A violência escolar entre estudantes do meio popular de Rio Tinto-PB

Abstract

In the current situation, school violence has become an urgent issue, due to the growth of cases and the consequences that impact the whole society. This study aimed to present an overview of cases of peer violence (bullying) in schools of popular environment of Rio Tinto-PB. Methodologically, it followed the principles of qualitative research with an exploratory approach perspective. The empirical research was developed by conducting semi-structured interviews with public school students from two educational institutions. The treatment of the material resulting from the interviews was operationalized through the Thematic Analysis technique. From the point of view of the theoretical framework, the work was based on concepts and categories of sociology and Popular Education. From the results obtained, it was possible to verify, for example, that, as a reflection of the persistent culture of violence in contemporary society, violence between peers (bullying) has become natural in the school environment and has become a constant in the lives of students. Consequently, they find it difficult to dissociate acts of violence from acts of play. It was also found that the approaches used by educational institutions with regard to tackling peer violence, although valid, are not sufficient in the sense of prevention. Among other conclusive reflections, it is pointed out that Popular Education can make significant contributions to dealing with the problem of bullying, such as subsidizing persuasive actions instead of repressive ones, strengthening the identity and self-esteem of the students, stimulating cordial coexistence, etc.