Measures to Address and Prevent School-Based Violence in South Africa: An Ecological Systems Perspective

There are myriad contributory factors that have been identified as accounting for the prevalence of violence in South African schools. From an ecological systems perspective, measures to address and prevent school-based violence should reflect a response to factors that contribute to its causes at individual, family, inter-personal, school, community, and societal levels, and acknowledge that these factors interact with one another within the environmental context. Based on a qualitative study conducted at nine high schools in South Africa, data was collected from 47 learners and 30 educators using focus group discussions and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the suggested measures to address and prevent school violence include positive discipline and the reintroduction of corporal punishment; professional behavior of educators; self-disciplined learners; counseling services and special-schools; peer-support and mentorship; educational awareness campaigns; introducing demerit and merit systems; suspensions; security systems; parenting skills training; and stakeholder collaboration. The conclusion is that the measurers to be put in place to address school-based violence should target the individual, family, community, and broader societal causes of violence. It is recommended that future research be conducted using an ecological systems approach to develop intervention programmes aimed at addressing and preventing school-based violence in South Africa.