Violence in Schools: Qualitative Research Article Unlike

Violence in Schools: Qualitative Research Article

Unlike the numerically-driven nature of quantitative research, qualitative research focuses on understanding a specific phenomenon in a deeper fashion through a case study approach, either through participant research, interviews, or some other form of study in the field. "Qualitative research is aimed at gaining a deep understanding of a specific organization or event, rather than a surface description of a large sample of a population…. Qualitative research does not introduce treatments or manipulate variables, or impose the researcher's operational definitions of variables on the participants. Rather, it lets the meaning emerge from the participants. It is more flexible in that it can adjust to the setting. Concepts, data collection tools, and data collection methods can be adjusted as the research progresses" (Qualitative research, n.d, PPA 696). To understand the sensitive, often fraught issue of violence in schools, taking a qualitative approach can be useful to gain information about different, individualized responses to school violence.

Violence in schools has become highly publicized in the media in the wake of the recent shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The most famous school shooting until then was one which took place at Columbine High School. In the article "Early Responses to School Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Students' and Parents' Immediate Reactions to the Shootings at Columbine High School" Hawkins (et al. 2004) presents the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews "conducted two weeks after the incident with 4 Columbine High School students and 7 parents who were directly and indirectly affected" to examine " both similarities and variability in immediate emotional, cognitive, and social responses to the mass violence" (Hawkins et al. 2004: 197). A number of features make this research qualitative. First of all, it is highly specific. Only individuals who were victims at this specific school shooting were analyzed: they were not compared with other victims of school shootings or with the reactions of other individuals who had witnessed similar situations of mass violence. There was no hypothesis or preconceived postulate the researchers were attempting to test. Rather, they were merely trying to gain information about the experiences of persons who were intimately involved with the tragedy.

Of the persons potentially affected in a psychological fashion by Columbine, "Over 8,000 individuals were potentially eligible for victim assistance, with 9,000 estimated to be in the "high-risk" group for psychological difficulties" (Hawkins et al. 2004: 198). Mental health workers descended upon the community, and one of the most commonly-expressed wishes by those affected by the tragedy was the wish to have their stories heard, versus the sensationalistic coverage of the media. The research was embarked upon as an effort to discern the more directly-voiced feelings and concerns of those who had been affected by the shootings. The researchers also note that the experiences of the victims could provide potentially helpful guidance for future victims of tragedies. "Especially with the increased likelihood of terrorist attacks in the U.S., we must advance research that is sensitive to the experiences of victims of mass violence so as to provide consistent and genuinely helpful assistance in its wake" (Hawkins et al. 2004: 198).

The range of subjects interviewed was, by virtue of the nature of the research very limited and relatively 'unbalanced.' The four students were all females and of the seven parents, six were female. Also, all the students had one participating parent, which further increased the homogeneous nature of the group. The subjects were solicited through flyers at memorial services and the memorial grounds for the victims as well as at a local mall. Interviews were structured in nature, with closed-end and open-ended questions and conducted with a trained facilitator nearby to ensure that questions were disseminated in an emotionally sensitive manner. The researchers stated that they would have liked to have interviewed more subjects, but the circumstances surrounding the tragedy did not permit them to do so. These included "community reactions to media intrusion, pending litigation involving the Board of Education, an Internet threat resulting in another closure of the school, and the shooting deaths of two Columbine students (Hawkins et al. 2004: 198). Responses, as is often the case with qualitative research were 'coded' so they could be compared with the responses of other interviewees. Common codes included cognitive responses, emotional responses, and responses relating to social adjustment (Hawkins et al. 2004: 198).

All of the students were asked about their initial response to the event -- which they recoded as characterized by confusion and terror. None of the parents were in the school during the time of the shooting, but they recalled their experiences upon initially learning about the events as similarly characterized by "confusion and disbelief" (Hawkins et al. 2004: 203-204). Several respondents reported not feeling as bad as might have been expected during the immediate aftermath. When the experiences was happening they reported on focusing on specific tasks, like getting friends to safety and afterward they felt numb. It was in the weeks after the events that they began to experience emotional difficulties like extreme anxiety and feeling irritated and frustrated with people who did not witness the attack (Hawkins et al. 2004: 205-206). Parents in particular experienced irritability, while students were more inclined to report feeling anxious or nervous (Hawkins et al. 2004: 205-207). Thinking about the shootings, replaying the events, and wondering if they could have been prevented, if people had acted differently were also reported by all the interviewees (Hawkins et al. 2004: 205-209).