The other side of school violence: Educator policies and practices that may contribute to student misbehavior

Student aggression against peers, school staff, and property is a popular topic in the media and a great concern of the public. However, analysis of crime statistics suggests the problem of school violence is vastly overstated. This results in reliance on inappropriate or inadequate policies aimed at preventing and remediating problems. Further, there is a side of school violence that receives relatively little attention. Victimization of students by teachers, administrators, and other school staff, most often in the name of discipline, is seldom recognized for its potential to contribute to student misbehavior, alienation, and aggression. Included in this type of victimization are recently introduced, intrusive, and sometimes abusive, law enforcement procedures, such as strip searches and the use of undercover agents; and historically accepted or tolerated disciplinary procedures, such as corporal punishment, still allowed in 23 states, and teachers' verbalizations that constitute psychological maltreatment. How these practices may contribute to school violence is documented in survey data, anecdotal evidence, and clinical studies. School psychologists should become more involved in prevention programs and in the implementation of a suggested research agenda. (C) 1998 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.