School safety model gains traction in South America
The approach calls for staff to become actively engaged when responding to school violence through locally designed solutions
An innovative approach to promoting safety and preventing violence in schools is being embraced in Valparaíso, Chile.
Education officials in the South American country are joining a growing list of regions around the world that have embraced a school mapping and monitoring system developed by researchers at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Essentially a scientific approach to understanding the specific challenges faced by individual classes, schools and districts, the model involves collecting detailed data to aid in reform efforts.
This is not a top-down, prepackaged solution for reducing school violence and improving school climate.
Verónica López
“This is not a top-down, prepackaged solution for reducing school violence and improving school climate,” said Verónica López, associate professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. “Instead it proposes a building-capacity perspective that seeks for school staff to become actively engaged in responding to school violence through locally designed solutions.”
An educational psychologist, López is part of a research team that has introduced the monitoring system in public elementary schools throughout Valparaíso. Although adapted for the local context, the model is based on the school safety work of Ron Astor, the Lenore Stein-Wood and William S. Wood Professor of School Behavioral Health at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, and his longtime research partner, Rami Benbenishty, a professor at Bar-Ilan University.
For nearly three decades, Astor, Benbenishty and their colleagues have developed the data and mapping system with a particular emphasis on creating a flexible and hyper-focused approach to educational accountability.
Drilling down
“Every school is so different, even in the same communities,” Astor said. “One school might have name-calling issues, another might have weapon use, a third might have sexual harassment and abuse, and a fourth might have fights and bullying. We came to the conclusion that you need reliable data at the local level.”
Although López was familiar with the work of Astor and Benbenishty on school safety and violence, a chance encounter at an international conference led to an exchange of ideas. With funding from the Chilean government, López and her team, including researchers Mariana Bilbao and Paula Ascorra, visited the United States to learn more about the monitoring approach.
She also invited Astor, Benbenishty and other researchers to Chile to serve as consultants as they began developing a similar monitoring system in Valparaíso. Using survey data collected from students, school administrators and teachers, the system generates detailed reports that highlight specific issues in each school, even down to the classroom level.
“This is really a practice-based research project where the aim is to help schools improve themselves rather than just gather information,” López said.
A broader challenge
With their work in Valparaíso showing promise, López and her research team are now turning to a broader challenge — to revamp a long-standing life skills program delivered in nearly a third of all schools in Chile. Initially funded by the government to work with 12 school districts, the project swelled to 59 districts by the end of 2015.
As that process unfolds, the Chilean research team is continuing to rely on the expertise of Astor and Benbenishty. A recent grant from Chile’s government will allow both scholars to visit Chile, and Benbenishty is on sabbatical at USC this year to advance the collaboration among Bar-Ilan University, Chile and USC.
“It’s very reassuring to have the opportunity to learn from them and their experience,” López said. “It’s been very inspiring, and I believe they have also been inspired by us.”
Astor concurred and expressed hope that the project will eventually lead to the development of a nationwide school monitoring system in Chile that could serve as a model for other countries in the region.
“Many South American countries are following Chile’s leadership in this area,” he said. “We are continuing our meetings, connections and efforts to expand these monitoring methods in South America.”