Violence in schools 'inevitable'

INLSA

Velabahleke High School principal Mbongeni Mtshali holds a dagger he confiscated from a pupil. But, a survey of 100 pupils at a KwaZulu-Natal private school has revealed that an alarming 28 percent of pupils have a positive attitude towards violence and one fifth could see themselves joining a gang.

A survey of 100 pupils at a KwaZulu-Natal private school has revealed that “an alarming” 28 percent of pupils have a “positive” attitude towards violence and one fifth could see themselves joining a gang.

The as-yet unpublished study also found that, among the sample of pupils (in grades 9 to 11), violence had become synonymous with respect and a sense of belonging.

It was authored by a senior criminology lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Nirmala Gopal, and a Master’s student.

While the research did not look into experiences of school violence it pointed out that |attitudes predicted behaviour.

The authors said they were concerned that this “pro-violence” stance, particularly in the South African context, did not bode well for the future.

“Most of the work that has been done in this area has been in public schools. The assumption that public schools are the domain of violence is incorrect,” Gopal said.

The surveyed pupils – with the permission of their parents – were asked to respond to statements such as: “I could see myself committing a violent crime in five years,” and: “Parents should tell their children to use violence if necessary.”

Generally, boys exhibited a greater proclivity for violence – with 16 percent agreeing that they could see themselves committing a violent crime in five years, compared to 12 percent of girls.

“At face value, the high percentages of female and male [respondents] who completely disagree with the first item seems to bring comfort, but considering the severities of violence that learners can enact, this is not at all comforting unless it is 100 percent,” the researchers said.

The authors also argued that at this age there was a need for acceptance and respect from peers and, if pupils believed that violence would fulfil those needs, then “violence in school is almost inevitable”.

A report published by the SA Council of Educators late last year suggested that despite the presence of violence in private schools, it existed in less obvious forms such as hazing.

Janine Jantjies, of the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention, said she believed that public school pupils were more vulnerable to violence.

“South Africa needs to have national-level data to observe patterns, trends and changes with regard to the nature and extent of school violence,” Jantjies said.

Before 2008 there was no data on violence occurring at schools at a national level.

In 2008, the crime prevention centre conducted the first and only national study providing empirical data on school violence and was now embarking on its second sweep.

“This will provide the opportunity to assess trends and change in the nature of school violence occurring in the last four years and new forms of violence that have emerged, |for instance cyberbullying,” Jantjies said.