TITLE:
School Violence as a Cause of Non-Peaceful Coexistence in Public Secondary Schools in Nairobi, Kenya
AUTHORS:
Olivia A. Opere, Isabella Kamere, Violet Wawire
KEYWORDS:
School Violence, Non-Peaceful Coexistence
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.7 No.9,
September
19,
2019
ABSTRACT: Public
secondary schools in Kenya have in the recent past experienced several unrests,
a situation that has threatened the fabric that holds them together. For quite
some time, there have been reported cases of arson attacks and other forms of
school violence in public secondary schools in Kenya. The incidences of
violence have resulted into injuries, loss of property and sometimes loss of lives. In spite of the
tough measures meted out on the students who are found to be involved in such
acts, not much has been achieved. Using data collected from a sample of 341
public secondary school students and 88 teachers drawn from a survey of 22
public secondary schools in Nairobi County, the paper has identified various
forms, causes and perpetrators of violence in public secondary schools in
Kenya. The paper has argued that the earlier the perpetrators, forms and causes
of violence are identified and mitigated through acquisition of knowledge and
skills on peace education, the more likely the risks will be eliminated to enable
the learners to embrace peace values and peaceful coexistence in the community.
The study found out that school violence occurs in the form of verbal abuses,
physical fights, bullying, and arson attacks. It also emerged that violence
occurred during meals, social events and on the way going home from school and
that the main perpetrators included classmates, prefects and even teachers. Key
contributing factors to school violence were competition for resources,
political differences, sexual discrimination and non-tolerance to cultural
diversity. The paper concluded that the more effectively the peace values are
inculcated into students in public secondary schools, the better well behaved
the students are likely to become; hence
no or limited school unrests will be experienced.