School Violence

Violence has taken place in schools throughout recorded history and is experienced in schools across the globe in varying degrees and forms. Though violence can most often connote physical acts, school violence includes a wide range of actions often charged with sexist, homophobic, racist, and cultural prejudices that seek to suppress and discriminate. Malicious gossip, verbal harassment, social exclusion, physical assault, and lethal violence (including suicide and homicide) all fall under the umbrella of school violence. This entry examines the causes of school violence, bullying as a form school violence, gender differences in school violence, and responses to school violence.