Definition and Causes of School Violence as Perceived by Students : Focusing on Conceptual Ambiguity and Inter-student Dynamics

This study conducted allocation sampling and inductive thematic analysis of interview data from 20 middle and high school students in Seoul to understand their perceptions of school violence that students experience in their daily lives. The main research results are as follows. First, students explained school violence similarly to what was defined in the law, but they responded that it was difficult to clearly distinguish between teasing and harassment in real life because students’ perception of psychological damage was subjective and relative. Second, students described school violence as a process in which the perpetrators sought superiority and expressed disgust with the victims within the group. However, it seemed that this dynamic could change when the number of other students around them increased. Based on the results of the interview, in this study, it was confirmed that students were consciously or unconsciously experiencing the phenomenon of school violence according to their status and power. This is because the criterion for distinguishing between teasing and harassment, which causes the conceptual ambiguity of school violence, depends on the gap of status and power between students, and the pursuit of superiority and expression of disgust could also be explained in the dynamics between students who want to acquire status and power. Based on the result, the study suggests considering status and power dynamics in school violence prevention education and response policies, strengthening citizenship education for coexistence in various educational fields, and efforts to change the power structure within schools by fostering a school atmosphere where students other than the perpetrators and victims have more agency.