e-International Journal of Educational Research

Abstract

Purpose: School violence due to its prevalence is one of the important issues waiting for a solution in Turkish schools similar to the world schools. Many research findings related to school violence refer to some factors associated with violence such as person, family, school and friends, social environment and media. One of the fundamental information sources to understand adolescent violence is information provided by the adolescents themselves. The targets of the violence in school are students. The aim of this study was to identify what type of school events are perceived as violence events by students via asking their opinions. Students are those who could know best and assess the hidden causes that wouldn't be known by anyone else because students are both parts and observers of violence events at school. Method: Research was conducted with total of 700 adolescents, and 54.4 % of whom were females and 45.6 % were males. Ages of the adolescents vary between 15 and 19. To collect data, adolescents were asked three open-ended questions which were asked to get information about violence events at school, their causes and students' suggestions for the solutions. The data of the research were obtained by content analyses of the students' responses to these open-ended questions. Results: Adolescents' perceptions regarding school violence events were investigated under three topics, which are violence events, their causes and suggestions for the solution. According to adolescents, the most frequently experienced violence events at school are student fights (f= 475). These fights which were reported as the most frequent (67.8 %) violence events include physical attacks among two or more people. Injuries after serious fights (28.7 %) are identified as another high frequent event by adolescents. The particularly implied injuries are those committed with sharp and damaging devices. Another important violent act reported by adolescents is curse and argumentation (25 %), which can be considered as a verbal violence. The last frequently reported violence events experienced by adolescents at school is teacher beating (1.7%). Individual characteristics (f= 590) are reported as the most important cause of school violence by most of the adolescents (85.13 %). The second important cause of school violence stated by adolescents (26.83 %) is girl/boy friendship. Another important cause is categorized as racketeering and drug selling by gangs inside or outside the school (f=136, 19.6 %). Other categories, which are no cause, choosing violence as a solution, family neglect, tobacco/alcohol/drug abuse, carrying gun and knife, modeling bullies from TV series, the authorities by not being unbiased and poverty/unemployment are reported with a frequency rate ranging from 11.83 % to 2.02 %. Most adolescents' (43.31 %, f=298) state that school violence cannot be solved rather than providing solutions to school violence. Those who provide solution most frequently reported (20.20 %) effective security precaution as a suggestion. Another frequently reported suggestion (14.82 %) is “punishing people involved in the violence event”. Most adolescents (42.87 %) think that nobody can prevent school violence. Those who believe that school violence can be avoided ask for a solution from school directors (15.69 %) and security units (14.82 %). Conclusion and Recommendations: Adolescents consider violence as fights involving attack and injury. Fights and their resulting injuries take part in the results of many studies related to school violence. In the present study, verbal violence events are reported less than physical violence events. On the other hand, damage to property and sexual harassment although being important types of violence aren't reported by adolescents in the current study group. Adolescents think that individual characteristics of the people involved in the violence events are the main reasons for the violence. The most important factor that triggers the fights at school is stated as romantic relationships (flirt). Disapproved girl-boy romantic relationships are confidential and this confidentiality leads to sensitivity, and, therefore, this issue becomes the most important triggering factor for the fights among adolescents. Most frequently reported opinion for the solution is “school violence cannot be avoided”. This result is important because one of the three assumptions underlying the basics of practices performed to avoid violence is that violence can be prevented (Skiba et al., 2000). According to adolescents, bullies and their influences on students are important causes that require to be taken precautions. The belief that school violence cannot be prevented makes a strong emphasize to the students' perceptions and assessments of violence events.