Violence in School: Common Themes in the Literature
The problem of school violence remains on the agenda of the modern U.S. education system, despite numerous measures taken to reduce its levels (Duru & Balkis, 2017). An overview of recent studies on the subject matter indicates that the ways in which adolescents channel their negative feelings at school, as well as the factors that cause these feelings to occur in the first place, tend to be the most common themes in the existing studies (Devries et al., 2015). Therefore, the cause-and-effect connections that exist within the specified environment have been analyzed extensively.
Particularly, when considering the themes that circulate the academic literature regarding violence in schools, one should mention the means of managing victims’ needs (Olenik-Shemesh, Heiman, & Zuaretz-Hannan, 2017). In addition, the issue of victimization often occurs as a common theme in a range of studies (Duru & Balkis, 2017). The specified perspective on the issue allows detecting vulnerable adolescents that may experience school violence, including bullying and physical abuse (Nikolaou, Thanos, & Samsari, 2014). Although the specified theme does not allow addressing the core of the problem and eliminating its root cause, it sheds light on the ways of helping people that have experienced abuse at school (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Particularly, the findings of recent studies indicate that the presence of social support causes a steep drop in the effects of abuse at school (Nikolaou et al., 2014). Although the provision of social support to students experiencing school abuse needs to be combined with a strategy for preventing the instances of violence, it also serves as the platform for building a coherent strategy for addressing the needs of abuse victims. The topic of victimization is another common area that is discussed widely in modern literature. While being highly debatable, the problem of victimization needs to be studied to detect the factors that may jeopardize students’ well-being and make them the target of school violence (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Therefore, an in-depth analysis is required.
Finding vs. Results of Literature Search
The results of the review are in line with the expectations set before studying the existing sources. Particularly, the focus on victims of violence and the means of managing the distress that they experience are in the spotlight of most studies. The analysis of possible cultural conflicts that may have served as triggers for the acts of violence to occur was also an expected result. However, the findings show that there is a lack of understanding of the motives of people resorting to violence. Therefore, an in-depth exploration of the problem is required.
Gaps in the Literature: Factors Inducing Violence
While the problem of school violence has been widely discussed over the past few decades, a range of topics remains unaddressed in academic studies, the analysis of abusers’ behaviors and intent being the key omissions. Even though exploring the strategies for managing the needs of victims must be deemed as the top priority for researchers, it is also crucial to define the drivers behind abusers’ choices. Therefore, the specified gap does not allow addressing the problem at its core. As a result, the existing approaches toward handling the issue of school violence are restricted to preventive measures and the management of violence outcomes. However, the lack of approaches that could help eliminate the very possibility of school violence indicates that there is a gap that needs to be addressed.
One could argue that the array of factors compelling students to use violence and bullying against their peers is far too vast to be embraced and to be managed with the help of a uniform strategy. Despite being somewhat true, the identified statement still seems rather erroneous since studies indicate that the propensity toward bullying is an acquired characteristic that can be managed when addressed in time (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Therefore, a closer look at the reasons behind the choices that bullies make may shed light on the strategies that can be developed to reduce their propensity toward violence. Particularly, approaches toward channeling their violence in a different direction and helping aggressive students to get an in-depth understanding of their motivations must be regarded as the crucial course for further studies. The lack of research on the subject matter implies that the very core of the problem remains unaddressed.
Literature Summary: Essential Facts about Violence in Schools
When considering the current tendencies in school violence, one should mention that racial and ethnic minorities typically turn out to be in the risk group as a possible victim of bullying and school violence (Duru & Balkis, 2017). The specified problem stems from the lack of tools for enhancing diversity and cross-cultural communication in modern academic institutions (Ha & Sim, 2016). The absence of focus on the aspects of cross-cultural communication that may lead to long-lasting conflicts entails the following outbursts of violence among students, causing their opponents to experience significant distress, suffer severe psychological issues, and even be subjected to physical abuse (Frias-Armenta, Rodríguez-Macías, Corral-Verdugo, Caso-Niebla, & García-Arizmendi, 2018). Claiming that school violence is restricted to interracial and intercultural confrontations would be erroneous, yet the presence of the cultural factor as one of the catalysts of school violence is undeniable.
The issue of victimization as another problematic area needs to be mentioned as well. According to the existing definition, victimization is the propensity toward developing the behaviors that ostensibly make one a potential target for violence (Nikolaou et al., 2014). The implication that one may provoke outbursts of violence, which the idea of victimization entails, can be regarded as the most controversial aspect of the specified concept (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Nevertheless, the connection between victimization and the development of psychological issues in the potential targets of school violence contributes to the identification of strategies that can serve as the platform for developing strategies for managing the needs of victims. For instance, the tools for preventing the development of psychological conditions that range from stress to severe depression and other mental health concerns can be created (Diette, Goldsmith, Hamilton, & Darity, 2017). Thus, the levels of well-being among the vulnerable population are expected to rise consistently.
Finally, the level of perceived school unsafety and the implications that it has on students’ ability to interact within the educational environment, manage their academic responsibilities, and cope with psychological distress can be mentioned among the key areas of concern. Studies point to the need to acknowledge the fact that, apart from students, school personnel is also subjected to a significant amount of danger when facing the necessity to handle school violence (Bass et al., 2016). As a result, the propensity toward workplace burnouts increases steeply among school staff members. The resulting drop in the quality of teaching and the overall relationships with learners can be seen as the primary outcomes of the identified concern. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the factors compelling students to adopt violent behavior models and jeopardize school safety. As soon as the motives of the specified demographic are located, efficient violence management and prevention approaches will be designed.
References
Bass, B. I., Cigularov, K. P., Chen, P. Y., Henry, K. L., Tomazic, R. G., & Li, Y. (2016). The effects of student violence against school employees on employee burnout and work engagement: The roles of perceived school unsafety and transformational leadership. International Journal of Stress Management, 23(3), 318-336. Web.
Devries, K. M., Knight, L., Child, J. C., Mirembe, A., Nakuti, J., Jones, R.,… Walakira, E. (2015). The Good School Toolkit for reducing physical violence from school staff to primary school students: A cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uganda. The Lancet Global Health, 3(7), e378-e386. Web.
Diette, T. M., Goldsmith, A. H., Hamilton, D., & Darity Jr, W. A. (2017). Child abuse, sexual assault, community violence and high school graduation. Review of Behavioral Economics, 4(3), 215-240. Web.
Duru, E., & Balkis, M. (2017). Exposure to school violence at school and mental health of victimized adolescents: The mediation role of social support. Child Abuse & Neglect, 76, 342-352. Web.
Frias-Armenta, M., Rodríguez-Macías, J. C., Corral-Verdugo, V., Caso-Niebla, J., & García-Arizmendi, V. (2018). Restorative justice: A model of school violence prevention. Science, 6(1), 39-45.
Ha, J. Y., & Sim, B. Y. (2016). Needs analysis of posttraumatic growth program for college student of school bullying. Advanced Science and Technology Letters, 132, 1-6. Web.
Olenik-Shemesh, D., Heiman, T., & Zuaretz-Hannan, M. (2017). Cyber-victimization among children: Prevalence, characteristics, gender differences and links to social difficulties. Journal of Children & Adolescent Behavior, 5(2), 399-409. Web.