The stories of a community-based intervention, collaboratively addressing the violence in a Johannesburg township high school in South Africa
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Open in new tab We need to stop the violence in schools, it’s too much for us: The stories of a community based intervention, collaboratively addressing the violence in a Johannesburg township high school in South Africa. The paper addresses the endemic issue of violence in South African schools, tracing its origins to historical injustices of colonialism and apartheid. This “culture of violence” persists today, impacting students’ safety, well-being, and educational outcomes as well as its broader impact on the community.
The paper explores collaborative ways in which communities are actively contributing to creating safer school environments through fostering partnerships within the school community. Participatory action research (PAR) principles will guide the engagement and intervention strategies. According to Cammarota and Fine(2008, p.215), in explaining PAR suggests that “…those who have been most systematically excluded, oppressed or denied carry specifically revealing wisdom about the history, structure, consequences, and the fracture points in unjust social arrangements” (Cammarota & Fine, 2008, p.215). Youth and their communities have theories about the way in which the violence impacts their lives and how to address it. Torre (2009) suggest that when engaging in this kind of work that “we begin with the situated knowledges in the room and create a common project for analyzing the patterns of social (in)justice, layering this with the lessons from social history”. The paper will discuss a specific initiative implemented in a school based community project in Johannesburg, South Africa that focuses on community involvement in addressing the injustices of violence in schools. The collaborative initiative is an ongoing project that includes an array of community members, including high school youth, their parents, the local community policing forum, community psychologists and researchers. Furthermore, the paper will highlight the community’s culture of accountability and responsibility within the community to address the injustices of violence. The paper underscores the need for holistic interventions that address underlying socio-economic factors while providing support to affected individuals and families. It also acknowledges the complexities and tensions within communities regarding intervention strategies and the challenge of addressing systemic violence.
In conclusion, the paper advocates for greater collaboration and partnership between schools and communities to effectively address the injustices related to violence in South African schools. It brings to the centre the voices of community members that are committed to and invested in creating and maintaining safer and more nurturing schooling environments for youth.
Hayley Haynes-Rolando and Phethile Zitha
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Hayley is an asociate lecturer in the psychology department at the university of the Witwaterstrand. Co- founder of a youth development NGO and registered educational psychologist. Currently completing a PhD in Psychology focusing on exploring the nuances of emotional interactions of community members in community praxis.
Phethile Zitha holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently pursuing a PhD in the field of Psychology. Her areas of interest include schooling and identity, race and race identity among youth, and intergenerational narratives. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her clinical work experience includes working in both the public and private health sector. She is a co-founder of a youth-based initiative, Youth of the South.
