School Violence

School Violence: This video was created as a introduction to a speech on "The Effectiveness of Violence Prevention Programs in Reducing School Violence".

In the spring of 1999, the Columbine High School massacre horrified the nation and catapulted the issue of school violence into the national spotlight. Since then, school officials, parents, legislators, psychologists, and law enforcement officials have been scrambling to find solutions to this very serious problem. Many schools have implemented violence prevention programs, which target students' behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, and/or personalities in an effort to reduce aggressive tendencies and foster nonviolent responses to life difficulties. What, exactly, do such programs entail? Are they effective? A comprehensive review of the published empirical literature revealed considerable variation in program design and some evidence of program effectiveness. Surprisingly, few controlled studies have been conducted, and many have been fraught with methodological problems. The implications of these findings for researchers and policy makers are discussed.