School Violence

The objective of this research is to understand the explanatory contexts of school violence in four educational institutions in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia. By means of a qualitative research in which a questionnaire and a focus group with students, teachers and guardians have been implemented, an analysis is made of the characteristics of school violence in educational institutions, its main agents and the differences detected in urban and rural areas. From this, some reflections on the contexts that allow explaining school violence and, in addition, understanding it as a public health issue are considered. It is found, on the one hand, that the percentage of victims of school violence is almost 25% in the four institutions and, on the other hand, that the attention generated is insufficient on the part of teachers and other authority figures. From the approach of explanatory contexts, it is identified that school violence in the four institutions is mainly related to the political and cultural context due to the conditions associated with the armed conflict in the region.