December 1998 Booklets Examine School Safety and Mentoring
D esigned to get past the hype and hysteria that often surround the subject of school violence, Peaceful Schools examines how schools across the Northwest are managing the threat of violence while maintaining their educational focus.
While there are no simple solutions to this complex problem, in the latest "By Request" booklet authors Suzie Boss and Jennifer Fager share notable practices and recommendations from experts and schools committed to preventing violence.
"Schools are reflections of their communities," note the authors. "On their own, schools cannot hope to end the cycle of violence in society, but there are many compelling reasons for educators to become involved in violence prevention."
Schools provide a logical, accessible place where young people can learn the skills to solve problems without resorting to violence. Well-designed violence prevention programs can enhance students’ problem-solving skills and increase their self-esteem. And the life skills that prevent violence go hand-in-hand with academic achievement. Teaching and modeling these skills can make schools safer and more effective, benefiting students, teachers, families, and the larger community.
Although educators have ample reason to concern themselves with violence, unchecked fear can interfere with the business of learning, the fundamental role of the school. Research shows that violence at school—both real and anticipated—can erode community support for public education, detract resources from other worthy school programs, and make it difficult to attract and retain good teachers.
Examples of school violence range from playground bullying and taunting to sexual harassment and the use of weapons. Public health experts concerned about youth safety recommend fighting violence the same way they combat disease: By reducing the risk factors known to increase the likelihood of violence and increasing the protective factors that work against violence.
Protective factors are assets that promote a child’s positive development. They can be inter-nal, such as a belief in oneself, or external, such as support from family or community. A strong bond to the institution of school is another powerful protective factor, but the authors stress that in order for this bond to form, schools must provide reasons and opportunities for students to bond, and teach skills that students can use to make positive contributions.
Many protective factors can be fostered at school, including:
- Positive role models
- Development of self-esteem and self-efficacy
- Supportive relationships with teachers and friends
- A sense of hope about the future
- Strong social skills
- A close bond with a nurturing adult outside the family
- The ability to find refuge and a sense of self-esteem in creative pursuits and useful work
Two themes are prevalent in the research on school violence, according to Boss and Fager. The first is that violence is a learned behavior and can therefore be unlearned; the second is that early prevention offers the best hope for breaking the cycle of violence.
To help schools identify and defuse potentially volatile behaviors, the booklet describes warning signs at different ages, lists risk factors for students, and suggests different ways schools can get involved in violence prevention efforts at the classroom, school, and community level.
Profiles of violence prevention programs in the Northwest are also provided, including several schools that have experienced violence firsthand. These schools have rebounded as nurturing, understanding educational environments with a greater awareness of high-risk situations and how to deal with them. Their experiences can help any educator learn more about school safety.
As enrollments in schools across the nation increase and resources dwindle, many teachers are struggling to provide individual attention and support to each student. This concern is echoed by work-ing parents who may not have as much time to spend with their kids as they would like. Many young people, it seems, are growing up in a world in which caring, supportive adults tend to have less time for them and are increasingly difficult to find.
One solution that is gaining in popularity is mentoring—pairing students with adult volunteers or older students who provide friendship, guidance, and support as students navigate new challenges and changing circumstances.
Student Mentoring, a recent addition to the Laboratory’s "By Request" series, explores how school-based mentoring works, outlines its benefits and limitations, and provides tips for tailoring programs to meet the needs of individual students, schools, and communities.
"Through school-based mentoring programs, schools across the country are offering students new avenues for exploring educational and career paths, stronger incentives for staying in school, and increased confidence in their ability to succeed," note authors Cori Brewster and Jennifer Fager.
Versatile and relatively low in cost to implement when compared with other school improvement efforts, mentoring programs can be designed for virtually any segment of the student population. Students experiencing social or academic difficulties, or who are at risk of dropping out, can find in mentors caring, involved friends who can both encourage them and hold them accountable for going to class and doing their work. Programs can also help students in need of career direction, pairing them with professionals who can familiarize them with the world of work, serve as role models, and bolster confidence. Gifted and mainstream kids can be inspired to develop job and communication skills and learn more about specific subjects.
"Natural" mentoring relationships are those that develop independently between students and teachers, older friends, relatives, or coaches. "Planned" mentoring relationships—the kind the booklet focuses on—are those in which a young person, or "mentee," is matched with a mentor through a structured program with specific objectives and goals. The three types of planned mentoring are as follows:
1. Educational or academic mentoring focuses on improv- ing students’ overall academic achievement. These types of programs generally have specific school-related goals, such as raising grades, improving attendance, or curbing dropout rates.
2. Career mentoring helps youth develop the necessary skills for entering or continuing on a career path. Students are often paired with adults in their general field of interest who serve as role models, introducing students to the world of work and offering guidance as they prepare to make the transition from school to work or higher education.
3. Personal development mentoring supports youth during times of personal or social stress and provides guidance for decisionmaking. These programs focus on improving self-esteem, behavior, and decisionmaking abilities; reducing high-risk behaviors such as gang involvement, premature sexual activity, criminal activity, and drug and alcohol abuse; and introducing students to new social, cultural, and recreational activities.
Rather than focusing on any one type of mentoring, the authors approach the subject broadly, recognizing that the three types of planned mentoring often overlap depending on the needs of the child.
The booklet describes how to start a mentoring program, highlighting specific concerns at every step: recruitment and screening of mentees and mentors, training mentors, matching mentors and mentees, and ongoing management and supervision. Seven Northwest mentoring programs are profiled, with program specifics, outcomes, and keys to success highlighted.
To order a free copy of Peaceful Schools or Student Mentoring, please go to the Document Order Form in this newsletter.
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