Violence in Schools

Abstract

The issue of violence in schools has in recent times attracted increasing attention. This has been stimulated by events such as the death of Philip Lawrence, the killings at Dunblane and the machete attack in Wolverhampton. This paper argues for more research which, among other things, would examine (1) whether such high-profile and horrific events mask deeper and more general problems or represent very rare exceptions and (2) what we know of good practice in managing school security and how such information can be shared. The first part of the paper seeks to quantify the nature of violence in schools using responses from a postal survey of schools conducted in England during 1997. In the second part, concerns raised by respondents about aspects of school security are considered. The final part considers ideas and suggestions for minimizing violence in schools, drawn from the survey and case studies.