Teachers' responsibilities in preventing school violence

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preventing violence among school children and (b) to solicit teachers' views as what they have been doing in ... Sample for the study comprised 43 teachers from the different regions of ... violence in schools; however, these ideas were not translated into action. ... corridors to fighting, from threatening another with a gun.
Educational Research and Reviews Vol. 7(17), pp. 362-371, 13 June, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/ERR DOI: 10.5897/ERR11.261 ISSN 1990-3839 ©2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Teachers’ responsibilities in preventing school violence: A case study in Turkey Yasemin Yavuzer1* and Rezzan Gundogdu2 1

Department of Educational Sciences, Nigde University, Nigde, Turkey. Department of Educational Sciences, Aksaray University, Aksaray, Turkey.

2

Accepted 30 May, 2012

It is generally acknowledged that teachers play an important role in preventing or reducing violence in schools. The objectives of this study were: (a) to identify teachers' responsibilities in terms of preventing violence among school children and (b) to solicit teachers’ views as what they have been doing in preventing violence. Sample for the study comprised 43 teachers from the different regions of Turkey. These teachers had followed an in-service training called "Crime and Prevention of Violence in Educational Institutions". The survey method was used to collect data. To analyze the data, frequency distribution was used and the data was turned into a table as a percentage. These teachers proposed many suggestions to school administrators as what could be done to prevent violence in schools. The results obtained show that these teachers were aware of their responsibilities in terms of preventing violence in schools. They seemed to have knowledge as to what could be done to prevent or reduce violence in schools; however, these ideas were not translated into action. Key words: Violence, school violence, teachers’ responsibilities, prevention of violence.

INTRODUCTION The incidence of aggression and violence in schools can take different forms, ranging from one student cursing another (student, teacher, and administrator) to threatening, either verbally or physically. This violence varies from making another fall by pushing in the school corridors to fighting, from threatening another with a gun to raping/attempting rape and from wounding with knife or killing to coming to school with drugs or alcohol (DiCanio, 1993; Goldstein, 1994; Miller, 1994; Moeller, 2001). Violence is regarded not only as fighting and harassment; any action that impairs the school climate is considered within the scope of violence (Hernandez and Seem, 2004). Research had shown that violence in school increases students’ fears, negatively affects students’ desire and ability to learn, leads to not trusting the school since students’ security expectations are not met (Scheckner et al., 2002), undermines self-confidence of

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +903882112842. Fax: +903882112801.

students (Ericson, 2001; Carney et al., 2002; Furlong et al., 2003; Schreck and Miller, 2003), causes higher depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem and self-blame attributions among students (Raskauskas, 2010) and causes interruptions in instruction by affecting students’ and teachers’ social, physical and psychological wellbeing (Johnson, 2009). School violence and teachers’ role Morrison et al. (1994) considered that risk factors that increase violence in schools can be categorized into four groups, that is, social (such as poverty), familial (such as negative parental model), school-related (such as low student participation, lack of social activities, unfair practices and teacher attitudes) and individual (such as developmental difficulties, antisocial behaviors, academic failure, not adapting to school). Other researchers include as risk factor related to school some teacher characteristics, such as lack of subject knowledge and communication skills, aggressive

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leadership styles, unfair practices, inability to manage student behavior or not supporting student development (Evans and Evans, 1985; Hart, 1987; Gaustad, 1992; Gander and Gardiner, 2001; Finley, 2003; Hawkins and Herrenkohl, 2004: 265; Mertoglu et al., 2008). Teachers at the same time, have an important role in preventing violence as a protective factor. They can contribute to creating a school atmosphere that does not include violence by creating a positive atmosphere in their classrooms, by motivating students to learn and by being an appropriate role model (Dusenbury et al., 1997). Teachers become models for their students when they use their social and emotional competencies. They ensure that their students develop positive attitudes towards school when they are tolerant, accepting and concerned or when they have a supportive leadership style (Moeller, 2001; Gladden, 2002). There are studies that showed some teachers have negative attitudes towards students who are violent, and most of them felt responsible for preventing violence and bullying in their classrooms, but they lack the confidence in their own abilities to cope with these issues (Dake et al., 2003). On the other hand, there were other research findings that showed that teachers were ignorant of their roles in preventing violence (Zindi, 1994; Finley, 2003; Turnuklu and Illeez, 2006; Akpınar and Dilci, 2007; Yavuzer et al., 2009). If teachers lack awareness in their responsibility in preventing violence, it will be difficult for them to accept that it is their responsibility to do so. In addition, if the teachers do not have any awareness related to student risk behavior types and frequencies, they will be disinterested in reducing these behaviors (Marsh et al., 2009). Therefore, in the implementation of effective violence prevention strategies, it is important not only to obtain the support from teachers but also from other people who deal with students. School violence and teachers’ role in Turkey Violence among peers The highest level of violence among school students in Turkey was between the years of 2006 and 2009. According to a commission report by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (2007), during the last three months of 2006/2007 academic years, it was detected that 22% of the students attending secondary schools students were faced with physical, 58% were faced with verbal, 26.3% with emotional and 15.8% with sexual violence. In addition, it was found that 35.5% of the students resorted to physical, 48.7% resorted to verbal, 27.6% resorted to emotional and 11.7% resorted to sexual violence. Based on the research done, the most observed aggressive behaviors in schools are individual or collective participation in fight, carrying of knife (pocket knife or a similar cutting tool at least once), pushing a friend, name

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calling, teasing, saying bad words, insulting, cussing, arguing, vandalism and threatening someone or some people (Ogulmus, 1995; Uysal, 2003; Kapcı, 2004; Durmus and Gurgan, 2005; Eke and Ogel, 2006; Kepenekci and Cınkır, 2006; Yavuzer et al., 2009). Since 2006, the Ministry of Education had implemented several strategies in educational environments and their surroundings with the objective of preventing violence and promotes a culture of peace. Some of the efforts taken are as follows: Projects for teachers (Child Friendly Schools, Psychosocial School, 7 to 9 Years Effective Parent Education, Life Skills Training for Children and Adolescents) had been carried out (Turkish Ministry of National Education /TMNE, 2006a). Guidance programs for elementary and secondary school guidance classes that are based on personal development were prepared. (TMNE, 2006b) A circular called “Preventing Violence in Schools” was issued to schools (TMNE 2006c). The Turkish Ministry of National Education had put the five-year “Prevention and Reduction of Violence in Education Environments Strategy Action Plan” into effect, starting in 2006 (TMNE, 2006a). For the years between 2008 and 2011, annual inservice training courses were given to school administrators, teachers and school counselors on a regular basis (TMNE In-Service Training Plans, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). In 2009 “Environments to Ensure Safe schools Cooperation Protocol” was signed with the Interior Ministry and within the framework of “Safe Schools, Safe Education Project” “school police” practice was introduced (Sabah Newspaper, 2009). Teachers’ violence against students or students’ violence against teachers In Turkish society, the stereotype of a teacher is a person who reads, has knowledge about the world and the country's problems and someone who can be trusted (Sisman, 2006: 213). Turkish society is extremely sensitive that students show respect to teachers and does not tolerate students being rude or disobedient to teachers. However, there had been reports of violent behavior towards teachers in Turkey but they are not common occurrences (Ogulmus, 1995; Yavuzer et al., 2009; Turkum, 2011). Teachers have been found to resort to violence in disciplining students, even though there is a formal ban against it (Yıldırım and Celebi, 1999; Gozutok et al., 2006; Siyez, 2009; Yıldız et al., 2009). This is a cultural heritage and dates back to Ottoman times. During the Ottoman period, “falaka” (hitting the soles of the child with a stick) was part of formal education (Sumer and Aydın,

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1999). During that period, parents who had just registered their children to school would say “don’t spare the rod” to the teacher. Today, similar sayings are still being used: “spare the rod and spoil the child”, “spanking is from heaven” and “Children benefit from the beatings their teachers give them”. Authoritarian and aggressive leadership style of teachers increases the violent behaviors of the students in addition to being a negative model to the students (Evans and Evans, 1985; Gaustad, 1992; Gander and Gardiner, 2001; Hawkins and Herrenkohl, 2004: 265; Marachi et al., 2007). Therefore, in Turkey some teachers who have authoritarian and aggressive leadership style may be responsible for violent behaviors among school children. In Turkey, research on the issue of violence has been carried out on students and the objective of the research was to gauge the extent of violence. To date, teachers’ views on how to prevent violence and what they have been doing to prevent violence have not been documented. A research had been conducted by Yavuzer et al. (2009) to determine elementary and secondary teachers’ views on the types and frequency of violence they face and the causes and prevention of it in Nigde, Turkey. According to the findings of this study, teachers defined violence as “all verbally or physically harmful behavior”. They attributed familial causes as the main reason for violence. They recommend school guidance services to work more effectively and school discipline rules to function better as measures to be taken. Most of teachers did not mention the measures they could take in their own classrooms. The researchers interpreted these findings as teachers ascribing responsibility to others and for this reason they would not aware of their responsibilities or they would be running from them. Also other research findings show that teachers are not aware of their roles in preventing violence (Turnuklu and Illeez, 2006; Akpınar and Dilci, 2007). As mentioned earlier, if teachers are not aware of their role in preventing violence, they will not accept any responsibility. Teachers’ support is also required to apply the effective strategies on preventing violence in schools. For this reason, identifying what teachers think and do about preventing school violence is important. Since 2006, in-service training courses were given to teachers in educational environments and their surrounddings to prevent school violence and to develop a culture of peace in Turkey. The researchers aim to identify teachers' suggestions for school administrators and other teachers as how to prevent violence in Turkey and also their views on what they have been doing as teachers to prevent violence in this study as a continuation of previous studies. METHODOLOGY This research is a descriptive study to identify the teachers' suggestions for schools and other teachers to prevent violence in

Turkey and their views on what they have been doing as teachers to prevent violence.

Participants The sample of the study was 43 teachers from various regions (the eastern, western, northern, southern, central Anatolian and small, middle and big cities from these regions) of Turkey who had participated in an in-service training called "Crime and Prevention of Violence in Educational Institutions". Out of this total number of inservice teachers, 13 (30.23%) of them were female and 30 (69.77%) were male. Slightly more than half of them that is, 23 (53.49%) were elementary school teachers and 20 (46.51%) were subject teachers. In terms of seniority of service, 9 (20.93%) of them had been working 5 years or less, 17 (39.53%) of them had been working 6 to 10 years, 12 (27.90%) of them had been working 11 to 15 years and another 5 (11.64%) had been working 16 to 20 years.

Instrument Data were collected through a survey prepared by the researchers. The survey consists of two parts: (1) Personal information form. (2) Open-ended questions to identify the teachers' suggestions for school administrators and other teachers as how to prevent violence in Turkey and their views on what they have been doing as teachers to prevent violence. The open-ended questions were as follows: 1. In your opinion, what should school administrators do to prevent violence in schools? 2. In your opinion, what have teachers done to prevent violence in schools? 3. As a teacher, what have you done to prevent violence in schools?

Data analysis The answers to the questions in the survey were analyzed with content analysis. The main objective of content analysis is to obtain the concepts and relationships that would explain the collected data. Basically, the process is to gather similar data around certain concepts and themes and to interpret them in an understandable format (Yıldırım and Simsek, 2005: 227). The answers were analyzed independently by two researchers and the data were coded. The researchers detected how often the related concepts were repeated and brought together the findings. To analyze the data, a frequency distribution was used and shown separately in a table. Percentage was calculated by the number of teachers. The teachers made more than one suggestion in each category. Therefore, the sum of frequencies was not 43 and the sum of percentages was not 100%. They also examined for the coding similarities among them. They found out that the internal consistency coefficient was 90%. When the researchers disagreed, the researchers discussed for agreement in a meeting.

RESULTS Frequencies of teachers’ statements regarding their suggestions for school administrators and other teachers to prevent violence in Turkey and their views on what they have been doing as teachers to prevent violence are

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Table 1. Teachers’ views on what measures the school administrators should take.

Measures that should be taken by school administrators Related to Students To make schools more attractive To prepare short- and long-term programs To make the school guidance services more effective To cooperate with GRCs (Guidance and Research Center) To punish the negative behaviors To reward the positive behaviors To take security measures To increase social activities To manage the school better (consistent, transparent, just, equal, ext…) To give importance to religious education To value the student st nd To separate the buildings 1 and 2 stages of elementary schools To teach communication and problem solving skills To keep tabs on students To give responsibility to students To take into consideration the individual differences To cooperate with public and private institutions

% 161 measures 4 9.3 11 25.6 22 51.2 2 4.6 7 16.3 1 2.3 11 25.6 30 69.7 16 37.2 2 4.6 20 46.5 2 4.6 14 32.5 3 6.9 1 2.3 11 25.6 4 9.3

Related to Parents To educate the parents To develop the school-parent cooperation

17 26

Related to Teachers To prepare in-service training programs To increase the living standards of the teachers To ensure that teachers act as a team General Total

f

13 2 10

43 measures 39.5 60.5 25 measures 30.2 4.6 23.2 229 measures

n=43

presented in tables and figure. Some of the teacher statements are given in Table 5. As seen in Table 1 these teachers specified measures needed to be taken by the school administrators in three categories intending for students (161 measures), parents (43 measures) and teachers (25 measures). Most recommended measures that should be taken by school administrators related to students are to increase social activities (n=30), to make the school guidance and counseling services more active (n=22) and to value the students (n=20). Most recommended measure that should be taken by school administrators related to parents is to improve the school-parent cooperation (n=26). Most recommended measures that should be taken by schools related to teachers are to organize inservice training programs (n=13) and to ensure them to act as a team (n=10). Based on this finding, it can be seen that teachers recommended more measures related to students to school administrators. Table 2 shows the teachers’ specified measures

needed to be taken by themselves in three categories, namely, intending for students (85 measures), parents (13 measures) and teachers (72 measures). Most recommended measures that should be taken by teachers related to students are to know students better (n=16), to value students (n=16), to have healthy communication with the students (n=14) and to direct them towards social activities (n=13). Most recommended measure that should be taken by teachers related to parents is to cooperate with the parents (n=10). Most recommended measures that should be taken by teachers related to themselves are to manage the classroom more effectively (by being consistent, just, equal) (n=14) and to cooperate with the school guidance services (n=11). When the answers of the teachers to the question of “what have you been doing to prevent violence?” are analyzed, it is found that they stated total 56 types of behavior related to students, total 4 types of behaviors related to parents and total 14 types of behaviors related

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Table 2. Teachers’ views on what measures the teachers should take.

Measures that should be taken by school teachers Related to Students To inform them about violence and its results To know students better To take into consideration of individual differences To have healthy communication with students To value students (to respect, to approach lovingly) To deal with students outside the classroom too To teach communication and problem solving skills To direct them towards social activities To keep tabs on students (to learn who their friends are) Not to be prejudiced To be a positive model

f

% 85 measures 2 4.6 16 37.2 4 9.3 14 32.5 16 37.2 3 6.9 4 9.3 13 30.2 2 4.6 3 6.9 8 18.6

Related to Parents To cooperate with the parents To get to know the parents of the student

13 measures 10 23.2 3 6.9

Related to himself/herself To be informed about violence and the reasons for violence To manage the classroom more effectively (by being consistent, just, equal) To love his/her profession Not to resort to violence To take the neccessary measures (To make rearrangements in the environment) To complete his/her professional shortcomings To create a positive classroom environment To evaluate the situation effectively when a violent behavior appears To cooperate with the school guidance services To make a concerted effort with other teachers General Total

72 measures 5 11.6 14 32.5 4 9.3 3 6.9 7 16.3 8 18.6 7 16.3 7 16.3 11 25.6 6 13.9 170 measures

n= 43

to themselves (Table 3). According to the teachers’ statements, the most common action taken related to students is to inform them about the consequences of violence (n=13). This is followed by trying to understand the problem by listening to both sides (n=9), suggesting solutions during student conflicts (n=5) and warning (n=5). The most common action taken related to parents is to communicate with them (n=3). The most common actions taken related to themselves are to teach classes in an interesting way and in a way that would increase participation (n=6) and to get support from the guidance service (n=4). The actions taken by the teachers to prevent violence are mostly not reactive but preventive. Teachers have made the total 473 suggestions. The trainee teachers have made 229 suggestions (48%) to the school administrators and 170 suggestions (36%) to teachers to prevent violence in schools. As teachers, they stated that they have exhibited 74 types of behaviors, i.e. actions, (16%) themselves (Figure 1). The suggestions

they have made to the teachers and 8 types of behaviors they have exhibited, that is, actions taken by them, matches (Table 4). These behaviors as follows: To inform them about violence and the its results, to value students, to teach communication and problem-solving skills, to direct students towards social activities, to cooperate with the parents, to take the necessary measures (to make rearrangements in the environment), to cooperate with the school guidance service and to act as a team with the other teachers. However, there are actions teachers have taken to prevent violence even if they have not suggested, [like checking themselves not to use violence, sending students to the school administration, applying the rules, warning and sometimes using violence]. In the Table 4, the common 6 items in the three cases is seen. These items as follows: To make the school guidance services more effective, to increase social activities, to teach communication and problem solving skills, to value students, to develop the school-parent

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Table 3. Teachers’ views on what measures they have been taking to prevent violence.

Measures that have been taken by teachers Related to Students I propose solutions to students during their conflicts I warn them I inform them about the consequences of violence I direct them towards social activities I sometimes use violence I don’t take it outside the classroom by immediately intervening I apply the rules I try to understand the problem by listening to both sides I teach ways to cope with stress I approach every incident differently Sometimes I take the incidents seriously, sometimes I don’t I send them to the school administrators I try to value them I give them responsibilities I reward positive behaviors I ignore negative behaviors I try to teach communication rules

f % 56 measures 5 11.6 5 11.6 13 30.2 3 6.9 3 6.9 2 4.6 2 4.6 9 20.9 1 2.3 4 9.3 1 2.3 1 2.3 3 6.9 1 2.3 1 2.3 1 2.3 1 2.3

Related to Parents I set up communication with the parents I give their parents notice

3 1

Related to himself/herself I control myself not to use violence I teach my classes in an interesting way and in a way that would increase participation I receive support from the guidance service I inform the authorities All the school employees try to find a common solution together General Total

14 measures 1 2.3 6 13.9 4 9.3 1 2.3 2 4.6 74 measures

4 measures 6.9 2.3

n=43

cooperation, to ensure that teachers act as a team. Based on this finding, it can be said that the above measures in preventing school violence were considered very important by Turkish teachers.

during these occurrences. The objectives of this study were:

DISCUSSION

1. To identify teachers' responsibilities in terms of preventing violence among school children, and 2. To solicit teachers’ views as what they have been doing in preventing violence.

Acknowledging the prevalence of violence in schools in Turkey as a problem necessitates research that would ensure the understanding of this phenomenon. The studies made in recent years provide illuminating information on the dimensions, dynamics and causes of violence in school environments. However, the teachers’ views on how to prevent violence and what to do to prevent violence are not very well known. Yet, the teachers have the potential to affect the students during the violent events between students and to divert them

The teachers in this study made 229 suggestions (48%) to the school administrators and 170 suggestions(36%) to teachers to prevent violence in schools. As teachers, they stated that they have exhibited 74 types of behaviors, that is, actions, (16%) themselves (Figure 1). Most of the suggestions were aimed at school administrators. The most common recommendations given to the school administrators are to increase social activities, to make the guidance service more active, to value students, to improve school - parent collaboration, to organize

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Table 4. Common items in the three cases.

Teachers’ views on what measures the school administrators should take To make the school guidance services more effective (n=22)

Teachers’ views on what measures the teachers should take To cooperate with the school guidance services (n=11)

To reward the positive behaviors (n=1)

Teachers’ views on what measures they have been taking to prevent violence I receive support from the guidance service (n=4) I reward positive behaviors (n=1)

To increase social activities (n=30)

To direct them towards social activities (n=13)

I direct them towards social activities (n=3)

To teach communication and problem solving skills (n=14)

To teach communication and problem solving skills (n=4)

I try to teach communication rules (n=1)

To give responsibility to students (n=1) To value students (n=20)

To value students (n=16)

I give them responsibilities (n=1) I try to value them (n=3)

To inform them about violence and its results (n=2)

I inform them about the consequences of violence (n=13)

To take the neccessary measures (To make rearrangements in the environment) (n=7)

I teach my classes in an interesting way and in a way that would increase participation (n=6)

To develop the school-parent cooperation (n=26)

To cooperate with the parents (n=10)

I set up communication with the parents (n=3)

To prepare in-service training programs (n=13)

To be informed about violence and the reasons for violence (n=5)

To ensure that teachers act as a team (n=10)

To make a concerted effort with other teachers (n=6)

All the school employees try to find a common solution together (n=2)

Table 5. Some examples of teacher statements.

Categories The measures that should be taken by school administrators to prevent violence

Example Statements “The school should organize various activities like sporting events and theater so that students would spend their excess energy.” (Male) “The school should effectively guide students, should have regular meetings with the parents, should give seminars to teachers, administrators and students and should take the necessary measures in front of the school.” (Female)

The measures that should be taken by teachers to prevent violence

“The teacher should prevent violence by improving himself/herself and should be the bridge between school and the parent.” (Male) “The teacher should direct the students towards social activities should try to know them and should have a good communication with them.” (Female)

What have the teachers been doing?

“First of all, what kind of situation brings violence? I would try to get rid of this kind of situation; I would meet with the student; I would communicate with the guidance service, school administration and parents; after the situation is resolved I would take preventive measures (psychological, sportive and artistic activities).” (Male) “I first ignore, then warn, then humiliate, when these don’t work, I hit them and I get sleeping problems after I hit them.” (Male) “I objectively listen to both parties; I make them see the event or the situation from different perspectives; I bring the students together with different activities and I try to find the real reason behind the conflict by asking the students.” (Female)

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Figure 1. The actions that should be taken by the teachers and the school administrators and teacher views on what they have been doing.

in-service training programs for teachers and to make sure all school staff works as a team. These suggestions were similar with some of the Ministry of Education’s expectations for school administrators. Other expectations of the Ministry of Education are as follows: Preparing an action plan, notification of personnel needs, identification of staff roles and responsibilities of the for students (161 measures), parents (43 measures) and teachers (25 measures). The teachers’ specified measures needed to be taken by themselves in three categories, namely, intending for students (85 measures), parents (13 measures) and teachers (72 measures). When the answers of the teachers to the question of “what have you been doing to prevent violence?” were analyzed, it is found from the total that 56 types of behavior related to students, total 4 types of behaviors related to parents and total 14 types of behaviors related to themselves. Therefore, in all three cases the teachers’ suggestions about how to prevent violence in schools was mostly about students. The common items provided by the teachers in the three cases was to make the school guidance services more effective, to increase social activities, to teach communication and problem solving skills, to value students, to develop school-parent cooperation and to ensure that teachers act as a team. These can be considered as long-term and preventive measures. According to Morrison et al. (1994) these preventions play preventative role against violent behaviors by creating a safe and positive school environment. Teachers inform the students about the results of violence the most to prevent violence (n=13, 30.2%). The other types of behaviors are, respectively, to try to understand the problem by listening to both sides (n=9, 20.9%), to teach classes in an interesting way and in a way that would increase participation (n=6, 13.9%), to suggest solutions ways to student conflicts (n=5, 11.6%), to warn (n=5, 11.6%), to get support from the guidance

school, taking the control of all parts of the school (garden, canteen, workshops and so on.), taking the necessary security measures and creation of a positive school environment (TMNE, 2006c). The teachers specified measures needed to be taken by the school administrators in three categories intending service (n=4, 9.3%) and to communicate with the parents (n=3, 6.9%). Dake et al. (2003) state that preventive measure should be taken before a problematic behavior occurs instead of waiting for unwanted behaviors like violence and bullying to occur. The majority of teachers participating in this study reported that they took preventive measures (Table 3). In a previous study that was carried by Yavuzer et al. (2009), the teachers suggested that guidance services in schools work more effectively and that discipline rules in schools executed but they did not mention what were the measures they had taken in their own classrooms. These findings could be interpreted as teachers may not be aware of their responsibilities or that they may be running away from responsibilities. Now, considering the suggestions teachers made and what they have been doing, it can be said that teachers are aware of their responsibilities and feel responsible. In addition, their participation in an inservice training called "Crime and Prevention of Violence in Educational Institutions" proves that they feel responsible. This finding is also contradictory to other research findings (Zindi, 1994; Finley, 2003; Turnuklu and Illeez, 2006; Akpınar and Dilci, 2007) which show that teachers are not aware of their own roles in preventing violence. This situation may be the result of the much in-service training given to teachers on the prevention of violence in Turkey since 2006. Another finding of the research was that there were 170 suggestions related to teachers; however, these teachers exhibited only 74 types of behaviors. In addition, only 8 types of existing teachers’ behaviors overlap with their

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suggestions. Teachers may make positive suggestions but it does not necessarily mean they practice what they suggest. For example, there were suggestions that “teachers should not resort to violence,” but they themselves “sometimes used violence”. In addition, this finding is consistent with the previous research findings (Yıldırım and Celebi, 1999; Gozutok and Karacaoğlu, 2006; Yıldız et al., 2009; Siyez, 2009) which show that Turkish teachers use violence as a means of discipline. Conclusion In this study, it was found that teachers were aware of their responsibilities in preventing school violence; they also felt responsible for the prevention of violence; and they were knowledgeable on how to prevent violence. However, they could not translate this knowledge into action. This situations show that teachers need solutionoriented and application-oriented studies. As such, there is a need to have programs that could improve classroom management that would give skills to teachers as how to cope with violence. In addition, the measures suggested by the teachers in all the three cases are long-term measures. Taking an in-service training on the subjects of emergency management can be suggested. In this way the classroom safety can be achieved by increasing the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom. This study was limited to 43 teachers from different parts of Turkey who participated in an in-service training program. Demographic traits of the participants (gender, age, professional work experience, etc.) were not used in the current study. For the further research, these demographic traits may be taken into account by researchers. Self-report methods were used in this survey. Therefore, respondents may have answered some of the items in a socially desirable manner. REFERENCES Akpınar B, Dilci T (2007). Teachers’ Perceptions of Violence at Schools in the Context of Educational Curricula. Eurasian J. Educ. Res., 29:111. Carney JC, Hazler PJ, Higgins J (2002). Characteristics of school bullies and victims as perceived by public school professionals. J. School Violence, 1: 91-106. Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (2007). Parliamentary research commission report of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Ankara: General Directorate of Special Education Guidance and Counseling Services. Dake JA, Price JH, Telljohann SK, Funk JB (2003). Teacher perceptions and practices regarding school bullying prevention. J. School Health, 73(9): 347-355. DiCanio M (1993). Classroom violence, The Encyclopedia of Violence: Origins, Attitudes, Consequences. New York: Facts on File. Durmus E, Gurgan U (2005). Violence and aggression tendencies in high schools. J. Turkish Educ. Sci., 3(3): 253-269. Dusenbury L, Falco M, Lake A, Brannigan R, Bosworth K (1997). Nine critical elements of promising violence prevention programs. J. School Health, 67: 409-414. Eke CY, Ogel K (2006). The prevalence of crime and violence in

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