Violence at school and social control dilemmas

a dialogical approach

Abstract

Violence at school is one of the new global social issues. We will discuss this social phenomenon based on research conducted in Brazil, particularly in Rio Grande do Sul; We will also feature materials from France, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, and Hong Kong. This will be explained in three parts: Violence at School: the search for an explanation; The Brazilian Society and Violence at School; The World Phenomenon of Violence at School observed in at least 50 countries. We work with the sociological notion of "torn citizenship": this notion evokes increasing physical violence in society through various processes of laceration of the body - domestic violence, sexual violence, criminal violence and political violence - which compromises the very possibilities of building citizenship. To analyse the social process of violence among young people, and their uncertain and labyrinthine lives, there are three dimensions: the use of violence, that is, young people live in a "culture of violence"; the existence of a social code that reflects a violent society; and third, the individualism of the young. The conclusion proposes a dialogical approach about school violence and the struggles and social strategies for the mediation and pacification of the school space.