This book is designed to examine issues related to schools, violence, and society. Since the 1960s, crime and violence have been increasing in America's schools. This violence is not limited to inner-city schools, but has struck virtually every strata and socio-economic level of American culture and society. The prevalence of crime and violence occurring in our nation's schools has become the concern of policymakers on the national and state levels. Concern has spread to parents, educators, and students themselves. This edited volume reviews violence in society, school violence, and crime. Coverage includes past trends in school violence and describes the current extent of the problem, as well as tspects of its causes and prevention. The influence on the students and community of gang activity, gang-related issues, drugs, alcohol, and weapons on campus is discussed.
In recent years, different regions of the world have been unfortunately experiencing an increase in violent acts within various communities. For example, the United States has seen an emergence of severe violence within schools over the past two decades. This tragic phenomenon is causing administrators and practitioners to rethink teaching techniques and implement concepts of violence prevention within schools and other social organizations. Preventing and Reducing Violence in Schools and Society is a collection of innovative research on the evolution and implementation of nonviolence concepts within social settings in order to repent oppression and violence among global communities. The book explores the effective diffusion of violence through masterful negotiation and mediation skills as well as mentoring, counseling, and related processes. While highlighting topics including nonviolent teaching, active shooter training, and LGBT-phobia, this book is ideally designed for UN, governments and their heads, politicians, NGOs, communities riddled with gang and other violence, schools, educational leaders, social organizations, community leaders, teachers, preachers, religious leaders, mediators, peace activists, law enforcement, researchers, and students seeking current research on contemporary nonviolence techniques to facilitate change in schools and other societal environments.
Many of our countryOs children face daily a threat to their personal safety and well-being. As school boards, law enforcement officials, and policymakers continue to look for ways to stop youth violence in urban and suburban schools, not enough attention is paid to eradicating the socioeconomic and cultural conditions that give rise to these acts. In this timely and thought-provoking collection, seasoned educators and cultural theorists emphasize this connection between youth violence and the realities faced by many children--poverty, racism, unequal opportunity, and the mediaOs glorification of violence.
Harber argues that while schooling can play a positive role, violence towards children originating in the schools system itself is common, systematic and widespread and that schools play a significant role in encouraging violence in wider society.
Results from numerous surveys indicate that many students do not feel safe in school. This condition exacts an academic as well as a psychological toll because, as the authors remind us, children must feel safe in order to learn. The authors of Preventing Bullying and School Violence contend that inadequate attention has been given to the role of mental health professionals in preventing bullying and school violence. They propose a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, one that draws upon the skills of the educational, health care, and mental health communities in identifying risk, choosing appropriate interventions, and implementing targeted wellness programs. The authors see bullying as a process, not a problem originating with a single troubled person. Accordingly, they believe that bullying behaviors can be effectively addressed only by targeting the broader social context -- the coercive power and group dynamics that breed and maintain bullying and violent behavior in the school setting. The book is designed to help clinicians, school counselors, and administrators create a safe climate for their students and to respond thoughtfully, but swiftly, when threats arise. The authors offer many practical guidelines for achieving these goals, addressing The critical importance of establishing a strong connection between the family, the school, and the community in creating a healthy academic environment Strategies for working effectively with the complex social bureaucracies that often characterize the entities (such as school boards and governmental agencies) that intervene in cases involving violent children, with an emphasis on developing skills in managing both small and large groups Ways to define and recognize at-risk children who require special attention as a result of having mental illness and/or learning disability Innovative community interventions, such as therapeutic mentoring and home-based therapy, in addition to information on local, state, and federal programs designed to support antiviolence programs in the schools Techniques for promoting wellness among the student population -- not just physical wellness, but also the positive attitudes and coping skills that are the hallmarks of mental health. Preventing Bullying and School Violence aims to empower mental health professionals to work confidently and effectively in educational settings to reduce the distress, enhance the psychological well-being, and secure the safety of all schoolchildren.
Since 2005, bullying, school violence, and school safety literatures have expanded dramatically in content, disciplines, and empirical studies. However, despite this massive expansion of research, there has also been a surprising lack of theoretical and empirical direction to guide efforts on how to advance basic science and practical applications of this growing scientific area of interest. Bullying, School Violence, and Climate in Evolving Contexts outlines a novel unifying model that brings together previously distinct literatures on a wide range of issues (e.g., the structure of school violence and bullying, similarities and differences across cultural groups, weapons in schools, student suicidal ideation and behaviors, teacher-student and student-teacher victimization, sexual harassment, cyberbullying, school climate, etc.). Drawing from numerous large-scale research studies from around the globe, the authors examine the theoretical foundations of school safety and bullying and propose a series of groundbreaking new theoretical and practice proposals. This is a perfect book for doctoral candidates, young academics hoping to forge into new areas of bullying research, and seasoned scholars who delve into the conceptual areas of school violence and bullying.
Why do so many school antiviolence programs backfire? And why do policymakers keep making the same mistakes? The authors of Responding to School Violence examine the pervasive rise of school security measures since the Columbine shootings, highlighting the unintended consequences of policymaking too often shaped by fear and sensationalism. Probing an array of now ubiquitous tactics and programs¿metal detectors, police patrols, zero tolerance policies, and more¿the authors show how increasingly punitive schoolhouse dynamics negatively affect student safety and even educational experiences. They also share lessons from past mistakes and identify workable, comprehensive approaches for addressing a recurrent social problem.
This important new work covers clinical issues in treating victims of school violence and assessing children with the potential for violence. The editor also examines the effectiveness of prevention intervention programs and offers larger policy recommendations. The book looks at environmental factors such as cultural issues on behaviors from bullying to mass school shootings. And uniquely, the book delves into topics such as sexual boundaries and body image. In all, this book aims for a theoretical and applied picture of the current state of school violence and prevention.
Asking fundamental and often uncomfortable questions about the nature and purposes of formal education, this book explores the three main ways of looking at the relationship between formal education, individuals and society: * that education improves society * that education reproduces society exactly as it is * that education makes society worse and harms individuals. Whilst educational policy documents and much academic writing and research stresses the first function and occasionally make reference to the second, the third is largely played down or ignored. In this unique and thought-provoking book, Clive Harber argues that while schooling can play a positive role, violence towards children originating in the schools system itself is common, systematic and widespread internationally and that schools play a significant role in encouraging violence in wider society. Topics covered include physical punishment, learning to hate others, sexual abuse, stress and anxiety, and the militarization of school. The book both provides detailed evidence of such forms of violence and sets out an analysis of schooling that explains why they occur. In contrast, the final chapter explores existing alternative forms of education which are aimed at the development of democracy and peace. This book should be read by anyone involved in education - from students and academics to policy-makers and practitioners around the world.
Choice's Outstanding Academic Title list for 2013 Through interviews and case studies, Klein develops an explanation for bully behavior in America's schools In today’s schools, kids bullying kids is not an occasional occurrence but rather an everyday reality where children learn early that being sensitive, respectful, and kind earns them no respect. Jessie Klein makes the provocative argument that the rise of school shootings across America, and childhood aggression more broadly, are the consequences of a society that actually promotes aggressive and competitive behavior. The Bully Society is a call to reclaim America’s schools from the vicious cycle of aggression that threatens our children and our society at large. Heartbreaking interviews illuminate how both boys and girls obtain status by acting “masculine”—displaying aggression at one another’s expense as both students and adults police one another to uphold gender stereotypes. Klein shows that the aggressive ritual of gender policing in American culture creates emotional damage that perpetuates violence through revenge, and that this cycle is the main cause of not only the many school shootings that have shocked America, but also related problems in schools, manifesting in high rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-cutting, truancy, and substance abuse. After two decades working in schools as a school social worker and professor, Klein proposes ways to transcend these destructive trends—transforming school bully societies into compassionate communities.
