Table of Contents
TitlePage #
Abstract 3
Chapter One: Causes of Violence and Crime 4
Chapter Two: New School Theory 19
Chapter Three: Survey and Thesis Methodology 23
Chapter Four: Teacher Perspective vs. Administrative Perspective
Within a New School 25
Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations 34
Index of Figures 39
Bibliography 40
Appendix A: Administrator Survey 41
Appendix B: Teacher Survey 50
Abstract
What is violence? By most authoritative accounts, violence, including school violence, is the use of physical force to cause harm. Physical force can take the forms of crimes against people or property (Kreiner, 1996). A student may spray graffiti on the side of a school, steal from someone's purse or from the lunch line or injure another student, teacher, or faculty member. In reality, violence has become more prevalent in schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2002), Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2002, "in 2000, students ages 12 through 18 were victims of about 1.9
million total crimes of violence or theft at school. A national survey found that at least one out of five students and one out of ten teachers have been victims of school violence" (Kreiner, 1996, p. 13). In perspective, in a class of thirty students, six of those classmates are likely to be hurt by violence during that school year. Another survey discovered that one out of 12 students stayed home from school for fear that someone would hurt or harass them (Kreiner, 1996). Violence also hinders the learning process. Students cannot concentrate on learning and the educator cannot focus on teaching if they have fears for their own safety or have to spend most of their time disciplining.
The basis of this thesis is to discuss the causes of violence and crime among teenagers, introduce the...