Violence at Schools in South

¶ … 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. 2. Review of the literature This proposed thesis will take account of a wide and inclusive range of literature in order to deal adequately with the specific complexity and problematics of this issue.

The data and literature that will be consulted will deal with directed studies and reports on the South African situation, as well as with the broader range of literature on the subject of school violence. General studies and research reports on school violence will be used as a comparative background to the situation in South Africa. In this regard, a work that is significant in terms of underlying trends is Violence in Schools: The Response in Europe by Smith (2003).

Smith discusses the general phenomenon of school violence in various countries; for example, the fact that, School violence, having been dubbed a crisis, permeates the national consciousness and media outlets...This perspective is from the U.S.A.; in Europe, violence in school and the concern about violence may not be at similar levels, but it is undoubtedly a topic of major concern (Smith, 2003, p. 1).

This article also makes the important point that school is intended as a developmental and educational environment and that violence in its various forms negatively effects and detracts from the goals of education. Another general work that adds to the underlying body of knowledge on this topic is Stealing the Show? Crime and Its Impact in Post-Apartheid South Africa by Mark Shaw and Peter Gastrow (2001). Among others, this study makes a cogent assessment of the way that crime and violence is measured and reported in South Africa.

Most researchers assume that official crime statistics -- that is, those collected and released by the South African Police Service -- provide a poor indication of levels of crime in the country. This is because official statistics never seem to match the personal experiences of citizens (and their friends and neighbors), and because crime statistics are often, unsurprisingly, manipulated to serve political purposes (Shaw and Gastrow, 2001, p. 235). The emphasis here is on "...personal experiences of citizens (and their friends and neighbors)" (Shaw & Gastrow, 2001, p. 235).

This is an extremely important point that will be incorporated into the methodological strategy of this thesis. This useful study echoes the findings of many other reports and studies that stress the high level of general crime in the society. The implication in much of the literature is that this ethos of violence and crime influences children and adolescents. Shaw and Gastrow, (2001), also state that; The country appears to have more serious levels of violent crime than states that have a comparable socioeconomic status, such as Brazil or Argentina.

Thus, South Africa has, on the recorded statistics, the highest murder rate in the world -- the 1997 Interpol data show a figure of 121.67 murders and attempted murders per one hundred thousand citizens. Of this total, the proportion of attempted murders is 53% (Shaw & Gastrow, 2001, p. 235). This study also makes the important point that official data and statistics are often unverifiable or out of step with the actual reality of the situation on the ground. There is also the possibly of political motivation in the reportage of violent crimes.

This is an important aspect that also has a bearing on the methodological strategy envisaged in this thesis. These views are supported and added to by general studies that provide a necessary background to the situation with regard to violence in the country. For example, the following view is indicative of the problematics of violence that tend to permeate the society and all its institutes, including schools.

The fact that so very many wrongdoers have not been prosecuted cultivates the impression of impunity even if the formal trappings of democracy may be firmly in place in contemporary South Africa. In this respect, it does not help to argue that broad-based, restorative or social justice can replace individual accountability for wrongdoing (Hendricks, 2003, p. 7). The most recent report and studies on the South African situation with regard to the various facets of violence at schools will also be accessed for this thesis.

These include research studies and data sources on the general trend towards crime and violence in the larger society and the way that this trend has infiltrated or influenced behavior patterns at schools in the country. For example, a report entitled 'Shoot 'em dead', police are told; it seems the gloves are off.

South Africa's violent criminals have been warned by Susan Shabangu, the country's deputy security minister, that she wants the police to shoot them dead, provides insight into he overall situation with regard to rampant violence in South Africa. Another article that explores this area is SAIRR Today: Violence in schools.

This article refers to the exceptionally high rate of violence of at many South African schools and to recently published studies attesting to the exceptionally high levels of violence to which young South African experience, Among the more formal studies that will be referred to is an important 2008 study entitled, Learning to be lost: youth crime in South Africa: discussion paper for the HSRC youth policy initiative by Eric Pelser (2008).

This is a particularly enlightening piece of research that brings to the fore many important statistics and findings that will be referred to in this thesis. For example, the study finds that young people between the ages of 12 and 22 are victims of crime at twice the adult rate, with even higher rates for violent crime. (Pelser, 2008) an interesting fact is that of the pupils interviewed at South African schools, twenty percent indicated that they were victims of some form of violence.

The study also points out that, the classmates of the victims were identified as the primary perpetrators of school violence (94.4% for threats; 94.1% for assault; 55.4% for robbery and 29.5% for theft). However, educators were themselves identified as the perpetrators in 5.8% of the thefts, 5% of the threats and 4.6% of the reported robberies. More worrying, however, is that 50.9% of the primary school respondents reported that their teachers had assaulted them as did 14.9% of the secondary school respondents (Pelser, 2008).

One of the most disconcerting aspects is the psychological impact and long-term effects of the exposure to violence. The above mentioned study also notes that "South Africa's youth also experience significant violence in their own homes as victims on the one hand, and witnesses to this violence on the other" (Pelser, 2008). This aspect is also dealt with in School Violence and Adolescent Mental Health in South Africa: Implications for School Health Programs by Bility (1999).

This study examines gang related violence in Cape Town, South Africa, and explores the perceptions of high-school adolescents and the implications for school health in South Africa. This study finds that, "Ties among government, school, parents, and community education and participation are urgently necessary to implement a school-based approach to adolescent health promotion" (Bility, 1999, p. 285). Other related areas of concern in the literature include the issue of sexual violence and aggression at schools in the country. Studies such as South Africa: Sexual Violence Rampant in Schools.

Harassment and Rape Hampering Girls' Education from the Human Rights Watch are useful in this regard. Other areas of the literature that are of concern are studies that focus on the way that violence at schools can lead to criminal and violent behavior patterns in later life. A useful exploration of these and other facets of violence in South African schools is an article by Salim Vally et al. from the University of the Witwatersrand, entitled, Violence in South African Schools.

This study notes the pertinent fact that, "...although various policies have been unveiled and legislation enacted to hasten desegregation, the incidence of racial rancour in many school communities attests to the intractable and continuing violence in South African schools" (Vally, 1999). 3. Methods and techniques 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.