Portugal (full text)

Definitions, prevalence and sources of violence in Portugal

João Amado & Isabel Freire

Definition

In Portugal there are two approaches to researching violence in schools. The first one focuses on discipline, comprising ofdisciplinary measures for any pupil displaying disruptive behaviour inthe classroom or against school rules, be it violent or non-violent (Estrela, 1986; 1998; Amado, 1989; 2001; Freire, 1995; 2001; Veiga,1995; 1999). In the second approach, violence is studied as asocial/psychological phenomenon (Costa & Vale, 1998; Pereira. etal., 1996; Almeida, 1999).

Violent behaviour is seen as being distinct from other types ofbehaviour because it involves a set of behaviours that may have aseverely negative physical or emotional impact on the people involved.Violence presents a specific kind of disciplinary problem to schools.

Violence in schools can be defined as being a considerable amount of antisocial behaviour carried out by a pupil or teacher, and it includesany kind of aggressive behaviour, vandalism, theft or bullying. Theseproblems are associated with sufferance, difficulties in the moraldevelopment and self-esteem of the victims and aggressors. Thisphenomenon also has a large implication for our fundamental democraticprinciples and human rights.

The Portuguese expression "maltrato entre iguais" (school bullying)is seen as a subset of school violence. We refer to the Olweus (2000)definition, according to which, "a student is bullied or victimisedwhen he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negativeactions on the part of one or more other students". The term bullyingshould be used when an asymmetric power relationship exists betweenstudents. School bullying can be carried out by a single student or bya group.

The studies on this particular kind of violence, show that itaffects adolescents as much as children and this is a great concern foreducators because of its influence on children's development.

In Portugal, as in other countries, girls are more frequentlyvictims of indirect bullying (like social exclusion, pejorativerumours, and so on) and boys are more frequently victims of physicalaggression and threat (Pereira et al, 1996).

Prevalence

In recent years in Portugal, as in other countries, violence in schools as a social issue has become more visible in the media.

In Portugal violent school situations are still rare. However, it isstill of great concern because of the potential negative impact on boththe perpetrator and the victim.

In 1999, the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Security Officereceived 1300 communications of aggressive situations against students,teachers and other staff members. 55 of these aggressive acts werecarried out by students or parents against teachers, but most haveoccurred amongst students.

A study from a sample of 6200 students in urban, suburban and ruralpublic schools in an area of Northern Portugal, found that 21% ofstudents said they had been victimised by their colleagues, and 18% hadbeen aggressors, at least three or more times in the last term. Themost frequent aggressive behaviour was insults, followed by physicalaggression, pejorative rumours and theft. The study also observed thatmost of these situations occur in the playground.

Ethnographic studies conducted by Amado (2000) and Freire (2001)over three years in schools in two distinct areas of Portugal (in thecities of Coimbra and Lisbon) amongst pupils between 11 and 15 yearsold, showed that violence between students and teachers is almostabsent. However, nearly 10% of the students are involved in systematicviolence amongst themselves (including victims and bullies), but thisis mainly a masculine phenomenon. The authors have observed a smallnumber of students involved in aggressive situations at school. In theclassroom, these situations are regular and persistent occurrences onlyin specific contexts and for specific teachers (permissive leadership,absence of teacher assertiveness, negative school ethos).

The most typical form of violence in schools is verbal aggression and it occurs occasionally - it's not systematic.

Sources

With reference to bullying, the main sources seem to bepsychological. Generally, both victims and bullies manifest lowself-esteem and have little power in their relationships with theirpeers. Victims often have no friends, a physical appearance thatdiffers from that of their peers and they are over-protected by theirprimary care givers (especially mothers). Often the parents of bulliesand victims are not aware of the situation and this makes the situationmore problematic.

With reference to other kinds of violence affecting schools, such asorganised groups or gangs, the sources are closely associated withsocial and economic problems, such as the lack of structured families,poverty, racism or other kinds of systematic discrimination, andviolent social models propagated by the mass media, etc. Someresearchers have noted the impact of school ethos and other aspectsassociated with the whole school on the reduction or the increase ofbullying and other kinds of violence. Whole school programs adoptingthis approach to cope with violence have been developed (playgroundintervention, school-family relationship development, for example). Theresearch shows us that violence in school, whether it is systematic ornot, is a multi-factor phenomena, with different expressions and amultiplicity of sources, but that the school has a powerful impact onits prevention.

Literature and links

Almeida, A. T., (1999), "Portugal". In Smith, P. K., Morita, Y.,Junger-Tas, J., Olweus, D., Catalano, R. and Slee, P. (Eds.). TheNature of School Bullying: a Cross-national Perspective. New York andLondon: Routledge.

Almeida, A. T. et al., School-based Promotion of Social Competenceand Anti-violence Policies. European Conference on Initiatives toCombat School Bullying: National Posters.http://www.gold.ac.uk./enconf/index.html

Amado, João S., (2001), Interacção pedagógica e indisciplina na aula, Porto, Edições ASA.

Amado, João S., (1989), A indisciplina numa Escola Secundária.Lisboa: Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação daUniversidade de Lisboa. (Tese de mestrado, texto policopiado).

Costa, M. E. & Vale, D., (1998), A violência nas escolas. Lisboa: Instituto de Inovação Educacional.

Costa, M. E. & Vale, D., (1998), A violência nas escolas. Lisboa: Instituto de Inovação Educacional.

Estrela, M. T., (1986), Une étude sur l'indiscipline en classe. Lisboa: INIC.

Estrela, M. T., (1998), Relação pedagógica, disciplina e indiscplina na aula. Porto: Porto Editora, 2ª Edição.

Estrela, M. T. & Amado, J. S., (2000), Indisciplina, Violência eDelinquência na Escola. Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia. Ano XXXIV, nº1-3.

Freire, Isabel P., (1995), "Perspectivas dos Alunos acerca dasRelações de Poder na Sala de Aula - Um estudo transversal". In Estrela,A., Barroso, J. & Ferreira, J. (Eds.). A Escola: Um Objecto deEstudo. Lisboa: AFIRSE Portuguesa, Faculdade de Psicologia e deCiências da Educação da Universidade de Lisboa, pp. 755-768.

Freire, Isabel P., (2001), Percursos disciplinares e contextosescolares. Dois estudos de caso. Lisboa: Faculdade de Psicologia e deCiências da Educação da Universidade de Lisboa. (Tese de doutoramento,texto policopiado).

Olweus, Dan, (2000), Bullying at School. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.

Pereira, B. et al., (1996), "O bullying nas escolas portuguesas:análise das variáveis fundamentais para a identificação do problema".In Almeida, Silvério e Araújo (Org.) Actas do II CongressoGalaico-Português de Psicopedagogia da Universidade do Minho. Braga:Universidade do Minho.

Pereira, B., Neto, C. & Smith, P., (1997), "Os espaços derecreio e a prevenção do bullying na escola". In Neto, C. (Ed.). Jogo edesenvolvimento da criança. Lisboa: Faculdade de Motricidade Humana,U.T.L., pp. 238-257.

Veiga, F. H., (1995), Transgressão e Autoconceito dos Jovens na Escola. Lisboa: Fim de século.

Veiga, F. H., (1999), Indisciplina e Violência na Escola: Práticas

Comunicacionais para Professores e Pais. Coimbra: Livraria Almedina.