Student Victimization: National and School System Effects on School Violence in 37 Nations

Abstract

School violence is a problem in many nations, and rates of school violence in the United States are not among the highest in the world. The authors utilize a section of the TIMSS survey data to (a) explore the amount of school violence among the 37 nations in the study; (b) ascertain whether the traditional national-level predictors of crimes and delinquency explain cross-national variation in school violence; and (c) test whether factors related to the educational system are associated with levels of school violence cross-nationally. The results show that national patterns of school violence are not strongly related to general patterns of violence or lack of social integration in society. However, national systems of education that produce greater achievement differences between high-achieving and low-achieving students tend to record more violence. The authors suggest further studies and testing of one possible remedy for school violence: equalizing the quality of education that all students receive.