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TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT SCHOOL VIOLENCE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to understand the perceptions of elementary and high school students and teachers about school violence. This is a qualitative study that used the focus group as a form of data collection. Physical and verbal violence were the most common responses about identified forms of school violence. Psychological and socioeconomic factors, damage to family relationships, personal and educational problems were identified as predisposing factors for the occurrence of different forms of school violence. Educational actions, participation of the public authorities in a punitive manner (police) and the presence of psychology, psychiatry and social assistance professionals were identified as measures to curb school violence, in addition to greater family involvement in the school. It is understood that school violence can be faced through the valorization of human rights and the joint action of the school, family and community.

Keywords:
school violence; perceptions; qualitative research

RESUMO

O estudo teve como objetivo conhecer as percepções de alunos e professores do Ensino Fundamental e Médio sobre a violência escolar. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza qualitativa que utilizou o grupo focal como forma de coleta de dados. A violência física e verbal foram as respostas mais comuns sobre formas identificadas de violência escolar. Fatores psicológicos e socioeconômicos, prejuízo nas relações familiares, problemas de ordem pessoal e educacional, foram apontados como fatores predisponentes para a ocorrência das diversas formas da violência escolar. Ações de cunho educativo, participação do poder público de forma punitiva (polícia) e presença dos profissionais de psicologia, psiquiatria e da assistência social foram apontados como medidas para coibir a violência escolar, além do maior envolvimento da família na escola. Entende-se que a violência escolar pode ser enfrentada por meio da valorização dos direitos humanos e da ação conjunta da escola, família e comunidade.

Palavras-chave:
violência escolar; percepções; pesquisa qualitativa

RESUMEN

En el estudio se tuvo como objetivo conocer las percepciones de alumnos y profesores de la Enseñanza Primaria y Secundaria sobre la violencia escolar. Se trata de un estudio de naturaleza cualitativa que se utilizó el grupo focal como forma de recopilación de datos. A violencia física y verbal fueron respuestas más comunes sobre formas identificadas de violencia escolar. Fatores psicológicos y socioeconómicos perjuicio en las relaciones familiares, problemas de orden personal y educacional, fueron apuntados como factores predisponentes al suceso de las diversas formas de la violencia escolar, Acciones de cuño educativo, , participación del poder público de forma punitiva (policía) y presencia de los profesionales de psicología, psiquiatría y de la asistencia social fueron apuntados como medidas de constreñir la violencia escolar, además de más participación de la familia en la escuela. Se percebe que la violencia escolar puede ser enfrentada por intermedio de la valoración de los derechos humanos y de la acción conjunta de la escuela, familia y comunidad.

Palabras clave:
escolar; percepciones; investigación cualitativa

INTRODUCTION

The phenomenon of school violence is not recent, it is a serious health problem and encompasses different characteristics. School violence causes damage in various contexts such as the family, students, teachers, the community and the school itself, as well as in social relationships as a whole (Eke & Singh, 2018Eke, C.D.; Singh, S. (2018). Social networking as a strategic tool in the management of school-based violence. South African Journal of Education, 38(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n1a1320
https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n1a1320...
).

The literature on school violence deals with the multifactorial condition in which the phenomenon of violence in schools is defined. There are several determinants involved in violence, such as individual characteristics (gender, race, age, personal and family history); characteristics arising from the school space where the subject is inserted, such as: location of the school institution, methodology, material and human resources, school history, among other elements; aspects of society itself such as social and gender inequalities, social exclusion, racial inequality, socioeconomic conditions, among other aspects (Stelko-Pereira & Williams, 2010Stelko-Pereira, A. C.; Williams, L. C. A. (2010). Sobre o conceito de violência: distinções necessárias. In Williams, L. C. A.; Maia, J. M. D.; Souza, K. S. (Orgs.), Aspectos psicológicos da violência: pesquisa e intervenção cognitivo-comportamental(pp. 41-66). Santo André: ESETec.; Garay, Ávila, & Martínez, 2013Garay, R. M. V.; Ávila, M. E.; Martinez, B. (2013). Violência escolar: uma análise de diferentes contextos de interação.Intervenção Psicossocial,22(1), 25-32. https://dx.doi.org/10.5093/in2013a4
https://doi.org/10.5093/in2013a4...
).

School violence is a social phenomenon; as such, it suffers some distinctions: violence at school, violence to the school and school violence. Violence at school is that produced by students within the school space, without being directly linked to the nature and activities of the school space itself. Violence to the school is directly related to the nature and activities of the school space (physical aggression against students or teachers, depredation of school property). School violence, on the other hand, represents a form of institutional and symbolic violence, in which the actors directly involved suffer this type of violence, such as: ways of composing classes, orientation, methodology, injustices, prejudices, assigning grades, among other examples (Charlot, 2002Charlot, B. (2002). A violência na escola: como os sociólogos franceses abordam essa questão.Sociologias, 4(8), 432-443. Recuperado de: https://www.scielo.br/j/soc/a/fDDGcftS4kF3Y6jfxZt5M5K/?lang=pt&format=pdf
https://www.scielo.br/j/soc/a/fDDGcftS4k...
).

According to Andrade (2015Andrade, C. B. (2015). Violências e juventudes: processos de subjetivação no contexto escolar.Boletim de Psicologia,65(142), 15-28. Recuperado de:http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0006-59432015000100003&lng=pt&tlng=pt
http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?scr...
), school violence is not considered a recent phenomenon. What should be emphasized refers to the fact of the high incidence rate of the occurrence of this phenomenon, in addition to its new forms of manifestation. Therefore, reflection about violence among young people today is a matter of urgency. This discussion is necessary to understand its developments, classify it and control it.

Health Promoting Schools

Education and health are closely linked concepts and have an inseparable link. Good levels of education are related to a healthier population and a population that is healthy means that there are higher levels of apprehension in formal and informal education. The school and the school space itself comprise an important link between health and education, encompassing several actions such as health education and health promotion activities (Casemiro, Fonseca, & Secco, 2014Casemiro, J. P.; Fonseca, A. B. C; Secco, F. V. M. (2014). Promover saúde na escola: reflexões a partir de uma revisão sobre saúde escolar na América Latina.Ciência & Saúde Coletiva,19(3), 829-840. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232014193.00442013
https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232014193...
).

According to Ramos et al. (2013Ramos, P.; Pasarín, I.; Artazcoz, L.; Díez, E.; Juárez, O.; González, I. (2013). Escolas saudáveis ​​e participativas: avaliação de uma estratégia de saúde pública.Sanitary Gazette,27(2), 104-110. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2012.04.002
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2012.04...
), Health Promoting Schools (HPS) are healthy spaces that promote health behaviors and positive skills that lead to actions based on values ​​and beliefs on the part of social actors inserted in the school space. The aforementioned literature indicates the need to carry out health-promoting actions in schools, such as global practical interventions to improve school environments, as well as the strengthening of joint and collective action with members of the school community, such as students, teachers, employees, family and surroundings.

Figueiredo, Machado and Abreu (2010Figueiredo, T. A. M.; Machado, V. L. T.; Abreu, M. M. S. (2010). A saúde na escola: um breve resgate histórico.Ciência & Saúde Coletiva,15(2), 397-402. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232010000200015
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123201000...
) point out that the Regional Initiative of Health Promoting Schools is formed in an articulated action between education, health and society, aiming at raising health problems and needs for the creation of health strategies action. It is thus summarized in a strategy in the field of health promotion in schools, aiming at an integral approach.

The present study is a research carried out with two groups, one of students and the other of teachers, from a public school in a city in the interior of the State of Minas Gerais, in order to assess the perception of students and teachers about the phenomenon of school violence and the means to face this problem. The objective is to reflect about actions that can be taken to seek healthy responses to confront school violence.

METHOD

This work is a cross-sectional, exploratory, qualitative study about the theme of school violence. The questions that guided the study were: “What perceptions do teachers and students from elementary and high school in a public school have about school violence?; “How does the school prevent and face this demand?”; “What are the actions and suggestions these social actors inserted in the school environment point to facing violence at school?”.

The research was carried out in a State School of the public education system located in a medium-sized city in the interior of the State of Minas Gerais. As inclusion criteria, both groups of students and teachers should be allocated to elementary and high school years.

The invitation to study participants took place through two pedagogical meetings with the school team, to present the objectives and purpose of the research. After the meeting, a list with the names of the professors who wished to participate in the research was passed, and from this list ten names were drawn.

The same criterion was adopted for the participation of students and teachers, after the objectives were presented to them and their guardians, the school provided a list with these names and ten students were also drawn. To compose this simple random sample, the following criterion was adopted:

  1. Among students enrolled in Elementary and High School years, ten students aged between 15 and 17 years were randomly selected.

  2. Among the teachers assigned to Elementary and High School years, ten teachers with ages ranging from 25 to 50 years were randomly selected.

The focus group was the technique chosen for data collection with students and teachers, following a semi-structured script of guiding questions for the study. For the analysis of the research data, notes from the field diary and the use of a recorder were also used to better record the participants’ speeches. After conducting the focus group with both groups, a group dynamic was held with the students in order to close the activities.

With regard to the group of students, three participants withdrew from the research in the act of carrying out the focus group, for reasons related to carrying out other competing activities in the same period at the school. In the group of teachers, five participants did not attend the focus group at the time of the research, motivated by personal factors and work contexts.

At the end, of the ten students drawn for the survey, seven actually participated; and of the ten professors, whose names had been confirmed and drawn to participate in the research, five attended. Each focus group had an average duration of one hour.

Ethical aspects

All methodological and technical criteria were presented and guided in the two pedagogical meetings held by the school. Data collection was performed after approval of the research project by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Franca - CEPE/UNIFRAN (CAAE: 79661417.2.0000.5495).

The following script was used to lead the discussion in the two focus groups:

Perceptions of school violence: 1. What do you understand by violence and what is school violence for you? 2. In your opinion, how does violence happen in the school space? 3. Have you ever suffered any form of violence at school? How was that?

Types of violence at school, at school and at school: 4. In which space do acts of violence take place? 5. What forms of violence occur at school?

Actions to combat school violence: 6. What are the actions provided by the school to combat the various forms of school violence? 7. What do you suggest as actions that promote healthy relationships in the school environment, facing the phenomenon of school violence?

RESULTS

The participants were divided into two groups: group A was composed of seven students from Elementary and High School, of both genders, aged between 15 and 17 years. Group B was made up of five teachers of both sexes, whose ages ranged from 25 to 50 years old, all teachers from the elementary and high school years of the same public school in which the group of students studied.

For data analysis, the theoretical and methodological framework of content analysis was used. Content Analysis refers to a set of verbal and/or symbolic data expressed in verbal, oral, written, gestural, figurative, documentary or direct messages. These messages represent a meaning and a sense (Franco, 2008Franco, M. L. P. B. (2008). Análise de Conteúdo. Série Pesquisa. Brasília: Liber Livro Editora.).

The organization of results and thematic analysis took place according to previously established steps, in accordance with the theoretical assumptions of Content Analysis, which are: a) Pre-analysis - floating reading of the collected material; b) Coding in sense cuts - registration units; c) Grouping of registry analyses; d) Formation of thematic categories and subcategories; e) Analysis and result of records.

Three categories were listed and their thematic subcategories grouped by the senses. It was possible to identify the following thematic categories: 1. Perceptions about school violence; 2. Demonstrations of school violence; 3. Actions and suggestions for preventing and confronting school violence and promoting a culture of peace.

The initials P were used to designate the speech of teachers and A for students.

Category 1 - Perceptions about School Violence

In this thematic category, there were different responses from students and teachers, but most responses commented about physical and verbal aggression between students and between students and teachers, as shown in chart 1.

Chart 1
Category 1 - “Perceptions about School Violence”.

Category 2 - School Violence Manifestations

In this category, students realized that most times bullying is manifested not only by aggressiveness, power struggle, competitiveness. They claim that there are other components that accuse him, such as family disorders and even psychological problems, among others.

The group of teachers indicated, in some statements, similar responses in relation to the group of students, with regard to various forms of expression of school violence, in their different environments, which, according to them, happened among students and between students and teachers.

It is important to highlight common speeches between students and teachers as causes of violence at school, such as personal psychological problems of students and teachers, family conflicts, dysfunctional personal behaviors and attitudes, and even problems based on the use of social networks.

There are complaints about the lack of training and training for teachers, pedagogical staff and the school institution, in the fight against violence in the school environment; need for actions by the school board (management) and prevention of various violent acts, as seen in chart 2.

Chart 2
Category 2: “Manifestations of School Violence”.

Category 3 - Actions and Suggestions for Preventing and Confronting School Violence and Promoting the Culture of Peace

In this specific category, students and teachers exposed some of the actions that the school uses to solve the problem of school violence, and their suggestions for dealing with this phenomenon. There are suggestions such as: investing in the promotion of family education, bringing the family closer at school; prepare a mapping of classes for better monitoring of student behavior; adopt in the curriculum material on human rights and about the social aspects that involve the phenomenon of school violence; invest in improvements in the educational process itself and in the family training process and in the school space.

Chart 3
Category 3: “Actions and Suggestions for Preventing and Confronting School Violence and Promoting a Culture of Peace”.

The teachers pointed out that an educational reform based on the creation and strengthening of healthy educational public policies is necessary, as well as the capture of public resources for adequate investments in education and in school spaces. They reported that the school and the pedagogical team are not prepared to face and combat school violence.

There was the application of group dynamics - “Papel Amassado”1 1 Keaded paper. aimed at the end of the focus group with the students as a closing activity. Each student said a word that represented a final message about behaviors for confronting violence in schools. Messages were written on pieces of paper that were placed in a box and then mixed together. After they were removed and the students read them aloud. There followed a discussion about the fact that many words or their synonyms were repeated, which was perceived by the group as a connection between them. Words such as ‘peace’, ‘tolerance’, ‘respect’, ‘diversity’, ‘no violence or bullying’, ‘combat racism and sexism’, ‘friendship’, ‘partnership with school’, ‘prevent acts of homophobia’, ‘increasing spaces for exchange experiences’, ‘having more moments like this’ were some examples. Next, they were asked to recall or imagine a situation that represented a threat to the positive message they had in their hands. The exercise was to imagine that this threatening situation could be overcome with the word expressed in the message written on the paper, then they would have to crumple the paper, as a representation of the solution to the problem. The discussion about what they thought of as a solution left them very motivated and happy. Expressions and words of contentment, agreement and encouragement to the other members of the group emerged.

Regarding school violence, actions to prevent violence and promote a culture of peace, the group of students listed the following words as possible forms of behavior and personal attitudes that individuals can practice and that help in combating the various forms of violence. They are: respect, education, pacifism, solidarity, understanding, reasoning (sense of thinking before acting), companionship.

DISCUSSION

In this study, it was observed that the research participants’ statements regarding the category “Perceptions about school violence” generated approximate semantic subcategories between the focus groups of students and teachers. There were responses endowed with meanings about the various different forms of violence that occur in the school space and in the relationships established there. Such responses are: physical violence, verbal violence, psychological violence, swear word, family problems, prejudices and various discriminations, stress, lack of respect for others, social exclusion and lack of students’ control in the use of social networks and that generate acts of some kind of violence among students at school.

A1 - “Violence is when you attack the other physically and psychologically, excludes the other, the same happens in the classroom”.

A2 - “Violence is physical and psychological aggression”. “It’s swear word.”

A3 - “The violence that happens at school is physical aggression”.

A4 - “Verbal violence is what happens the most, prejudice, bad words”.

A5 - “Violence is verbal aggression, negative words, when the person is not feeling well with himself”.

A6 - “Violence is more verbal and psychological than physical, when the person already brings problems from inside her house”.

A7 - “The people here do not respect anyone”. “If your father and mother taught you to be respectful, you will respect your peers and teachers at school.”

P1 - “I see violence here at school when I speak”.

P2 - “There is resistance on the part of the student to participate in classroom activities, which becomes a form of verbal violence”.

P3 - “I hardly see violence here at school, except in the way the students speak”.

P4 - “I see physical violence against the teacher and I attribute this violence to the type of education that this student receives from home and family”.

P5 - “Yes, I suffered violence.” “I suffered insults, but I saw that the student wanted to complain about his life, about his problems”.

P1 - “Last year I suffered physical violence.” “A student threw the table at me, but I saw later when I talked to her that she had family problems because of her boyfriend.”

P2 - “I see aggressiveness in the students’ speech”.

P3 - “Violence in students’ attitudes is the lack of limits at home, and sometimes it is the student’s psychological problem for”.

P4 - “Most of the fights that break out at school today are caused by problems due to the social network”. “There is a lack of limits on social media”.

P5 - “I think that about 80% of the fights at school that I received and attended were problems caused on social networks among students”.

P3 - “I sometimes see violence here at school as being verbal, but I don’t think it’s very aggressive.”

Violence, in general, reached a high level in today’s society as well as in social media and communication channels due to its seriousness, social impact, on public health, reaching individual and collective levels in a negative way. Violence is a phenomenon of varied causes, which is linked to negative economic impacts and social and cultural conditions, as well as being correlated with issues related to the individual’s behavior, cognition and subjectivity (Malta et al., 2010Malta, D. C.; Souza, E. R.; Silva, M. M. A; Silva, C. S.; Andreazzi, M. A. R; Crespo, C.; Mascarenhas, M. D. M.; ... Penna, G.O. (2010). Vivência de violência entre escolares brasileiros: resultados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE).Ciência & Saúde Coletiva,15(Suppl 2), 3053-3063. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232010000800010
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123201000...
).

From the point of view of students in the human development range of adolescence and in school, there are differences in the responses between boys and girls, regarding the motivational factors for violence at school. For male adolescents, violence is based on a question of power relations with each other, establishing dominance over the other, including through physical aggression. For females in general, school violence may be linked to issues related to affective and social relationships (Maia, Araújo, & Júnior, 2012Maia, L. L. Q. G. N.; Araújo, A.; Santos, A. S. (2012). Motivações para a violência no contexto escolar sob a óptica do adolescente. Revista de Enfermagem da UFSM, 2(1), 20-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/217976923760
https://doi.org/10.5902/217976923760...
).

Regarding the category of analysis “Manifestations of school violence”, both the group of students and the group of teachers reported approximate responses in the conception of the occurrence of this phenomenon at school, based on the messages described by them.

In this sense, responses were presented by the group of students such as: bullying, physical aggression between students and between students and teachers; verbal aggression between students and between students and teachers; violence against the school’s property. The place where violence occurs refers to the different environments of the school (courtyard, courts, physical education classes) and at school leaving time.

The teachers’ group pointed out responses in the verbal messages such as: physical and verbal aggression between students and those towards teachers; bullying; sexual harassment; symbolic violence; psychological and family students’ problems and teachers as factors that can also trigger violence at school. The place where violence occurs is centered on the classroom.

A1 - “There is a lot of bullying with some colleagues when the class is over, outside”. (Space outside the school).

A2 - “In several places here at the school, like on the court, for example”. (In the different school places).

A3 - “There was already a fight at the school door that I saw once”.

A4 - “There’s always a fight at recess, petting one another”. (In the school yard).

A5, A6, A7 - “There are a lot of fights in Physical Education, because of the game”. (In different school places - competitive games).

P1 - “Violence happens more in classrooms”.

P2 - “I see violence everywhere here, in the bathrooms, in the playground, at the school door”. (In the different environments of the school).

P3 - “It happens in the classroom”. “Sure...always”.

P4 - “When it happens, it happens more in the classrooms”.

P5 - “Everywhere you will see violence”. “There’s no way anymore”.

Another form of school violence mentioned in the students’ and teachers’ speech refers to bullying. This phenomenon is characterized by aggressive behavior among students, repetitively, without specific motivation, within the school space, more precisely in classrooms and in the school yard. Bullying can be done through physical or verbal aggression, moral or psychological. The term comes from the verb to bully, which means to threaten, intimidate or dominate and is practiced in an unequal power relationship (Teixeira, 2011Teixeira, G. (2011). Manual antibullying: para alunos, pais e professores. Rio de Janeiro: BestSeller.).

The thematic category analyzed “Actions and suggestions for preventing and coping with school violence and promoting a culture of peace” presented a multiplicity of responses and comprehensive content, identifying the promotion of behaviors aimed at the interface with health professionals (psychology, psychiatry ), punitive actions by the municipal government (police), social assistance support and also acting with the family, as a driving force in avoiding school violence, in addition to being in constant contact with the school.

A1 - “Expulsion of the student from the school”. (Punitive measure).

A2 - “I also think the family can help at school”.

A3 - “The school has to be more rigid with the students and has to demand from the parents”.

A4 - “The school has to send students who give problems to the psychologist or psychiatrist”.

A2 - “You have to send the student to the guardianship council”.

A5 - “The military police sometimes come here to the school and then solve it”. This punitive measure was later corroborated in the statements of all participants in the students’ focus group.

P1 - “The family has to be in constant contact with the school”.

P2 - “The teacher seeks his own mental health”. “There’s nothing the school really does to change that.”

P2 - “Health professionals such as psychologists and psychiatrists have to be provided to those who need it, whether students or teachers”.

P3 - “There is a lack of training for teachers to learn to deal with this problem, training, actions by the school administration, violence prevention”.

P3 - “The positive experience in other schools or in other classes can help to improve this”. “Let’s know what happens that works and do our part too.”

P4 - “It also needs more public resources ‘for’ education, ‘to improve education rates, improve lunch and other things’.

P4 - “The psychologist and the social worker are needed to work with us within the school, ‘to treat the student and the family too, otherwise it’s no use”.

P5 - “There are times that only the teacher who knows how to deal with this”.

P6 - “The direction and supervision try to do something different for the students, but they don’t want to, they can’t”.

School violence is a complex phenomenon where several individual and collective factors (social, family, school) are articulated, requiring the adoption of a holistic and ecological view of the phenomenon of violence in schools. Thus, it is necessary to analyze the entire web of relationships that are articulated with this form of violence - individual, family, community and school, observing the differences in these relationships between boys and girls (Garay, Ávila, & Martínez, 2013Garay, R. M. V.; Ávila, M. E.; Martinez, B. (2013). Violência escolar: uma análise de diferentes contextos de interação.Intervenção Psicossocial,22(1), 25-32. https://dx.doi.org/10.5093/in2013a4
https://doi.org/10.5093/in2013a4...
).

Children and adolescents can be trained to appropriate their human rights, dialoguing about possible ways to face different violations and contexts of violence, putting themselves in the place of the other who also suffers violence. Therefore, children and adolescents can reflect about possibilities and strategies for self-protection and self-care at school (Filha, 2015Filha, C. X. (2015). Violências e direitos humanos em pesquisa com crianças. Educação e Pesquisa,41(spe), 1569-1584. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-97022015082229
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-9702201508...
).

In a way, punitive and coercive actions as a way of “dealing” with violence in schools, for example, go against the principles of health promotion. The social actors involved in vulnerable contexts can act as trained human resources capable of facing different types of harmful situations in the school environment.

According to Silva and Assis (2018Silva, F. R.; Assis, S. G. (2018). Prevenção da violência escolar: uma revisão da literatura.Educação e Pesquisa,44(e157305), 1-13. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1517-9702201703157305
https://doi.org/10.1590/s1517-9702201703...
), programs to prevent school violence and confront violent practices in school spaces must take into account the different characteristics, individual and collective realities, in which the complex phenomenon of school violence is based. The reflection must take into account the concrete reality of students and family as part involved in this process, as well as political and ideological issues.

The articulation among health, education and social development should be potentially stimulated in the educational environment, in the surroundings and especially with the social actors involved in this process (students, teachers, pedagogical team, employees, family, community), through the Promoting Schools Strategy (PSS), through the development of Skills for Life, the promotion of a culture of peace as proposed in the public agendas of municipal, state and federal governments (Rivard & Deslandes, 2014Rivard, M. T.; Deslandes, R. (2014). The Healthy School Approach: different perspectives of students and educators. Journal of Education and Learning, 3(2), 135-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jel.v3n2p135
https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v3n2p135...
).

According to Rivard and Deslandes (2014Rivard, M. T.; Deslandes, R. (2014). The Healthy School Approach: different perspectives of students and educators. Journal of Education and Learning, 3(2), 135-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jel.v3n2p135
https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v3n2p135...
) there are some positive strategies in the implementation of PSS, such as the direct participation of teachers in creative activities based on health education and healthy behaviors, partnerships with the local community in sharing responsibilities and experiences in the school environment, as well as interventions aimed at the perception of students, teachers, school employees and family members about school health.

Health promotion must face the problem of school violence under the prism of interventions focused on health education, allied to individual and collective identity, in its particularities and nuances. Sports and physical activities are a practical example of this statement. Health education proposals are more effective in terms of meaningful learning that generates an identity for health (Grabowski & Thomsen, 2015Grabowski, D.; Thomsen, S. D. (2015). Parkour as Health Promotion in Schools: a qualitative study on health identity. World Journal of Education, 5(3), 37-43. https://doi.org/10.5430/wje.v5n3p37
https://doi.org/10.5430/wje.v5n3p37...
).

The meaning that the phenomenon of school violence expresses in society is a growing problem in school spaces. Therefore, it is a serious issue that must be addressed under a vision of comprehensive care and in an intersectoral perspective of the school with health care networks and other social protection services, in addition to direct participation with the family and the community.

CONCLUSION

The violence that occurs in school spaces generates negative impacts on all social actors involved in this configuration, causing physical and psychological damage, damage to interpersonal and family relationships, difficulties in school performance, aggressiveness, changes in behavior, among other associated factors.

Therefore, it is necessary that there is an intersectoral and multidisciplinary articulation among education, society, the local community, the school and the family, in order to work on joint solutions regarding the problem of school violence.

Municipal and state governments and the Union must pay attention to schools, both in the public and private schools, with regard to the care needed to combat violent practices in school spaces. Educational public policies can be reformulated and strengthened in order to encompass social programs, practical health education actions in schools, psychological and educational assistance projects, in order to work directly with students, teachers, employees, family and community, programs training in social skills and life skills, as well as fostering greater family participation and engagement at school.

Conflict mediation is an important tool in confronting the phenomenon of school violence (at levels of violence prevention and health promotion), instead of purely punitive and/or coercive plastered actions, which are not always shown to be the best solution for problems of violence.

Research based on this theme of school violence, such as the present work, can bring important contributions to the solution of this growing problem, as shown in the literature, which demands special attention in the care of students, teachers, pedagogical staff, employees, who are part of the school space, the school itself, the families of these social actors and the surrounding community.

The inclusion of professionals in the areas of Psychology and Social Work in basic education and other teaching networks, provided for by law, favors new work opportunities in practical actions at school, especially with regard to the theme of the study, such as interpersonal and in a healthier and more productive school environment, health promotion for all social actors involved in the school space, which can even promote improvements in the teaching-learning process of students, through educational proposals for this purpose.

Future research and studies that encompass the interrelationship between health and education, such as training programs in social skills and life skills, can be important contributory avenues in terms of providing a more positive school space, the various existing healthier school relationships, context and a more balanced and productive school environment and educational proposals that always contemplate practices aimed at good social interaction, mutual respect, trust and learning regarding differences on the part of students.

The Health Promoting Schools (PSS) strategy is an important milestone for the production of new research in the areas of health and education, in addition to acting in the contribution of new perspectives on schools that suffer from the problem of school violence.

With regard to the fundamental objectives of PSS strategies such as health education in a comprehensive panorama, permanent education, creation of healthy educational environments and provision of health services in the school context, there is a proposal to develop practical actions in the context that aim at promoting the health of social actors in the school from the physical, emotional, health of positive interpersonal relationships, social, spiritual, political and economic point of view.

Such actions developed at school have the power to produce healthy relational bonds against the various forms of expression of violence, fostering the creation of critical consciences of these social actors, strengthening identity and personality, notion of social justice, collective conscience and valuing of experiences through constructive bonding with others.

Thanks:

To CAPES - Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, for the support given to the research.

  • 1
    Keaded paper.
  • This paper was translated from Portuguese by Ana Maria Pereira Dionísio.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    29 Oct 2021
  • Date of issue
    2021

History

  • Received
    13 May 2019
  • Accepted
    13 May 2021
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