This important new work covers clinical issues in treating victims of school violence and assessing children with the potential for violence. The editor also examines the effectiveness of prevention intervention programs and offers larger policy recommendations. The book looks at environmental factors such as cultural issues on behaviors from bullying to mass school shootings. And uniquely, the book delves into topics such as sexual boundaries and body image. In all, this book aims for a theoretical and applied picture of the current state of school violence and prevention.

The Handbook of School Violence and School Safety: International Research and Practice has become the premier resource for educational and mental health professionals and policymakers seeking to implement effective prevention and intervention programs that reduce school violence and promote safe and effective schools. It covers the full range of school violence and safety topics from harassment and bullying to promoting safe, secure, and peaceful schools. It also examines existing school safety programs and includes the multi-disciplinary research and theories that guide them. Examinations of current issues and projections of future research and practice are embedded within each chapter. This volume maps the boundaries of this rapidly growing and multidisciplinary field of study. Key features include... Comprehensive Coverage – The chapters are divided into three parts: Foundations; Assessment and Measurement; Prevention and Intervention Programs. Together they provide a comprehensive review of what is known about the types, causes, and effects of school violence and the most effective intervention programs that have been developed to prevent violence and promote safe and thriving school climates. Evidence-based Practice – Avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach to prevention and intervention, the focus throughout is on the application of evidence-based practice to address factors most commonly associated with school violence and safety. Implications for Practice – Each chapter bridges the research-to-practice gap, with a section delineating implications for practice of the foregoing research. Chapter Structure – To ensure continuity and coherence across the book, each chapter begins with a brief abstract and ends with a table showing the implications for practice. International Focus – Acknowledging the fact that school violence and safety is a global concern, this edition has increased its focus on insights learned from cross-national research and practice outside the USA. Expertise – The editors and authors are experienced researchers, teachers, practitioners, and leaders in the school violence field, their expertise includes their breadth and depth of knowledge and experience, bridging research, policy, and practice and representing a variety of international organizations studying school violence around the world.

Illustrated with numerous case studies–many drawn from the author’s work as a forensic psychologist–this book identifies 19 myths and misconceptions about youth violence, from ordinary bullying to rampage shootings. It covers controversial topics such as gun control and the effects of entertainment violence on children. The author demonstrates how fear of school violence has resulted in misguided, counterproductive educational policies and practices ranging from boot camps to zero tolerance. He reviews evidence from hundreds of controlled studies showing that school-based school violence prevention programs and mental health services, which are largely effective, are often overlooked in favor of politically popular yet ineffective programs such as school uniforms, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, and Scared Straight. He concludes by reviewing some of his own research on student threat assessment as a more flexible and less punitive alternative to zero tolerance, and presents a wide ranging series of recommendations for improving and expanding the use of school-based violence prevention programs and mental health services for troubled students. Key features include the following: Contrarian Approach–This book identifies and refutes 19 basic misconceptions about trends in youth violence and school safety, and shows how the fear of school violence has been exaggerated through inaccurate statistics, erroneous conclusions about youth violence, and over-emphasis on atypical, sensational cases. Readability–The book translates scientific, evidence-based research into language that educators, parents, law enforcement officers, and policymakers can readily understand and shows what can be done to improve things. Expertise–Dewey Cornell is a forensic psychologist and Professor of Education at the University of Virginia, where he holds an endowed chair in Education. He is Director of the UVA Youth Violence Project and is a faculty associate of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy. The author of more than 100 publications in psychology and education, he frequently testifies in criminal proceedings and at legislative hearings involving violence prevention efforts. This book is appropriate for courses or seminars dealing wholly or partly with school violence and school safety. It is also an indispensable volume for school administrators and safety officers; local, state, and national policymakers; involved parents; and academic libraries serving these groups.

The aims of child rights education are to make children and their primary duty-bearers aware of child rights so that they both can be empowered to together advocate for and apply them at their family, school and community levels. This sourcebook focuses on child rights education for primary prevention related to inclusion and protection. Child rights education for exclusion, non-discrimination and inclusion is discussed in the context of family and society with reference to girls, children with disability, and Dalit and tribal children, and child rights to cultural and financial inclusion. Child rights education for protection comprises prevention of violence against children with reference to physical abuse/ corporal punishment and bullying, commercial exploitation of children with reference to child labour and trafficking and sale of children, sexual abuse and exploitation of children, problems in adolescent sexual relationships such as violence, teenage pregnancy, abortion and unwed motherhood, and sexually transmitted infections and HIV, child marriage, and conflict with law. This is a necessary read for social workers, lawyers, researchers, trainers and teachers working on child rights across the world, and especially in developing countries.

Foundational topics such as history, ethics, and principles of primary prevention, as well as specific issues such as consultation, political issues, and financing. The second section addresses such topics as abuse, depression, eating disorders, HIV/AIDS, injuries, and religion and spirituality often dividing such topics into separate entries addressing childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

The statistics are appalling. Between 8% and 10% of U.S. high school students carry guns to school every day. In a typical mid-size city, 30 to 50 cases of school violence are reported daily, and half of these cases involve guns. School Violence: Assessment, Treatment, Prevention shows us the reality behind the statistics. Its distinguished contributors include leading clinicians, researchers, school counselors, and legal authorities who closely examine every aspect of this complex epidemic, challenging us to solve this multifaceted public health problem and offering concrete recommendations on how to do it. The comprehensive volume is divided into four parts: Part I, Contributing Factors, presents the multiple contributing factors, including those involved in creating violent children and violence-prone schools, the nature and context of school violence, and its biological and cultural causes. For example, although the number of violent deaths by shooting in schools remained stable through the 1990s, the number of violent acts against female students increased significantly, as did gang activity and the availability of guns in schools. Part II, Assessment and Management, details diagnostic assessment, management, and treatment of children and adolescents who have the potential for or have threatened school violence. Eyewitnesses describe the shootings and their aftermaths in Pearl, Mississippi, and Littleton, Colorado, including the extensive measures taken to decrease the traumatic effect of these incidents on the children and adolescents and their families, the educators, and the community at large. Also presented is a model for time-limited, cognitive-behavioral group therapy for those who sustain or witness violent injuries in schools -- a model that could be adapted to other settings. Part III, Legal Aspects, begins by putting us on notice that anyone aware of a potentially violent act by a youth has a legal responsibility to alert the intended victim(s) and others who could warn or protect them, offering a uniquely insightful view -- by the plaintiff attorney for the victims of school violence in Paducah, Kentucky -- of the Tarasoff case and its ramifications. Part IV, Prevention, concludes with what we can do now to help prevent school violence, detailing effective prevention measures that range from the innovative (a method that focuses on the school as a whole rather than on individuals and uses a social system and power-dynamics perspective) to the everyday (teaching tolerance and conflict resolution). Psychiatric practitioners, clinical social workers, pediatricians, art and activity therapists, school counselors and administrators, and other educators and mental health care professionals -- and concerned adults -- who want to help prevent violence in our schools and minimize its traumatic effects on children, parents, and the community at large will appreciate this lucid, in-depth treatment of what has become one of today's most disturbing issues.

The aims of child rights education are to make children and their primary duty-bearers aware of child rights so that they both can be empowered to together advocate for and apply them at their family, school and community levels. This sourcebook focuses on child rights education for primary prevention with reference to participation and development. The introductory chapter covers child rights values of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and justice and child rights principles of dignity of the child, primary consideration to the best interests of the child, universality and non-discrimination, and state and societal accountability. Child rights to participation focuses on child rights for playing a decisive and responsible role in their own life and a participatory role in the family, schools, associations, community and with the state as citizens. Child rights to development includes child rights to free, compulsory, comprehensive and quality education, free of discrimination and violence; child rights to play, recreational, cultural, and artistic activities and media literacy; child rights to health with reference to physical health and hygiene, healthy and hygienic food and nutrition, sexual health and prevention of substance abuse; and child rights to environmental education with reference to child rights to environmental harmony and hygiene and child rights to sustainable environment. This is a must-read for researchers, trainers, and other professionals working on child rights issues across the world, and especially in developing countries.

Your school must be prepared to face problems that range from name calling and bullying to extortion, rape, and homicide. Decrease the chances of tragedy and learn how to respond most effectively! This essential handbook explores the causes of school violence, presents state-of-the-art information on preventing school violence, and arms you with practical interventions to use when violent incidents occur. You’ll also learn about the best Internet sites on school violence issues. This book—prepared by the editor of the Journal of School Violence—can help you decrease the chances of tragedy. It will also show you how to respond effectively when violence does occur. Part I: Causes of School Violence focuses on the ways that connectedness and identification with academics influence school violence. This section presents a framework for creating developmental interventions as well as a chapter examining the concept of “bonding to school,” with two interesting scenarios to consider. Part II: Prevention of School Violence examines the effectiveness of interventions in use today and brings you important information on threat assessment, peer mediation, and weapons reduction. You’ll also find an insightful chapter on the value of developing empathy and good communication with youth who are gang members. Part III: Interventions in Cases of School Violence provides you with effective strategies to address the consequences of crisis events and takes an incisive look at crisis events themselves, what they are, how they progress, and what you may encounter in their aftermath. In addition, you get an invaluable inside look at crisis intervention and support services in the aftermath of the 2001 Santana High School shootings in San Diego, California. With your purchase of this essential handbook, you’ll also be kept up to date by the author’s new Internet forum—a space where scholars and practitioners from around the world come together to create new strategies for school violence prevention and intervention and develop new online and print publications that address school violence. “When I was like 11, I was hanging out. I used to go to a middle school. It was for bad people, only bad people go there. It's a school just for bad people that had gotten kicked out of school. And I had got kicked out of my school cause they found me with a gun.” The Handbook of School Violence brings together many voices—those of violent youngsters and the helpers who provide the care they need—those of students who feel no connection with their families or with their work at school—those of the professionals who strive to prevent these students from acting on their feelings of alienation in violent ways—and those of scholars who create theory and research, laying the foundation for prevention and intervention. Add this book to your collection, and you’ll benefit from the contributions of this rich chorus of voices. And through the Internet forum, the chorus can add a new voice—yours. Visit the Handbook of School Violence Web site at http://genesislight.com/hsv%20files/about.html