RESUMO
School violence has been recognized worldwide as a public health problem that negatively impacts the educational process. However, in Puerto Rico official statistics and the media generally focus on isolated incidents of extreme violence in which weapons are used or property is destroyed. Little data is available about the most common forms of violence that often occur in schools on a daily basis. The Instrumento de Observación de Violencia Escolar (INOVE), developed with the input of school communities participating in Project VIAS (Violence and Asthma Health Disparity Network) of Universidad del Este (UNE), was used in this study to gather information about the characteristics of violence in two Puerto Rican schools. Among the study findings we highlight gender differences in observed violence and aggressive games and interactions between students. The data collected have served as a basis for decision-making regarding violence prevention in participating schools and have implications for the development of prevention strategies and programs.
RESUMO
Community-Based Participatory Research promotes the inclusion of diverse voices in the research process and in decision-making processes. However, there are very few research studies that collaborate with children, especially within the context of schools. Promoting child participation has benefits both for children as well as for schools. Nonetheless, this may depend on how adults react to such participation. The present study is part of a broader study on school violence prevention. Our objective is to explore school personnel's concept of childhood and how it relates to their opinions about child school participation. We conducted a discussion group with nineteen (19) faculty and non-faculty members of a public school to ask them questions about the topic. We categorized participants' answers and analyzed relationships among them. Results suggest that participants' concept of childhood is linked to socio-cultural and historical factors and that it impacts their opinions about child participation. Also, school personnel recognize that child participation has benefits for children, the school and the wider society. This contrasts with deficiencies on how to articulate this participation beyond traditional classroom strategies. We discuss the implications of these results for pedagogical practice and for participatory research as promoters of children voices in context.