Understanding school violence - 1

Turkey is going through a painful process of change in economic, political, social, and cultural spheres. This process creates significant bottlenecks and tensions in the social structure. Cities are turning into primary spaces where multidimensional problems and crises accumulate. Today's cities are becoming areas where conditions that fuel individual and social problems are increasingly intensifying. Therefore, the ongoing social disintegration directly threatens the social fabric and social cohesion of cities.

While bullying, aggression, and rude behavior are becoming increasingly common in daily life, social bonds such as trust, empathy, and solidarity are weakening. The weakening of values and rules that support social order and coexistence erodes the common culture of living (ethos). This situation deepens anomie (chaotic transition) and deviance in the social structure. Consequently, the erosion of institutions and shared values weakens social cohesion and the capacity for coexistence.

Social Anomaly

Violence cases reflected in social media and public opinion are, beyond being isolated incidents, clear indicators of the 'anomaly' and 'deviance' occurring in the social fabric. Rapid socio-economic transformations and the weakening of institutional trust erode the function of regulatory mechanisms such as family, education, morality, and law in integrating the individual into the social structure. This situation drags the social system into a structural crisis. Statistical data confirm the significant increase in incidents of violence, crime, and aggression. 

Misery and Social Exclusion in Cities

Violence is not just an individual outcome or deviation. It is also a product of structural problems accumulating in the depths of society. In environments where unemployment, urban poverty, deprivation, and social exclusion are widespread, the healthy development of children is negatively affected. These conditions also weaken the relationships children establish with their social environment and their processes of social adaptation.

Malnutrition, unfavorable housing conditions, and health problems further deepen this process. Furthermore, the weakening of intra-family communication and social bonds, the breakdown of family integrity, and fragmented family structures make the healthy development of children difficult. The combination of all these conditions makes it difficult for children to experience a safe development process and reach a healthy adulthood.

Today, violence has become a global social problem that threatens not only individuals and families but societies as a whole. The World Health Organization defines violence within a broad framework and considers the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, a group, or a community as violence. The fact that this use results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation constitutes the fundamental elements of the definition.

In this context, violence against women, children, the elderly, the disabled, animals, and nature is gaining visibility in different areas of social life. The spread of violence increases feelings of fear, anxiety, and helplessness not only among direct victims but also in society at large. This situation also weakens the sense of social trust and the capacity for coexistence.

The Sociology of School Violence

Within this general picture, the school attacks that occurred recently in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, the Turgutlu district of Manisa, and Osmaniye serve as a striking warning. The fact that the attacks were carried out by students makes it necessary to reconsider security and social protection mechanisms in educational environments. The transformation of schools into spaces where violence can emerge, in addition to being environments for education and development, makes it mandatory to evaluate the problem not only through individual behaviors but also with its social and institutional dimensions.

The increase in armed attacks on schools causes serious fear and anxiety in society and especially among parents. The fact that violence is carried into school environments and directly targets students, teachers, and educational administrators shows that the problem has gone beyond isolated incidents. The inability to prevent violence and its gaining continuity over time reveals that the issue is not just a security problem; it has turned into a significant sociological problem in terms of institutional trust, social integration, and social order.

It is extremely thought-provoking that the perpetrators of the violent incidents are students enrolled in the school. The fact that students turn against their peers, teachers, or school administrators requires a comprehensive examination of the issue. The fundamental sociological question here is: Do the factors that drive the student toward violence and deviant behavior stem from the school climate, or is the influence of the social environment outside the school more decisive? The answer to this question should be sought by evaluating the students' social environment, family relationships, peer groups, and school experiences together. This rupture that emerges in socialization processes requires a multidimensional sociological analysis.

The Strategic Importance of Holistic Intervention

The process that leads a young person or student to severe violence and repetitive violent acts cannot be explained by a single cause. This situation points to a multi-causal crisis of education and socialization. Referring to Durkheimian sociology, it should be addressed not merely as an individual deviation, but as a social phenomenon related to normative disintegration and institutional weaknesses in the social structure. The spread of problems such as peer bullying, gang formation, and substance abuse around schools increases the risk of deviant behaviors emerging. These dynamics also deepen problems of security, social integration, and belonging in educational institutions. Therefore, the problem must be addressed with a multidimensional approach, utilizing sociological, pedagogical, and empirical methods.

One of the fundamental shortcomings in combating school violence, radicalization, and gang formation in our country is the lack of policy based on scientific data and evidence. Problems are often not addressed on the basis of systematic data and scientific methods. This makes it difficult to correctly identify the structural and social causes of violence. Despite the increase in violent incidents, a comprehensive risk map for high-risk schools has not yet been created. The inadequacy of regional social risk maps also makes it difficult to develop preventive policies that are targeted and effective. For this reason, intervention often occurs after the problem has emerged, and the capacity for early intervention and prevention remains weak.

Combating violence cannot be carried out solely with security measures. An effective solution requires strong institutional coordination among school administration, teachers, students, families, and relevant institutions, in addition to interdisciplinary cooperation. Only through this holistic approach can effective and sustainable policies be developed to address the causes of violence.

The fact that the perpetrators are of school age and have easy access to tools of violence points to weaknesses in social protection mechanisms and institutional oversight. This situation requires that schools be reconsidered not only as institutions where education is provided, but also as safe living spaces where children's social and psychological development is supported. Schools should be restructured based on security, psycho-social support, early intervention, and preventive policies. A school model should be created that does not wait for violence to occur, but identifies risks in advance, intervenes early, and develops protective policies.

In this context, it is necessary to establish a strong institutional infrastructure that will ensure the development and implementation of a comprehensive and sustainable policy to combat violence. Combating violence should be addressed with a holistic understanding that does not just intervene in incidents, but identifies risks in advance and targets social causes. I will continue this topic in the next article through policy and practice recommendations aimed at preventing violence.