School violence in South Africa: apartheid legacy and contemporary implications

¶ … violence at schools in South Africa has assumed grave proportions. While the issue of violence at schools is contemporary and endemic to many countries in the West, the situation in South Africa is problematized by the history of the country and the legacy of the Apartheid period. Consequently, there is a wide variety of interlinking and concomitant issues and causative factors that make this issue a complex but particularly relevant area of research.

Therefore, the topic under consideration in this study will be the various aspects surrounding the issue of violence at schools in South Africa. This will include not only a concern with underlying historical and social factors, such as pervasive inequality and the legacy of the Apartheid regime, but will also deal with the wider consequences and repercussion of violence in terms of educational issues and developments and the way that these factors are related to wider social and educational implications.

Background and context to the research problem

Violence in South Africa is often analyzed in terms of the legacy of a very conflicted past. The struggle for racial equality in the country spans more then forty years of political turmoil and associated violence. The Apartheid regime of the Nationalist Party in the country ruled South Africa and applied their intolerant racist policies between 1948 and 1990, which was to plunge the country into a cycle of ever-increasing violence (LIBERATION STRUGGLE).

In brief, overtly racist policies and the forced institution of a rigid system of racial segregation led to the relegation of Black people in the country top 'Bantustans' and 'locations'. In effect the indigenous Black people were seen and treated as second class citizens on the basis of color alone. These injustices and the often brutal treatment of Black people were to result in years of struggle in the country and to the formation of the ANC or African National Congress under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.

Violence became the only viable option and response to the cruel and harsh Apartheid regime and there was an upsurge in dissent and often violent protest after the infamous Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960. (LIBERATION STRUGGLE) This was a decisive moment in the march towards liberation and the eventual demise of the Apartheid system. Other turning points followed in the violent history of the country, such as the 1952 Defiance Campaign, the Freedom Charter of the Congress Alliance and the 1959 anti-pass campaign. (LIBERATION STRUGGLE) Pass laws were imposed that restricted the movement of Black people in their own country and these were strongly opposed. These and other events were to lead to a continual process of violent action and reaction from the 1960s until the release of Mandela in 1990 and the demise of the South African National Party.

The essential factor that is pertinent in terms of this thesis is that violence was seen as the only solution to the crisis and that this continual aura of violence has permeated the fabric of South African society, including education and the schools. In terms of historical antecedents and background to the issue of school violence, it should also be remembered that violent struggle against apartheid was to a large extent initiated by Black youths in the townships of the country. While the struggle was successful it has left a legacy of violence and aggression that has affected the society and its institutions. The relationship between the past history of violence and school violence will be a central question that will be explored in this thesis.

The prevalence of violence in the country is evident from the high crime and murder rates. South Africa has the unfortunate distinction of having one of the highest murder and aggressive crime rates in the world. As researcher Martin Schnteich (2000) states;

By global standards, South Africa has extraordinary high levels of violent crime, according to 1997 Interpol statistics. In 1997, South Africa had the highest per capita rates of murder and rape, the second highest rate of robbery and violent theft (after the Bahamas), and the fourth highest rates of serious assault and sexual offences, of the 110 countries with crime levels listed by Interpol (Schnteich, 2000).

Therefore, a cardinal area of research that will be explored in this thesis is the view that the legacy of apartheid has resulted in an ethos of habitual violence that has become endemic in the country and in many of the intuitions. Another fundamental background issue that pertains to this proposed thesis is that South Africa is in many regards still a divided country and has still a long way to go before the inequalities of the past can be completely remedied. One also has to bear in mind that tension and dissension still exists in schools and contributes to the violence. Only a few years ago black and white children were separated along racial lines and in racially segregated schools. Another important background feature that will be taken into consideration is that many young people still bear the psychological scars of the period of violence and turmoil that the country has undergone.

1.4. Statement of the research question/s or hypothesis

This research question or hypothesis has to take into account that the phenomenon of school violence is intimately linked to the political and social milieu as well as the traumatic recent history of the country. The research also has to bear in mind that, beside the complexity of the causative features of this study, the effects and the consequences of this violence on the larger society have to be taken into account.

Therefore, there are there main hypothesis that will be explored in this thesis. The first is that the high rate of violence of various types in schools in South Africa is intimately linked to the countries past history. The second factor that will be explored is that the high rate of violence is largely due to the way that an ethos of crime and violence has permeated and become an intrinsic part of society and in fact become to some extent an acceptable mode of expression and behaviour. The third aspect that will be explored is that high rates of violence at schools have an extremely detrimental and negative impact on the social and psychological development of children and young adults, as well as on the quality of education.

1.5. Definition of special terms

The terms violence is often obscure in its specific meaning and definition. A common definition of violence is "...the use of physical force, usually intended to cause injury or destruction" (Violence: The Free Dicrtionary). In the present study, violence will be understood in an extended and inferential sense. Therefore, the understanding of violence will include aspects such as "...injury done to that which is entitled to respect, reverence, or observance; profanation; infringement; unjust force; outrage; assault" (Definition of Violence).

In other words, violence is understood as not only referring to physical or extreme violence, although this is certainly a central category of violence that is included as a dominant factor in this study. The definition of violence therefore also refers to aspects such as intimidation, sexism and bullying and forms of aggression and violence from both students and teachers that diminish human rights and freedom in an aggressive manner.

A good definition of violence that will be used as guideline in this study can be gleaned from JUST WHAT IS "SCHOOL VIOLENCE? from the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This refers to school violence as; "...any behavior that violates a school's educational mission or climate of respect or jeopardizes the intent of the school to be free of aggression against persons or property, drugs, weapons, disruptions, and disorder" (JUST WHAT IS "SCHOOL VIOLENCE"? 2002) This definition "... attempts to capture the idea that school violence takes many forms and that defining school violence only in terms shootings means that the problem of such violence is destined to linger. (JUST WHAT IS "SCHOOL VIOLENCE"? 2002) section of the envisaged thesis will address the analysis of what specifically is meant by the term violence and especially school violence. A differentiation is also made between general violence and school violence.

3.1. Research paradigm

The main research paradigm that is envisaged for this study is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. While quantitative methods have an important place in this research, the more qualitative approach provides access to views and perceptions about the causes and effects of the violence, which are more accessible given the relatively paucity of the studies in this field.

This methodological preference is based on a view that is prevalent in the literature. Vincent Pouliot (2007) in Subjectivism: Toward a Constructivist Methodology, summarizes the main methodological strategy in this research: "...constructivist inquiries need to develop not only objectified (or experience-distant) but also subjective (experience-near) knowledge about social and international life" (Pouliot, 2007. p. 359). This also refers to a common definition of qualitative research which is "...any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification" (Strauss and Corbin, 1990, p. 17).

While quantifiable research methods are often seen as the most relevant and acceptable research methods, many researchers in the social sciences have realized that strictly quantifiable research methodology is not always adequate to their field of research.

Another reason for a more qualitative methodological strategy is that there are a number of studies that place official statistics and measurements of crime and school violence in doubt. As noted, Shaw and Gastrow (2001) refer to the view that the statistics and reportage of violence are often suspect in the South African context. The authors emphasize that an understanding of "...personal experiences of citizens (and their friends and neighbors)," (Shaw & Gastrow, 2001, p. 235)

3.2. Research method

The research methods will include quantitative and qualitative assessments of the relevant data, reports and studies that are available on the subject. In terms of the qualitative methodology, case studies will be used to assess the causative factors and effects of violence on individuals, as well as on specified institutions and schools. A case study is generally defined as a form of empirical form of inquiry that "...investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when...the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident" (Myers M.D.) it is therefore particularly suited to the South African situation and context.

Data that is gleaned from these studies will be compared to the available quantifiable data.

Furthermore, the methodology that will be used also relates to a certain extent to the ethnographic research design. This is concerned with the understanding of and integration with the larger context and the different variables that interact within a social or psychological context; for example, the emphasis on studying the individual within his to her cultural and social environment. To this end ethnographic researchers"... immerse themselves in the lives of the people they study and seek to place the phenomena studied in their social and cultural context" (Myers M.D.). This could also be related to the participant observer method.

3.3. Data collection techniques

In the first instance the central data collection technique will be to establish a comprehensive database that consists of the presently available data and research findings which are related to the central issues in this thesis. This will include both offline and online sources and resources. Secondly, the case study approach will entail a review of existing case studies and reports on individual experiences and institutions. A central conduit of data and information in this regard will be via electronic interviews with individuals, institutions, schools and individuals, where possible. To this end, a standard questionnaire with a number of basic and open-ended questions will be distributed to the relevant individuals and authorities.

3.4. Data analysis procedures

Analysis of data will not only be confined to the compilation and analysis data and figures that are available on violence in the country. Analysis will also include a more open-ended and qualitative approach. While common methods of quantifiable analysis will be employed, a more challenging aspect of the research will be the analysis of interviews and responses to questions that will be dealt with in a discursive and open-ended manner.

4. The ethics and politics of the research

In an academic sense, ethical care must be taken not to presume or make presumptions about the way that historical aspects have impacted and affected schools violence. From another perspective, this research has certain political and ethical aspects that have to be borne in mind. This refers to the importance of underlying and causative factors of violence at schools. There is an essential ethical dimension to this research in that unless the fundamental causes of violence can be ascertained, solutions to this problem cannot be found. This also applies the effects and repercussions of violence at schools.

5. The significance of the proposed research

5.1. Anticipated uses to be made of the research

One of the central anticipated uses that will be made of the research in this thesis is to ascertain the causative factors and the multivalent and external variables that can influence and motivate violent behaviour at the school level. As has been already been inferred, this research is also valuable in terms of way that violence at the school level can lead to problems for the individual in later life.

This knowledge, as well as the understanding of the depth and range of the effects of violence, can be used to develop new methods, paradigms and insight into the crucial issue of violence at schools and how violence negatively impacts the learning and developmental process. This knowledge can be used not only in the South African context but can apply to other countries with a similar social context. In essence, the research and findings that are gleaned from the present study are intended as a contribution to the data and knowledge in this field.

5.2. Relevance of the research to education

The impact of violence on education and on the educational and teaching context, as well as on the concomitant issue of developmental consequences, is an issue that is debated and discussed in many studies and educational forums. South Africa provides an intriguing and important area of study in this regard in that the high rate of violence that is reported to take placed at schools in the country is predicated to a certain extent on a history of violence and crime in the country. This suggests a positive correlation between violence at schools and the degree of violence in the society. The extensive and pervasive ethos of violence in the society provides a useful basis for which to measure and determine the effect that different forms of violence can have on the process and the results of education. This study therefore intends to add a useful and insightful contribution to the body of knowledge on the effects and the consequences of violence on education.

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