How to Create Sustainable Nonviolence Curriculum in Public Schools in Sweden

Author argues the urgent need for nonviolence training and the contemporary challenges of implementing such plans. Furthermore, chapter briefly discusses the eruptions of violence and experienced in Europe, along with innovative ways to educate all stakeholders. In addition, the chapter includes a case study of a Swedish school, with research of contemporary nonviolence training and curriculum. The chapter will benefit a variety of entities and organizations, such as educators in public school systems and governmental organizations. Findings suggest a growing concern amongst educators, students and parents due to escalating threats and acts of violence in school settings. Moreover, findings indicate partial integration of sustainable nonviolence curriculum into some Swedish schools. Author proposes to integrate and implement nonviolence training into the Swedish public school system as nationally mandated integrated subjects. Further research suggests additional research conducted to measure qualitative and quantitative results nonviolence curriculum and training.

Detecting Problems of Coexistence

Coexistence, democracy, citizenship, peace, tolerance, respect, cooperation, empathy and other similar terms are some concepts that make up the principles and aims of present education. For this reason, education managers design, develop and assess processes that try to reduce problems of coexistence. The main aim of this chapter is to show strategies for detecting problems of coexistence at school and to analyze the students' role in these processes. The background of the chapter is based on the following topics: school as a conflictive place, types of problems in coexistence, definitions and characteristics of the term conflict and models to improve coexistence at schools. After considering these ideas, the next step involves the analysis of some strategies for detecting problems of school coexistence. An important part of these strategies emphasizes student role in this task. However, students are often not properly trained to detect problems of coexistence at schools. Consequently, there are some processes for creating a school context based on democratic resolution of conflicts.

Using Digital Storytelling to Inform Students About Bullying: Results of a Pilot Program

The study presents the results of a pilot program in which digital storytelling was used in order to inform fourth-grade students about bullying. The constructivist principles concerning the learning process, and in particular, the requirement of students' active participation, provided the necessary framework. Students created their own digital stories about bullying, while the researcher, although present, avoided to intervene, to guide or to lecture students to a great extent. The intervention was short in duration and easily applied, without altering the school's timetable. Qualitative analysis of the data indicates that, through their digital stories, students were able to grasp the main aspects of bullying and how they should react, but the role of bystanders was unclear to them. The results of the study might prove useful in the formation of a more comprehensive anti-bullying program.

Effectiveness of Cyber Bullying Sensitization Program (CBSP) to Reduce Cyber Bullying Behavior Among Middle School Children

Cyber bullying is the unwise use of technology to harm and humiliate an individual or group over the Internet. The purpose of this article is to test the effectiveness of the cyber bullying sensitisation program (CBSP) to reduce the level of cyber bullying behaviour among middle school students. The sample was restricted to adolescents as they are the ones who are most exposed and vulnerable in the cyber space. A quasi-experimental pre-post design with intervention was adopted for the study. The participants of the study were comprised of 186 middle school students from two private schools in India. The experimental group had 94 participants while control groups had 92 participants. Statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between pre- and post-test scores in the experimental group. No significant difference was found between the experiment and control group before the program, suggesting that the program was effective in helping students in reducing cyber bullying behaviour. The implications for prevention and intervention programs were discussed.

Community Programs

The United States has a federal system. One advantage of a federal system is that it can encourage competition among the states resulting in the testing of new policy solutions and the diffusion of best practices. This holds true for online aggression policy, particularly those addressing cyberbullying. This chapter begins with a discussion of the literature on strategies being adopted at the school board level to limit the spread of cyberbullying. It concludes with an overview of current evaluation research comparing recent policies being implemented by local schools.

Do Jamaican Principals' Leadership Styles Correlate to Violence in School?

The increase of violence among young people in the high school environment has become a concern among parents and educators alike. A study was designed to address whether there is a relationship between the leadership styles of principals and violence in secondary schools in rural Jamaica. Based on a correlational design survey of 414 teachers from 61 schools in five parishes, seven leadership styles were correlated with the amount of violence at each school. The result showed that there was a statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.88) at the p < .05 level was observed in autocratic leadership in the Parish of St. Ann. A moderate significant correlation was recorded in St. Catherine in democratic leadership (r = -52) at the level of p < 0.01.

Violent Video Games as Scapegoat After School Shootings in the United States

The United States has a well-documented history of violence. School shootings are a contemporary social problem which raise much concern, as children and young adults are killed on school grounds. After such tragic events there is public debate as to what causes such horrible events to occur. When looking for a source of such shootings, violent video games are often named as a source of such unconscionable violence. However, it is argued here that blaming violent video games constitutes a moral panic when violent video games are unfairly scapegoated as the source of school shootings. This chapter also points to other sources of violence which may be identified as potential causes of school shootings once the scapegoating of violent video games is acknowledged.

Cyberbullying at School

It is very important to collocate the occurrence of cyberbullying with a negative school environment. School bullying is widely known to be associated with many negative indicators, including lower academic achievement, lower school satisfaction, and lower levels of attachment and involvement at school. Several studies have combined cyberbullying with negative school experiences, such as lower academic performance and negative perceptions of the school climate. Moreover, many have suggested a strong link between the climate in the school and both traditional and cyberbullying. Some recent studies have shown that people who are perpetrators of cyberbullying and those who are victims both report a worse climate in schools than others not involved in the behavior. A poor disciplinary climate is one in which students are either unaware of the rules and the consequences of violations or one in which students are unmotivated to internalize and conform to the rules because they feel that they are unfair or unimportant. Weak parental involvement implies that the parents are not involved with the student's school life; they provide no help with homework, have very little communication with teachers, and rarely assist with school activities. Having a lack of didactic pressure means that neither teachers nor students hold high expectations for their academic achievement.

Improving Student Classroom Behavior Through Nonviolent Classroom Management and the Implementation of Emotional Intelligence for Educators

This chapter explored nonviolence classroom management tools and the self-actualization of emotional intelligence (EI) focused on education in the United States (U.S.). The purpose of this chapter was to convey to educators that their attitude or behavior can negatively or positively affect student engagement and classroom management. The aim is to create an atmosphere of positive reinforcements for students to develop and grow, using EI as a tool to examine classroom behaviors. The authors discussed the behavioral problems and facets many present-day schools in the U.S. are confronted with on a daily basis. The implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) as nonviolent interventions for classroom management is covered. For comparisons, research directions were explored from a universal perspective to include multinational countries. The chapter concluded with a summative conclusion to include thoughts on improving student classroom behavior through nonviolence classroom management and implementing EI for educators.

Developing a Culture of Nonviolence in Schools

Violence is a common occurrence in schools and poses a threat to education as a vehicle of economic development and economic freedom. The chapter aims at discussing factors that can promote the development of a culture of non-violence in schools. However, it is important that causes of violence in schools be understood before making suggestions on how to make schools safe for our children. There are numerous factors that contribute to school violence such as the curriculum, poverty, teachers, students' home life, the external environment of the school, and socio-economic factors. The authors argue that collaboration between different stakeholders is important if schools wish to reclaim their former glory of being centers of excellence and agents of social change. This chapter suggests that it is through education and empowering children, parents, teachers, and the community at large that we can achieve a culture of peace and non-violence in schools.