violence in schools

References:                                                                                 12/13

Violence in schools

1. Introduction

1. Origin of the report:

This Report is submitted to DR. RENEE BLEAU, October 30, 2007, as part of the requirements of the course, (ARTS025).

2. Problem and Purpose:

This report is to talk about and explain the causes of violence in schools. It includes the possible ways that affects students, with a finishing paragraph giving a solution on how to solve this problem.

 

3. History/Background:

There are many reasons why school violence arises in our communities. A majority of education theorists agree that the major reason behind these violence actions is a complex set of causes and risk factors that are implanted in our culture, surroundings, economy, communities, schools families and peer groups not to mention the unique skills, attitudes, and behaviours that each child possess. However, there are many other elements that contribute greatly to the violent behaviour at schools such as the rather easy access to weapons, the major impact the media has on individuals, and the influence of schools, the community, and family environment.

4. Sources and Methods:

This reports information is found by library research, with the help of books and articles provided by reliable resources.

2. Causes

2.1 Family factors:

Parents must always monitor their kids and give them the needed attention in order for kids to feel that they can turn to their family for help and so that the kids can depend on them for guidance and support.

Children usually start acting violently when they are faced with periods of free and unsupervised time and therefore this is where the school teacher and parents must come in and guide the children instead of allowing them to take things into their own hands.

2.1.1 Harsh parental discipline:

it’s common and expected in our culture that the family is in charge of dealing with childhood problems, our modern society makes it greatly difficult for parents to meet all their children’s needs. Looking at our current economy today, we can notice that it demands that both parents work, resulting in negligence and less time spent with children. Also, more children are currently being raised by single parents some who are teenage mothers. All these economical factors are changing the way kids are raised today and therefore increasing violent outcomes from children.

2.1.2 Child abuse:

A major and disappointing reason could be that the actual schools are failing their troubled and disturbed youthful students. These students become faced with society’s agitated, high-stressed environment and eventually choose the wrong ways of dealing with it. And rather than turning for help from parents and other adults, they turn to fake, make believe groups of their own that instead make them sink deeper into their troubles and hardships.

“Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm” (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2005).

• “In many cases, both victims and performers of youth violence have been subjected to child abuse, or witnessed one of their family members being abused by one another, at one point in their childhood” (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2007).

2.6 million Reports were made on 4.6 million children in the United States in 2002. They were made on the concern and the health of them. 19.9% of the children that have been reported on have been victimised of a serious type of child abuse. (Iannelli, 2007).

2.2 Community Factors:

2.2.1 Bullying:

Bullying is another meaning to “a mean and unkind behaviour; such as harassment, threats and physical abuse, by one student to another or a group of students towards another student” (Healey, 2001: 7). Economical backgrounds, parental differences or school atmosphere are in a way motives that cause bullies. Statistics show that 77% of students in the United States have experienced bullying in their school or outside school. (the American Justice Department, 2007).

A bully feels many feelings when bullying other students or guys. A bully usually feels that it would make him more popular at school or make him powerful from the inside. They are probably looking for respect and control. Another thing is when a student needs to express his feelings inside; a bully could be made by a student who is stressed or bullied at home by his parents or family. This could lead to very bad aggression done by a student and that’s when violence occurs.

2.2.2 Gangs in schools:

Gangs are another way of getting students to show respect and to be, in the students words “famous”. A bully usually starts with forming a gang. Many factors such as religious or racist discrimination and some just form one to be safe at a school. (Public health agency of Canada, 2007).

This gang forming idea results to violence when other students or gangs try to interfere in a student’s way or gang. Some are formed to get their way in school, get their way with teachers and get their beliefs sent to other students to get full control of the school.

2.3 Community Factors:

2.3.1 Media:

Media affects students of young age in many ways. First music plays a big role in making a student get violent. With its words and abuse and singers talk about violence and getting respect gets a student to think in that way. Movies is another way to get a student hyped up. An example would be action movies with gangs fighting or even video clips of the violent music would make a student think about it. Watching movies of criminals or singers going to jail and living their life in there makes a child think about trying to go in there. Every movie that shows a person coming out of jail gets all the respect and people would be scared of him in a way.

2.3.2 Drug and alcohol use:

Drugs and alcohol use is the most affecting substance that makes people get violent and affects their manners and activities. “Harmful use of illicit substances is associated with considerable social problems, crime, morbidity and morality” (Healey, 2000: 3).

According to Healey, drugs used by young people are used for many reasons. Some of them are: making them happy, to relax and because they want to get their minds off personal reasons, like family problems, school and most of them use the drugs because of their background. The atmosphere or when other people do it get the young students interested and excited to try it.

“According to a recent survey conducted in Australia, almost 50% of teenagers consume alcohol on a weekly basis.  In 2004, estimates indicated that the proportion of alcohol users between the ages of 12-15 was at 32.4%; 16-17 was at 77.4% and 18-19 was at a high of 87.1%.  As for the usage of drugs, it has been determined that about 23% of teenagers have used illicit drugs.  In 2004, the percentage of youth between the ages of 12-15 was at 5.2%, and between16-17 at 18%“ (The National Drug Strategy household survey, 2004).

3. Effects

3.1 Effects of violence on students:

        

        3.1.1 Perpetrators’ perspective:

        

Violence is used to guide them through their life and depression, bei it personal problems or social problems. Criminal activities such as these reasons affect their grades and ruin most of their lives.

“As an Example, in the state of Tasmania the following figure demonstrates suspension statistics due to verbal, physical and sex-related abuse and harassment in 2001”(Parliament of Tasmania, 2002):

“As the pie chart shows, the percentage of students suspended for verbal-related abuse was 49%, suspension in relation to physical abuse 48%, and finally, the Percentage of students suspended due to sex related abuse 3% “(Parliament of Tasmania, 2002).

“Contrary to public perception, violent crime in schools has declined dramatically since 1994. The annual rate of serious violent crime in 2003 (6 per 1,000 students) was less than half of the rate in 1994.”  (http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/violence-in-schools/national-statistics.html)

3.1.2 Victims’ perspective:

From a victim’s point of view, the school would become an insecure or scary place to go to. They would skip school skip their classes and might even have to change the school they go to. (Klicker, 1999: 18).

3.2 Effects of violence on parents:

        3.2.1 Perpetrators’ parents:

Violent students could bring harm not only to themselves but to their families as well.  Violent behaviour that is created by a child could be very difficult for a parent to live with. It changes the environment at home, changes the respect of a child to the parent and might also occur in violent actions done at home to the family and its members. (Partington, 2001).

        3.2.2 Victims’ parents:

Parents should ideally nurture and reinforce positive behaviour around their kids and always aim to be a good example and influence. When at times parents fail to do so, children may eventually develop negative and violent behaviour patterns.

Violence in schools and so would make parents worry and unhappy and even over protective of their children. Violence in schools and communities would always keep parents thinking about their children and if the friends of their child have good behaviour. So constant worrying is on the parents minds. (Klicker, 1999: 72).

3.3 Effects of violence on schools:

A survey in the United States showed that 269 students, teachers and staff died between September 1992 and the year 2000 from school related incidents of violence. (Education World, 2005).  

Another recent research found by the bureau of justice statistics that between the years 1999 and 2003, teachers were the victims of 183,000 crimes at school, including 119,000 thefts and 65,000 violent crimes (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005).

These threats and violent actions would make it very hard for any teacher to teach or even work in such schools.

 

4. Solutions

4.1 Monitored school environment:

“A Safe and secure school environment is important for effective teaching and learning, as well as for an orderly and disciplined school” (Squelch, J&A, 2006).  Schools are using technology such as cameras with security watching over the students. With these technological enhancements schools could know when and where the problem occur and take action. The teachers after knowing they have security watching for them would feel in a way safer and would find working and teaching easier.

 

4.2 Counselling programs:

Counselling programs such as psychologists or people who listen and talk to students or parents help students find a person that would help him bring out what’s on his mind. It would help parents connect to their students and won’t have problems of fighting other students to release stress.

5. Conclusion

With this report it has talked/discussed about how violence in schools affects the atmosphere being at home or with friends at schools, and how it becomes a big issue which transforms into the killing of innocent students and parents. It discussed how bullies are made in schools and from bullies into gangs. This report has also talked about possible measures that could be done to help such atmosphere to be in some way safer for the student and anyone who goes to school.  

It is always smart to know the causes and solutions of violence to help resolve a safer and healthy community to live and work in.

 

6. Recommendations

Parents should ideally nurture and reinforce positive behaviour around their kids and always aim to be a good example and influence. When at times parents fail to do so, children may eventually develop negative and violent behaviour patterns.

Families and communities should not depend significantly on schools to educate and discipline their children because it’s difficult for schools to play out various roles as educators, surrogate parents, social service workers, or law-enforcement agencies. Everyone should be playing an equal role in guiding these kids through the right path and putting in equal effort to try and stop the negative outburst that’s turning into violent crimes at schools.

Refrences.

• Public Health Agency of Canada, 2005, Youth and Violence.  Available:

 [Accessed 1 March, 2007].

• Public Health Agency of Canada, 2002, Youth Violence and Youth Gangs: Responding to Community Concerns. Available:

 [Accessed 1 March, 2007].

• Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2005, Available:  [Accessed 1 March, 2007].

• Dobbs, T.  2005, ‘Children’s insights into family discipline’, NewZealand Family Violence Clearinghouse. Available:

 [Accessed 1 March, 2007].

• Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2003, A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice, Available:

 [Accessed 2 March, 2007].

• National Institute on MEDIA and the FAMILY, 2006, Children And Media Violence, Available: http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_vlent.shtml [Accessed 3 March 2007].

• Australian Institution of Health and Welfare, 2005, National Drug Strategy Household Survey: first results, 2004. Available:  [Accessed 5 March, 2007].

• Iannelli, V.  2006, ‘How many children are abused and neglected in the United States?’, About: Pediatrics.  Available:

 [Accessed 7 March, 2007].

• Family First Staff, 2007, Five Factors in Shaping Potentially Violent Children, Available:  [Accessed 9 March, 2007].

• Child Trends DATABANK, 2006, High School Dropout Rates, Available:

 [Accessed 9 March, 2007].

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000, Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools, Available:   [Accessed 9 March, 2007]

• Government Printer, Tasmania.  2002, ‘keeping Schools Safe’ [online], Special Report No. 41. Available: Informatics, [Accessed 4 March, 2007].

• Partington, G.  2001, ‘Student suspension: The influence on students and their parents’, Australian Journal of Education, [online], Vol. 45, No. 3. Available: Informatics, [Accessed 6 March, 2007].

• Klicker, R.  (1999) A Student Dies, A School Mourns, Brunner-Routledge, New York & London.

• Healey, J. (eds), 2001, Bullying and Youth Violence, The Spinney Press, Australia.

• Healey, J. (eds), 2000, Young People and Substance Abuse, The Spinney Press, Australia.