Research Findings and Discussion
5.3. The recommendations for schools to cope with school violence
5.3.1. Tolerance for each other from varying socio-economic backgrounds Programs must be implemented to assimilate all learners into the school’s ethos. There must be zero tolerance adopted for slurs and slandering which provokes violent retaliations. There has to be an inculcation of values where children appreciate each other despite differences in abilities and backgrounds.
5.3.2. Understaffed schools
The school governing bodies must make financial arrangements through the annual budgets to employ more educators. In ex Model C schools almost half
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the personnel are paid by the governing bodies. More educators equal smaller classes equals better quality education. Educators in large classes feel burnt – out because control of 50 learners is harder than 30 and marking is a burden if there are 50 books. The state due to budgetary restraints has decided not to allocate more personnel. This solution to understaffing can only come from the school fees and fundraising that the governing body will have to drive. The school must provide for more educators, cleaning staff and security guards.
This is possible as seen in one of the schools that engaged in Debs Balls, Fun Runs and Fetes and raised sufficient funds to employ two more educators, two cleaners and a security guard.
5.3.3. Closer partnership between parents and educators
Schools that have forged a close link between parents and the school where all join their efforts for the common good of the learners have greater success than schools where parents and educators work at cross purposes. If the perpetrators of violence know that they are against a united force they will back down. Presently the perpetrators have parents who call at the school after an incident to blame the educators. There is no need for parents and educators to engage in finger-pointing. Instead all stakeholders must pool their resources and assist in the rehabilitation of the violent learners.
5.3.4. Rules and announcements in school must be carried through to parents
When instructions are given at assembly most learners are inattentive. If learners are asked to repeat notices few are able to do so. A more effective system has to be implemented to ensure that instructions are carried through.
Some notices that never reach parents are parent meetings, late-coming rules, uniform rules and detention plans. Some suggestions to get the information carried through would be: learners must write all assembly notices in
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homework books and parents must sign after they have read the notices every day, the school management team must send out regular written notices always with a tear-off reply slip to acknowledge receipt and the school should telephone the parents if it feels that learners are not conveying important information. When rules and instructions are given educators must carry through in the case of default for example if a learner breaks a school window costs must be carried by the perpetrator and his parents and if the parents are unemployed they should provide a service to the school like gardening in lieu of the cost. If no effort is made for this to be done, the idle threat loses its effect and the violent events will continue.
5.3.5. Setting of buildings, walls and gates.
It is evident that too many entry and exit points encourage trespassing. If only two gates are available it would curb trespassing. The other gated areas can be walled or fenced off. Where movement through gates is allowed schools should station a security guard or where there are financial constraints, use prefects or responsible parents. The best investment schools can make is to get high walls built around the boundary. This requires the cooperation of the governing bodies. It is really their responsibility to provide a secure learning environment.
If the grounds are near the boundaries, to curb learners’ communication with outsiders, the space for breaks must be relocated for example learners can be confined to the assembly areas where they can be under the watchful supervision of the educators on duty.
5.3.6. Educators being motivated
Educators state they are stressed because of violent learners. It must be noted that while to some extent this is valid, some educators who are apathetic to their jobs may be opportunistic. Educators need to keep their focus on their learners who want to learn and not be derailed by a few violent learners who attempt to disrupt lessons. The challenge for educators is to offer quality
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education in the most difficult circumstances. Efforts must be made by the SMT to boost educator morale. Educators must be rewarded and praised for their efforts. The tone of supervisors must be informative, supportive and cordial, not harsh and bossy. Educators must not feel pressured about meeting unrealistic demands and deadlines.
5.3.7. Detention Policy
Alpha Primary school suggested that parents must sign a consent form for detention once off at the beginning of each school year authorizing educators to keep learners in after school if homework was not completed, the child was late and if there was evidence of misconduct. Omega Primary said that detention was difficult to implement because learners run away after school and parents do not sign the consent forms because learners do not take them home. The method in Alpha Primary only worked to the point where parents signed consent. It remained problematic where parents refuse to sign that letter.
Detention plans only work with the cooperation of the parents. Unfortunately many township learners travel by public transport and taxis to school which does not allow them to stay in late even if the parents are willing. It is suggested that schools still impose detention plans for break times and learners should be excused from sporting activities to be detained.
5.3.8. Inculcating good values
The mould of “an eye for an eye” increases violence and a gangster mentality.
Learners must be taught during life skills lessons that it is nobler to walk away from an offender. Learners must be taught protocols of who they should speak to in a crisis. Even if they have been taught by their parents to retaliate they must be rewarded if they refrain from violence and choose good ways to resolve their situations.
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Harber (2004) cites Miller with how children can be helped morally: When children are trained, they learn how to train others in turn. Children who are lectured to, learn how to lecture; if they are admonished, they learn how to admonish; if scolded, they learn how to scold; if ridiculed, they learn how to ridicule; if humiliated, they learn how to humiliate; if their psyche is killed, they will learn how to kill.
5.3.9. School policies
The school needs specific policies to deal with violent situations. Some of the compulsory policies that every educator, learner and parent must be au fait with are: the school’s code of conduct, the search policy, the detention policy, late-coming policy and others. The policies must be user-friendly with the sanction described if the rule is broken. The rules must be carried out and not be idle threats which will make a mockery of the documents.
5.3.10. Employ guidance counselors
Violent learners generally lack proper advice and guidance from their homes.
At school educators are too busy completing curriculum. Since the Department of Education due to financial constraints decided to terminate counselors about 2 decades ago, it is incumbent on the governing bodies to provide for this huge gap in school staffing. When counselors were in schools, the delinquent learners were rehabilitated through professional counseling. The counselors set up time to interview parents and deviant learners dreaded a visit to the counselor. Counselors assist learners emotionally which leads to stability in classroom behavior. In ex Model C schools where fees exceed R20000 per learner per annum as opposed to the R600 per annum in both Alpha and Omega primary schools, counselors are employed by the governing bodies.
Those schools have a better discipline control with too few episodes of violence.
It has become a financial imperative for schools to set aside funds from school
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fees (must include in annual budget) for the employment of at least one trained counselor to render professional help to violent learners. Since the need of a counselor has become a priority need in schools it is advised that if funds are short then fundraising events should yield income to cover this cost.
5.3.11. Control of learners during breaks and sports activities
Learner control is better if confined to a restricted area. As educators in one primary school indicated that when learners were sent to the grounds the wide open spaces allowed for many incidents of violence but now that learners are confined to the assembly area under cover during breaks there is hardly an incident reported. The square area has 4 educators appointed in 4 corners. The Principal and SMT stands on the podium giving an elevated view of all learners.
Benches have been erected for all learners to sit down and eat their sandwiches. Other schools should use these methods to curtail violence during breaks. Greater vigilance from educators on duty certainly makes the perpetrators wary.
During extra-curricular activities the educators must practice tighter control.
Parents can be used to assist with supervision. If the learners break rules during outings or events on the sports field they should be barred from further activities. Learner discipline outside the classrooms must be as tight as inside the classrooms. A zero- tolerance approach to indiscipline is imperative
5.4. Measures schools can apply to promote a violence-free environment