More than 70% say school violence evident: survey

A newspaper survey finds that 73.3 percent of respondents are aware of incidents of schoolyard violence, the China Youth Daily reported on Monday.

The newspaper surveyed 1,002 people at various education levels, with 43.7 percent of respondents attributing school violence to improper family education, and 50.9 percent suggesting that enhanced school-family collaboration could help curb school violence.

According to the paper, 54.2 percent of those questioned say violence in schools is common.

A middle school pupil going by the pseudonym Yuan Yuan told the paper that she had been bullied by a boy over a trivial matter simply because he was in bad mood. Later, she carefully avoided having any connection with him, or with boys in general.

Miao Weiming, of the East China University of Political Science and Law, says that violence in schools has been on the rise in recent years, with attacks becoming crueler and more arbitrary.

Miao added that the effects of the Internet, particularly online games, are partially to blame.

Also, exam-oriented education is putting great pressure on students, Miao said. If students fail to find proper outlets for this pressure, they can become violent towards themselves and others.

Ma Nana, who works with a Beijing-based training organization, says the school she attended paid more attention to "good students," ignoring those who had poor academic performance.

Wang Qi, deputy head of Beijing Wenhui Middle School, says many students are the sole child in their families. As a result, they can be self-centered and struggle to control their moods.

Many parents overprotect their children and fail to teach them the proper means to resolve conflicts, the report added.

In addition, middle school pupils have limited legal awareness, with the subject only touched on in political studies classes. Some pupils think that stealing pocket money from their peers is not a big deal, Wang says.

Wang suggests that legal education be better integrated with daily life, and that teachers and parents help problematic students by instilling respect for others.

"Legal education is a compelling force from the outside, while education around gratitude and love is functioning from the inside," Wang says.