Violence-Resilient School: A Comparative Study of Schools and Their Environments

• NCJ Number: 193078
• Author(s): Roger Hewitt; Debbie Epstein; Diana Leonard; Melanie Mauthner; Chris Watkins
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: British Economic and Social Research Council
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Downloaded on 2/13/2002

Annotation

This study examined violence in six London secondary schools by examining the level of criminal violence in each school’s neighborhood and identifying those violence resilient schools.

Abstract

This comparative study addressed a school’s resiliency to violence through an examination of the level of violence in its environment. By examining the amount of criminal violence in the neighborhoods of each school, the intent was to identify the most and the least violence resilient schools. Data was gathered on six London secondary schools from 1996 through 1998. Neighborhood violence related data was obtained by the Metropolitan Police from the Performance Information Bureau. In addition, interviews were conducted with 46 school staff members and 59 students. Study findings indicated that some schools in neighborhoods plagued by high levels of violence showed evidence of as little in-school violence as those in environments with significantly lower levels of neighborhood crime. The study also showed that school practices impacted the extent of a school’s resiliency to violence.