KICKS AND PUNCHES OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS - DELINQUENCY WITH EVIDENCE - WHAT THE SAFE SCHOOL TEAM'S RESEARCH RECORDS - Filenews 6/4 by Evangelia Sizopoulou
Physical violence, such as hitting, kicking, punching, but also verbal and non-verbal violence, such as swearing, threats, taunting and gestures, are the most common forms of violence recorded in schools involving students. Most incidents recorded during the last school year seem to belong to these categories, while incidents related to racism and sexual exploitation/abuse appear lower in numbers.
The above findings are just some of the very interesting ones that have emerged from an annual report prepared by the Safe School Team (OAS) and which concerns the picture of school violence during the school year 2024 – 2025.
It is worth noting that quantitative data show that incidents of school violence vary by level of education, with a stronger presence in Gymnasiums.
The most common forms include verbal and physical violence, while there is a particular increase in cyberbullying incidents. At the same time, the data that have emerged from the Counselling and Vocational Education Service (YSEA) refer to increased referrals of students related to incidents of violence. Quantitative data are linked to teachers' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes on school violence issues.
At the same time, the picture given by the Educational Psychology Service (IEPS) is of particular interest: Qualitative data reveal that the main causes of violence are associated with family difficulties, social isolation and difficulties in school integration.
In the analysis of the data, as they have emerged from the OAS survey, which follows, it is important to mention that only 98 schools had responded to include their cases. This is a percentage of 13.19% in relation to all schools, from all levels of education and all provinces. The 98 schools registered a total of 510 incidents of violence and in several cases, one incident involved more than one form of violence. Most of the incidents involved physical violence (blows, kicks, punches, tripping, pushing, destruction of property) or verbal/non-verbal violence (taunts/mockery, insults, verbal threats, imitation, gestures). Regarding the description of the incidents, it is found that most of the recorded incidents concerned delinquent behaviour, conflict and intimidation, while fewer were related to racist incidents and sexual exploitation/abuse.
As for the incidents registered as delinquent behaviour, they mainly concerned incidents of use or possession of means that may cause harm, vandalism of school or other property, participation in a group of delinquent teenagers (gangs) and use or possession of substances/alcohol.
In detail:
>> Physical violence: 293 incidents
>> Verbal/non-verbal: 223 incidents
>> Social (rumours, isolation): 20 incidents
>> Electronic violence: 24 incidents
>> Sexual violence: 16 incidents
>> Other (arson, theft, etc.): 58 incidents
It is noted that in all the above categories, the majority of incidents concerned Secondary General Education schools.
Regarding the racist incidents recorded, it appears that most of them were related to appearance, learning abilities, personality or social skills. The first criterion for manifesting racist behaviour was colour, second nationality, while appearance, mainly in relation to weight, was the third criterion.
As for where incidents of violence occurred, the report shows that most of the cases occurred within the school. Most were done in the school yard or in the classroom and less were done electronically in the morning or on the stairs or in the locker room. In the cases of recording incidents that took place outside of school, most occurred on school trips, at the children's home or electronically in the afternoon or on the bus.
In detail, the incidents within the school:
>> Courtyard: 230
>> Classes: 170
>> Aisles: 49
>> Other places in the school: 27
>> Toilets: 18
>> Multipurpose rooms: 15
>> Changing rooms: 11
>> Stairs: 5
>> Electronic incidents during school time: 5
Another, important parameter shows that in the largest percentage of cases of violence (96%) there was the involvement of children from the same school and only in 4% of the incidents there was the involvement of other persons.
The institution of supervision in the school area is important
Among the suggestions included in the report is the strengthening of supervision in the school area so that it is more effective. This is because incidents of violence and delinquency occur in various areas of schools, such as locker rooms, toilets, corridors and stairs and not only in stadiums and classrooms. At the same time, reference is made to strengthening the ability of teachers and students to detect phenomena of violence. In addition, the active participation of all is promoted, using institutions such as "covert observers", to ensure adequate supervision of the school premises, which contributes to both the prevention and early recognition of incidents of violence.
Incident management and referral
From the data of the annual report of the OAS for the school year 2024 – 2025, it appears that a little more than half of the incidents, specifically at a rate of 51.76%, were referred or even reported to Services of the Ministry of Education and 23.92% to other Services. It was pointed out that 44.5% of the incidents did not require any report or referral, while 27.65% were registered as "Other" (mainly related to cases where they were referred to the Disciplinary Board of the school and/or reported to parents/guardians).
In detail:
>> 28 incidents were reported to the Police
>> 36 to a relevant Service of the Ministry of Education
>> 45 at the Children's Mental Health Service
>> 45 in Social Welfare Services
>> 104 in the Immediate Intervention Team
>> 124 in the Educational Psychology Service
>> 141 incidents were recorded as 'other'
>> 227 did not need to be cited and cited
School factors and the role of the teacher
It is worth noting that from data recorded by the Ministry of Health and which are mentioned in the said report of the OAS, it appears that some school factors are associated with the occurrence of delinquent behaviours in schools (school negligence). In particular, it is reported that it has been found that several incidents are not detected in time in Primary School, as a result of which children go to Junior High School with significant difficulties. In addition, cases that are detected in a timely manner, from Kindergarten or Primary School, seem to continue to present problems throughout the years of children's schooling. Another important element is the factors in relation to the school that are likely to lead to delinquent behaviours. School factors for the development of delinquent behaviour in children include poor pedagogical practices, school climate, teacher style, etc. On the contrary, it was observed that where the teacher acted as a mentor, the results were a reduction in delinquent behaviour and better results of the child in the learning process.
