Reducing School Violence

847 Words2 Pages

There are numerous programs and studies aimed at reducing school violence, but how does a school district know what type of program would work best for their students? In the article, Reducing School Violence: School-Based Curricular Programs and School Climate (2008), Michael Greene, reviewed different approaches on reducing school violence to determine if one approach was better than another.

One of the hardest components of researching the effectiveness of school violence prevention/reduction programs is the fact that all researchers view “violence” differently.

In this study, Greene (2008) defines violence as the intentional behavior of one person to another where there is a threat, attempted harm, or actual harm. Greene (2008) also includes aggression as a low-level component of violence.

Another issue that makes evaluation difficult is the ever-changing society we live in where technology has brought about new ways for students to display violence with things like cyber bullying. Internet violence is on the rise with students utilizing social networking sites to bully and disseminate negative, humiliating messages about other students. While researchers struggle to conceptualize school violence, society is changing and constantly inventing new forms of violence.

One type of school violence prevention and reduction program is school-based curriculum programs. There are hundreds of thousands of school-based curriculum programs available. These curriculum programs focus on cognitive behavioral approaches. For example, how students perceive aggression and violence, how they learn and/or unlearn violent behaviors, rewarding positive social skills and behavior, traditional counseling approaches. These programs are primaril...

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...limate change programs have a good framework, but researchers feel there is the need for further studies. There will never be a perfect solution for school violence since every school district is different, and society is ever-changing. It is up to the school districts to analyze their communities and programs available to determine what will work the best for them.

Works Cited

Cook, T.D., Murphy, R.F., & Hunt, H.D. (2000). Comer’s school development program in Chicago. American Educational Research Journal, 37 (2), 535-597, 62p

Greene, M. (2008). Reducing school violence: school-based curricular programs and school climate. Prevention Researcher, 15 (1), 12-16, 5p

Wilson, S.J., & Lipsey, M.W. (2007). School-based interventions for aggressive and disruptive behavior: Update of a Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33 (2), 130-143, 13p

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