Exploring Violence In School of Tharu, Magar And Muslim Communities of Nepal

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the phenomenon of school violence, its multiple causes, and consequences and to explore the ways of its prevention. I have applied concurrent embedded research mixed methods, in which I have given high weightage to the qualitative exploration as compared to quantitative finding, since the purpose of the research is focused on the value of humanism perspectives. Thus, I have paid attention to more subjective and less objective reality while exploring the knowledge in schools of Tharu, Magar and Muslim communities. The study is founded on the philosophy of pragmatism with multi case studies of the communities’ schools. Parents, teachers, students, and the school management committee members were key research participants of the communities. I also explored voices on school violence of 834 respondents through opinion survey in which Tharu, Magar and Muslim students of 6 schools including Madrasa participated. The data driven from multiple cases were thematically analyzed and theoretically interpreted to support the qualitative data findings. The study showed that the school violence is a human-induced behavior. It appeared in different forms either as corporal punishments or as bullying and sexual abuses. Such forms of school violence have been nurtured by knowledge, attitude, and behavior evolved through socio-cultural and religious practices. Power dynamics, behavioral pedagogy, reaction of pain and desire of pleasure also promoted violence.

Following the cause-and-effect theory, I found that school violence existed as a form of vicious cycle. Bullying, sexual abuse and corporal punishment are the turning points of the cycle. The behavioral causes further supported the existence of the vicious cycle of school violence in the schools of Tharu, Magar and Muslim communities. However, the prevention methods were found different. I also found that occurrence of corporal punishment, bullying and sexual abuse is somehow contextual and depends on cultural, religious and community practices. The findings mentioned above imply that the theory of self-awareness and self-management can prevent the children from being the victims of violence, whereas the external support mechanism (such as policies, legislations, reporting mechanism, case management system etc.) can be instrumental to decrease school violence.