Category: School Violence

Introduction

In the recent years, there has been a marked rise in cases of juvenile violence. These cases have been highlighted by some especially tragic shootings that have taken place in school districts throughout the nation.

Owing to the high publicity that school shootings have received through the years, policy makers have engaged in the increased implementation of zero tolerance policies on violence that are meant to extinguish violence (Cornell, 2006). However, school violence has continued to take place despite the presence of these policies which were meant to ensure that schools remain safe for students.

Unlike other forms of violence, school violence is shaped by numerous factors including socioeconomic, status and cultural (UNESCO, 2007). This complexity makes school violence harder to predict or even understand. To try and shed some light on the issue, this paper shall perform a detailed research as to why school violence occurs, and the people most likely to perpetrate it. A discussion of the proposed solution to the problem of school violence shall also be undertaken.

What is School Violence?

School violence is defined as “any behavior that violates a school’s educational mission or climate of respect or jeopardizes the intent of the school to be free of aggression against persons or property, drugs, weapons, disruptions and disorder” (NTAC, 2002). From this definition, it is clear that school violence entails more than just the brutal school shootings that have come to be synonymous with the term “school violence” owing to the media depiction of the same.

The definition of “school violence” also suggests that there are some behaviors which have been noted to lead to violent behavior which manifests itself in the form of school violence. A deeper understanding of these behaviors can help policy makers, school administrators and parents alike ensure that the cases of school violence are reduced.

Why does School Violence Occur?

Preti suggest that school violence and in particular school shootings may be caused by “peer’s rejection, particularly bullying and victimization” (Preti, 2008). This is an opinion that is reinforced by the Center for Disease Control (2010) which affirms that according to research on youths, individuals who have a history of violent victimization have a higher risk of being involved in cases of school violence.

This is a physiologically sound reason for the cause of violence since when people feel victimized, they tend to be more prone to perform acts of violence. Cornell (2006) theorizes that victims of relentless bullying mostly respond by rejecting conventional values and becoming morbidly preoccupied with violent revenge schemes.

When young people feel alienated from their peers, they end up feeling unconnected with the school community and the world around them. This may lead to them resorting to the planning and engaging in violent actions in an effort to win the attention as well as the notoriety of both their immediate community and beyond. (Gerler, 2004).

Arguably one of the factors that have led to the increase in the rates of school violence is the increased possession of firearms by school age children as well as the relative ease of access to guns. Cornel (2006) reports that “more than three-fourths of the murders committed by juveniles involved guns.” While guns by themselves do not result in youth violence, their presence plays a critical role in escalating aggressive behavior as even ordinary disputes and arguments can escalate into killings.

Depression and other mental disorders may also predispose one to violence. Most of the students who have gone on shooting rampages in the previous years have been noted to suffer from depression and suicidal behaviors (NTAC, 2002). This suggests that violence may have a more deep rooted cause than just the presence of guns or a non conducive learning environment.

The causes of depression or mental disorders are varied and they may include many factors such as economic hardships, abusive environment at home and failure at school to name but a few. Students who suffer from these psychological disorders may not be able to handle some situations as well as psychologically healthy students.

Another not so subtle cause of school violence is the media influence on children. Specifically, violent video games have been blamed for some of the worse school shootings in the country. This is because the correlation between video-game violence and increased aggression amongst the youths is unnerving.

Anderson and Bushman (2001) hypothesize that it is no coincidence that recent cases of high school and campus violence are in most cases perpetrated by individuals who habitually played violent video games. Studies indicate that the reason for increased aggression with increased exposure to violence scenes is because aggression is largely based on the learning function of the brain and as such, each violent episode is in essence one more learning trial (Dill, 2009).

While proponents of video games insist that video games cannot influence a non-violent person into violence, hundreds of scientific studies affirm that “exposure to entertainment violence increases a child’s aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and, over time, increases the risk that a child will engage in violent criminal behavior” (Cornell, 2006).

Another argument advanced as to the cause of school violence is that schools in general promote negative responses from students thus invoking violence and other anti-social behavior.

A report by UNESCO (2007) asserts that a negative perception of the school environment by students can result in active aggressive resistance. In its most extreme, this aggressive resistance can manifest itself in the form of school shootings. The report further suggests that the fact that most schools have an authoritarian system rather than a democratic model schools can indeed lead to resentment by students and therefore violence.

How to Prevent School Violence

Owing to the adverse effect that violence has on both the students in school and the community at large, measures to alleviate this problem have been proposed. One of the measures proposed is the introduction of a curricular to help prevent violence. Reece, Russell and House (2001) indicate that such curriculums teach students means other than violence through which they can solve their interpersonal and personal problems.

By integrating such educational programs into the students learning, children can be empowered on how to react to situations without having to resolve to violence. Such curriculums also place an emphasis on the need to seek help if a person is troubled (Reece, Russell & House, 2001).

Peer mediation has been suggested to be an effective means through which students can be taught how to negotiate and help peers settle disagreements. The Safe and Responsive Schools Project (2004) note that if properly implemented, peer mediation programs can result in problem resolution without resulting to confrontations or violence.

These programs also encourage greater willingness to help friends avoid fights as well as shunning victimization. Reports indicate that implementing peer mediation programs can be associated with reduction in fights as well as school suspensions therefore leading to a more amicable learning environment for everyone.

The CDC (2010) reveals that half the people who commit school violence tell at least one person about their plans. This demonstrates that would-be offenders are indeed keen on reaching out as they do not their intentions a secret. Therefore, one of the avenues from which the prevention of school violence can be undertaken is by ensuring that school children have an opportunity to talk and connect with the adults around them.

As it currently stands, the perpetrators of violence in schools only make known their intentions to their peers who are less inclined to given the information to adults. This is as a result of the barriers that exist between students and the adults who are mostly seen as adversarial authority figures. The CPSV (2002) suggests that for violence prevention to be achieved, it is importance to work towards decreasing barriers that my prevent students who have useful information from forwarding it to adults.

Guns have been seen to play a major role in school violence cases. A study by the NTAC (2002) indicates that most attackers had used guns in previous cases and also had easy access to the weapons. While it may be impossible to totally limit the access to guns by students, measures can be taken to ensure that access is as restricted as possible. Considering the fact that most attackers obtain their guns from home, ensuring the safe storage of guns by parent can mitigate the violence perpetrated by guns (NTAC, 2002).

Discussion

Despite cases of school violence, a report by the (NTAC, 2002) indicates that American schools still remain to be some of the safest in the world.

The report highlights the fact that official statistics depict a steady decline in the rate of school violence in America. It is the high profile school shootings which are over dramatized by the media that have continued to paint a picture of schools being a very dangerous place.

However, school violence even in limited degrees remains undesirable to the community and means for dealing with the same have to be discovered and implemented so as to ensure the absolute safety of children in schools.

Presently, the measures that have been most exploited to aid in the prevention of school violence is the imposition of stringent punishments and rules against possession of guns or knives.

The CPSV (2002) articulates that trying to prevent school violence solely by implementing physical security measures which are designed to deter or prevent children having weaponry in school is not enough. An addressing of the core issues of bullying, isolation or mental health is also needed to ensure a better chance of preventing school violence and therefore making the schools safer for the students.

Conclusion

This paper set out to discuss school violence so as to provide a deeper understanding of the issue. To this end, this paper has defined school violence and embarked on outlining the various causes and prevention measures of this condition. From the arguments advanced in this paper, it is clear that there is no one approach that can be prescribed for preventing school violence.

This is because there exist a myriad of factors that lead to school violence. As such, for school violence to be retarded and eventually extinguished, these many factors have to be addressed and resolved. Only by doing this can a safer learning environment for the students be guaranteed.

References

Anderson, A. C. & Brad J. B. (2001). Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior. American Psychological Society. VOL. 12, NO. 5.

Dill, K., E. (2009). How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence. Oxford University Press.

CDC. (2010). Understanding School Violence. Web.

Center for the Prevention of School Violence (CPSV). (2002). Just What is “School Violence”? Web.

Cornell, D. G. (2006). School Violence: Fears versus Facts. USA: Routledge.

Gerler, R. E. (2004). Handbook of School Violence. USA: Routledge.

National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), (2002). Preventing School Shootings: A Summary of a U.S. Secret Service Safe School Initiative Report. NIJ Journal no. 248. Web.

Preti, A. (2008). School Shooting as a Culturally Enforced Way of Expressing Suicidal Hostile Intentions. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 36:4:544-550. Web.

Reece, P. l., Russell, S. & House, C. (2001). Creating School Climates that Prevent School Violence. Web.

Safe and Responsive Schools Project (SRS). (2004). Preventing School Violence: A Practical Guide to comprehensive Planning. Web.

UNESCO (2007). Expert Meeting “Stopping Violence in Schools: What Works?” Web.

The United States’ high school system has been plagued by an increasing number of violent incidents especially the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, involving the deaths of 14 persons and injuries to 24 others, and the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16, 2007 when South Korean student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 persons injured many more.

The first cause of violence comprises School and Peer Risk factors. Poor academic performance of a student is the first reason. Students who obtain below-average marks tend to be frustrated and jealous of others who fare better. The second reason is participation as members in cliques. The clique or gang mentality forces students to engage in antisocial group activities even if they secretly disapprove of such actions. The third reason is treatment of students as social pariahs by peers. The rejection sparks inferior complex feelings in the victims. The fourth reason is student involvement with delinquent peers. Normal students tend to imitate the behavioral techniques of such delinquent students. The last reason is little or non-association with the high school’s conventional activities including sports. Students who do not display sufficient interest in sports, or who do not properly respect sporting stars may become targets of fanatic sport supporters (CDC).

The second cause comprises Individual Risk factors. Use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco is the foremost reason. The second reason is an unfavorable record of treatment for emotional difficulties, violence involvement or victimization. The third reason is possession of a low IQ and a below-average information assimilation capability. The fourth reason is an unfavorable record of violent behavior and poor behavioral management. The fifth reason is subscribing to beliefs and attitudes that are hostile and do not conform to accepted behavioral standards. The last reason is regular experiencing scenes of violence, disagreement and tension within the family (CDC).

The third cause consists of Family Risk Factors. The first reason is faulty childrearing brought about by very strict or too lenient attitude of parents, indifference or poor parental involvement, monitoring and overseeing activities (CDC) especially concerning viewing violent movies , listening to ‘dark’ music , or playing violent video games (Wikipedia.org). The second is a low education level of parents that prevents them from properly understanding correct childrearing techniques. The third reason is low parental income that prevents the family from having the basic amenities needed to enjoy a reasonably good standard of living. The last reason is parental addiction to alcohol, tobacco, drugs (CDC) or other vices like gambling and indulging in extramarital sex.

Community Risk Factors comprise the fourth cause. The first reason is social disorganization and an excessive number of low income residents in the community. The second reason is a low amount of community participation. The third reason is the bad example set by a large number of family break-ups in the community. The last reason is a high tendency of people to take up temporary residence in the community (CDC).

The first remedy to conquer the effects of violence in U.S high schools is implementing stricter rules in schools that, based on an absolute zero tolerance to weapons and menacing behavior, threaten harsh punishment or banishment for those found guilty of perpetrating violence in schools; such rules should invariably include a total ban on cliques and practices associated with them. The second remedy is to increase the presence of high school counselors to identify and control would-be violence instigators. The third remedy is for parents to take more interest in children activities, both scholarly as well as extra curricular. The fourth remedy is to implement a radical change in U.S. gun politics. Firearms are easily available all over the country, even to those who are not supposed to possess them. Students seeking sensational outlets to their violent feelings find it easy to buy guns to carry out their crimes with impunity. A chilling example is Seung-Hui Cho, who caused the Virginia Tech massacre. Although declared mentally unstable two years earlier, Cho was able to easily purchase two semi-automatic pistols to perpetrate the massacre. The incident caused Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to pass an executive order meant to end differences between U.S. federal and state law that permitted Cho to buy the handguns.

A whopping $158 billion is spent by the U.S each year in direct and indirect costs related to youth violence (CDC). Quick and effective remedies on all fronts – the school, the family and the government’s gun politics – are urgently needed if schools are to be restored to what they are supposed to be: hallowed houses of learning and all-round development of students meant to be groomed into responsible future citizens upholding the grand tradition of the world’s leading nation, the United States of America.

References

“Columbine High School Massacre”. 2007.

“Virginia Tech Massacre”. 2007.

“Youth Violence: Fact Sheet”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2007. Web.

Today school violence is becoming very rampant and it has continued to become a recurring problem in various educational premises. These problems are never easy to understand and neither are there simple solutions to quell these issues (Arnold 1981). That is why the question the society is asking is, what causes the occurrence of a series of events related to violence that often result to death or fatal injuries to innocent students during an occurrence like school shooting?

Many psychologists would refer the roots of such violence to be from experiences of individual imbalance, poor parenting and lack of ways to uphold traditional practices and eventually having a guilty conscience which drives most of the perpetrators of this kind of violence to action. Parents are regarded as role models of their children as they grow up but today’s parents are doing very little to help nurture their children as they grow up.

Most of them spend their time trying to fend for their families that they forget to give time and advice to their children. For this reason, once they get the information of an incidence that concerned violence in a school they get surprised and often wonder how the issue could have occurred. The fact is there are parents who don’t care what their children do; some don’t discipline their children so as not to appear bad before their children’s. The problem faced by many parents is they think whatever a child does will always be a less harmful action this is the perception until the story turns into a deadly result for instance, a shoot out.

The other cause of violence is the incapacity of an individual to handle emotional crisis and psychological crisis. Many teenage youngsters will turn to violence as way of solving their accumulated problems both which are internal and external. One of the factors leading to emotional crisis and physiological crisis is the fact that every student to some degree level is under stress to attain good grades academically. Some of these teenagers end up having a kind of mental imbalance due to psychotropic medications during such actions.

Such people are often noted to be on medicated drugs from the time they commence school throughout their school years and even beyond. Often their doctors are involved in altering and increasing the dosage as they get older. The kind of medication that they are given includes Ritalin, Prozac and Luvox. It is not known to what extent the drugs affect the brain chemistry and the future behavior of an individual but if the problem is not looked in to, it is good to be aware that any chemical that alters the behavior of a person, it is bound to have after effects such as mental imbalance especially when the prescription is stopped.

According to information I have gathered, most eye witnesses are recorded to almost having the same kind of statements that ‘they thought the perpetrators were only joking’ until they start shooting. In my point of view most of the people who conduct such violations go through periods of feeling unconnected to the world around them, being ignored by their peers, parents and other people in general and as a result they turn to violent acts like shooting/any other kind of violations in way to try and seek attention (Lucinda 2007). In addition, they may be too frustrated as a result of lacking positive influence from their peers and the action they take is a cause for revenge.

For many of them they seek power and revenge. Once they are in possession of a gun then they feel they have the power, once they take the action of pulling a trigger and shooting someone they feel they have quenched their desires. In my opinion the mentioned causes of school violence are problems that can be dealt with through public policy solutions so as to try and reduce the number of school violence taking place across the nation (Goldstein & Conoley, 1997). By using public policy solutions, it means we are trying to decrease the causes or contributing factors of school violations and eventually eliminate it all together.

References

Arnold P.G. (2004). New perspectives on aggression replacement training: practice, research and application. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.

Conoley J. C. and Goldstein A. P. (2004). School violence intervention: a practical handbook. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Lucinda A. (2007). School Violence Current Controversies. Berkeley, CA: Greenhaven Press.

School violence has become an international issue in education systems because it has affected not only delivery of educational services, but also lives of students.

Since education systems in various countries aim at enhancing intellectual capacity and shaping development of behaviors in society, it is critical in development of a peaceful and prosperous society, which relies on values and ethics. School violence is a global phenomenon for various studies show that due to globalization, developing countries are now experiencing high incidences of school violence signifying that they are adopting trends in developed countries.

However, education systems play significant role in unifying diverse society as it provides a platform where children socialize and share different values of society and become assimilated into diverse society.

According to Benbenishty and Astor, school violence is a global issue that needs concerted interventions from various countries and stakeholders in formulation of theories and policies to avert increasing trends of violence in schools (75). Therefore, how can functionalism and conflict theory help us understand the nature of school violence?

According conflict theory, violence is an inherent and natural tendency of human beings as it provides means of struggling and achieving resources.

People in the society are constantly struggling to a achieve resources such as power, class, and status to keep abreast with social, economic, and political dynamics that shape lives. Smith argues that, most social conflicts emanate from unequal distribution of resources; power, class, and status, hence making people to struggle endlessly and eventually resort to violence as a means of achieving the resources (216).

In schools, there exists inequality among students and staff. Given that there is great power, class, and status difference between staff and students, it gives a potential source of conflict.

Sometimes tension occurs between student leaders and ordinary students due to power difference thus creating a conflict among students; moreover, students at times direct their aggressive behavior towards staff. Thus, existence of power, class, and status in schools forms the basis of violence that normally erupts many a times.

Functionalist theory perceives a society as a social system that depends on certain critical functions for society to survive sustainably and stand the test of time.

Therefore, since schools are social entities that function independently, they are social systems that need certain critical functions for them to run efficiently. According to Davis, for a social system to function effectively and efficiently, it requires appropriate allocation of roles and performance (4).

In schools, if there is poor allocation of roles that consequently results into poor performance, it affects functions of schools as a social system and in turn elicits conflict. This means that if administration fails to show appropriate leadership or students fail to obey leadership, conflicts arise. Thus, stalled functions due to insufficient leadership results into violence in schools.

Conclusively, violence in schools occurs due to unequal distribution of resources such as power, class, and status. Inequality in schools is the chief source of violence because conflicting parties will try to use violence as a means of achieving the scarce resources. Therefore, so long as there is inequality of resources in schools, violence is eminent.

In addition, poor administration of schools as social systems that require stringent allocation of roles and regulation of responsibilities results into conflicts and violence. Therefore, to avert rising cases of school violence across the world, education systems should ensure that there is equal distribution of resources and effective administration of schools.

Works Cited

Benbenishty, Rami and Astor, Ron. School Violence in an International Context: A Call

for Global Collaboration in Research and Prevention. International Journal of Violence and School, 4.6 (2008): 59-81.

Davis, Kingsley. Functionalist Theory. Sociological Studies, 2009: 1-12.

Smith, Allan. Theory Cumulation and Schools of Thought: Conflict and Critical Theories. Sociology, 2007: 211-241.

Introduction

Today no special mechanism is standard for preventing school violence due to diversity in social status, economical status, and location. Schools implement various measures to prevent violence such as warning signals, checklists and, policies for zero tolerance but the dangers still persists, because some of these measures end up exacerbating the issue.

Hypothetically, the school-based violence has a close link to poverty, which is the key factor for discontent and frustration and consequently the anger especially in developing nation. Other cases have a close link to the experiences and development. The domestic violence also has a close link to behavioural and learning problems.

During development, a child may feel the need for retaliation. Other possible sources may include discrimination, the societal background, the common school drug related problems, cultural imagery on the television and audio shows, materialism, competitiveness and lack of identity.

A good example of the school violence is the April 16, 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech University, which remains a big sear for the hearts of those who were directly involved as well as those affected such as the victims’ families or friends. On that terrible day, the struggling loss of lives due to one disturbed young man make many people ask what made Cho to act in a beastly manner like he did, and likewise, what can be done to prevent such kind of massacre form happening again.

According to Hauser of “The New York Times” newspaper on the day of the tragedy, thirty-three people were involved in a mass murder at the university after one of the student: Cho went round the bend to a shooting rampage, in a close link to the reports made by federal law enforcement officials at the site. Many of the victims were students shot in classrooms and dorms.

In a close link to Feldman (2009), we can only stop inquiring ways of preventing such scenarios or why they occur if we realize that all the requirements for prevention are within reach. There is need for commitment over the facts and full transparency concerning logical understanding.

The universities need to be on the forefront in ensuring they are well equipped with required facilities to handle health related matters. This may include the student’s counselling centres, mental health programs or support groups, procedures for making referrals and, emergency psychiatric services to encourage students to seek and share feelings before they are out of hand.

Selected Solutions to school violence

There is an urgent need for the educators and parents to have the initiatives of pursuing this issue through a coordinated procedure. It is possible to implement the violence prevention programs based on the specific school setups through solicited funds and, the government or sponsors grants.

Secondly, it is promising to utilize the intelligent and well-planned campaigns to stop the violence issue and thus the need for proper and critical considerations over such crusades. This is an awareness program to fight violence especially among the teenagers.

Teachers need to consider the strategy of enhancing the responsibility aspects in the minds of the learners in the effort of making them understand the importance of stopping the violence at all costs. The learners should know that the act is illegal and immoral. Today the youth have tightly embraced the extremely dynamic and advancing technology.

This means that the “websites, television and radio programs, public service announcements are some vital aspects the campaigns against violence in schools ought to focus” (Prinstein and Dodge, 2008).

The government/sponsors also need to tighten use of technology as a teaching aid through ample sponsorship since the youth are today highly conversant with technology. Learning programs or curriculums should avail access to information on bullying prevention and support implementation of activities that support unity at school or community level.

Conclusion

Violence in schools is an act that erodes the learning atmosphere by impairing the teaching and learning processes. The act is very tactless to individual inner being or conscious and thus often lead to short-term and long-term consequences such as suicide and homicide as experienced at the Virginia Tech a couple of years back. For this reason, it is the responsibility of every person to work aggressively to reduce the wicked act.

According to Webb and Terr (2007), healthy and productive education process cannot occur in an environment full of fear. All students have a right to a safe learning environment without the worry of attendance for the fear of unfriendly treatments or worst still abusive acts.

The educators cannot fully depend on the government to solve all the cases or provide full protection. It would therefore be wise for everyone in the society to take initiative and commit to the issue. This can highly reduce or better still demise of the offense and the schools will thus be safe and enjoyable for everyone.

References

Feldman, R.S. (2009) Discovering the Life Span. (First Ed). Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishers.

Hauser, Christine. (2007). Virginia Tech Shooting. The New York Times. Web.

Prinstein M and Dodge K, (2008), Understanding Peer Influence in Children and Adolescents. Guilford Press publishers, P. 239.

Webb N and Terr L, (2007), Play Therapy with Children in Crisis: Individual, Group, and Family Treatment. Guilford Press publishers, P. 251.

Introduction

Violence in schools has seized media attention as they present a side of the adolescence or childhood that is beyond public imagination and creates extensive outcry. A more recent shooting occurred in Washington state high school where a teenager open fired in the cafeteria and then killed himself (Death Toll Rises to 5 in School Shooting, 2014).

Newspapers and television channels, the next day, are covered with this news with headlines like “2 Die, Including Gunman, in Shooting at Washington State High School” (Jhonson & Lovett, 2014), “’Senseless tragedy’: Second girl dies in Washington state high school shooting” (Molinet, 2014), and “Two Dead in Shooting at Washington State High School” (Phillips, Grind, & Elinson, 2014) are typical description of school shootout incidents.

The social and political impact of the news story is apparent with the rampant negative media coverage that creates a dislike for violence. The annual report on school crime and safety shows that the in 2012 there were 35 non-fatal and victimization in 2010 and 52 in 2013 for 1000 students within the age group of 12 to 18 years (Morgan, Kemp, Rathbun, Robers, & Synder, 2014).

Any event of violence in school is usually covered with great zeal by the media, and during its lifespan, the media often end up reframing the story by emphasizing on different attributes of the event (Menield, Rose, Homa, & Cunningham, 2001). Given this goal of the media, it is important to understand the motive of the media while broadcasting particular news.

To serve this end, the study aims to examine how media coverage of Marysville school shoot out has been covered by popular media in order understand the underlined media agenda. Thus, the study will answer two specific research questions:

1. How does media coverage (on school violence) contribute to the cultivation of violence?
2. What framing themes emerge?

The paper is divided into three sections. The first section presents a review of literature of similar events by academicians. The second section will discuss the background of the Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting episode and discuss the methodology and the data collection method.

The third section will discuss the specific case of Marysville Pilchuck High shooting and how media has framed the story of this particular event. Then the analysis portion will deal with the tying up of the primary findings with the theories derived from the literature review. This section will also entail a discussion of the limitations of this particular study.

Literature Review

Literature on school violence and media portrayal shows that there are three different forms of depiction of the story. Entman defines framing as a means “to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text” (1993, p. 52).

He stresses on the role framing plays in embedding the agenda in the text of the news and influences the thinking of the masses. Framing shows the power to communicate a text to the desired population and analysis of the framing of the news helps to understand the influence that the news may have on the human consciousness.

Scheufele defined framing as “social constructivism” and a point out that mass media deliberately “sets the frames of reference that readers or viewers use to interpret and discuss public events” (1999, p. 105). He distinguishes between two types of frames, namely individual frames and media frames.

His study clearly shows four types of structural dimensions of the news coverage of a particular event that influences creation of the frame: synthetic structure, script structure, thematic structure, and rhetoric structure (Scheufele, 1999). Synthetic structure implies the patterns in which the “words and phrases” are arranged in particular news.

Script structure refers to the “general newsworthiness of an event as well as the intention to communicate news and events to the audience that transcends their limited sensory experiences” (1999, p. 111). When journalists consciously try to impose a causal theme in their story in order to excite a specific statement or to link the story to a direct quote of a source, is referred to as thematic structure.

Rhetoric structure refers to the “stylistic choice” of a news report made by the journalist in order to create an intended effect with the story (Scheufele, 1999, p. 111). The literature shows that studies on media communication of events have always tried to frame a story in a particular way, in order to incite a desired opinion among the masses.

The review presents that studies of framing of events by the media should concentrate on finding how the news has been portrayed by the media and what is the nature of framing of the story. Earlier researches on violence in schools have concentrated on doing a content analysis of the coverage of the news events.

News coverage of violence in school has been studied by many researchers like Menield, et al. (2001) Chyi and McCombs (2004), Muschert and Carr (2006), Muschert (2009), Hawdon, Agnich, and Ryan (2014) et al. all conduct a content analysis of the news coverage to understand the media’s influence in framing the act of violence in school.

Muschert and Carr (2006) and Mushcert (2009) point out that the mass media plays a strong role in creating a Rashomon effect in covering a school shooting, wherein the masses experience school shooting through media coverage.

Muschert and Carr (2006) points out that framing creates a perception about the news among readers/viewers and the perception is susceptible to change with change in framing. In their selective dissemination of the news, media can choose to highlight certain parts of the event that they deem important (Chyi & McCombs, 2004; Muschert, 2009).

Thus, media framing of news events shows how framing of an event creates a perceptual difference among the masses. The media often end up being biased while framing the news. This paper will discuss the case of Marysville High School shooting based on the theory of media framing conceptualized by Scheufele (1999).

Methodology and Data Collection

Data Collection

The data for the research will be collected from online local and national news sources regarding the Marysville high school shooting that occurred in October 2014. The articles are located from open online sources for 10 days period from the day of occurrence of the event i.e. 24 October 2014.

Following the methodology adopted by Chyi and McCombs (2004) the paper will conduct a content analysis of the shooting coverage done by two national newspapers The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and two local newspapers The Seattle Times and Marysville Globe in order to understand the change in framing of the story by a media.

This will allow us to understand the framing process over time and space dimension. Further, the changes in frame of the public dissemination of the news will help us to understand the spread of violence through media coverage. Further, studying the coverage done by four different newspapers will help understand the different natures of framing done by the media for this particular event.

Content Analysis

The first consideration of the analysis would be the area and number of days from the event is first considered. Then the total number of articles related to the events that were published by the newspaper in the 10 days. The number of words, lines, paragraphs, and pictures used for the articles were also counted for each article.

The language used for the headlines of the articles were examined in order to determine a consistent pattern of words or phrases used in them to describe the crime, the victims, the perpetrator, and the assumed reason behind the shootout.

The articles are further coded to understand the space frame and the period of the dissemination of the news. The space frame aims to understand if the articles were focused on individual’s story (i.e. the perpetrator, victim, or their family members, or others), community (i.e. the town, school, or ethnic community of the victims or perpetrator), regional (the area of the event), societal (i.e. nationwide interest) or international (Chyi & McCombs, 2004).

Marysville Pilchuck High School Shooting

Background

The Marysville high school shooting took place on 24 October 2014 in the Washington State High School where a 15-year-old student shot five of the other students and killed four of them. He then shot himself to death. This event evoked rampant media attention and created a plethora of public opinion. This event is the most recent vent of fatal school violence and has not yet been analyzed by researchers.

Media Coverage

In order to study the nature of media coverage this paper analyses the articles printed in the first 10 days after the incidence occurred on 24 October 2014. Two regional and two national newspapers are analyzed in order to understand the nature of the news coverage for the event.

The first phase of the analysis pertains to the number of articles published in the newspapers. In the first 10 days, the local news coverage in Marysville Globe was three articles for the event and Seattle Globe published five articles. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times published 3 and 5 articles respectively in the first 10 days covering the event.

The average number of unique words per article in Marysville Globe is 881 words and that in Seattle Globe is 1025 while that in Wall Street Journal is 687 and New York Times is 849. Therefore, on an average the coverage in terms of unique words per article is more in local newspapers than in national newspapers. However, the national newspapers have used more pictures in their articles than local newspaper.

Table 1: Media coverage in four newspaper and basic descriptive statistics.

Table 2: Analysis of the Headlines.

Table 2 presents the analysis of the headlines of the articles. The newspapers are clubbed based on their region of publication. The local newspapers are found to give less stress on the aspect of ‘shooting’ than the national newspapers.

The reference to the community, body of students, Marysville or Washington has been made more in the titles of national newspapers. The word gunman has been used twice in national newspaper titles and has not been used in local newspapers.

The analysis of the headline and the word count shows that the news articles different in focus on the event. The local newspapers were more inclined to portray the event as an incident and not incite anger among public. Hence, the more subdued headlines and fewer pictures.

Further, local newspaper headlines stressed on the community and the local society rather than the ‘gunman’ and ‘shooting’, whereas, that in the national newspapers concentrated on portraying the horror image of the incident with more rampant use of words like ‘shooting’, ‘gunman’, and ‘victim’ in its headlines.

A more detailed analysis of the words and phrases used in the articles of the newspapers show that the usage of words can show a lot about the nature of framing of the news by the newspapers. Table 3 presents the frequency of the words occurring in the articles analyzed in each paper.

The table shows that the occurrence of words like shooting/gun, and death/fatality occur more in national newspapers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The stress on the occurrences of death due to a perpetrator creates a feeling of anger among the readers of this newspaper.

However, the local newspapers talk more of the community and the families and the effort the local community is doing to help those who have suffered a loss from the event. This news coverage spreads a more positive effect among the readers.

Table 3: Frequency of words that occurred most in the articles analyzed.

The New York Times has used the name of the perpetrator, Jaylan 38 times in 5 articles while it has only been used 4 times in Wall Street Journal and 14 times in Seattle Global. The repetition of the name of the perpetrator makes it easier for the readers to associate with the perpetrator while making his name associated with adjectives like shooter. The other three newspapers have used the name fewer times but have used adjectives like ‘shooter” more frequently.

The use and stress on the words related to death and fatality ignites a fear and anger among readers. The national newspapers have mostly concentrated on reporting the death tolls and the condition of the victims while the local newspapers were more concerned on showing the effect the incident had on the school, students, community, Marysville, and Washington.

Summary Analysis

The first articles published in each of the newspapers on 25 October 2014 showed that all three newspapers except Wall Street Journal had released the name of the perpetrator but not of the dead female victim. The Wall Street Journal article was divided into three sections – reporting of the event, comment of the authorities and community leaders, and finding a relation with other events of school shootout.

Clearly, the stress of the article lay on the ‘societal framing’ of the event that tried to make the event a national news. The article published in the New York Times concentrated more on the community and individual framing. Individual framing was the aim of the two local newspaper articles reviewed.

However, the later articles in the local newspapers were more concentrated on community framing and individual framing as the articles mostly concentrated on showing the condition of the victims and the background of the perpetrator. The community framing of the articles demonstrated the action the community and student body was taking to show solidarity and trace a future path for safety of the students has been reported in these articles.

Hence, three kinds of framing of news articles are observed in this paper – individual, community, and societal framing. Local newspapers mostly do individual and community framing while societal framing is more done in national newspapers.

The articles printed in the newspapers, especially the local newspapers, aimed specifically to divert the rising anger within the community with less focus on the horror of the day and news of recovery and closure. The articles in Seattle Globe tried to show how the community and the authorities were prepared to handle such an emergency.

Therefore, the local newspaper was framing the story in such a way to avert public anger. The national newspapers first reported of the mystery teacher who had supposedly stopped the shooting and talked of the day of the shooting more vividly. The repetitive account the shooting emphasized on the horrid picture of the violence and created animosity among readers.

Clearly, the media reporting of the local and national newspapers were varied and they framed the stories differently. One focused more on building a shocked community with the other recounted the horrors of the shooting. Obviously, the latter was more inclined to create an environment of anger while the former would create hope.

Discussion

Limitations and Weaknesses

The paper’s analysis is confined only to the newspaper articles of four newspapers. Widening the research to more newspaper would provide a clearer picture. Further, the timeframe of the analysis is confined only 10 days. However, greater number of days would provide better analysis. News media is not confined to newspapers.

Today news is disseminated faster through television broadcasting. Hence, the news broadcasted on television too must be analyzed in order to see the framing process. Further, the effect of the framing of news should be compared to the reaction of the readers through online blogging, social networking, and comments on the articles to see the way the news has affected them.

Suggestion

The paper suggests that future researchers should analyze both the newspaper and television news. Then compare the comments of the reviewers/readers/ and bloggers based on the articles in order to gather a two way understanding of the framing process.

Conclusion

News framing is a popular way the media uses to communicate news to the masses. Through the process of framing, media usually disseminates their own beliefs and tries to shape public opinion regarding the events.

For this purpose, the media subtly uses various measures to communicate news. This analysis of the school shooting at Marysville shows that the nature of news framing differs significantly between local and national newspapers.

References

Chyi, H. I., & McCombs, M. (2004). Media salience and the process of framing: Coverage of the Columbine school shootings. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly , 81 (1), 22-35.

Death Toll Rises to 5 in School Shooting. The New York Times. Web.

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Hawdon, J., Agnich, L. E., & Ryan, J. (2014). Media framing of a tragedy: A content analysis of print media coverage of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Traumatology , 20 (3), 199-208.

Jhonson, K., & Lovett, I. (2014). 2 Die, Including Gunman, in Shooting at Washington State High School. The New York Times. Web.

Menield, C. E., Rose, W. H., Homa, J., & Cunningham, A. B. (2001). The media’s portrayal of urban and rural school violence: a preliminary analysis. Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal , 22, 447–464.

Molinet, J. (2014). ‘Senseless tragedy’: Second girl dies in Washington state high school shooting. New York Daily. Web.

Morgan, R. E., Kemp, J., Rathbun, A., Robers, S., & Synder, T. D. (2014). Indicators Of School Crime And Safety, 2013. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Web.

Muschert, G. W. (2009). Frame-changing in the media coverage of a school shooting: The rise of Columbine as a national concern. The Social Science Journal , 46 (1), 164-170.

Muschert, G. W., & Carr, D. (2006). Media salience and frame changing across events: Coverage of nine school shootings, 1997–2001. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly , 83 (4), 747-766.

Phillips, E. E., Grind, K., & Elinson, Z. (2014). Two Dead in Shooting at Washington State High School. The Wall Street Journal. Web.

Scheufele, D. A. (1999). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of communication , 49 (1), 103-122.

Literature review

Researchers have established a connection between exposure to media violence and school violence. Almond (2007) noted that effects of media violence on children and adolescents are determined by the length of exposure, age, and parental influence.

Exposure to media violence encourages violent and aggressive behaviors in children, introduces new concepts of violence that children have been unaware of, and augments negative experiences of violence and abuse. The Columbine High School massacre is an example of the effect of exposure to media violence of young people.

Research revealed that the two gunmen had great exposure to violent movies and video games. A survey by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also showed that the music, video game, and motion picture industry made the children exposed to violent content due to poor ratings.

The commission found out that children and adolescents get more exposure violence easily because ratings of media content do not show the quantity of violent content. Media violence affects brains of young viewers and replaces reality with fiction.

Children learn by imitating, observing, and adopting behaviors they consider appropriate (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009). Therefore, they imitate what they see in the media in order to understand the world. They are unable to differentiate between fiction and reality.

According to Anderson (1997), violent content in media exaggerates occurrence of violence in the world and depicts the world as an unsafe place.

This prompts children to develop aggressive behaviors to protect themselves and avoid being victimized by perpetrators of violence. Moreover, children are unable to differentiate between media fiction and reality (Cornell, 2006).

Introduction

Violence at schools is a disturbing youth delinquency that often affects today’s society. Many reasons have been given to explain the cause of the problem. One of the reasons is the effect of media violence on children and young people (Almond, 2007).

Exposure to media violence is an important study topic for psychologists. Studies have been conducted to ascertain the effect of media violence on young people, and the relationship between media violence and school violence.

Results have revealed that short-term and long-term exposure causes aggression and violence in children (Almond, 2007). Effects of exposure can be explained using cultivation and framing theories. Cultivation theory states that the media makes significant contribution towards shaping viewers’ perceptions of reality.

On the other hand, framing theory states that media controls the thinking of viewers by deciding what they watch or read. The two theories can be used to explicate the relationship between media violence and school violence.

Negative influences in the media

The media has been on the spotlight for its contribution to school violence. Researchers have established several ways through which media violence influences the behavior of young people.

As such, they have divided media violence into two classes that include passive violence and interactive violence (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009). Passive violence is displayed in television programs, news, music, and movies.

On the other hand, children are exposed to interactive violence through video games and other interactive activities that contain violent content (Anderson and Bushman, 2002). Any amount of exposure to violence in films or television programs causes aggression and destructive behaviors that can harm others.

Influencing factors

Factors that determine influence of media violence on children include the length of exposure, age, and parental influence (Cornell, 2006). These factors determine the degree of aggression or violence on actions of exposed children.

For example, the age of a viewer determines the extent to which violent content affects their behavior. Older children are more intelligent than younger children and practice more caution in aping what they see in violent films, movies, or games.

Short-term exposure increases the probability of developing violent behaviors (Gentile, 2003). Parents are an important factor in determining the effect of media violence on behavior of children. Parents are responsible for regulating the content that children are exposed to.

Therefore, they should ensure that children are not exposed to violent media content because it affects their emotions and behavior negatively (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009).

In addition, the social environment in which a child grows and the perception of the child determine the degree of negative influence. Many children perceive what they see in media as a representation of reality (Cornell, 2006).

How media violence fosters school violence

In order to understand the relationship between media violence and school violence, it is important to understand how exposure to media violence affects children. Research has revealed that media violence affects children in many ways.

First, it encourages imitation of violent behaviors by children because of the way violence is portrayed (Gentile, 2003). Secondly, it augments negative experiences, such as child abuse and domestic violence.

Thirdly, it introduces certain aspects of violence that appeal to children and they are unaware of (Gentile, 2003).

Encouragement of violent behaviors

Depiction of violence in the media encourages imitation of behaviors that result in aggression and violence. The media portrays violence as a source of great achievements and solutions to problems. According to Jones (2001), children are very curious and experimental.

Therefore, they imitate violent actions and behaviors shown in the media as a way of learning. For example, they ape actions of their favorite movie stars in order to be successful or victorious like them. They copy violent actions with the sole aim of receiving recognition from their peers for being daring (Jones, 2001).

Copying what they see is one of the ways through which children learn and interact with the environment. Therefore, exposure to media violence presents children with a learning opportunity. They learn by copying what they see and repeating it in real life through their actions and behaviors (Kirsh, 2006).

Research studies have established a strong relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior, bullying, depression, nightmares, and violent behavior (Kirsh, 2006).

The media influences children because of their modes of learning. Children learn effectively by imitating behaviors they consider appropriate. In addition, young children cannot differentiate between fiction and reality.

Exposure to new aspects of violence

Children learn many things concerning violence when they gain exposure to it in the media. For example, use of weapons, such as guns and knives, use of violence to solve problems, and use of violence to gain victory are common themes in the media (Murray, 2006).

As children watch them, they are attracted to depiction of violence as a way of solving problems and gaining victory. Psychologists have shown that children learn better through the use of visual and verbal forms. They learn easily through watching.

The media focuses more on negative perspectives of situations than on positive perspectives. According to cultivation theory, the media has great influence in determining how people perceive reality (Roskos and Monahan, 2007).

In addition, the theory explains that long-term exposure to media leads to construction of reality based on the reality model depicted by media (Roskos and Monahan, 2007). The media depicts violence as real being part of life.

As such, children embrace it and practice what they see as a way of synchronizing what they learn from their actions. The context in which violence is portrayed in the media encourages children and adolescents to become violent other than learn about violence (Murray, 2006).

The media uses violence for entertainment without considering its short-term and long-term effects on children who lack parental guidance. It desensitizes young people’s emotions towards violence.

Augmentation of negative experiences

The media augments negative experiences, such as child abuse and domestic violence. Children with these experiences learn that violence is part of life and reality. According to Schier (2008), children make sense of the world by associating what they see on the media with what they experience in their lives.

According to the framing theory, the media determines how people think by deciding what they see, watch, or read (Roskos and Monahan, 2007). Most films, movies, and video games choose violent themes to make them more exciting.

Children spend a lot of time consuming violent content not realizing its negative effects on their behavior and actions (Schier, 2008). Media violence augments existing aggressive cognitions in children due to past violent experiences. As a result, this increases arousal that causes imitation of observed behaviors.

In addition, observed violent behaviors turn natural emotional responses to violent thoughts and behaviors (Tremblay, 2000). Violent content in media exaggerates occurrence of violence in the world and depicts the world as a dangerous place where violence is necessary.

As a result, fear of violence motivates many young people to carry weapons for protection or become more aggressive in order to avoid being victims (Nagle, 2008).

Case studies

The killing of 13 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in 1999 was the proof that exposure to media violence causes aggressive behaviors and violence (Freedman, 2002).

Twenty-one people were injured in the incident. The attention that the media accorded the incident proved that media violence was a main cause of the shooting.

An evaluation of the lives of the two gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold revealed that they had been exposed to media violence for a long time (Freedman, 2002). For example, they were both fans of murder-simulation games that contain high depictions of violence.

In addition, they were fond of watching the movie “Natural Born Killers” which stars a murderous couple. According to reports, the two gunmen knew the dialogue in the controversial movie verbatim. Violent imagery creates an arousal effect that has a negative outcome on proper functioning of the brain (Freedman, 2002).

A 2007 report by the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry revealed that Harris and Klebold were highly exposed to media violence. Exposure to violent behavior on the media was a motivating factor in launching the attack on students in Columbine.

The report added that the two were affected by the numerous video games they played. Overuse of media had augmented the negative effects of violent content they were consuming. According to the report, police had confiscated their computers two months before the shooting.

A sudden withdrawal from a virtual world to the real world was a strong factor in initiating the killings. They were unable to deal with the real world and they had to act in accordance with what they were used to in the virtual world that represented their reality.

After the incident, a survey by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that the music, video game, and motion picture industry exposed children to violent content due to poor ratings.

The commission found out that children and adolescents access violent content easily because content ratings do not reveal the quantity of violent content in movies and music.

The commission recommended proper content ratings and parental guidance as ways of reducing the negative effects of media violence on children and young people.

In 2012, another gunman, Adam Lanza shot twenty children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. This incident was largely attributed to a psychological disorder. However, further investigations revealed that the gunman had been exposed to significant amounts of media violence.

He had earlier killed his mother before the shooting. These killings have been attributed to exposure to media violence.

In 2000, a report presented to the Congress by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics revealed that there is a connection between media violence and youth violence (Anderson et al, 2003).

A study by Stanford University showed a reduction in aggressive behavior such as physical and verbal aggression when children watched less television (Anderson, 1997). The study involved third and fourth grade students from two elementary schools in San Jose.

The study introduced a curriculum to one of the schools that discouraged television and video games.

The results of the study showed that aggression levels of students who had watched less TV and played fewer video games had decreased by 50%. In addition, verbal aggression had also decreased by 50% (Anderson et al, 2003).

Conclusion

Researchers have tried to establish the connection between media violence and school violence over the decades. Studies have shown that exposure to violence in the media causes violent behaviors and aggressiveness, which promote violence in schools.

For example, the two gunmen who executed the Columbine High School killing were great fans of violent movies and video games. Media violence promotes school violence through its negative effects on young children and adolescents.

It encourages violent behaviors, introduces new concepts of violence to children, and augments past experiences of violence. Children are easily influenced because they learn easily by observing and imitating.

The effect of violence on children behavior depends on length of exposure, age, and parental influence. Cultivation and framing theories have been used to explain how media violence causes school violence. According to framing theory, the media determines how people think by deciding what people watch and read.

As such, the media incorporates a lot of violent content in movies, films, news, and video games without considering the adverse effects the content poses on young people.

On the other hand, cultivation theory states that media contributes significantly to shaping viewers’ perceptions of reality. Children are the most adversely affected because they are unable to differentiate between fiction and reality.

References

Almond, L. (2007). School Violence. New York: Greenhaven Press.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2009). Media Violence. Pediatrics, 124(5), 1495-1503.

Anderson, A. (1997). Effects of Violent Movies and Trait Irritability on Hostile Feelings and Aggressive Thoughts. Aggressive Behavior, 23, 161–178.

Anderson, A., and Bushman, J. (2002). The Effects of Media Violence on Society. Science, 295, 2377–2378.

Anderson, C. Carnagey, L., and Eubanks, J. (2003). Exposure to Violent Media: The Effects of Songs with Violent Lyrics on Aggressive Thought and Feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 960–971.

Cornell, D. (2006). School Violence: Fears versus Facts. New York: Routledge.

Freedman, J. (2002). Media Violence and Its Effects on aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence. Canada: University of Toronto.

Gentile, D. (2003). Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Jones, J. (2001). School Violence. Chicago: Lucent Books.

Kirsh, S. (2006). Children, Adolescents, and Media violence: A Critical look at the Research. New York: Sage Publication.

Murray, T. (2006). Violence in America’s Schools: Understanding, Prevention, and Responses. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Nagle, J. (2008). Violence in Movies, Music, and the Media. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Roskos, D., and Monahan, J. (2007). Communication and Social Cognition: Theories and Methods. New York: Routledge.

Schier, H. (2008). The Causes of School Violence. New York: ABDO.

Tremblay, R. (2000). The Development of Aggressive Behavior During Childhood: What Have We Learned in the Past Century? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 129–141.

Abstract

This paper touches upon the problem of violence among adolescents and studies the influence of such factors as gangs, weapons, and video gaming on students’ behavior. While uncovering the roots of the issue, the provided action plan addresses initiatives to help reduce the prevalence of youth violence and diminish its impact on the rest of children. The plan involves identifying a risk population (pupils aged from 11 to 18) and introducing educational and local interventions to maximize the police effectiveness in crime fighting.

Close cooperation with schools, parents, and media, is the variable determining the overall success of the campaign. Other communities (medical facilities or software developers) are also marked as key participants and will engage in the plan implementation process once the promotion of the campaign is launched.

Introduction

The murdering of 17 people in Florida’s high school in February 2018 served as a nudge for community and governmental structures to apply stricter control over gun distribution. Recent events have shown that gangs have an enormous influence on the minds and behavior of regular students, forcing law-abiding youths to turn into criminals. By addressing the issue to the fullest extent of the law, the city police department introduces a new action plan assigned to reduce crime prevalence and bring back safety to schools and public facilities. There are strictly defined educational interventions in the plan aimed at weakening the effect of violence on children. For the initiative to be successfully implemented, an extensive promotion campaign and active community assistance are required.

Initiatives to Address

The challenge of street gangs has forced governmental bodies to look for the strict measures of protecting adolescents from the disruptive influence of criminal groups. Considering that pupils in the USA start attending a middle school at the age of 11, the given plan identifies everyone aged from 11 to 18 as a high-risk population (Jennings-Bey et al., 2015). With regard to this fact, the current program addresses both educational and local initiatives to ensure that a complex approach to the issue settlement has been taken. Educational initiatives are targeted at teaching youth about actions leading to criminal prosecution and the possible outcomes of this behavior.

Teachers are encouraged to invite police officers to their classes. Local initiatives involve close cooperation of schools and police departments in the matters of crime fighting. The police are responsible for locating and bringing back to schools those pupils who were away from classes for three days without an admissible excuse. Repeat violations will lead to penalizing parents and eight hours of public work.

Diminishing the Effect of Violence

The percentage of children being exposed to violence at school goes higher with every next year. It is stated in research that “all 50 states and the District of Columbia report gang problems, and reports have increased for 5 of the past seven years” (“Gang prevention,” n.d.). Pupils who have experienced violent behavior towards them usually demonstrate a higher tendency to express aggressiveness and engage in criminal activity than the rest of children. However, as Jennings-Bey et al. (2015) indicate, timely intervention accompanied by constant monitoring can assist in mitigating the impact of violence.

The action plan discussed in this paper includes a range of activities targeted at helping potential victims. One of the measures involves appointing psychologists and social workers to help children overcome the occurring anxieties. Training teachers on mental health interventions is another important aspect the program puts emphasis on. A number of services will be launched to provide round-the-clock support for both learners and educators.

The Influence of Video Gaming

One might fairly link violent behavior of young people to the presence of such a form of entertainment as video games and games with gore in particular. Some educators believe that the recent rise in murdering with a knife, gun, or vehicles is conditioned by the increasing popularity of a gaming genre. The concept of a “mass killer” introduced by software developers has shifted the understanding of a criminal act, which is now turned into unrestrained aggression.

While some players treat gaming as simply the source of fun, there are those who use games to practice the art of shooting and bring their skills to the streets. As a police officer, one may conclude that the mature nature of some products is not suitable for teenagers. Therefore, a strict limitation is the only way to save adolescents from the deleterious influence of on-screen violence. Online purchases of these products should only be allowed after a scanned copy of a buyer’s passport is uploaded to a retailer’s website.

Community Assistance

For the action plan to have successful outcomes, it is expected that communities, parents, and schools join the initiative and provide their full support in the matters of program implementation. Police departments may ask key stakeholders to teach pupils social skills and help them discover efficient ways of controlling emotions (Massetti, Holland, & Gorman-Smith, 2016). Technology developers will assist by designing software that analyzes suspicious activity among children and alerts parents and teachers about this behavior.

As to medical interventions, mental health screening must be regularly conducted to detect any deviations and take timely response measures. Lastly, social media corporations could do regular posts on violence to keep family members informed. There will always be links to services that can assist with the issue settlement.

The Role of the Police Department

The police department’s role in this situation is mostly preventive. However, deterrent functions are also highlighted in the plan since violations are inevitable. Preventive measures include counselling teachers and pupils on crime prevalence and possible punishment for violent behavior. The department will closely cooperate with mass media to promote the anti-crime program and thus, draw stakeholders’ attention to the issue.

The given intervention may address various subjects including drug and alcohol intake, driving without a license, and more. A deterrent approach can be tracked in the fact that uniformed officers will be present at schools to immediately react to any program violations. The latter may include bullying, fights, cutting classes, contact with criminal elements, and so on. The police must demonstrate full readiness to protect adolescents from the disruptive influence of any kind.

Measuring the Plan Effectiveness

The plan implementation will be measured using a variety of data. Direct observations with daily reports will allow governmental structures to constantly remain up-to-date and detect even minor changes in crime statistics. Along with the mentioned reports, the police will gather data from interviews and surveys that public organizations will be conducting on repeated occasions (Massetti et al., 2016). The results of these surveys will be immediately delivered to police departments and processed by the dedicated software platform. Software reports will be then transferred to a single network and closely examined by the committee of experts who will assess the data and provide further recommendations. With this system applied, the government will be able to monitor the situation locally and redirect resources to the most problematic states.

Conclusion

The success of the discussed action plan utterly depends on how effective the cooperation between communities and police departments will be. The program involves direct participation of mass media, public organizations, and medical centers; the police should coordinate their actions with educators to effectively address the problem of gangs and violence at school. Public organizations’ support is also required to help the police analyze the outcomes of the program implementation.

References

Gang prevention: An overview of research and programs. (n.d.). Web.

Jennings-Bey, T., Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A., Bergen-Cico, D., Haygood-El, A., Hudson, H., & Fowler, F. L. (2015). The trauma response team: A community intervention for gang violence. Journal of Urban Health, 92(5), 947-954.

Massetti, G. M., Holland, K. M., & Gorman-Smith, D. (2016). Implementation measurement for evidence-based violence prevention programs in communities. Journal of Community Health, 41(4), 881-94.

Violence in School: Common Themes in the Literature

The problem of school violence remains on the agenda of the modern U.S. education system, despite numerous measures taken to reduce its levels (Duru & Balkis, 2017). An overview of recent studies on the subject matter indicates that the ways in which adolescents channel their negative feelings at school, as well as the factors that cause these feelings to occur in the first place, tend to be the most common themes in the existing studies (Devries et al., 2015). Therefore, the cause-and-effect connections that exist within the specified environment have been analyzed extensively.

Particularly, when considering the themes that circulate the academic literature regarding violence in schools, one should mention the means of managing victims’ needs (Olenik-Shemesh, Heiman, & Zuaretz-Hannan, 2017). In addition, the issue of victimization often occurs as a common theme in a range of studies (Duru & Balkis, 2017). The specified perspective on the issue allows detecting vulnerable adolescents that may experience school violence, including bullying and physical abuse (Nikolaou, Thanos, & Samsari, 2014). Although the specified theme does not allow addressing the core of the problem and eliminating its root cause, it sheds light on the ways of helping people that have experienced abuse at school (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Particularly, the findings of recent studies indicate that the presence of social support causes a steep drop in the effects of abuse at school (Nikolaou et al., 2014). Although the provision of social support to students experiencing school abuse needs to be combined with a strategy for preventing the instances of violence, it also serves as the platform for building a coherent strategy for addressing the needs of abuse victims. The topic of victimization is another common area that is discussed widely in modern literature. While being highly debatable, the problem of victimization needs to be studied to detect the factors that may jeopardize students’ well-being and make them the target of school violence (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Therefore, an in-depth analysis is required.

Finding vs. Results of Literature Search

The results of the review are in line with the expectations set before studying the existing sources. Particularly, the focus on victims of violence and the means of managing the distress that they experience are in the spotlight of most studies. The analysis of possible cultural conflicts that may have served as triggers for the acts of violence to occur was also an expected result. However, the findings show that there is a lack of understanding of the motives of people resorting to violence. Therefore, an in-depth exploration of the problem is required.

Gaps in the Literature: Factors Inducing Violence

While the problem of school violence has been widely discussed over the past few decades, a range of topics remains unaddressed in academic studies, the analysis of abusers’ behaviors and intent being the key omissions. Even though exploring the strategies for managing the needs of victims must be deemed as the top priority for researchers, it is also crucial to define the drivers behind abusers’ choices. Therefore, the specified gap does not allow addressing the problem at its core. As a result, the existing approaches toward handling the issue of school violence are restricted to preventive measures and the management of violence outcomes. However, the lack of approaches that could help eliminate the very possibility of school violence indicates that there is a gap that needs to be addressed.

One could argue that the array of factors compelling students to use violence and bullying against their peers is far too vast to be embraced and to be managed with the help of a uniform strategy. Despite being somewhat true, the identified statement still seems rather erroneous since studies indicate that the propensity toward bullying is an acquired characteristic that can be managed when addressed in time (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Therefore, a closer look at the reasons behind the choices that bullies make may shed light on the strategies that can be developed to reduce their propensity toward violence. Particularly, approaches toward channeling their violence in a different direction and helping aggressive students to get an in-depth understanding of their motivations must be regarded as the crucial course for further studies. The lack of research on the subject matter implies that the very core of the problem remains unaddressed.

Literature Summary: Essential Facts about Violence in Schools

When considering the current tendencies in school violence, one should mention that racial and ethnic minorities typically turn out to be in the risk group as a possible victim of bullying and school violence (Duru & Balkis, 2017). The specified problem stems from the lack of tools for enhancing diversity and cross-cultural communication in modern academic institutions (Ha & Sim, 2016). The absence of focus on the aspects of cross-cultural communication that may lead to long-lasting conflicts entails the following outbursts of violence among students, causing their opponents to experience significant distress, suffer severe psychological issues, and even be subjected to physical abuse (Frias-Armenta, Rodríguez-Macías, Corral-Verdugo, Caso-Niebla, & García-Arizmendi, 2018). Claiming that school violence is restricted to interracial and intercultural confrontations would be erroneous, yet the presence of the cultural factor as one of the catalysts of school violence is undeniable.

The issue of victimization as another problematic area needs to be mentioned as well. According to the existing definition, victimization is the propensity toward developing the behaviors that ostensibly make one a potential target for violence (Nikolaou et al., 2014). The implication that one may provoke outbursts of violence, which the idea of victimization entails, can be regarded as the most controversial aspect of the specified concept (Duru & Balkis, 2017). Nevertheless, the connection between victimization and the development of psychological issues in the potential targets of school violence contributes to the identification of strategies that can serve as the platform for developing strategies for managing the needs of victims. For instance, the tools for preventing the development of psychological conditions that range from stress to severe depression and other mental health concerns can be created (Diette, Goldsmith, Hamilton, & Darity, 2017). Thus, the levels of well-being among the vulnerable population are expected to rise consistently.

Finally, the level of perceived school unsafety and the implications that it has on students’ ability to interact within the educational environment, manage their academic responsibilities, and cope with psychological distress can be mentioned among the key areas of concern. Studies point to the need to acknowledge the fact that, apart from students, school personnel is also subjected to a significant amount of danger when facing the necessity to handle school violence (Bass et al., 2016). As a result, the propensity toward workplace burnouts increases steeply among school staff members. The resulting drop in the quality of teaching and the overall relationships with learners can be seen as the primary outcomes of the identified concern. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the factors compelling students to adopt violent behavior models and jeopardize school safety. As soon as the motives of the specified demographic are located, efficient violence management and prevention approaches will be designed.

References

Bass, B. I., Cigularov, K. P., Chen, P. Y., Henry, K. L., Tomazic, R. G., & Li, Y. (2016). The effects of student violence against school employees on employee burnout and work engagement: The roles of perceived school unsafety and transformational leadership. International Journal of Stress Management, 23(3), 318-336. Web.

Devries, K. M., Knight, L., Child, J. C., Mirembe, A., Nakuti, J., Jones, R.,… Walakira, E. (2015). The Good School Toolkit for reducing physical violence from school staff to primary school students: A cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uganda. The Lancet Global Health, 3(7), e378-e386. Web.

Diette, T. M., Goldsmith, A. H., Hamilton, D., & Darity Jr, W. A. (2017). Child abuse, sexual assault, community violence and high school graduation. Review of Behavioral Economics, 4(3), 215-240. Web.

Duru, E., & Balkis, M. (2017). Exposure to school violence at school and mental health of victimized adolescents: The mediation role of social support. Child Abuse & Neglect, 76, 342-352. Web.

Frias-Armenta, M., Rodríguez-Macías, J. C., Corral-Verdugo, V., Caso-Niebla, J., & García-Arizmendi, V. (2018). Restorative justice: A model of school violence prevention. Science, 6(1), 39-45.

Ha, J. Y., & Sim, B. Y. (2016). Needs analysis of posttraumatic growth program for college student of school bullying. Advanced Science and Technology Letters, 132, 1-6. Web.

Olenik-Shemesh, D., Heiman, T., & Zuaretz-Hannan, M. (2017). Cyber-victimization among children: Prevalence, characteristics, gender differences and links to social difficulties. Journal of Children & Adolescent Behavior, 5(2), 399-409. Web.

Introduction

The theme of violence is one of the most common in the world of cinematography. Still, the approach of introducing it into this or that film differs greatly. One should not forget about different genres in the cinematography industry. For example, documentary film is a very popular cinematographical genre nowadays, and there are lots of experiments that aim to combine this genre with feature film genres. It is not a secret that in documentary films their authors try to investigate this or that historical event. As a rule the author, it could be a historian or an expert in another field of knowledge, tries to investigate the reasons and consequences of this or that historical event or social phenomenon.

Main body

One of the most sensational documentary movies for the last decade was the film by Michael Moore the Bowling for Columbine about the Columbine High School massacre. Later on, Michal would create another documentary film that would make people from all over the world shudder with shock. The Bowling for Columbine was meant to investigate the problem of violence and illegal usage of a weapon by Americans which causes harm. Still, the work by Moore is addressed not only to the American people but to the consciousness of every person throughout the world. “Although the movie provides only a partial account of intervention abroad, it offers a painful reminder of the violent record of the United States around the world” (Ordonez-Jasis, and Jesus). The distinguishing feature of the film is that Michael Moore tries to conduct a deep probe of the reason which make people use the weapon at school or any other social department. The author of the movie highlights that the most terrible is the fact that a weapon becomes a new toy for children, pupils, and students. “Since 1999, deadly incidents of school violence have occurred in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alaska, Washington, Tennessee, New Mexico, Oregon, California, Minnesota and Florida” (Kondrasuk et al.).

Unlike Bowling for Columbine the director of the feature film the Elephant, Gus Van Sant offers his vision of the problem. The director does not give obvious reasons for the tragedy. Gus Van Sant offers only a pure development of the action. The Elephant is a great experiment by the director in his career: he created a hybrid of documentary movies and feature films. The experiment was rather successful, and the movie won several prizes for its creator. Some experts affirmed that the movie was a failure because there were assumptions that could explain what caused two boys of high school to commit such a great mistake. Perhaps, the director was not intended to explain the reason for “elephant” (a hint to the idiom “elephant in the room”).

“Elephant succeeds not as an act of analysis but as an act of mourning, a tone poem of grief in which the American high school–that locus of adolescent anguish and repression in so many movies–is transformed into a kind of holy site, suffused with a beauty that belongs only to youth” (O’Brien 39).

In other words, the Elephant is not a traditional feature film and approach of presenting the events which took place at Columbine High School in 1999. As well as the author of the Bowling for Columbine, Gus Van Sant did not invite famous actors and actresses to the filming. Only three professional actors participated in the Elephant. Other roles were performed by students of the Columbine High School. Moreover, the director did not change the names of students. Later Gus Van Sant told in one interview that the trick added fascination and naturalism to the movie. Exactly this approach helped the director to combine the elements of feature and documentary film that made the Elephant a very impressive and strong movie.

Conclusion

Although Gus Van Sant and Michael Moore dedicated their movies to the same problem, they highlighted different aspects of the tragedy. Of course, directors applied similar techniques, the introduction of real facts, real events, real participants, etc. Still, their movies are perceived as different works, because the authors saw different aims of their films. Michael Moore created the film to explore the essence of violence at school. Moore hinted that the essence of violence is not only in psychic of two students who killed thirteen peers. The director tried to explain that the main mistake is the drawback of contemporary society. Do not forget that the movie begins from the fragment where a man receives a fowling-piece as a bonus just for the fact that he opened a bank account. While Gus Van Sant, using the elements of documentary film addressed to the world society with the message that the problem, “elephant” is just before our eyes. Gus Van Sant meant that we do nothing before a tragedy happens. Introducing the plot without explaining the reasons Gus Van Sant calls for people to act but not watch without any reaction on what is going on.

Works Cited

Kondrasuk, Jack N., et al. “Violence Affecting School Employees.” Education 125.4 (2005): 638.

Ordonez-Jasis, Rosario, and Pablo Jasis. “Bowling for Columbine: Critically Interrogating the Industry of Fear.” Social Justice 30.3 (2003): 127.

O’Brien, Geoffrey. “Stop Shooting: Geoffrey O’Brien on Gus Van Sant.” Artforum International 2003: 39.