Learn Without Fear

Each Plan office is adapting the campaign in order to tackle the aspects of school violence that are of greatest importance to children in that particular country. However, they all share a commitment to Plan's child-centred community development model, a rights-based approach in which children, families, and communities are given the guidance and opportunity to work with others as active and leading participants in their own development. Plan claims that children and young people will be active participants in the campaign, and that their ideas and opinions will shape actions at all levels. This approach is integrated into Plan's work to:

• Persuade governments to outlaw all forms of violence against children in school, and to enforce those laws.
• Collaborate with school leaders and teachers to create violence-free schools and promote alternative discipline methods to corporal punishment.
• Create a global momentum for change, including increased resources from international donors and governments to tackle violence in schools in developing countries.

To elaborate on these activities, Plan is integrating programmes to prevent school violence into its education and child protection programmes in at least 40 countries, training staff and volunteers to tackle the issue head on. For example, Plan is working with teachers, parents, and children to raise awareness of and build capacity to tackle the effects of violence and promote positive alternatives to violent discipline methods. Plan has created, and will work with entire school communities to formalise, a "Happy Schools" code.

Partnership figures prominently into Plan's approach. For instance, Plan is working with governments to develop and enforce laws against school violence in at least 20 countries, engaging in alliances with partners to develop reporting and referral mechanisms for children affected by school violence. Plan is also advocating for the establishment or expansion of confidential child helplines in at least 10 countries.

A recognition of the importance of research also shapes the campaign: Plan is working with partners to improve existing data on violence against children in schools. The organisation is carrying out its own research in at least 30 countries to understand the scale and severity of school violence, and will use this data to advocate for change. In particular, Plan feels that it is necessary to examine social, political, and cultural contexts in which school violence exists in order to develop appropriate interventions.

For instance, having observed through research that poor pay, low status, and inadequate training for teachers contribute to a culture of violence in many schools, Plan is lobbying governments to increase resources. Elaborating on these advocacy activities, Plan will initiate or participate in high-level ministerial meetings in at least 30 countries to advocate for school violence to be recognised as a priority by those working in education, child protection, and other relevant sectors. Plan will also empower children, teachers, parents, and communities to hold governments to account.

The following specific country examples illustrate these strategies in practice:

• In an effort to reduce physical and emotional punishment (PEP) in Vietnam, Plan guided children in the use of theatre for development to raise awareness and express their views on PEP. Participating children also produced numerous short films and radio programmes, and had articles and photographs published in national and provincial bulletins. Booklets on violence were produced for distribution to schools across the country. Three hundred participants (including district education authorities, headmasters, children, and parents) participated in lobbying for the formulation of a school code. A workshop was organised by the District Department of Education and Training featuring presentations on serious PEP cases in the country and current laws against PEP in schools, among other topics.
• In March 2008, Plan Kenya and Childline Kenya established a free 24 hour telephone helpline – 116. The service, delivered by the government of Kenya in partnership with Childline Kenya, provides both preventive and support services through referrals and school outreach services. The Department of Children's Services provides personnel to manage rescue operations, court procedures and preparation of children's cases.
• Over a 6-year period, a Plan project in Colombia aims to provide training for 10,500 students, 670 teachers, 650 parents, and 64 communities in conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes. Plan will also work to strengthen youth networks and governmental institutions and to lobby policymakers. The project gives youth at risk the opportunity to become peace promoters in their schools and communities. It allows them to experience personal growth by developing their leadership, communication and conflict resolution skills.
• Based on the results of Speak Nicely to Me, a national study conducted by Plan in Timor-Leste, its local partners, and government representatives, this pilot project has been promoting positive discipline and school-peace pacts among children and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in 2 districts of Timor-Leste. To date, 4 schools in 2 districts have created their own school peace codes. Thirty teachers have participated in a training course on positive discipline and 180 PTA representatives have received training on child protection mechanisms. Plan Timor-Leste is now working to scale up this initiative.
• A Plan initiative in El Salvador addresses the whole school community to promote debate on peaceful values and to put them into practice. A manual, which aims to mainstream school violence prevention and student participation into the rules and regulations of all public schools throughout the country, has been produced. It offers guidelines to encourage student participation in the drafting of their school rules, thus instilling a culture of self-regulation and respect for their peers and their school environment. The Step by Step Manual towards School Coexistence and Student Participation was launched by the Minister of Education in November 2007 as a mandatory tool for all public schools in El Salvador.

Children, Rights, Education.

According to Plan, quality education is key to eliminating poverty and giving children the chance to improve their lives, but school violence is a major barrier. Organisers assert that violence against children is an abuse of their rights. It is not only cruel and unjust but also predictable and preventable. However, stopping school violence requires a paradigm shift, and the commitment of individuals, governments, and international agencies.

Plan cites the following statistics (for additional research results, click here [PDF]):

• Girls as young as 10 are being forced to have sex by their teachers to pass exams, and threatened with poor grades and failure if they refuse.
• Every year, more than 350,000,000 children suffer some type of violence in school.
• 90 countries continue to allow teachers to legally use corporal punishment and laws in countries that do ban it are often poorly enforced.

Plan claims that, in general, available research suggests that the most effective local strategies for tackling corporal punishment, sexual violence, and bullying are those that concentrate on the school itself - for example, changing classroom techniques and establishing clear rules regarding behaviour in school. School-wide interventions that aim to lower the violence rate are the most effective; a key component of a school-wide approach is clear management standards. Schools that are already organised in a proactive and democratic manner with strong links to their communities have a stronger chance of success.

Plan stresses that the active commitment and support of adults, particularly teachers and parents, is critical. This often requires training for teachers and support for parents. An analysis based on 83 studies of schools where violence had decreased concluded that duration and quality of programmes were important, and pointed to the effectiveness of 4 types of programmes: self-control improvement; social skills training; administrative techniques (group conduct, clear behaviour rules, and norms shared by the school); and use of different methods at the same time (for example: (a) classroom-based social and problem skills training, (b) playground-based behaviour modification, and (c) group-delivered parent training).

Plan has learned that effective programmes are generally those based on encouragement, not on repression. In addition, promoting children's awareness of their rights and encouraging their participation in school governance is of fundamental importance in overcoming authoritarian school environments and promoting non-violent discipline. Furthermore, in African countries – where school corporal punishment often persists in the name of tradition – teachers receiving training on alternative discipline methods are generally more favourable towards corporal punishment abolition than teachers who have not received such training.

Plan urges that programmes tackling sexual violence need more in-depth evaluation to inform policymakers. However, research indicates that programmes to tackle sexual violence are more effective when addressed toward smaller audiences, when they teach students self-protection skills, when they involve 4 or more sessions, when they actively involve children have greater impact.

Evaluations of programmes designed to tackle and prevent school bullying are, on average, not very encouraging. Plan calls for more research in this area; nevertheless, some lessons learned include: results are more positive for primary schools than secondary schools, gender is an important factor, a positive school environment - with a comprehensive approach involving the entire teaching team - is essential, the longest programmes are the most effective, collaboration between a local project and a large national campaign is not always a guarantee of success, effective programmes focus on interactive methods (role playing, real life situations, and practical work on feelings and emotions) rather than just information transmission; and work on bullying is most effective when associated with interventions with families, teachers, and the whole school and the wider community.