NCJ Number
191552
Journal
International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: 1999 Pages: 349-366
Date Published
1999
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the causes and consequences of school violence, prevention efforts, counseling for perpetrators and victims, and international comparisons.
Abstract
Government statistics indicate no significant increase in victimization rates of high school seniors between 1976 and 1996 and just slight increases in the number of students reporting being threatened with violence by another student. However, recent years have included several severe incidents of violent and fatal gun attacks by youth in schools. Regression and correlation studies have focused on individual, family, community, peer, media, and school factors as school violence causes. Numerous studies have documented negative impacts in terms of stress, fear, reduced teacher morale, reduced academic achievement, and lower school cohesiveness. Some of the current and increasingly popular efforts for preventing school violence involve a collaboration of parents, school, and community or to enlist the participation of students to mediate and resolve conflicts among their peers. Successful programs focusing on violence prevention and quality learning include the Yale Child Study Center’s School Development Program, the Minnesota Students Stop Guns program, and the Building Resiliency and Vocational Excellence (BRAVE) program. Additional programs include the peer mediation and conflict resolution program at Chamblee High School in Atlanta, GA, and violence prevention efforts at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. The analysis concludes that schoolwide primary prevention, together with secondary prevention through support and counseling, are essential to handling violence in today’s schools and that school violence is an international and cross-cultural issue. 40 references