The violent side of education

From robbery and sexual assault to bullying and cyber attacks, 22,2% of South Africa’s high school learners experience some form of violence in the classroom. CLAIRE MATHIESON learns more.

Ms Leoschut was presenting her findings of the results of a national school violence survey in which

5939 learners, 121 principals, and 239 teachers shared their experiences, impressions and understanding of violence in schools.

The roundtable, which was made up of Catholic teachers and principals and education role players, heard that violence in schools was both common and complex.

On the whole, one in five learners had experienced some form of violence while at school in the 12 months between August 2011 and August 2012. This translates to 1020597 secondary school learners who had been violently victimised in the past year.

This was the second time the survey had taken place. In 2008 similar findings were found the data showed that violence in schools has remained relatively constant over the past four years.

Of all learners, 22,2% experienced some form of violence (excluding theft), 44,1% had property stolen at school in the last year, 12,2% had been threatened at school, 6,3% had been assaulted at school, and 4,7% had been sexually assaulted.

When it comes to violence in school, age and gender are insignificant, and while the provinces vary with respect to frequency, no province or school was exempt from violence.

We found that classrooms were the most common site for violence – second was the playing field, said Ms Leoschut. Visibility in the classroom was a big deterrent, but due to classroom sizes, this was often hard to control. However, Ms Leoschut did add that schools with smaller-size classrooms still saw violent acts.

The Free State, followed by the Western Cape and Limpopo, saw the highest levels of violence in schools, while the Eastern Cape and Gauteng had the lowest levels.

The survey found that generally girls experienced slightly more violence than boys and that repeat victimisation is common.

While the impression still exists that the influence of violence comes from outside the school gates, the study showed that 90% of threats, 70% of assaults, 90% of sexual assault and 86% of robberies were perpetrated by classmates those known to the victims, said Ms Leoschut. However, the survey did find a strong relationship between school experiences and the community.

In total, 13% of learners surveyed reported that they had been bullied in school. And while learners do experience online violence, it is certainly not endemic, said Ms Leoschut.

Of the learners, 20% had experienced some form of online violence or aggression, 7,8% had received insulting or rude messages and 14% had an online fight. Interestingly, the survey did find that learners were likely to routinely take online risks, from lying about your age online to meeting someone personally who was first met online.

Ms Leoschut told the CPLO roundtable that violence in schools was not limited to learners. Principals and teachers also experience violence, but reporting of the incidents is much lower.

A lack of alternatives to corporal punishment was identified by educators as contributing to the violence issue. They added that insufficient staff to monitor unsafe areas was another issue.

Corporal punishment is still common in South Africa, with KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga being the most likely provinces where it takes place.

Ms Leoschut said violence in the schoolyard often replicates violence in the home. Assaults and robberies are more common at home than school.

Exposure to criminality increases risk of victimisation and violence. 14,2% of those surveyed knew their family members had used illegal drugs and 9,4% of� learners had parents that had been in jail.

Ms Leoschut said that witnessing violence is as harmful as direct victimisation.

Alcohol and drugs were identified as one of the major drivers to violence by the country’s teachers.

Other worrying statistics included easy access to drugs and weapons at schools. 15,5% could easily get hold of alcohol, 9% a gun and 11,9% drugs. Knives and other weapons were accessible to 23% of those surveyed.

Many learners reported knowing peers who engage in criminality. 47% knew people who smoke marijuana at school and 24% knew people who had brought a weapon to school.

The level of violence experienced in a particular school is influenced by the level of violence seen in communities, said Ms Leoschut.

While the rates of violence had remained relatively constant, a comprehensive solution could be found. School safety is a concern, but a way forward needs to be built on evidence and assessed before being rolled out, said Ms Leoschut. No one model will work across all schools and provinces, but teacher and student experiences should be included.

Teacher training also needs to be taken into account. One in ten teachers admitted they would not know how to respond to reports of drugs and weapons.

Teacher training does not currently equip teachers with violence and behaviour management. The framework needs to include this.