South Africa is recognised as one of the most violent countries across the globe. School violence against teachers is a common phenomenon at most schools. This ongoing crisis has had a negative impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Schools are no longer a safe environment for teachers. Teachers are exposed to passive and active violence,…

School violence perpetrated against teachers is becoming a scourge in South African schools, and as a result, teachers feel stressed, depressed, unsafe and demotivated to continue teaching. This problem, which has had a severely negative impact on the quality of teaching and learning, has also permeated the entire educational system in South…

As a signatory to the United Nations, South Africa is obliged to ensure that all children have access to quality education. The reality though is that there are many barriers which make access to education difficult if not impossible. School violence, an escalating worldwide phenomenon, is widely cited as one of the challenges that are faced by…

The preponderance of literature associated with school violence illuminates the severity of its manifestation in schools both nationally and internationally. The impact of school violence on students' physical and emotional well-being cannot be understated as this is commensurate with student academic achievement. The South African Government's…

The safety of teachers has been researched in South Africa, but less is known about education law that regulates functionaries' duty to act to ensure teachers' right to safety from violence in public schools. Section 12(1)(c) of the Constitution of 1996 provides that "(1) [e]veryone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which…

Violence in South African schools has various negative effects on learners. These effects include loss of concentration, poor academic performance, playing truant, and depression. School violence also affects the psychological well-being of learners, leading to absenteeism and difficulty in paying attention in class. Furthermore, school violence…

In this article we report on a South African study conducted with 1,779 learners aged 11 to 18 years from 8 schools in urban areas in and around Johannesburg. These learners' perspectives on school safety confirm that South African learners experience their schools as unsafe. Their primary concerns related to coercion and violence against learners…

Various scholars have confirmed that teacher safety against learner victimization is a growing concern worldwide, and this problem is exacerbated by a lack of understanding and readiness to implement policies to address this matter. In this regard, policy implementation by middle leaders (MLs) in creating safe school environments has attracted…

The rise of violent incidents in South African schools has sparked widespread concern. Most studies on school violence focus on the experiences of learners; little attention has been paid to educators' experiences. As a result, violence against educators is both underreported and understudied. The research question prompting this study was: What…

Safety in and around schools is an on-going concern in South Africa. Current education policy related to school safety institutes mechanisms to reduce violence as a measure of promoting safety. The highest rate of violence reported by learners occurs in the classroom. By implication, how teachers are either enabled or constrained to respond to…

Violence and bullying in schools keep escalating and have become a world-wide problem -- also in South Africa. This problem is continuing unabated, despite the different intervention strategies in place. Intervention strategies include the Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) programme, the National School Safety Framework (NSSF), the Safe Schools…

School violence has been on the increase over the past few years, despite several interventions put in place by school management, the Department of Education and parents. Nonetheless, school violence remains a debilitating factor to safe and secure schools. It is within this context that this paper examines the participation of Representative…

This study analysed secondary TIMSS 2019 data for respondents from South Africa and proposed a model containing ten constructs; nine independent variables (socio-economic status and eight variables about safety aspects in schools) and one independent variable (mathematics achievement). Qualitative data was also collected using interviews and field…

Unsafe and violent schools are a widespread problem in South Africa. This paper argues that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) contribute to this phenomenon. While various individual and community-level interventions to address ACEs have been reported on, the contribution of safe parks towards preventing school violence has not yet been…

In this article, I critically reflect and describe how our Chess Development Project (CDP), initiated by pre-service teachers at a university in South Africa, helped create a safer, non-violent, and more supportive school environment. This participatory action research (PAR) project highlights the idea that higher education institutions should not…