Violence in schools: How can it be prevented and what should be done? - 2

In my previous article in this column, I addressed the reflection of increasingly widespread violence and bullying in society onto school environments from a sociological perspective, based on armed attacks in schools, and made some observations regarding the fundamental dynamics of the problem. In this context, the fundamental question is: What are the social, familial, psychosocial, and in-school factors that drive a child toward violence and eventually turn them into a perpetrator of violence? Why are schoolyards, where children should feel safe, becoming associated with violent incidents? What is happening to children? Why is violence in schools escalating, and why are preventive interventions remaining insufficient?

Less than a week after I wrote that article, a student lost their life and many others were injured in a knife attack at a middle school in Başakşehir, Istanbul; meanwhile, a gun was found in a student's bag at another primary school, once again revealing the extent of the risk of violence in schools. These developments show that school violence cannot be treated as isolated incidents and that preventive policies must be urgently strengthened. In this article, I will discuss solution proposals for the prevention of violence, taking into account the social dynamics of the problem.

The Rise of Individual Armament

Combating school violence requires a holistic approach that extends from the family to society and the digital world, rather than just a security policy that begins at the school gate. The recent incident in Başakşehir clearly demonstrates once again the extent of the security vulnerability in school environments. The ease with which guns, knives, and similar sharp or piercing tools can be brought into educational spaces directly threatens the safety of learning environments. It is an inevitable necessity to urgently implement inspections and preventive security steps that prevent such dangerous tools from entering schools. Families also have significant responsibilities. Safely storing firearms, knives, and similar dangerous tools found at home in a way that children cannot access them is a fundamental protective measure to reduce the risk of violence. The sensitivity and responsibility of parents in this regard are of vital importance in preventing potential violent incidents.

On the other hand, the fight against individual armament must be transformed into a comprehensive social mobilization nationwide. Estimates that one in every three households in Turkey possesses a weapon highlight the risk that access to firearms poses to children's safety. Therefore, inspections regarding the acquisition and storage of weapons must be strengthened, and the fight against unlicensed armament must be pursued with determination.

In the fight against violence, institutional collaborations with non-governmental organizations that have field experience must be developed. In this direction, the 'Turkey Violence Map' data periodically published by institutions such as the Umut Foundation should be evaluated as a primary data source in identifying social risk areas and creating evidence-based preventive policies.

The lack of in-depth and empirical studies focusing on perpetrators of violence to date makes it difficult to understand the social dynamics behind the issue. How the processes of being dragged into crime are woven, and the structural bottlenecks experienced in the family-school-society triangle of the perpetrators have not yet been sufficiently revealed. Without recognizing the social ground that produces the perpetrator and the crime based on field data, both the diagnosis and the preventive intervention to be applied are doomed to remain incomplete.

Risks Flowing from Digital Channels

Digital environments, online violent content, visual culture that trivializes violence, and media presentations can further amplify these risks. The reproduction of patriarchal cultural codes that legitimize and glorify violence on social media also creates an area of influence that must be taken into account, especially for children and young people. Although the risks and threats originating from digital channels are frequently brought to the agenda, legal regulations and legislation in this area unfortunately lag behind developments.

New digital socialization spaces, which virtually disrupt the socialization processes of children and young people, create an uncontrolled structure. In order to protect the mental and social worlds of the younger generations, effective, applicable, and decisive measures must be taken without delay regarding these new digital channels. Children should be taught how algorithms direct content, how online groups can normalize violence, and how to ask for help when they encounter threatening content. Digital literacy and critical awareness should be developed in children. Children and young people must be protected from the various risks flowing from digital ghettos. Effective "digital literacy" and "critical awareness" training should be provided to children in schools. This training should also be provided for families.

The Rise of Cyberbullying, Peer Pressure, and Gang Formation

Today, peer bullying, pressure, and violence are increasing day by day. Effective combat and intervention against bullying and gang formation must be carried out. Teachers should be equipped in this regard. Cyberbullying, which has moved to virtual channels, is implicit and more difficult to detect. For example, the OECD's PISA 2022 data shows that peer bullying is a significant school problem in Turkey. 25 percent of female students and 28 percent of male students in the 15-year-old age group stated that they were subjected to bullying at least a few times a month. These rates are above the OECD average.

The increasing gang formation and violence in schools in disadvantaged areas of the city stem from the combination of young people's search for belonging and protection with peer pressure, negative role models, and distorted socialization processes. To solve this problem, cooperation between the family, school, and social environment must be strengthened; by combating economic deprivation, social exclusion, and anxiety about the future, safe areas of belonging must be created for young people. School-based psychosocial support, studies that strengthen peer relationships, and early intervention programs should be expanded; the fight against violence should be carried out not only with disciplinary measures but with preventive and protective social policies.

Moving Away from a Safe School Climate

Schools should be restructured with an understanding in line with reasonable-scale, holistic, and contemporary needs, escaping the trap of large schools and crowded classrooms. While a suffocating, rote-based curriculum, long school hours, and schoolyards trapped in concrete damage students' sense of belonging to the school, heavy workloads, insufficient income, and professional loneliness increase teacher burnout. The problem continues in a chain reaction.

The way out of the crisis lies in establishing a school climate that liberates students from the yard to the classroom, improving the working conditions of teachers, and providing the educational staff with strong psychosocial support that will equip them with skills for working with at-risk children, stress management, and crisis resolution. Schools should be made centers of attraction again by increasing social, sporting, and artistic activities.

The school guidance system should be removed from an authoritarian understanding that inspects, shapes, and punishes. Instead, the system should transform the school climate into a participatory, human-centered, democratic area of belonging based on trust, love, and mutual value. In this context, "school councils" can regain functionality. Guidance services should ensure that students feel they are valued and cared for individuals, not objects to be inspected. In this direction, instead of a strict disciplinary approach, a student-centered school climate that adopts democratic values should be created; guidance and psychosocial support services, especially for 'disadvantaged' students and those with low academic success, should be strengthened within the scope of the fight against substance abuse.

Strengthening school-family cooperation and increasing the trust families have in the school is a fundamental requirement for the development and safety of children. The weakening of communication within the family can lead children to direct their search for understanding and belonging to digital channels. Therefore, it is important for parents to establish trust-based relationships with their children and to evaluate behavioral changes, withdrawal, and distancing from peer circles as early warning signs. Listening to children without judgment and observing them closely is of critical importance for the early detection of the risk of turning to violence and for the development of preventive interventions.

The potential of the media to reproduce and normalize violence should not be ignored. In the presentation of violent incidents, news language that glorifies the perpetrator, dramatizes the attack, and rewards violence through visibility should be avoided. Instead of sensational narratives, the media should adopt ethical journalism principles that focus on the social causes of violence, respect the rights of victims, and reduce the risk of violence being imitated.