Literature Review
Preventing Violence in School
Violence in in schools can take shape in a lot of forms. This can include, bullying, verbal
violence, vandalism and, in some extreme cases, drug abuse, assault and murder. The result
of this is that schools and teachers need to spend a lot of their time and resources in managing
this violence. As violence increases, pressure on schools and teachers for keeping peace and
calm also increases. Different approaches can be taken in order to manage students and
limiting violence and aggression. This review is an analysis of findings and research from
three articles1 on strategies that can be adopted in order to prevent violence in schools.
In relation to traditional strategies and approaches to managing violence in schools, Christie
(1999) describes a study which says they are reactive and can be ineffective on students that
show incidences of behavioral disorders. They assume that students will learn what is the
right way to act through loss of privilege, detention, suspension and, in some cases,
expulsion. Though these strategies are usually not successful in the long-term. In his article,
Krek (2020) further adds to this by stating that teachers generally take into account only the
behavioral assessment of students, assuming that the cause for their behavior is external. This
means their assessment ignores the fact that physiological, cultural and environmental factors
can also have an effect on behavior. Hence, traditional strategies may not always work on
preventing violence in school because they primarily are based on a behaviorist-based model.
Christie (1999) also points out, referring to a study, that different strategies are effective with
different age groups, and that they may be more effective on girls than they are on boys. He
also refers to a study that emphasizes the importance of not just dealing with students in
preventing violence in schools, but also in dealing with their family and situations that may
be out of their control. Furthermore, Krek (2020) also mentions that it is important to take
into account the types of authority that students are in exposure to not only in school but also
in their homes.
1
Christie, ‘REDUCING AND PREVENTING VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS’; Walker, ‘Preventing Violence in Schools’;
Krek, ‘Structural Reasons for School and Education Strategies’.
1
Preventing Violence in School
Violence in in schools can take shape in a lot of forms. This can include, bullying, verbal
violence, vandalism and, in some extreme cases, drug abuse, assault and murder. The result
of this is that schools and teachers need to spend a lot of their time and resources in managing
this violence. As violence increases, pressure on schools and teachers for keeping peace and
calm also increases. Different approaches can be taken in order to manage students and
limiting violence and aggression. This review is an analysis of findings and research from
three articles1 on strategies that can be adopted in order to prevent violence in schools.
In relation to traditional strategies and approaches to managing violence in schools, Christie
(1999) describes a study which says they are reactive and can be ineffective on students that
show incidences of behavioral disorders. They assume that students will learn what is the
right way to act through loss of privilege, detention, suspension and, in some cases,
expulsion. Though these strategies are usually not successful in the long-term. In his article,
Krek (2020) further adds to this by stating that teachers generally take into account only the
behavioral assessment of students, assuming that the cause for their behavior is external. This
means their assessment ignores the fact that physiological, cultural and environmental factors
can also have an effect on behavior. Hence, traditional strategies may not always work on
preventing violence in school because they primarily are based on a behaviorist-based model.
Christie (1999) also points out, referring to a study, that different strategies are effective with
different age groups, and that they may be more effective on girls than they are on boys. He
also refers to a study that emphasizes the importance of not just dealing with students in
preventing violence in schools, but also in dealing with their family and situations that may
be out of their control. Furthermore, Krek (2020) also mentions that it is important to take
into account the types of authority that students are in exposure to not only in school but also
in their homes.
1
Christie, ‘REDUCING AND PREVENTING VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS’; Walker, ‘Preventing Violence in Schools’;
Krek, ‘Structural Reasons for School and Education Strategies’.
1
