Violence in Serbian schools – Bullying and Beyond

Abstract

Many people experience violence more regularly in their early years at school than in the whole of the rest of their lives. Understanding the extent, nature and patterns of violence in schools is vital if teachers, educationalists and policymakers are to seek to minimize both its incidence and its impact on children. To this end, researchers from the University of Belgrade’s Institute of Psychology have analysed a huge amount of data drawn from a fifth of Serbia’s primary schools over the eightyear period from 2006 to 2013. The data were gathered via questionnaires completed by both students and staff members as part of the School without Violence programme, which has been jointly implemented by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF since 2005.