Bullying, violence and vandalism in primary school

SOUTH African primary schools are facing a crisis. Every day, learners fight, bully, destroy property, and intimidate other learners and teachers, turning what should be safe spaces into places of fear and mistrust.

- JULIE SHANTONE RUBBI NUNAN Senior Lecturer in the Department of Early Childhood Education and Development, University of South Africa

Research shows that learner behav-iour frequently involves violence, bullying and vandalism (damage to schoolproperty) that threatens the safety ofboth learners and staff.

The media usually report only serious cases of violence, but schools andteachers face challenging and dangerous behaviour every day that oftengoes unreported. This underreport-ing is not unique to South Africa; it’sa challenge seen in other countries too.

Research shows that this kind ofbehaviour disrupts teaching and learning, leading to poor learner performance and school dropouts.

Teachers frequently face aggression and intimidation from learners,which undermines their ability to teacheffectively. They feel unsafe and frustrated when learners act aggressively,and this problem worsens when parents protect their children’s bad behav-iour instead of addressing it.

Violence, bullying, and damage toschool property don’t just cause harmto learners and teachers. They also costschools money to repair the damageand cause emotional trauma and suffering for victims and their families.

Given these realities, it is importantto carefully explore the lived experiences of teachers, school leaders andcaretakers to fully understand theseverity and complexity of challenginglearner behaviour. This understanding is essential for developing effectivepolicies and interventions aimed atrestoring safety and improving learningenvironments in South African primary schools.