Handling of violent behaviour of learners in secondary schools: a case study of Vryburg Cluster in North-West Province

Abstract

Schools in South Africa find it difficult to manage the problem of learner violence. Due to violence, the schools are no longer safe places for teachers and learners. Hence, the purpose of the study was to identify strategies on handling violence in Vryburg secondary schools. The research follows a qualitative design, which utilised the case study to tap into the perceptions of teachers and principals on managing learner violence in secondary schools. Three secondary schools in Vryburg Cluster were selected for this study. Eighteen participants were purposively selected for the study. The data was collected through focus group in depth interviews with teachers and one-on-one in depth interviews with the principals. In the preliminary stages, data was collected from literature study and document analysis. The data analysis was done through the thematic approach. The study is underpinned by the psychosocial theory that recognises the social environment in shaping the behaviour of learners. Five themes emerged from analysis thus: prevalence and nature of violence experienced by secondary schools, causes of learner violence, effects of learner violent behaviour, strategies applied by schools to curb violent learner behaviour and the form of support teachers need to curb learner violent behaviour. The empirical study found that schools currently experience various forms of violence. The major forms of violence experienced by schools are gang related violence as well as physical violence as well as the use of weapons. The empirical data and literature established that the girl child is a victim of Gender Based Violence (GBV). Literature study and empirical evidence confirm that the family organisation and structure, school environment and community environment have a great influence on the behaviour of learners. The findings from empirical data revealed that learners who engage in violence are mainly under the influence of drugs. The findings revealed that violence creates an environment that is unsafe for teachers and students. Violence affects the wellbeing of teachers and learners. Teaching and learning is adversely affected due to violence in the school. The study also found out that teachers are implementing various strategies on managing violence amongst learners. On managing learner violence, schools rely mainly on the school policies, the disciplinary committee and other stakeholders. The use of corporal punishment was highly debated in terms of its effectiveness by the participants in the study. In order to manage violence in secondary schools effectively, the findings revealed that teachers need support from the Department of Education (DoE), parents and other stakeholders. To deal with violence in secondary schools, the study formulated an intervention programme based on literature and the research findings. This intervention programme is shaped by psycho-social and psycho-educational support systems that encompass the involvement of psychologists, social workers, counsellors and pastors, character education on behaviour modification, programmes on empowering women, strengthening of Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), parental training platforms, boys’ and girls’ fora in schools. The key recommendation targeted secondary schools, DoE and teacher-training institutions is the offering of psychosocial and psycho-educational support systems to learners in order to manage learner violence at secondary schools. The main aim of psychosocial support is to help learners who are at risk because of social problems and drugs. Psycho-educational support targets all learners with the chief aim of creating law-abiding citizens through character education.