that reducing class sizes increases counseling sessions and reduces incidents of school violence, resulting in beneficial effects on academic performance. These findings indicate that the beneficial effect can be attributed to the improved teacher–student relationship and the peer‐to‐peer relationship. These results suggest that the effect of class size reduction depends on the classroom environment.

The study aims to address a very important topic, which is the phenomenon of school violence prevalent within educational institutions, and seeks to control this behavior within its social context by linking it to factors outside the educational institution surrounding the student. This is done by investigating how this phenomenon is related to the most important social institution, which is the family, and by exposing the family factors that contribute to the spread of violent behavior among students.

Highlights Individual factors significantly influence the occurrence of school violence. Verbal (63.24%) and psychological violence (54.94%) are the most prevalent forms of school violence among Peruvian adolescents. Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed significant associations between school violence and sex, family type, socioeconomic status, and area of residence (urban or rural). Comprehensive interventions that address multiple factors are needed to reduce violence and promote positive school environments that support learning and emotional well-being. Introduction: School violence is a global and complex problem. Objective: Identify the types of school violence and their associated factors in Peruvian adolescents. Materials and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted. Two self-administered instruments were administered to 253 adolescents selected through stratified random sampling from the first to fifth grade of secondary school at a Peruvian public institution in 2024. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with school violence. Results: Verbal violence (63.24%) and psychological violence (54.94%) were the most prevalent, while physical violence (37.55%) and sexual violence (3.95%) were less frequent. The most influential factors were individual (75.49%), social (62.87%), and family (56.13%) factors, whereas community (35.56%), cultural (35.97%), and school (43.10%) factors had less influence. Bivariate analysis revealed significant associations between school violence and sex (p = 0.03), family type (p = 0.02), socioeconomic status (p = 0.01), and area of residence (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis found an association between individual, family, and social factors and school violence, specifically with verbal and psychological violence. Discussion: These findings confirm the central role of personal, social, and family dynamics in shaping experiences of school violence. Addressing only school-related factors may be insufficient; interventions should also target adolescents' interpersonal environments to achieve long-term impact. Conclusions: School violence is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon. Comprehensive intervention strategies are recommended, not only to reduce violence but also to promote positive school climates that support learning and emotional well-being. How to cite this article: Fernández-Delgado Jhan Carlos Manuel, Diaz-Villanueva Francisca Edita, Canova-Barrios Carlos Jesus, Machuca-Contreras Felipe, Kappes Maria, AbdElhay Eman Sameh. Silent victims: risk factors associated with school violence in Peruvian adolescents. Revista Cuidarte. 2025;16(3):e4878. https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.4878

Human Rights Education (HRE) is formally integrated into South Africa's basic education curriculum, yet violence, abuse, and harassment continue to undermine effective teaching and learning. Despite the constitutional guarantees and international obligations, schools remain unsafe, exposing learners to weapons, bullying, sexual violence and community-linked crime. This gap between policy intent and lived realities raises critical concerns about the effectiveness of HRE implementation and the Department of Basic Education's role in ensuring learner safety. This study examines the extent to which weak enforcement, inadequate teacher training and limited learner engagement compromise the transformative potential of HRE. Employing a doctrinal approach, it reviews constitutional provisions, international standards, empirical evidence of school violence, and safety frameworks such as the National School Safety Framework. The findings demonstrate that the issue lies not in the absence of legal frameworks or curricular content, but in inconsistent implementation and the lack of collaboration between schools, communities and enforcement agencies. The study contributes to ongoing debates by emphasising the need to strengthen HRE delivery, enhance teacher preparedness and improve enforcement mechanisms. Providing safe schools is framed as both a constitutional duty and a prerequisite for equitable education. Future research should explore how insights derived from addressing school violence may inform employment law reforms, particularly regarding workplace safety and protections against harassment.

This article aims to analyze the manifestations of school violence in Ecuador and the prevention and intervention strategies developed through collaboration among schools, families, and communities. The study was conducted through a qualitative and descriptive bibliographic review, based on 12 academic sources and official documents published between 2020 and 2025, selected according to thematic relevance, timeliness, and institutional importance. The findings reveal that school violence is expressed in multiple forms, ranging from physical and verbal aggressions to cyberbullying and social exclusion, highlighting the normalization of violent practices within educational settings. The results also show a significant gap in family participation, limited by socioeconomic and migratory factors, and the lack of adequate teacher training in socio-emotional skills and conflict mediation. However, positive experiences were identified in contexts where joint efforts between parents, teachers, and communities reduced incidents and strengthened school coexistence. It is concluded that school violence is a multidimensional phenomenon that requires comprehensive and sustained strategies. The evidence suggests that shared responsibility among social actors is essential to consolidate safe, inclusive, and peaceful educational environments that contribute to the integral development of students and to the strengthening of social cohesion.

Research has identified that bystander intervention by peers decisively contributes to overcoming violence in school contexts. However, there is little research analyzing the type of teacher training that facilitates it. The present study contributes to expanding the knowledge in this field by analyzing a professional development network for teachers based on dialogic training. Using a research methodology with communicative orientation, we conducted 14 interviews with teachers and 5 focus groups involving a total of 26 high school and primary students. Additionally, we observed 15 dialogic teacher training sessions throughout one year. This article is part of an R+D+i research project called ROM21 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, aimed at enhancing the quality of life for Roma people. As such, two schools were selected in which approximately 2.5% and 32% of the student body identified themselves as Roma. Results show that this program, based on dialogic teacher training, enables teachers to foster students’ ability to take a stance against school violence. Results suggest that the dialogic dynamics prevalent in the analyzed teacher training program transfer to student interactions, notably contributing to the mitigation of school violence. The implications of the results are discussed.

Abstract Background While teacher attrition is a growing concern worldwide, data on its risk factors are limited by cross-sectional designs, focusing on intent rather than actual departure, failing to distinguish between leaving the sector and changing job within in, and overlooking the interplay of work, personal, social, and health factors. We aimed to fill the gap in studying, among teachers, factors prospectively associated with respectively: 1/changing jobs while remaining in education (switching) and 2/leaving teaching to work in another sector (leaving). Methods Longitudinal analysis of 15,185 teachers enrolled from 2012 in the French population-based CONSTANCES cohort. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated the risk up to 2022 of switching/leaving in association with various socio-demographic, health, socio-economic, and psychosocial risk factors. Results During follow-up, 275 teachers switched and 286 left. Males were more likely than women to both switch and leave. Factors associated with switching included age≥35, teaching in primary school, low depressive symptoms, full-time work, frequent (not constant) strained relationships at work, past financial difficulties, and organizational constraints. Factors associated with leaving included age<35, living alone without children, presence of depressive symptoms, part-time work, constant strained relationships at work, and current financial difficulties. Effort-reward imbalance, perceived health, and commute time were not significantly associated with either outcome in multivariate analyses. Conclusions Switching and leaving are prospectively related to quite different sets of risk factors, supporting distinct subjacent contexts and motivations, namely: switching as career progression, leaving due to adverse conditions. Preventing strained relationships at school, addressing teachers’ economic realities, and providing mental health support represent promising avenues to limit job attrition among teachers. Key messages • Two different processes, switching and leaving, contributes to teacher attrition. • To limit it, promising avenues include mental health support, school violence prevention and financial enhancement.

Violence is a concerning issue, particularly at the lower secondary school level, where students undergo significant psychological and physiological changes, making them more prone to conflicts and negative behaviors. At Nguyen Binh Khiem Secondary School (Dau Tieng District, Binh Duong Province), although most students are well-behaved and frequently engage in extracurricular activities that foster life skills, incidents of violence still occur, mainly among male students and those with behavioral difficulties. This study was conducted to propose several approaches to life skills education for the prevention of school violence, based on document analysis and field surveys. The findings highlight five feasible solutions: educating peaceful communication skills; developing emotional management skills; practicing hypothetical situation handling; strengthening collective and team-based activities; and enhancing collaboration among families, schools, and society. These solutions form an interconnected system that contributes to reducing violence, improving students’ life skills, and creating a safe and friendly learning environment.

Pesantren is an Islamic educational institutions that has existed since before independence. Their image has declined due to several instances of sexual violence within them. While traditionally safe and welcoming institutions for children and women, they have been stigmatized by the actions of certain individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine Nawaning Nusantara's strategy for preventing sexual violence in Islamic boarding schools. This study used a case study with a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis through observation, interviews, and literature review from various written sources in online media. The results revealed that Nawaning Nusantara has a strategic plan, including a sexual violence prevention mitigation agenda, workshops, and training for facilitators for tarbiyah jinsiyah. Efforts to prevent sexual violence in Islamic boarding schools include monitoring within the boarding school, consulting with religious leaders (kyai), official regulations on boundaries between men and women, and studying the yellow book on sexual education and gender understanding through the KGI (Ngaji KGI) study and Qira’ah Mubadalah perspective.

Background: In South Africa, school violence is a disturbing issue affecting the attainment of education objectives, begging for a solution because it compromises students’ and teachers’ safety. Integration of peace education into pre-service teachers’ training will provide them with the needed knowledge, skills and values needed to promote peace.Aim: This study explores the integration of peace education into the pre-service teacher training programme at an open distance e-learning institution of higher learning in South Africa using the integrative theory of peace.Setting: The study took place at an open distance e-learning institution of higher learning in South Africa with a focus on academics.Methods: The study adopted a qualitative research approach. Six university academics were purposefully selected using semi-structured interviews. Data analysis and interpretation were carried out thematically.Results: We found a growing recognition of integrating peace education into teacher training programmes. However, a lack of trained faculty lecturers, limited resources, curriculum overload, resistance to change and a lack of a guiding framework, among others, were found to be the major setbacks.Conclusion: Overcoming the challenges with relevant interventions should be prioritised for the integration of peace education to achieve its goals. Managing both the institutional and structural challenges will also foster the successful integration of peace education in teacher training programmes within open distance e-learning institutions.Contribution: This study shows that teacher training programmes need better support, resources and policies to include peace education. This will help create a more peaceful school environment in South Africa.

Educational Programming to Prevent Violence in Schools in the United States: An Analysis of School Health Profiles.

In Kenya, gender-based violence (GBV) is still a phenomenon that is prevalent in secondary schools and has considerably adverse effects on the health, educational attainment, and emotional states of students. This phenomenological study examines the approaches that teachers in Vihiga County, in the public sector of secondary schools, use to address and mitigate GBV. The research was conducted in a qualitative methodology using the semi-structured interview as the type of data collection. the target population consisted of teachers from secondary schools in Vihiga County, Kenya.. The study employed a purposive sampling method to identify participants; therefore, only those teachers directly involved in handling GBV and teaching subjects that enable them to address moral education were considered. Twelve guidance and counseling teachers were interviewed, who responded based on their life experiences and moral judgments within their school settings upon facing GBV. The thematic analysis of the data collected from the interviews was performed using the 6-step activity described by Braun and Clarke. The results indicate that the intervention on GV requires not only the incorporation of moral education into the curriculum but also the training of teachers and institutional support. In addition, the study highlights the importance of culturally affirmative, rights-based educational practices that foster open communication and enable students and educators to question injustices based on gender. The moral role-modelling functions of teachers were identified as playing a crucial role in shaping student practices and the conceptualization of GBV. However, study notes that none of these may be effective without increased institutional support, which implies clear policies, training, and community involvement. The study recommends adopting a more nuanced approach in the form of a comprehensive moral education strategy, supported by institutional policies and teacher education. This is aimed at introducing a learning culture where GBV may be dealt with proactively and students empowered to be part of a culture of gender equality.

This study investigates enforcement gaps in Indonesia’s child protection law by focusing on violence in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Kudus. The research aims to examine why violence against children persists despite the existence of comprehensive statutes such as Law No. 35 of 2014 on Child Protection, Law No. 20 of 2003 on the National Education System, Law No. 18 of 2019 on Pesantren, and Law No. 12 of 2022 on Sexual Violence Crimes. Using a qualitative socio-legal method, the study combines normative legal analysis with empirical case studies drawn from media reports, NGO documentation, and secondary academic sources. The findings reveal four major enforcement gaps: limited accessibility of reporting mechanisms due to fear and hierarchical power relations; cultural normalization of violence through ta’zir as disciplinary education; fragmented institutional coordination without intersectoral SOPs; and the frequent use of restorative justice settlements that disadvantage victims. These results underscore that legal reforms alone are insufficient without accompanying cultural transformation, integrated institutional mechanisms, and community-based engagement. The study contributes to child protection discourse by proposing an integrative approach that harmonizes statutory law with religious moderation and communal values, while aligning with international standards such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The originality of this research lies in its contextual focus on pesantren, a relatively underexplored site in child protection scholarship, thereby enriching international debates on law, culture, and the protection of children in religious education settings.

Implementation of Teen Dating Violence Laws and Policies in High Schools: Staff and Student Perceptions.

As ethnic diversity increases in schools, it"s vital to understand the dynamics of ethnic violence, which can negatively impact student well-being and academic achievement. Addressing the issue requires recognizing the complexities of ethnic diversity, promoting inclusivity, and implementing targeted interventions to prevent and mitigate violence. This systematic review focuses on understanding the multiple levels of factors that contribute to ethnic violence among adolescents within school settings. This is a systematic review of articles published between 1990 and the end of 2023 using the keywords race/ethnic minority, adolescent, ethnic and racial minorities, school, and violence in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. And the main entry criteria were articles that dealt with the issue of ethnic violence, and their target population was teenagers of different ethnicities who were studying in educational environments. We identified key determinants at the student, classroom, and school levels. At the student level, immigrant status, gender, and academic performance were significant factors, with immigrants and first-generation boys more involved in violence. Classroom-level factors included the ethnic composition of the classroom, where increased diversity sometimes exacerbated tensions. At the school level, school size, security measures, and the presence of gangs influenced the prevalence of ethnic violence. The consequences of ethnic violence are profound, resulting in physical harm, psychological harm, reduced academic achievement, and long-term health problems. This violence also undermines social cohesion and economic development by perpetuating cycles of fear, mistrust, and social isolation. This review shows that ethnic violence in schools is shaped by a range of student-, classroom-, and school-level factors. In particular, immigrant generation, low SES, classroom diversity without integration, and school-level prejudice or gang presence are pivotal drivers. Multilevel interventions are required to support first-generation adolescents, manage classroom diversity, and implement anti-gang school policies.

Sexual violence in schools is a serious and growing concern that demands a comprehensive educational and preventive response. This study aims to introduce science-based education on the recognition and prevention of sexual violence among senior high school students through a community intervention model. A case study approach was conducted in two private high schools in the Nias Islands, involving five lecturers from the Pastoral High School and 154 students from grades X and XI. The intervention included socialization sessions, knowledge transfer, and structured assistance from school principals and teachers. The educational content was enriched by legal perspectives from the Nias and South Nias Police Departments, psychological insights, and child protection material from the Center for Child Protection Studies. The findings reveal strong student engagement, active participation in discussions, and increased awareness regarding the forms and dangers of sexual violence. The program encouraged critical reflection and fostered a sense of responsibility among students. Overall, this community-based science education initiative shows promising outcomes in empowering students as agents of change and in promoting a safer, more supportive school environment.

Despite the increased research on violence toward teachers and public policies aimed at protecting teachers from violence, knowledge of the factors contributing to teachers’ sense of safety at school remains limited. Drawing from socioecological theory, we examined the contributions of both teachers’, parents’, students’, and schools’ characteristics to teachers’ sense of feeling unsafe in school. Specifically, we examined teachers’ individual and work characteristics (sex, age, years of experience, and working in the regular classroom or not), their perceptions of school violence, and their relationships with students and their peers. At the school level, we examined the school size, poverty level, and school-level reports of parents’, students’, and teachers’ perception of the school climate and school violence. The sample consisted of 9625 teachers (73% female), 126,301 students, and 56,196 parents from 2116 schools with a low socioeconomic status in Chile. Descriptive statistics showed that most teachers do not feel afraid (72.9%) nor thought that their job was dangerous (74.6%). A hierarchical multivariate regression analysis and multilevel analyses showed that teachers with higher perceptions of feeling unsafe were females or reported being “other sex”, had fewer years of experience, worked mainly in the classroom, perceived a higher level of school violence, and had worse perceptions of peer relationships and teacher–student relationships. These teachers were mostly in schools with higher poverty levels, larger enrollment, and higher student-reported and parent-reported school violence compared to the rest of the sample of low-SES Chilean schools. We discuss the implications of these findings for preventive school interventions and programs regarding school violence and teacher turnover.