Fighting the Scourge: Violence and Curriculum Delivery in Urban South African Schools

Abstract

This paper discusses the findings of a study conducted in Gauteng, South Africa in 2009. The main aim of the study was to examine principals’ and educators’ experiences of violence in schools and how they are dealing with it. This included investigating the extent to which the management of curriculum delivery was compromised due to the violence occurring in schools; principals’ application of discipline, with reference to both learners and teachers, given the increasing incidents of school violence; and the changes in the teaching and learning context due to violence in schools. Qualitative research was employed and individual and focus group interviews were used to collect data from the school management teams, educators and school governing bodies (parent component). One of the findings of the study, which is the focus of this paper, was that violence in schools affects teaching and learning, because it wastes teaching and learning time, causes learners to stay absent from school and creates the need for trauma counselling for the victims, perpetrators of violence and educators. If violence is reduced, the negative impact on curriculum delivery will also be reduced. The recommendation is that instead of using traditional violence reduction measures only, schools should also use Invitational Education theory of practice to reduce violence.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p1658