Violence in Schools

Abstract

The first section looks at the extent of violence in Africa and discusses definitions of violence and school violence. It then examines and discusses the essentially social basis and causes of violence focussing on three in particular—social and economic inequality, models of masculinity with a proclivity to violence and authoritarian and violent forms of socialisation. The chapter then goes on to discuss in some detail these three factors in relation to violence in schools. The next discusses different types and sources of violence in schools in detail. The final section of the chapter asks what might be done to decrease violence in African schools and suggests a number of important ways forward and uses some positive examples of projects to reduce violence in African schools.