Behaviour of Helsinki primary school pupils more and more violent

Children kick, hit and scratch both each other and teachers

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Today schoolteachers are confronted with violent situations at school more frequently than ever before, according to teachers in Helsinki. Particularly the violence of schoolchildren aged seven to 12 has increased.
      Since last August, some 150 teachers or teaching assistants have encountered a violent situation at work. This means one case per school on average, reports Occupational Safety Delegate Eeva Toppari from the City of Helsinki's Education Department.
      Even though these figures have been gathered in Helsinki, Toppari believes that the phenomenon is a nationwide one.
      Public debate on the issue was sparked on Thursday by Hannu Laaksola, the editor-in-chief of the teachers' professional journal Opettaja.
      Laaksola suggested that security guards should be employed to patrol in schools. Toppari feels that such a drastic move would cause lasting damage to the comprehensive school system.
      The figures recorded by the occupational safety delegate include also mental abuse. However, only five in these 150 incidents involved mental abuse, Toppari notes.
     
The majority of incidents are minor, such as scratching or kicking. Typically, a violent incident occurs when a teacher intervenes in children's fights. In class a violent situation is normally a result of a pupil's disobedience.
      "For example, a pupil may refuse to open his or her book or to do exercises, and eventually the situation bursts into violence", says Toppari, who has been working as a teacher since 1977.
     
A round of phone calls to some principals of Helsinki's primary schools indicates that violent situations at schools are a familiar but not a daily problem in schools.
      "Schoolchildren's uncontrollable outbursts of violence have clearly increased. Incidents involving physical violence occur a couple of times a year, while verbal abuse and threats are witnessed every week", reports Headmaster Kimmo Sundström from the Roihuvuori primary school in Helsinki.
      Headmaster Leena Keskinen from the Vesala primary school has noticed that some children just do not know the concept of the physical integrity of another person.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Tens of thousands of children exposed to violence or substance abuse at home (22.9.2006)
  VOKT programme trains conscientious objectors to prevent school violence (17.8.2004)

Links:
  City of Helsinki Education Department

Helsingin Sanomat