In my master's thesis, I research peer violence in elementary school and its possible increase and new forms. With the research, I wanted to check whether the level of violence is increasing and whether we are facing any new forms. In particular, violence has recently moved online, and hardly a day goes by in schools without at least one physical or verbal conflict between students.
In the school environment, we perceive that peer violence is increasing – students are also more impatient, insolent, braver in prohibited acts. We face both physical and psychological violence and receive more and more warnings from parents about the hardships and pressures on their children coming from the Internet. Professionals also point to the problem that respect for the teacher is more an exception than a rule. The teacher used to be an authority, but now the students perceive him more as a colleague or a peer, which is why communication is often aggressive and attacking. At school, we work hard to detect, eliminate, or at least reduce these actions. We react to any type of violence immediately within the scope of our abilities and powers. In this part of solving peer violence, cooperation with parents has also increased significantly, as everyone has a common goal of eliminating it. The counseling service, as an important factor in the consideration and later resolution of individual actions, is increasingly involved in cooperation with parents, other school professionals and, in a few cases, also with external institutions, which take over the dedicated intervention from our side.
I am interested in whether the level of violence has been increasing in recent years, what its forms are, and whether they affect the psychophysical condition of children.
I would like the results of my master's thesis to be of help to a specific school in designing preventive activities and thereby preventing or reducing peer violence.
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