Cause and Effect

Introduction

The greater part of schools in the US are secure places. A similarity of national statistics from 1995 as well as 1999 reveals the percentage of students who accounted being victims of crime at school decreased by 10 percent. And in 1999, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice reported that almost 90 percent of all in-school student injuries that required medical treatment were accidental, rather than the result of intentional acts of physical violence (Brier, 71).

Cause and Effect

The violence that does occur in schools, however, has changed: Serious violent acts are now more common than in the past. In the 1940s, school discipline problems generally involved running in the halls, chewing gum, talking out of turn, and other unruly behavior. In the 1970s, discipline problems progressed to dress code violations; in the 1980s fighting became a concern. By the early 2000, school problems were defined as weapons possession, drug and alcohol abuse, gang activity, truancy, and violent assaults against students and teachers (Dahlberg, 59).

In schools, violence occurs along an age-graded continuum. With younger children, violence is manifested in aggressive behavior such as kicking, hitting, or name-calling. As children grow older, however, violent behavior becomes more serious and is characterized by assaults against other students and teachers, sexual harassment, gang activity, or carrying a weapon (Farrington, 29).

To minimize violence at school, it is important to understand the risk factors for violent behavior, so that effective school-based prevention and intervention programs can be implemented. This is no easy task however, as risk factors are complex and multidimensional, and may change over time. In addition, factors associated with the potential for violence in school occur at both the individual and group level, and effective prevention programs must include a consideration of an individual school's design and operation (Flannery, p16).

Although violence ...