Educators' experiences and perceptions of school violence : an analysis of causes, triggers and the rile of racism.
Date
2011-04-05
Authors
Gouveia, Carla Samantha Garrido De
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Abstract
School violence is a pervasive social phenomenon within the global and South African
context. Many factors are implicated in its genesis. Representations of such incidents in
the media are racially described, with the violence seeming to occur between racialothers.
This qualitative research report was informed by the completion of
questionnaires by fifteen educators employed at large, co-educational high schools in the
broader Johannesburg area. Thematic Content Analysis was used to explore the data
which emerged. These findings suggest that school violence is a complex phenomenon
which is difficult to define clearly. The school as the site of violence appears to be a
critical part of the definition suggesting that youth violence in other domains does not
elicit the same concern as violence within the school context. This may be linked to the
school’s function as a site of socialisation. All educators in the sample have observed or
been informed of incidents of school violence within their school contexts,
predominantly of the learner-on-learner type. Incidents range in both severity and
frequency, with a multiplicity of perceived causes and triggers being identified.
Educators identified the home as the primary site of the genesis of such violence, with
school being described as a space which teaches and demonstrates multiculturalism and
integration. Educators were divided with regards to the role of racism. Racism was
either perceived as a scapegoat or as a genuine cause of violence, although the existence
of racism within the school context was not denied. The impact of the violence on school
functioning and the importance of intervention were all highlighted by the educators.
Educators favoured a zero tolerance approach to school violence, with the option of
expulsion being advocated for, which may indicate limited systemic understanding of
school violence. Educators expressed that school violence was sensationalised in the
media, and did not accurately represent the reality at all South African schools.
Educators felt that at their schools, at least, violence was under control.