Increased Fighting in Schools: What Can Be Done?

Since returning from COVID there has been an increase in fights. At first, we placed the blame on the fact that these students had not been socialized in a long time, and many schools on the west coast, in fact 34% according to the 2022 School Pulse Panel on student behavior, showed an uptick in physical attacks or fights between students in the year following the pandemic. However, it seemed to get a little better, but it was more like the calm before the storm. There were still fights on campus, but not the everyday fights we had seen when we first returned, and those fights had seemed to be mostly from our middle school population. 

Right now, we are seeing another surge in fighting. This time they seem to have a racial component to them. I have only been at our school for five year, and I admit I am still learning about our population. What I mean by this is that I was unaware of the prevalence of our gang population. It is still a relatively small number, but it is significant enough for it to be the underlying current of our current problem, or so I am told. I think this is something that was being dealt with much better prior to the pandemic and now we have prioritized other aspects of social emotional learning and have forgotten the importance this part of our community has on our student population. 

A study done by Chen, et al. (2016) looked at African-American and Latino parents' attitudes and beliefs regarding adolescent fighting and what could be done to prevent it. Part of the study asked these parents what their beliefs about fighting were. The study showed, "African-American participants generally recommended not fighting unless physically attacked, but admitted that families sometimes may encourage fighting or model aggression, resulting in mixed-messages" The mixed message often occurred when related to redeeming the family. The family would then say if someone harms our family you must redeem them (Chen, 2016, p. 1750). As for Latino parents, they "condoned fighting only as a last resort, if children continued to be physically threatened, despite attempting non-aggressive alternatives." (Chen, 2016, p. 1750). 

In terms of what these parents recommended as solutions. They wanted prevention training for both teachers and students. For the teachers, positive role modeling and conflict resolution training. For the students, how to resolve a conflict non-violently, anger management training, and fighting alternatives. One option they recommended was "that violence prevention programs incorporate the experiences of former fighters and be tailored to community needs" (Chen, 2016, p, 1746). In our community this education would probably come from people who have removed themselves from gangs or avoided them successfully.

Besides the peer conflict that seems to trigger fights. The he or she said something or did something that made the person lash out. There are also underlying factors that make students more likely to fight. Some of these thing are "parents’ detachment" and "youth who experience being discriminated against by their teacher and those who report being victims of crimes in school," just to name a couple (Hong, 2016, p. 293). 

It is important that we look into ways to diffuse these fights before they happen. Teachers, security, and administrators should not be breaking up fights on a daily basis it is not safe for anyone. Education seems to be the best way to do that. This year we had an assembly entitled Street Racing Kills because we have a lot of students who drift. Now we need to think about this issue of fighting and look at the next education piece for our students. 

Chen, R., Flores, G., & Shetgiri, R. (2016). African-American and Latino Parents’ Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Adolescent Fighting and Its Prevention. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25(6), 1746–1754. https://doi-org.cui.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0355-8

Hong, J. S., Merrin, G. J., Peguero, A. A., Gonzalez-Prendes, A. A., & Lee, N. Y. (2016). Exploring the social-ecological determinants of physical fighting in u.s. schools: what about youth in immigrant families? Child & Youth Care Forum : Journal of Research and Practice in Children's Services, 45(2), 279–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-015-9330-1

Institute of Education Sciences. (2022, July 6). Student Behavior. 2022 School Pulse Panel. Retrieved November 18, 2022, from https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/spp/