Opinions of High School Students involved in Violence

Abstract

The aim of this research is to assess the opinions of students in a variety of high schools at different class levels who received disciplinary punishment for violence. The research comprised 35 boys and 10 girls, for a total of 45 students. The data for the research were obtained with semi-structured interviews. The results show that the students used violence due to insufficient anger control, insufficient problem solving skills, and problems with delayed gratification and peer support. Additionally, it was found that the academic success of the students was low, they were repeating classes, had absences from school and problems with their families. During students’ evaluation of the events for which they received disciplinary punishments, they stated that they would experience the same problems in similar situations or would quickly remove themselves from the scene as a solution. The guidance service, which is the school support service, helped; however this was insufficient and it was emphasized that management and teachers did not show sufficient interest. Additionally though some of the students were receiving medical treatment, it was observed that their problems continued. This situation was evaluated as showing that to solve the problem team work is necessary. In conclusion, in addition to medical evaluation of students for antagonism disorder and behavior disorder, it is proposed that projects with a holistic basis including family training, anger control studies, conflict resolution skills and peer mediation training supported by social services are necessary.

Key Words: violence in school, aggressiveness, disciplinary punishment