CREATING SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH
LEADERSHIP: A SCHOOL, COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT APPROACH
INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing concern regarding violence among
children and youth. In the last decade, violence, including violence by and
against children and adolescents, has been the focus of extensive media
attention, public debate and research. Violence is often seen as physical
assaults such as hitting and fighting yet it includes teasing and name-calling.
It is not always overt and easily identified as it can be subtle and pervasive.
Community violence is reflected in schools, on the school
grounds and in the community. Violent behaviour is no longer something that can
be dismissed as “kids will be kids”. There is a growing sensitivity to the need
to curb violence, in spite of its greater acceptance in society. Whether we are
just noticing more children and youth engage in violence, through greater
awareness, or whether the numbers are actually increasing, is debatable. The
reality is that community-based violence is a social problem, reflecting the
violence occurring in society. Many communities may actually support violence
with a bully culture.
Purpose
To address the issue of community violence, this website serves
a two-fold purpose. It provides insight into the various types of violence and
addresses factors influencing violence, one of which, surprisingly, enough, may
be the government and the community itself. The discussion is approached from a
Parent’s perspective, making it applicable to administrators, teaching and
non-teaching staff, students, parents, caregivers and the community as a whole.
In addition, factors such as family, economic and school and community
environment are woven into the document to give a fuller picture of the
violence that our children experience and/or are exposed to at school, in the
community, and at home. It is anticipated that all concerned will better
understand the need for an early intervention strategy to prevent negative
contact with the criminal justice system.
The second purpose of this
resource is to examine the role
of leadership in addressing violence. Leadership in schools customarily
is seen
as coming from the administration of the school. However, leadership
also
includes the school board personnel, teaching and non-teaching
staff, parents, caregivers, community organizations, politicians
and most definitely
the students themselves.
Bullying
Bullying is the most frequently reported form of violence in
schools and within our communities. It is not about resolving problems but
about asserting power and control over another. Targeting a specific individual
or family, most often those perceived to be weak, for repeated violent or
aggressive acts is called bullying. Older siblings may bully younger siblings
within the setting of normal family conflict, but victimizing tactics, such as
teasing, taunting, shunning, mugging, and scapegoating a particular child or
family, can be a sign of antisocial orientation (bully culture). Bullying is
difficult to deal with as most acts of bullying are invisible. Therefore those
in authority should not be looking for proof of bullying, but for the effects
of bullying on the victims health both physical and mental and social status.
Bullying is not restricted to childhood years as youth and
adults can take on exploitive behaviours including sexual harassment, assault,
domestic violence, child abuse, dating violence, gang attacks, workplace
harassment, and elder abuse.
Ways that bullies gain power over their victims include
physical size and strength, identifying the target’s vulnerabilities, peer
group status, or by enlisting cooperation from other children and adults. When
bullying is repeated continuously, control over the victim is established,
causing the victim to feel distress and fear. Bullying can be manifested in
various ways including: physical aggression - hitting, kicking, damaging or
taking belongings; social alienation - excluding an individual from social
groups; verbal aggression - name-calling, repeated teasing, insults, racist
comments; intimidation - promoting hurtful rumors, threats; and sexual
harassment.
Psychological bullying
Psychological bullying can also be categorized as covert or
overt; and indiscriminate or discriminatory. It imposes mental suffering which
results in victims fearing for their physical safety, Also, the victim’s
self-esteem and confidence can be diminished. Verbal psychological bullying is
considered to be overt as the jokes and taunts are heard by witnesses and
verified by victims. It is hard for those in authority to realize that teasing
is a form of bullying since it often goes unnoticed and it can be vague.
Teasing is a mix of annoying and humorous qualities which also can be
mean-spirited and hurtful. What one person thinks is funny may be very damaging
to another. Psychological bullying makes up over 90% of bullying in our schools
and communities and is the most damaging.
As a rule authorities
consider violence to be more damaging than psychological bullying. Automatic
sanctions, such as police action, may be used to penalize those who use
violence in response to bullying. The danger is that if authorities fail to
investigate the cause of the violent behaviour, those who are the victims of
bullying can end up being more severely punished than the bullies. This
reinforces the bully behaviour by seemingly rewarding the bullies and punishing
the victims.
One reason for the bias regarding current initiatives is
that authorities often do not recognize psychological bullying as forms of
bullying. As a result, they do not include these problems within anti-violence,
anti-bullying initiatives. They fail to see that concepts such as these can
further violence in our schools and communities.
Family and childcare influences
The influences of the family and childcare are significant
in that they can influence whether or not a person will engage in violent
behaviour. It is in homes and childcare facilities where children witness and
learn the behaviours that will follow them into schools and onto adulthood.
Environmental influences in the home and childcare facility may determine the
likelihood of children to bully or engage in violent behaviour. Children who do
not have a trusting relationship with their parents or care giver lack the
confidence to develop their own independence, and are inclined to obtain power
and validation through aggression and bullying. If care givers are violent,
aggressive and display bully tendencies, the child will learn by example.
Community Environment Effects
A positive or negative community environment is determined
by the environmental factors or what is called the “hidden rules”. The political routines, the climate of the community,
modeling of aggressive or respectful behaviour by community leaders helps to
determine the values that children and their families learn. Research also
shows that governments promote negative behaviour and attitudes through their governing
practices, values, attitudes towards children and their families. The community
climate is crucial to promoting families feelings of acceptance, security, well
being and motivation towards achievement and socially responsible behaviour.
Disadvantaged families have a different community experiences from those of
privileged families. Community interaction fosters different outcomes for different
families.
Some community practices increase the development of
antisocial behaviour and the likelihood for violence. Community practices that
can add to the problem of violence include: lack of consistent management; lack
of clear rules and expectations regarding appropriate behaviour; inadequate
monitoring; failure to accommodate individual differences; ineffective
interpersonal and self management skills.
Communities and schools must determine whether they
contribute to the tolerance, acceptance, or support of violence and aggression.
Establishing an environment that does not accept violence cannot rely on “zero
tolerance” policies which promote strong sanctions against any violence or
“violent-like” act. Simplistic zero tolerance policies that may equate minor
incidents with serious offenses do not further a sense of safety.
Leadership is the key
Research into community climate indicates that the
leadership of the community is central in shaping the climate. Greater success is
achieved where the climate is collaborative and promotes a sense of community.
The Head administrator, Mayor, Reeve or what ever title is given is the person
who has the most influence in furthering a sense of community. No matter who
creates the vision, the administrator ultimately is the primary instigator,
promoter and guardian of change.
Community leaders who succeed at improving community climates
have a high profile within the community. Even after elections, they maintain regular
contact with people and obtain their views on events, and address their
concerns, visit their homes and walk the streets to maintain visibility.
Community leaders will use people who have been identified as natural leaders and
recruit them for conflict resolution programs. True leaders are in your face
and let you know they care.