In Context: How Real is the Danger?

What do we mean by violence? Although government statistics on violence typically track person-to-person crimes such as assault, rape, and robbery, many researchers define school violence more broadly to include intimidation and coercion, as well as physical harm (Drug Strategies, 1998). School violence thus encompasses everything from playground bullying and taunting to sexual harassment to the use of weapons. Throughout society, violence of varying degrees is used to resolve conflicts, to express anger, or to gain status (Comprehensive Health Education Foundation, 1994).

Keeping this broader definition in mind may be helpful in talking with students about violence and planning for violence prevention. "Non-physical types of violence cannot be overlooked or we perpetuate an attitude that says it is okay to mistreat and violate others as long as there are no bruises, blood or physical injury," note the authors of a statewide violence prevention plan adopted in Minnesota (Anderson et al., 1995).

Schools are actually among the safest places young people congregate (Drug Strategies, 1998). Most students feel safe at school most of the time (Furlong & Morrison, 1994). Only two percent of the nation’s public schools have seen fit to adopt stringent security measures, such as posting a full-time guard or using metal detectors (Heaviside et al., 1998). And actually, the number of children killed by gun violence in schools is about half the number of Americans killed annually by lightning strikes (Donohue, Schiraldi, & Ziedenberg, 1998). Nonetheless, schools are far from being the safe havens that parents, students, teachers, and policymakers desire.

In 1994 the need for violence prevention work was officially recognized as a national issue in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Goal number seven states, "By the year 2000, every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning." Though some progress has been observed in meeting this goal, it is difficult to gauge exactly what has been accomplished. Consider these snapshots:

• Three million crimes per year are committed in and around schools, compared to one million in American workplaces (Sautter, 1995).
• In a 1995 survey, 10 percent of high school students reported carrying a weapon on school property in the past month, and 8 percent of high school students had been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property (Sickmund, et al., 1997).
• More than half of the nation’s schools experienced some crime during the 1996-97 school year, and one in 10 reported a serious violent crime such as rape, robbery, or fights involving a weapon. In 1996, there were 10,000 reported physical attacks or fights with weapons in schools, 7,000 reported robberies, and 4,000 reported rapes and sexual assaults (Heaviside, et al., 1998).
• From 1989 to 1995, the percentage of students victimized by violent crime increased from 3.4 percent to 4.2 percent (Chandler, et al., 1998).
• Violence (not confined to school violence alone) is the second leading cause of death for America’s students (Prothrow-Stith, 1994).

Concern about school violence is widespread, although perceptions of the problem vary among different populations. In a 1996 study, 72 percent of the general public considered the presence of drugs and violence in schools to be the most serious problem affecting education. Among teachers, however, only 47 percent viewed drugs and violence as their top concern. Teachers cited school funding, class size, and low academic standards as more significant issues than school violence (Farkas, Johnson, Friedman, & Bers, 1996; Rossman & Morley, 1996).

Perceptions of violence are significant because feeling unsafe is not conducive to learning or to teaching. Out of fear, some students avoid specific places at school, such as restrooms or certain hallways. (Bastion & Taylor, 1991). A small percentage of high school students (4.4 percent) have missed at least a day of class because they felt unsafe (Centers for Disease Control, 1995). Worrying about becoming a victim causes some students to carry a weapon or to become victimizers themselves (Kimweli & Anderman, 1997).

In schools with a high incidence of violence, teachers may hesitate to confront misbehaving students out of concern for their own safety (Kenney & Watson, 1996). Students who know their teachers fear them are less likely to show respect and more likely to be insolent and insubordinate, making good teaching almost impossible (Noguera, 1996).

Clearly, there is much work to be done.

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