Abstract:
In South Africa, violence continues to undermine the functioning of schools. Literature
has revealed that the subject of school violence is quite varied and covers a wide
variety of related areas from sociology to educational psychology; these examine
psychological factors such as peer pressure, stress, cognition, emotional development
and their relation to school violence. The study was aimed at investigating the effects
of school violence in South African rural schools in Mpumalanga Province.
The study used mixed methods approach employing both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. For the quantitative part of the study, the study adopted simple random
sampling to select the learners. A 'purposive sample' was used to select the principals
and educators for the qualitative part of the study. A sample of 423 learners from the
9 secondary schools in the circuit was selected for the quantitative part of the study.
A purposive sample of 9 principals and 18 educators was also be deemed appropriate
for the qualitative part of the study. IBM SPSS version 23 was used to analyse
quantitative data.
Frequency tables were generated (univariate analysis), and the Chi-square test was
used to calculate significant differences in the effects and coping strategies between
male and female victims of school-based violence. Qualitative data was analysed
thematically and used to support and complement the quantitative data. Principals and
educators in schools with high prevalence of school-based violence was prioritised. It
was expected that the effects of school-based violence in the study area were
described. Causes of violence, its effects and ways to improve coping strategies in
the respective schools are also anticipated to be comprehensively covered as
expected outcomes.
