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Social Sciences
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Revisiting School Violence: Safety for Children in Schools
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Revisiting School Violence: Safety for Children in Schools

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Childhood and Youth Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 3221

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Guadalupe Francia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Educational Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle 801 76, Sweden
Interests: child rights; equity policy and practice; school violence; bullying and cyberbullying; gender-based violence; policy research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

School violence is a globally widespread phenomenon that threatens the well-being of children, as well as the development of sustainable learning environments at schools and preschools. The exposure of violence during childhood risks resulting in social, physical and mental health problems, even later in life.

In 2021, UNICEF (2021) raised the alarm that some 150 million children aged between 13 and 15 years reported peer-to-peer violence in and around school. Furthermore, 1 in 3 students in this age group experience bullying. In addition, around 720 million school-aged children live in countries lacking fully law protection from corporal punishment at school.

Moreover, children are the victims of various forms of violence in armed conflicts around the world. These conflicts result in the destruction of education systems and the deterioration of educational learning environments, seriously threating the well-being and health of both children and school staff.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a platform for theoretical and empirical research studies analyzing and critically discussing school violence as well policies and practices to guarantee children’s safety at schools and preschools. Papers from a wide range of disciplines are welcome, as well as contributions that are cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary.

Reference

UNICEF. 2021. Protecting children from violence in school. https://www.unicef.org/protection/violence-against-children-in-school (accessed on 29 May 2024)

Prof. Dr. Guadalupe Francia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • school violence
  • physical violence
  • psychological violence
  • gender-based violence
  • bullying
  • cyberbullying
  • children in armed conflicts
  • child protection
  • anti-bullying strategies
  • children’s rights

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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27 pages, 666 KiB  
Article
The Culture of Romance as a Factor Associated with Gender Violence in Adolescence
by Mar Venegas, José Luis Paniza-Prados, Francisco Romero-Valiente and Teresa Fernández-Langa
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(8), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14080460 - 25 Jul 2025
Viewed by 624
Abstract
Despite extensive prevention strategies in Spain since the 1980s, gender-based violence, including among adolescents, remains prevalent, as observed in the Romance SUCC-ED Project (R&D&I Operating Programme ERDF Andalusia 2014–2020). This research study investigates the dimensions, meanings, relationships, and practices shaping the culture of [...] Read more.
Despite extensive prevention strategies in Spain since the 1980s, gender-based violence, including among adolescents, remains prevalent, as observed in the Romance SUCC-ED Project (R&D&I Operating Programme ERDF Andalusia 2014–2020). This research study investigates the dimensions, meanings, relationships, and practices shaping the culture of romance in digital Andalusian adolescence (12–16 years) and its potential impact on school trajectories in Compulsory Secondary Education. Based on the premise that equality-focused relationship education is key to preventing gender violence, the study employs an ethnographic methodology with 12 Andalusian school case studies (4 out of them are located in rural areas) and 220 in-depth interviews (126 girls, 57.3%; 94 boys, 42.7%). This article aims to empirically explain gender violence in early adolescence by analysing the culture of romance as an explanatory factor. Findings reveal an interconnected model where dimensions (love, couple, sexuality, pornography, social networks, and cultural references), meanings (constructed by adolescents within each of them), relationships (partner), and practices (control and jealousy) reinforce romanticised femininity and dominant masculinity, thus explaining the high incidence of gender-based violence among students in the study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Revisiting School Violence: Safety for Children in Schools)
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18 pages, 738 KiB  
Article
Bullying and Social Exclusion of Students with Special Educational Needs in Primary Education Schools
by Álvaro Carmona and Manuel Montanero
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(7), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14070430 - 13 Jul 2025
Viewed by 540
Abstract
Children’s safety, well-being and inclusion in the school environment can be severely impacted by social isolation and bullying. This study examined these threats in a sample of 14 group-classes (291 students) from four different primary education schools. A total of 44 special educational [...] Read more.
Children’s safety, well-being and inclusion in the school environment can be severely impacted by social isolation and bullying. This study examined these threats in a sample of 14 group-classes (291 students) from four different primary education schools. A total of 44 special educational needs (SEN) students and 44 students without SEN were selected. The social network structure of each group-class was analysed, as well as the number of friendship ties, the degree of emotional well-being and social participation (both inside and outside of the school), and the possible cases of bullying. The results show a significantly greater rate of social rejection, emotional distress and risk of exclusion in SEN students with respect to their peers, as well as a considerably higher perception of bullying (38.6% vs. 4.8%). The SEN students who reported bullying were mostly schooled in social networks with a more segregated and fragmented structure. Moreover, the mean value obtained in these groups was lower for all the analysed indicators, although the differences were not statistically significant. These data support the idea that the social capital of the group class could influence the prevention of violence and bullying towards SEN students. However, further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm this. Lastly, strategies to promote the social inclusion of SEN students in primary education schools are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Revisiting School Violence: Safety for Children in Schools)
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16 pages, 277 KiB  
Article
“Keeping an Eye Out”: Students’ Experiences of School Personnel’s Noticing in Shaping or Hindering a Positive School Climate
by Silvia Edling, Ylva Bjereld, Robert Thornberg, Peter Gill, Maryam Bourbour and Davoud Masoumi
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(5), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14050254 - 23 Apr 2025
Viewed by 1326
Abstract
A positive school climate is characterized by a higher degree of well-being among students, reduced bullying, and improved academic performance. While many initiatives are aimed at creating a positive school climate, discussions in both research and theory frequently fail to acknowledge the essential [...] Read more.
A positive school climate is characterized by a higher degree of well-being among students, reduced bullying, and improved academic performance. While many initiatives are aimed at creating a positive school climate, discussions in both research and theory frequently fail to acknowledge the essential role of school personnel. This study examines a purposeful sample of Swedish middle-school students (4th to 9th grade) of school personnel’s noticing in fostering or hindering a positive school climate. Fifteen (15) focus groups and 19 semi-structured interviews were analyzed, covering 133 participants selected from three schools (age range 10 to 16 years) in a Swedish municipality. Drawing on a framework of professional noticing and positive school and classroom climate, the investigation was conducted using a case study approach and analyzed with the help of content analysis. The results highlighted the importance placed by students on school personnel noticing appropriate things/events and responding accordingly. For this to happen, personnel need to (a) notice and make themselves visible; (b) be actively observing as a prerequisite to their noticing; (c) be receptive to noticing; (d) notice and grasp a full picture, including students’ perspectives; and (e) connect their noticing with appropriate actions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Revisiting School Violence: Safety for Children in Schools)
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