This thesis evolved from my burgeoning interest in how school violence in urban schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is characterised and managed, and specifically about school initiatives to advance a pedagogy for peace. In 2017, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) found that half of the students aged between 11 and 15 years worldwide were exposed to violence inside or outside their schools. Similarly, more than half of the students in Indonesia have experienced different levels of school violence. For example, students in Yogyakarta experienced increasing levels of school violence between 2017 and 2020, with the highest reported incidents occurring in senior high schools (The Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, 2022). As well as ratifying child protection-driven laws and regulations, Indonesia has implemented student safety-related programs in schools. However, this emphasis in Yogyakarta’s school settings on school violence management appears to disregard public sentiment about alternative ways to address school violence, including punishment, counselling, and pedagogy. Previous studies have discovered empirical evidence on violence committed by students in Yogyakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia. Unfortunately, there has been an over-emphasis in these studies on direct, physical violence whereas the structural and cultural roots of school violence were rarely studied. This thesis proposes a two-fold emphasis. Firstly, there is a focus on how an oppressive, violent character can be linked to the power, culture, and behaviour of the school. Therefore, a complex analysis of the relationship between cultural, structural, and behavioral (direct) violence (Galtung, 1990) has been undertaken in this study. Secondly, it is argued that urban schools in Yogyakarta need to advance their approaches to school violence through a dialogic, empowering, and loving pedagogy. Accordingly, this thesis is framed by the theoretical intersection underpinning critical peace pedagogy (Bajaj, 2016) and a pedagogy of love (eg Freire, 1970; Darder, 2017; Lanas & Zembylas, 2015). Drawing on the data collected from the four participating schools, this study has found that characteristics of school violence are complex, transitioning between punitive approaches and peacebuilding orientations, suggesting an embryonic pedagogy for advancing peace. Direct violence was a characteristic of the four schools in the form of interpersonal and inter-group violent conflicts. The direct violence consolidated and/or was strengthened by structural forces (such as power imbalance) and cultures (including school solidarity). In practice, the notion of school solidarity was (mis)used to legitimise and sustain inter-school (violent) conflicts. Instead of addressing the primary causes of school violence, the schools predominantly implemented demerit point- and punitive approach-driven student codes of conduct. This zero-tolerance policy was found to be inadequate to deal with students involved in violence. On the other hand, more dialogic and caring approaches to violent perpetrators and victims, instrumental in building cultural and structural peace, were initiated by a few individual school leaders, educators, and students. On the other hand, the school team and school counsellors, who were responsible for school violence supervision, had an opportunity for establishing dialogues between persons in conflict, either individually or in groups. Thus, the four schools may be categorised as standing ‘in-between’ the punitive approaches and dialogic practices. Despite the different forms of punitive approach which were adopted, several male and female educators demonstrated pedagogical love and established engagement and dialogue with victims of violence and students labelled as perpetrators of violence. Finally, this thesis contributes to the development of dialogic and loving pedagogy that advances peace through the practice of classroom teaching and school life/community engagement.
| Date of Award | 2023 |
|---|
| Original language | English |
|---|
| Awarding Institution | - Western Sydney University
|
|---|
| Supervisor | Loshini Naidoo (Supervisor) |
|---|