Prof Vusi Mncube and Prof Clive Harber
The violence in our schools can go hand in hand with our children being frustrated by their schooling circumstances. Too many of our schools are dysfunctional; badly run, with neglected buildings and fenceless school grounds, with too few means of protecting the learners from external violence promoted and perpetrated by gangsters and drug dealers coming from the surrounding areas. Teachers are too often not in their classes to teach and reported cases of bullying tend to be ignored which equates to violence by omission. Dominant, violent notions of masculinity can mean that learners are not necessarily presented with alternative, healthier models of masculinity in our schools. These were some of the findings in the Dynamics of Violence in Schools Report which was tabled by Prof Vusi Mncube (CoD of Educational Management and Leadership) and Prof Clive Harber (Honorary Professor of Unisa and Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham) on 25 October 2012. Prof Harber has carried out extensive studies of violence in schools during his career. He says that, in the light of the findings of this research, a well-organised and professional school could do much to reduce violence. Prof Vusi Mncube started the morning’s proceedings by greeting and thanking all the various role players for their contributions to the “Violence in Schools” research project.
Prof Vusi Mncube shares how and where the research was done
South African newspapers regularly carry stories of violent behaviour in our schools, the latest being a killing in an inner-city Pretoria school for something as trivial as a pencil. In relation to the study carried out by Unisa, 55% of learners responded to a questionnaire that they had been victims of violence in schools. The South African Council for Educators (SACE) has recently reported that they are presently investigating 525 cases of unprofessional behaviour among school staff over a six month period, ranging from fraud and theft, to corporal punishment and absenteeism. Run-down school spaces and unprofessional staff also exude a message of “We don’t care” and that learners are not valued, while schools that “add value” are treasured by their community. Good schools have a sense of purpose where learners and staff feel that they are worth protecting with a proper fences and locks to keep those inside their grounds safe. In such schools learners are less likely to collaborate with external violent influences such as gangs.
The background to the project is a concern with South Africa as both a violent and unequal society. The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation was contracted by the South African government in 2007 to carry out a study on the nature of crime and violence in South Africa. The study concluded that the country is exposed to high levels of violence as a result of different factors, including the high levels of inequality, poverty, unemployment, social exclusion and marginalisation. Despite our generally improved economic conditions, South Africa has the dubious honour of being the most unequal countries in the world. In reply to a parliamentary question which expressed concern that South Africa’s Gini coefficient (the way of measuring economic inequality in societies) was the world’s worst, the President of South Africa acknowledged that the benefits of economic growth at present “go disproportionately to the richest ten percent of households.” To do this in-depth study, four schools were identified in each of six South African provinces. The researchers studied these four schools in each province by means of questionnaires and interviews conducted with principals, teachers, students, security personnel and members of the governing bodies.
Prof Clive Harber encourages with the good news coming out of the research as there is much that can be done to fix the violence problems
The good news says Prof Harber, is that because many of the problems of violence originate within schools, something can be done about the predicament of violence in our schools. Schools are not necessarily helpless victims of a wider violent society. Educational authorities at all levels as well as some principals and teachers need to face the truth that they themselves can do much about the problems that they find themselves in. Security needs to be placed high on their agenda, teachers need to be taught why corporal punishment doesn’t work and they must be helped to deal with cases of bullying effectively. Schools must become more democratic in line with government policy with learners voices also being heard. Masculinity as a social construct needs to be looked at and our society must learn how to talk about issues in a more democratic manner. We need to address our problems and work together more co-operatively to find amicable ways of living together. The integration of different cultures and races takes effort and we should address what it is that causes the violence. Teachers must be equipped and able to handle controversial subjects in discussions. Values play a big role in this, especially procedural values (on how a discussion process is managed) which learners must experience and use in order to make them their own. Only by discussing personal values and convincing learners in their hearts and minds, will any change come about. Learners must see for themselves that violent behaviour is bad for them. They must be given alternatives and be motivated to change their own behaviour in class, teachers should present and discuss alternative better choices which can be made.
Everyone who attended the tabling of the Violence in schools research report
Many teachers complain that parents and communities don’t support them but would it not be more effective for them to ask themselves “What am I doing to change my own circumstances?”. Teachers need to take responsibility for their own role and capacity to change their schools. Some of them should also look at the hypocrisy of saying one thing, but doing the opposite with a “Do as I say – not as I do” behaviour pattern of their own. Teachers must teach in a professional manner to create a culture of learning in their schools so that the community will value and want to help protect their own schools. They also need to be open to democratic discussion, because better behaviour comes about and is driven from the inside.
