‘School violence’ as a social problem: charting the rise of the problem and the emerging specialist field

Abstract

In the past 10 years, violence taking place in schools has entered both popular and academic discourse. Frequently, the term 'school violence' is used as a catch-all concept to refer to disorder and disruption in schools, as well as the unruliness of contemporary youth. This is apparent not only in the North American context, but in highly politicised debates regarding standards of pupil behaviour in countries across Europe. A related and significant development is the emergence of the study of violence in schools as a specialist area of enquiry. Drawing on sociological theories of the emergence of social problems, and social constructionist approaches in particular, this paper addresses the rising concern with 'school violence' as a social phenomenon. First it addresses the rise of the problem, emphasising connections with wider agendas, particularly anxieties about dangerous youth. The role of the media and academics is also considered. Moreover, this paper explores the emergence of the specialist field and related debates about meaning. It is argued that the present disquiet about 'school violence' requires to be understood in the context of modernity and accompanying concerns about social cohesion.

Violence in urban schools: school professionals’ categorizations and explanations of violence among students in two different demographic areas

“…Violence in schools is a global phenomenon (Stone et al, 2009). However, much of the research on how contextual factors, such as race and class, affect school professionals' management of such violence has been conducted in the US (DeVoe, Bauer, & Hill, 2011;Robinson et al, 2012), where there is a long tradition of legal actions dealing with violence in schools (Brown & Munn, 2008). Many urban schools in the US employ security personnel and police officers who work on a daily basis (Coon & Travis, 2012).…”

Propuestas de intervención ante las conductas disruptivas en la educación secundaria obligatoria//Proposals of intervention by the disruptive behavior in compulsory secondary school

“…Como apuntan diferentes autores (Calvo, 2003;Uruñuela, 2012;Sullivan, Johnson, Owens, & Conway, 2014), los problemas de conducta en el aula, problemas que condicionan la vida interna en las escuelas, son la manifestación de los problemas propiamente sociales (Brown & Munn, 2008. Por lo tanto, será preciso tener en cuenta esta variable o constante social a la hora de entender la CD.…”

Individualizando la Violencia Escolar: Análisis de Prácticas Discursivas en una Escuela Municipal de la Región de Valparaíso

“…A partir de lo anterior, destaca el papel de la escuela como un espacio social y simbólico que promueve situaciones mediatas o inmediatas que permiten el desencadenamiento de la acción violenta (Brown & Munn, 2008;Martín-Baró, 1999). Para algunos investigadores (Flores & Zerón, 2007;García & Madriaza, 2005) el contexto escolar chileno actual estaría favoreciendo la emergencia de prácticas de violencia, por cuanto habría una pérdida del sentido de la educación tras el fracaso de las escuelas públicas en cumplir las promesas de integración social, afectando especialmente a los sectores más desfavorecidos de nuestra sociedad.…”