June 2018, Volume 10, Issue 5, 611-620

601-610

Received: 09 April 2018

School Violence: School Administrators’ Per-

Revised: 29 June 2018

Accepted: 29 June 2018

spectives and Ways of Solution in Turkey* ISSN: 1307-9298
Copyright © IEJEE
www.iejee.com

Temel Çalıka, Hasan Tabakb, Burcu Yavuz Tabakc,**

DOI: 10.26822/iejee.2018541310

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the ways primary education administrators solve events of violence as a problem. To this end, sample
cases of violence were derived from the school violence news appearing on media organs in the last four years. They were categorized based
on the type of violence. Data were collected via a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher and administered to school
administrators. In-depth data were collected in regard to the ways they would solve problems. The content formed by the obtained data was
evaluated via systematic, descriptive analysis. To determine the problem of violence in school, school administrators mostly turn to teachers’
and students’ views and video-recording and sound-recording. To solve the problems, on the other hand, they resort to family/parent training
and implement what is prescribed in the legislation. The administrators did not express any opinion about predetermined possible solutions.

Keywords: School security, school violence, problem-solving techniques

Introduction violence as something normal and acceptable, iii) Easy acces-

sibility of instruments of violence. When these three factors
In today’s world, violence is an important social problem. are considered, it is clear that schools should first acknowl-
Violence in school and in the vicinity of school has become edge that physical or verbal violence is not a stage of tran-
widespread recently. Violence in school, which is one of the sition for disciplinary problems and pay attention to events
important institutions of social life, is not something new, of violence. According to Güçlü (2003), school administrators
but its frequency and scope grow every passing day. In this ignore problems of violence as they may arouse a negative
regard, more and more research is conducted to determine perception regarding administration or due to the obsta-
reasons for violence and prevent and reduce it (Council of cles and difficulties likely to be encountered. At this point,
Europe, 2002; Dönmez, 2010; Eisenbraun, 2007; Furlong and it should be noted that all the disciplinary problems must
Morrison, 2000; The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Nation- be taken into consideration whether they are small-scale or
al Education [MoNE], 2007; Kızmaz, 2006; Noguera, 1995; large-scale. Knowing the causes of violence may prevent fu-
Öğülmüş, 2006; The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ture events of violence. In this way, events of violence can be
[GNAT], 2007). prevented and possible negative results can be minimized.
On the other hand, the ways the problems of violence con-
School violence, which is a part of general violence in the so- tained in the events are solved following their emergence
ciety, has become one of the frequently encountered prob- and the perspectives people that have a say in this matter
lems in education. It should always be taken into consider- hold are important to prevent these events and reduce their
ation that school violence has negative effects both on the negative effects.
educational process and on the mental health of individuals
and society and there is a substantial need for preventive ef- A Problem of Schools: Events of Violence
forts, activities, and processes (Terzi, 2007). School climate
and culture, students’ and school personnel’s characteristics, The concept of violence is defined and classified in different
and school’s physical and social features are influential on ways. The word “violence” means “using brute force against
aggressive and violent behaviors in schools (Lauderdale-Lit- people who have opposing views” and “extremism in emo-
tin & Brennan, 2018; Yavuzer, 2011). As violence is an issue tions or behaviors” (TDK, 2015). World Health Organization
that concerns the entire society, events of violence have a defines violence as “the intentional use of physical force or
coverage on media organs immediately after they take place. power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person
Efforts and works for preventing and reducing school vio- or against a group or community that either results in or has
lence are very important. The solution-related views and be- a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological
haviors of schools and school administrators that are mostly harm, maldevelopment or deprivation” (WHO, 2002). School
considered to be directly associated with events of violence violence is described as a multidimensional issue that in-
play a key role in the solution of problems of violence. volves criminal actions and aggressive behaviors in schools
which harm school climate and negatively affect students’
The primary three reasons for the emergence of events of vi- development and learning processes (Furlong and Morrison,
olence can be listed as follows (Johnson and Johnson, 1995): 2000).
i) Changes in family life and social life, ii) Consideration of

*
Part of this article was presented as an assertion at the 6th international education management forum in 2015.
a
Department of Education Administration, Gazi Faculty of Education, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: temelc@gazi.edu.tr
b
Department of Education Administration, Faculty of Education, Aksaray University, Aksaray, Turkey. E-mail: hasantabak@aksaray.edu.tr
c,**
Corresponding Author: Burcu Yavuz TABAK, Department of Education Administration, Faculty of Education, Aksaray University, Aksaray, Turkey,
E-mail: burcutabak@aksaray.edu.tr

© 2018 Published by T& K Academic. This is an open access article under the CC BY- NC- ND license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
 June 2018, Volume 10, Issue 5, 611-620

By its nature, violence has different categorizations based to solve this problem effectively, they must have a holistic
on the way it is committed and the person it is committed perspective rather than focusing on individual students
against. Based on the way it is committed, it may be phys- and events at every turn (Angkaw, 2006).
ical, sexual, psychological, or economic. However, it may
also involve deprivation or neglect. Based on the person it Problem-Solving in School Administration
is committed against, it falls into three categories: self-di-
rected violence, interpersonal violence, and collective vio- A problem is an unknown situation that refers to the dif-
lence (WHO, 2002). These categories indicate that violence ference between what is desired and what exists. Prob-
can be committed in different ways and by different peo- lem-solving process, on the other hand, involves finding
ple and communities. As social institutions, schools have a the unknown. Hence, solving a problem requires detecting
potential to be affected by events of violence by their na- and analyzing it first (Jonassen, 2000). There are a great va-
ture and functions. Non-solution of problems of violence riety of definitions of problem-solving, but all of them have
in schools may cause these problems to continue and be- a common point: problem-solving is a process of strug-
come widespread from generation to generation, there- gling with undesirable situations in a systematic way (Kru-
by leading to important problems in individuals, families, ger, 1997). Solving the problems emerging in real world
and societies. Deeming violence as a crime to be punished is referred to as social problem-solving process (D’Zurilla
rather than an educational problem, educators’ treating and Nezu, 1982). Here, problem situation, problem-solv-
events of violence in schools as if they were others’ prob- ing, and implementing a solution are taken differently. A
lems, and their statements implying that there is no vio- problem is defined as a situation in which individuals or
lence in their schools cause events of violence in schools groups encounter obstacles while continuing their lives
to be ignored (Morrison, Furlong, and Morrison, 1994). or duties. Moreover, solving a problem and implement-
ing the solution are defined as different concepts and
As school rules and expectations change as a result of require different skills. While problem-solving involves
rapid changes taking place in the society, it is very im- the process of generating solutions to specific problems,
portant and influential for reducing negative effects and implementing a solution refers to the processes that actu-
ensuring secure educational environments that school ally put these solutions into practice (D’Zurilla, Nezu and
administrators and teachers understand and analyze Maydeu-Olivares, 2004).
how such changes occurring in the society affect students
(Çalık and Kurt 2006). This also concerns the professional The concept of problem is differently defined for individu-
competences of the teachers and opinions on problem al, organization, and administration. It is described as ob-
solving skills (Yıldırım, Tabak, Yavuz, 2012). There is a need stacles to fulfilling a person’s desires and needs in terms
to employ strategies that are appropriate to the charac- of individual; as obstacles to the accomplishment of goals
teristics of the environments offered and the behaviors in terms of organization; and as an annoying situation
displayed in schools so that violence is prevented and that is heard, seen, or felt by administrators in terms of
problems of violence are solved (Sugai, Sprague, Horner, administration (Taymaz, 2003). Defining administration as
and Walker, 2000). It just contributes to the emergence a problem-solving process, Başaran (1984) lists the steps
of violence more that schools and school administrators of problem-solving as follows: i) Considering solving a
ignore or impose sanctions on students’ undesirable be- problem necessary, ii) Defining the problem, iii) Seeking
haviors as part of their efforts to reduce violence (Hyman solution options, iv) Deciding the action, v) Implementing
and Perone, 1998). Besides increasing security measures, the decision, vi) Evaluation. Based on the idea that admin-
using advanced technologies, and seeking other ways of istration is a problem-solving process, school violence can
solving problems of violence, school administrators must be deemed as a problem that needs to be solved in every
ask and try to find an answer to basic questions such as aspect. Administrators’ thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors
“Why have schools become so open to violence?”, which is concerning the problem are important in the solution pro-
a question to be answered within the context of school’s cess (Yıldırım, 2011).
objectives and social function (Noguera, 2010). Primary
school administrators define violence in three categories: The problem emerges as an increased tension in the
physical violence, verbal violence, and psychological vio- school or in the vicinity of the school. It should be noted
lence. Mostly, they attribute violence to familial reasons that problem-solving in schools takes place in a rational,
such as domestic violence, lack of education of parents, predictable, controlled, and productive bureaucratic en-
broken family, lovelessness, neglect, and socio-economic vironment where there is also a need for autonomous,
situation. They also indicate visual and printed media, the flexible, and creative professional processes (Hanson and
cultural structure of the society, and social environment Brown, 1977). School administrators are expected to have
among the reasons for violence (Dönmez, 2010). a multidimensional perspective on events, properly define
problems, generate appropriate solutions to them, and
Individual factors, familial factors, social factors, and make attempts to solve them. At this point, it is important
school-related factors are influential on events of violence for individuals to have knowledge, but they mostly fail to
in schools. The first event experienced must be taken into give expected reactions in the face of instantaneous, com-
consideration while determining the reasons for violence plicated, and far-reaching problems. The ways individuals
(Kızmaz, 2006). The way the solution process of events of perceive and use the existing information underlie the
violence as a problem is evaluated is of great importance. ways they solve problems. An effective problem-solving
Certain basic stages of problem-solving process must be skill may involve transferring information and changing a
used in this evaluation (Hoy and Miskel, 2012). School ad- person’s point of view. Framing a problem and the individ-
ministrators, who are responsible for school administra- ual’s view of the problem and his role in the problem-solv-
tion, are at the center of problem-solving process (Asla- ing process are important for his sense of competence for
nargun and Bozkurt, 2012; İnandı and Yıldız, 2014). solving it (Bardwell, 1999).

School violence is affected by events taking place in School violence concerns many people, groups, and insti-
schools, besides environmental and social factors. At this tutions in the society, and thus various solutions are pro-
point, school administrators and educators have a chal- posed for it (Astor and Meyer, 2001). However, violence
lenging task: to analyze data about previous tendencies emerges in different ways every day. The reason may be
and situations concerning violence in schools. In addition, that violent behavior is used as a way of expressing one-

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 School Violence: School Administrators’ Perspectives / Çalık, Tabak & Yavuz Tabak

self or a way of solving problems, thereby turning into a physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual), some others only
problem that cannot be solved within itself. To prevent focus on physical violence. Research results demonstrate
school violence, school administrators are expected to that violence in educational environments involves verbal
violence, emotional violence, physical violence, and sexual
have a high-level competence in terms of students, teach-
violence in a descending order by intensity. A lot of students
ers, parents, surroundings, and educational environments state that they are exposed to violence by their peers, teach-
(İnandı and Yıldız, 2014). Violence is not a phenomenon ers, school administrators, family elders, and other people in
that emerges due to a single reason. It occurs as a result of the immediate vicinity of the school.”
a combination of certain individual characteristics, inter-
personal relations in the family and society, the socio-cul- Two of the agenda topics of the 19th National Education
tural structure of the society, and environmental factors. Council gathering pursuant to the decision of the Turk-
ish Education Board dated 18/07/2014 and numbered 64
What school administrators do depends on what they were improving the quality of educational administrators and
think. Leithwood and Steinbach (1991), who state that school security (MoNE, 2014). In this regard, the present
what school administrators think is a result of their inter- study aims to explore school administrators’ ways of solv-
actions with their surroundings, intellectual background, ing problems of violence that disrupt school security and
beliefs, values, abilities, and characteristics, offer stages social security through problem-solving. It is known that
of solving administrative problems for school administra- problem-solving is both a phenomenon and a process by
tors. Interpretations: What is understood in relation to the its very nature. To complete this process with success, it is
nature of the problem; Objectives: Primary purposes in necessary to accurately define the problem and effective-
consideration of the interpretations of the problem; Prin- ly manage the process from the beginning to proposing
ciples and values: Longer-term objectives and their princi- feasible suggestions and taking appropriate measures.
ples, assumptions, basic laws and regulations; Constraints: Presenting school violence, which has frequently been
Obstacles to be overcome to solve the problem; Solving encountered in recent years, to school administrators
processes: What the administrator does in accordance through sample cases is considered important to obtain
with the interpretations, objectives, and principles asso- concrete research results and generalize the ways school
ciated with the problem by dealing with the constraints; administrators approach problem-solving process. Based
Emotions: Feelings, mood, and sense of self-confidence on the above-mentioned primary purpose, the present
derived from problem-solving experiences. study seeks to answer the following questions: (1) How do
school administrators define the events of violence they
A successful school administrator must have skills of encounter in schools as a problem? (2) How do school
understanding, formulizing, and solving problems. Prob- administrators interpret the events of violence they en-
lem-solving in educational administration refers to crea- counter in schools as a problem? (3) What kind of paths
tive processes in which solutions are generated to prob- do school administrators follow in solving the events of
lematic situations. The basis of developing an effective problem they encounter in schools as a problem?
solution in these processes is to establish a definite frame-
work for the problem. According to Copland (2000), defi- Method
nition, interpretation, and analysis can be made based on
such framework. This is a qualitative research employing phenomenologi-
cal design (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2008), in which an attempt
Violence in educational environments involves physical, is made to evaluate school administrators’ perspectives
psychological, or social deliberate attack or intervention in on events of violence in schools and the ways they solve
students or teachers and may involve physical or mental these problems through sample cases.
suffering in individuals (MoNE, 2006). In its unit report on
school violence problems, the Republic of Turkey Ministry Study Group
of National Education (2006) mentions violence in educa-
tional environments as follows (Kılıç, 2006): The study group was determined through homogeneous
sampling, which is a purposeful sampling method. Pur-
“Research covering several provinces of Turkey (i.e. Adana, An- poseful sampling aims to make an in-depth examination
kara, Diyarbakır, Istanbul, Karaman, Kars, and Sivas) shows
of the situations that are considered to contain rich infor-
that violence in educational environments has reached a
point non-ignorable. While some of the studies take violence mation, and homogeneous sampling aims to determine
in a way covering all of the dimensions indicated above (i.e. whether there are any common or shared phenomena
in the varied situations (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2008, p.107-
Table 1. The Participants’ Demographic Characteristics

Tenure in Tenure in
Gender School Level
Teaching Administration
Participant Code Female Male Year Year Elementary School Middle School
Administrator1 + 6 6 +
Administrator2 + 16 3 +
Administrator3 + 16 2 +
Administrator4 + 19 7 +
Administrator5 + 5 5 +
Administrator6 + 6 3 +
Administrator7 + 17 5 +
Administrator8 + 18 8 +
Administrator9 + 8 2 +
Administrator10 + 14 5 +

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 June 2018, Volume 10, Issue 5, 611-620

110). According to the statistics published by Turkish Sta- istrators for them to confirm their final versions. After
tistical Institute (2014), a great majority of the news about the school administrators gave approval, themes rele-
school violence in Ankara province appearing on media vant to the problem-solving steps (Copland, 2000) iden-
organs in the last four years are about the events of vio- tified through literature review as indicated in the Table
lence taking place in Altındağ and Mamak districts of Anka- 2 below were determined. Descriptive analysis was made
ra. These districts are known as the lowest socio-economic for obtaining numerical data concerning the themes de-
level of Ankara. Thus, the study group was formed out of termined, and content analysis was made for identifying
primary school administrators working in Altındağ and what the school administrators thought and under which
Mamak districts. theme their opinions fell. In this way, an in-depth analy-
sis process was conducted to see the ways the school
The study group consists of 10 primary school adminis- administrators would solve the relevant problems. In the
trators (four female and six male) working in Altındağ and process of creating themes, three experts independently
Mamak districts of Ankara province. The administrators’ themed the school administrators’ opinions. Whether the
tenures in teaching range from five to 19 years, and their emerging themes were shared by the experts was inves-
tenures in administration range from two to eight years. tigated through calculation of correlation. At the end of
Of the school administrators, five work in elementary the calculations of correlation, total inter-theme internal
schools while five work in middle schools. consistency was determined to be high (r= .79).

Data Collection Tool and Process Table 2. Theoretical framework used in content analysis
Problem-
Data were collected via a two-part semi-structured inter- Type of
Solving Theme
view form. The form consists of (1) interview acceptance violence
Steps
form and (2) interview sample case and question form. In-
terview acceptance form contains demographic information 1. A clear definition of
Defining
including the interviewed school administrator’s gender, the problem
tenure in teaching, tenure in administration, and school
2. Formulizing interpre-
level. Interview sample case and question form consists of
tations about possible
two sections. While the first section is made up of sample
solutions of the problem
cases, the second section is composed of questions inves-
tigating the ways the school administrators would solve
3. Interpretation of
the sample events as a problem.
cognitive and personal
assumptions about the
At the beginning of the process of forming the sample cas-
problem situation
es, school violence news appearing on media organs in the
Interpreting
last four years were examined. At the end of this exami-
4. Asking others’ opin-
nation, a pool of sample cases was created consisting 30
ions in the face of the
events, and the sample cases were categorized based on
problem
the source and type of the violence taking place. The sam-
ple cases were created by changing some descriptive de-
5. Decision-making
tails of previous school violence events having a coverage
process concerning the
in the news such as the names and ages of the characters
Physical predetermined possible
committing a crime or of those exposed to violence, the
Psychological solutions
scenes of the events, and the times of the events. Through
Neglect
the literature review, types of violence were determined to 6. The way conditions are
be (i) physical violence, (ii) psychological violence, and (iii) evaluated to solve the
neglect (Krug et al., 2002). One sample case was chosen problems
for each type of violence from the pool of sample cases. In
this way, three sample cases were chosen in total. 7. Redefining the prob-
lem in terms of personal
In the process of posing the sample case questions, such values in the prob-
stages of problem-solving as defining the problem, deter- lem-solving process
mining the causes of the problem, planning the solution,
Solving
implementing the solution, and reviewing the solution 8. Prediction of the ob-
were taken into consideration in general. Then the posed stacles likely to emerge
questions were submitted for expert opinions. The ques- in the problem-solving
tions that were found appropriate by the experts were process
used. The used questions were finalized through a range
of updates. By this means, a five-question question form 9. The way the obstacles
was created. emerging in the prob-
lem-solving process are
Appointments were got from the school administrators overcome
included in the study group. In this way, interview dates
were determined. An attempt was made to raise the Findings
school administrators’ awareness levels by sending the
semi-structured interview form to them via e-mail. Probes The ways the school administrators define the events of
were asked to explore the opinions expressed by the violence they encounter in schools as a problem. Under
school administrators during the interviews in detail. the theme of “A clear definition of the problem”, the par-
ticipating school administrators defined the sample case
Data Analysis of physical violence in school in different ways. The defi-
nitions of the participants expressing their opinions about
In the data analysis process, the written texts were physical violence can be listed as follows: “An event that is
checked first. Then they were sent to the school admin- not directly related to school” (n= 4), “Broken family” (n=

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 School Violence: School Administrators’ Perspectives / Çalık, Tabak & Yavuz Tabak

2), “Low socio-economic level” (n= 2), and “Requiring heavy that they would ask the opinions of “Family/Parents” (n= 6)
penalty” (n= 2). The participants mostly defined the sam- in the sample case of physical violence in school; howev-
ple case of psychological violence in school as “Failure in er, there were also school administrators stating that they
establishing empathy” (n= 5). The definitions suggested by would turn to “Teacher” (n= 4), “Student” (n= 4), and “Vid-
fewer school administrators are as follows: “Psychological eo-recording and sound-recording” (n= 2). Similarly, the
support” (n= 2), “Not accepting special situations” (n= 2), school administrators mostly stated that they would ask
“Consulting experts” (n= 2), and “Parents’ different per- the opinions of “Family/Parents” (n= 6) and “Teacher” (n=
spectives on school and staff” (n= 2). Lastly, most of the 6) in the sample of psychological violence in school. There
school administrators defined the sample case of neglect were also school administrators stating that they would
as “Neglect of school administrator and class teacher” (n= resort to “Student” (n= 5). Additionally, some school ad-
6). In this matter, fewer school administrators delivered ministrators noted that they would try to reach interpre-
the following definitions: “Lack of education in family” (n= tations from different perspectives by requesting “Experts’
2), “Behavioral disorder” (n= 2), “An unfortunate result” (n= assessment of the situation” (n= 4), thereby following a
2). different path going beyond just learning the way the rele-
vant psychological event took place. Lastly, equal number
The ways the school administrators interpret the events of school participants mentioned the following elements
of violence they encounter in schools as a problem. Under to turn to in the sample case of neglect in school: “Family/
the theme of “Formulizing interpretations about possible Parents” (n= 2), “Teacher” (n= 2), “Student” (n= 2), “Assistant
solutions of the problem”, the participants interpreted the staff” (n= 2), and “Video-recording and sound-recording”
sample case of physical violence in school as “Violation of (n= 2).
human rights” (n=2), the sample case of psychological vi-
olence in school as “Adaptation problem” (n= 2), and the The school administrators delivered no opinion falling
sample case of neglect in school as “Maintenance and in- under the theme of “Decision-making process concerning
spection of physical structure” (n= 2). the predetermined possible solutions”.

Under the theme of “Interpretation of cognitive and per- The ways the school administrators solve the events of
sonal assumptions about the problem situation”, half of violence they encounter in schools as a problem. Under
the school administrators expressing opinions about the the theme of “The way conditions are evaluated to solve
sample case of physical violence in school interpreted it as the problems”, most of the participants stated that they
“Ignorance of family” (n= 4). Other interpretations about would solve the problem in the sample case of physical
the sample case of physical violence in school were “Lack violence in school by “Training the family/parents” (n=6)
of out-of-school experience” (n= 2) and “Lack of secure and “Resorting to police force” (n= 6). There were also
Internet use” (n= 2). Half of the school administrators ex- school administrators stating that they would solve it by
pressing opinions about the sample case of psychological “Using technology for security purposes” (n= 3) and “Im-
violence in school interpreted it as “Ignorance of family” plementing the disciplinary regulations (punishment)” (n=
(n= 5). Other interpretations about the sample case of psy- 4). In relation to the sample case of psychological violence
chological violence in school were “Parties’ lack of prob- in school, the participants expressed no opinion falling un-
lem-solving skill” (n= 2), “Inadequacy of physical structure” der this theme. In the sample case of neglect in school, on
(n= 2), and “Lack of knowledge in the society” (n= 2). Un- the other hand, some participants expressed “Implement-
der the same theme, some administrators interpreted the ing the disciplinary regulations (punishment)” (n= 2) as a
sample case of neglect in school as “School administra- way of solving the problem.
tion’s deficiency in implementation” (n= 4), but there were
also school administrators interpreting it as “Teachers’ de- Under the theme of “Redefining the problem in terms
ficiency in implementation” (n= 2). of personal values in the problem-solving process”, the
school administrators stated “Training the family/parents”
Under the theme of “Asking others’ opinions in the face (n=2) in the sample case of physical violence in school;
of the problem”, the school administrators mostly stated “Training the family/parents” (n= 6), “Training the teacher”

Table 3. The ways the school administrators define, interpret, and solve the events of violence they encounter in schools as a
problem
Problem-solving Types of
Theme* Participants’ views n
step violence
An event that is not directly related to school 4
Broken family 2
Physical
Low socio-economic level 2
Requiring heavy penalty 2
Failure in establishing empathy 5
Psychological support 2
Psycholog-
Defining 1 Not accepting special situations 2
ical
Consulting experts 2
Parents’ different perspectives on school and staff 2
Neglect of school administrator and class teacher 6
Lack of education in family 2
Neglect
Behavioral disorder 2
An unfortunate result 2

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 June 2018, Volume 10, Issue 5, 611-620

Table 3. (Cont.) The ways the school administrators define, interpret, and solve the events of violence they encounter in schools
as a problem
Problem-solving Types of vio-
Theme* Participants’ views n
step lence
Physical Violation of human rights 2
2 Psychological Adaptation problem 2
Neglect Maintenance and inspection of physical structure 2
Ignorance of family 4
Physical Lack of out-of-school experience 2
Lack of secure Internet use 2
Ignorance of family 5
3 Parties’ lack of problem-solving skill 2
Psychological
Inadequacy of physical structure 2
Lack of knowledge in the society 2
School administration’s deficiency in implementation 4
Neglect
Teachers’ deficiency in implementation 2
Family/Parents 6
Teacher 4
Interpreting Physical
Student 4
Video-recording and sound-recording 2
Family/Parents 6
Teacher 6
Psychological
4 Student 5
Experts’ assessment of the situation 4
Family/Parents 2
Teacher 2
Neglect Student 2
Assistant staff 2
Video-recording and sound-recording 2
Physical - -

5 Psychological - -

Neglect - -

Training the family/parents 6

Resorting to police force 6

Physical
Using technology for security purposes 5
6
Implementing the disciplinary regulations (punishment) 4

Psychological - -

Neglect Implementing the disciplinary regulations (punishment) 2

Physical Training the family/parents 2

Analyzing
Training the family/parents 6

Training the teacher 5

Psychological
Making sure that professional support is received 5
7
Raising awareness through activities 3

Making sure that physical structure is improved 5

Neglect Holding meetings with parents 4

Holding meetings with teachers 4

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 School Violence: School Administrators’ Perspectives / Çalık, Tabak & Yavuz Tabak

Table 3. (Cont.) The ways the school administrators define, interpret, and solve the events of violence they encounter in schools
as a problem
Problem-solving Types of vio-
Theme* Participants’ views n
step lence
Training the assistant staff 4
7 Neglect Raising awareness through physical activities 4
Raising awareness through drama activities 2
Making a visitors’ room 2
Physical Not accepting any visitor other than parents to schools 2
Organizing internal (in-house) and external seminars 2
Psychological - -
Analyzing 8
Making up the deficiency of legislation 5
Increasing, inspecting, and maintaining physical struc-
Neglect 4
tures
Giving a verbal warning to the assistant staff 2
Physical - -
9 Psychological Fulfilling the requirements of the legislation 2
Neglect Fulfilling the requirements of the legislation 4
5. Decision-making process concerning the predetermined pos-
*Theme:
sible solutions

1. A clear definition of the problem 6. The way conditions are evaluated to solve the problems
2. Formulizing interpretations about possible solutions of the 7. Redefining the problem in terms of personal values in the prob-
problem lem-solving process
3. Interpretation of cognitive and personal assumptions about the 8. Prediction of the obstacles likely to emerge in the problem-solv-
problem situation ing process
4. Decision-making process concerning the predetermined pos- 9. The way the obstacles emerging in the problem-solving process
sible solutions are overcome

(n= 5), “Making sure that professional support is received” Discussion and Conclusion
(n= 5), and “Raising awareness through activities” (n= 2) in
the sample case of psychological violence in school; and This study aimed to determine school administrators’ per-
“Making sure that physical structure is ensured” (n= 5), spectives on events of violence and their ways of solving
“Holding meetings with parents” (n= 4), “Holding meetings them. The sample cases about three types of violence indi-
with teachers” (n= 4), “Training the assistant staff” (n=4), cated in the literature were focused on under the themes
“Raising awareness through physical activities” (n= 2), and associated with the problem-solving steps suggested by
“Raising awareness through drama activities” (n= 2) in the Copland (2000) (i.e. defining, interpreting, and analyzing).
sample case of neglect in school. The findings of the present study show that school ad-
ministrators define physical violence in school as an event
Under the theme of “Prediction of the obstacles likely to that is not directly related to school, a broken family, and
emerge in the problem-solving process”, the school ad- low socio-economic level. They also regard it as violation
ministrators proposed the solutions of “Making a visitors’ of human rights. They think that ignorance of family, lack
room” (n= 2), “Not accepting any visitor other than parents of out-of-school experience, and lack of secure Internet
to schools” (n= 2), and “Organizing internal (in-house) and use are the causes of physical violence. To understand
external seminars” (n= 2) in the sample case of physical vi- an event of physical violence, they turn to family/parents,
olence in school. Although the participants did not suggest teacher, student, video-recording, and sound-recording.
any solution in the sample case of psychological violence They believe that the problem can be solved by training
in school, they came up with the following solutions “Mak- the family/parents, resorting to police force, using tech-
ing up the deficiency of legislation” (n= 5), “Increasing, in- nology for security purposes, and implementing discipli-
specting, and maintaining physical structures” (n= 4), and nary regulations (punishment). To overcome the obstacles
“Giving a verbal warning to the assistant staff” (n= 2) in the emerging the solution process, they suggest making a vis-
sample case of neglect in school. itors’ room, not accepting any visitor other than parents,
and organizing internal (in-house) and external seminars.
No solution proposed by the participating school admin- It is reported that the first precaution taken to prevent vi-
istrators in the sample case of physical violence in school olence in schools is “Keeping a record book to record visi-
fell under the theme of “The way the obstacles emerging tors upon their entry” (MoNE, 2007).
in the problem-solving process are overcome”. On the oth-
er hand, they proposed “Fulfilling the requirements of the The school administrators define psychological violence
legislation” in the sample case of psychological violence in in school as failure in establishing empathy, psychologi-
school (n= 2) and in the sample case of neglect in school cal support, not accepting special situations, consulting
(n= 4) under the theme of “The way the obstacles emerg- experts, and parents’ having different perspectives on
ing in the problem-solving process are overcome”. school and staff. In general, they regard psychological sup-
port as an adaptation problem and think that its reasons
are lack of knowledge in the society, parties’ lack of prob-

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Table 4. School Administrators’ Perspectives on and Ways of Solving the Events of Violence in Schools

Adaptation and behav-

Problem-Solving Steps

Organizing activities/
Professional support

Deficiency in imple-

Collecting opinions

Lack of knowledge
Physical structure

Technology use

Social structure
Family training

Staff training

ior problems
Legislation

mentation
seminars
Theme
Defining

A clear definition of the problem + + + + + +

Formulizing interpretations about

+ + +
possible solutions of the problem
Interpretation of cognitive and
Interpreting

personal assumptions about the + + + + + +

problem situation
Asking others’ opinions in the face of
+ +
the problem
Decision-making process concerning
the predetermined possible solutions
The way conditions are evaluated to
+ + + +
solve the problems
Redefining the problem in terms of
Analyzing

personal values in the problem-solving + + + + +

process
Prediction of the obstacles likely to
+ + + +
emerge in the problem-solving process
The way the obstacles emerging in the
+
problem-solving process are overcome

lem-solving skill, inadequacy of physical structure, and It is striking that the school administrators did not deliver
ignorance of family. To understand the events of psycho- any opinion associated with predetermined possible solu-
logical violence, they turn to family/parents, teacher, and tions in any type of violence. School administrators and
experts’ assessment of the situation. According to them, teachers regard violence as a social problem. They expect
the problem can be solved by training the family/parents, solution steps to be taken by other institutions such as law
training the teacher, making sure that professional sup- police office (Uzbaş, 2009). Likewise, the school adminis-
port is received, and raising awareness through activities. trators participating in the present study limit themselves
They suggest fulfilling the requirements of the legislation by choosing to fulfill the requirements of the legislation in
to overcome the obstacles emerging in the problem-solv- the problem-solving process.
ing process.
It is reported that school administrators display attitudes
The school administrators define neglect in school as the such as questioning the causes of the events of violence
neglect of school administrator and class teacher, lack of in school, referring the relevant students to disciplinary
education in family, behavioral disorder, and an unfortu- committee, making contact with parents, and directing the
nate result. They consider the maintenance and inspec- students to counselling service (Dönmez, 2010). The meas-
tion of physical structure to be important. They think that ures taken by school administrators to reduce school vio-
the causes of the problem are school administration’s lence include increasing the number of sports, social, and
deficiency in implementation and teachers’ deficiency in cultural activities, organizing seminars and conferences,
implementation. To understand the event of neglect, they providing family training, ensuring school security, and at-
resort to the opinions of family/parents, teacher, student, taching value to students.
and assistant staff and video-recording and audio-record-
ing. To solve the problem, they propose implementing Consistently with the finding of the present study indicat-
the disciplinary regulations (punishment), making sure ing that “training the family/parents” is an option for solv-
that physical structure is improved, holding meetings with ing events of violence in schools and “ignorance of family”
parents and teachers, raising awareness through physical is one of the reasons for school violence, it is noted that
and drama activities, and training the assistant staff. They reasons for violence among secondary education students
state that they can overcome the obstacles encountered (GNAT, 2007) are lack of family education, angry behaviors
in the problem-solving process by making up the defi- displayed by parents, poor financial situation of families,
ciency of legislation, increasing, maintaining, and inspect- and parents’ lack of love towards their children. Inade-
ing physical structures, and giving verbal warnings to the quacy of education in school and exhibition of violent
assistant staff. They propose fulfilling the requirements behaviors by individuals who are taken as an example in
of legislation to overcome the obstacles emerging in the school, which are stated to be among the problems lead-
problem-solving process. ing to school violence, are consistent with the views of the

618
 School Violence: School Administrators’ Perspectives / Çalık, Tabak & Yavuz Tabak

school administrators participating in the present study. safe school]. In Şule Erçetin (Ed.), Eğitim ve Şiddet
Based on the news about events of violence appearing on (pp. 99-116). Ankara: Pegem.
media, the results of another research show that teachers’
attitudes ranked first among the causes of school violence Dönmez, A.(2010). İlköğretim okul yöneticilerinin şiddet türl-
in 1998, but they were replaced by parents’ attitudes and erine yönelik görüşleri ve başa çıkma yöntemleri [Ele-
socio-economic problems in 2004 (Teyfur, 2014). The solu- mentary school administrators’ views on the types of
tion school administrators adopt most when an event of violence and methods of coping]. Yüksek Lisans Tezi.
violence takes place in their school is stated to be direct- Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi.
ing the students involved in the events of violence to the
school’s psychological counselling and guidance service. It DSÖ [Dünya Sağlık Örgütü / World Health Organization],
is stated that “school administrators have to exert more (2002). World report on violence and health: sum-
effort for dealing with violence inside and outside of the mary. Geneva. Retrieved from http://www.who.
school than for education, teaching, and administration.” int/violence_injury_prevention/ violence /world_
(MoNE, 2007). report/en/summary_en.pdf.

Events of violence in the society and events of violence D’Zurilla, T. J., & Nezu, A. (1982). Social problem solving in
in school should not be considered independent of each Adults. In Advances in cognitive-behavioral research
other. School and society are the mirrors of each other. and therapy. Philip Kendall (Eds.) (Vol. 1, pp. 201-
More of what happens in school will take place in socie- 274). Academic Press New York.
ty. Hence, it is very important that school administrators
are willing to take responsibility for preventing and solving D’Zurilla, T. J., Nezu, A. M., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2004).
events of violence in the first place. Then strategies should Social Problem Solving: Theory and Assessment.
be determined for prevention and solution processes. As Chang, E. C., D’Zurilla, T. J., & Sanna, L. J. (Eds). In So-
violence is a multidimensional issue, cooperation should cial problem solving: Theory, research, and training.
be launched with other social institutions. The present Washington: American Psychological Association.
study was carried out by receiving the opinions of admin-
istrators of 10 primary education institutions located in Eisenbraun, K. D. (2007). Violence in schools: Prevalence,
Ankara. Future research may include more school admin- prediction, and prevention. Aggression and violent
istrators from different educational levels. The opinions of behavior, 12(4), 459-469.
all the stakeholders can be asked in regard to the events
of violence. Awareness programs can be developed to Furlong, M. J., & Morrison, G. (2000). The school in school
prevent events of violence before they take place, to have violence: Definitions and facts. Journal of Emotion-
minimum damage during these events, and not to experi- al & Behavioral Disorders, 8, 71-82. Retrieved from
ence such events again. http://ebx.sagepub.com/content/8/2/71.full.pd-
f+html.
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