Management style and school violence: South African perspectives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the reduction of school violence from the management point of view. It reflects on the utterances by teachers, principals, learners and members of school governing bodies (SGBs) to establish the influence that school management practices can have on the prevalence of school violence. Design/methodology/approach This was a qualitative case study. Thus, semi-structured interviews with teachers, principals, learners and members of SGBs were conducted. In addition, focus group interviews with pupils and observations were used to collect data. Findings Findings suggest that most schools were still run in an authoritarian manner. Resultantly, it was also found that an authoritarian school management style practiced seemed to encourage the persistence of violence in schools. Practical implications Policies should incorporate and emphasise the use of pragmatic, critical democratic style of management to address school violence. This is important because a well-run, inclusive and more democratic school can help to reduce external and internal forms of violence. The results from this study further indicate that a poorly run and badly organised school is more prone to various forms of violence. Originality/value The paper adds to the growing body of knowledge in the field of educational management and offers a reference point for further research in the pursuit to eliminate violence in schools. The findings may also be a useful resource for school principals, teachers, policy-makers and other stakeholders who are seeking to eliminate violence in schools.