Interactions between peers in an educational establishment are manifold – ranging from cooperative and friendly to conflictual or even violent. The dynamics in peer communication are usually changing and often moving from one form of interaction to another.
When peer relationships become more difficult and no longer cooperative but conflictual – a daily occurrence – it is advisable to address the problems that have arisen. resolve the problems themselves or through peer mediation, and only, if necessary, with the help of adults.
Peers constructively and responsibly co-create the conditions for the re-establishment of cooperative and friendly relations. They learn problem solving, active listening, empathy, compromise and tolerant communication.
In interpersonal relationships, a peer uses or abuses his or her personal, physical, psychological, material or social power over a weaker peer, in order to achieve some goal of his or her own, we are talking about an act of violence, whereby the balance of power between those involved has been upset and harmful, destructive aggression has occurred.
When it comes to conflict resolution and dealing with peer violence, different approaches are needed: mediation, negotiation, compromise, etc. should not be used to deal with prolonged and systematic peer violence. as this could cause further harm to the victims and cause them to relapse.
In the case of peer violence, we usually distinguish between: individual acts of aggression (e.g. uncontrolled, affective aggression) and systematic, sustained, planned violence against a peer (e.g. instrumental aggression).
The causes, motives, dynamics, consequences and level of threat to the victim usually differ in different cases of peer violence, and the way in which they are dealt with will always be at least slightly different. The age of the children also determines the path and the way in which they are treated, especially when it comes to the treatment of violence against pre-school children. Nevertheless, we can talk about key aspects of the treatment of peer violence in an educational institution and we need to take them into account when dealing with violence.
RESOURCES AND LITERATURE:
- PROTOKOLI ZA RAVNANJE. MEDVRSTNIŠKO NASILJE: https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MVI/SRI/NASILJE/Protokol_medvrstnisko_nasilje.pdf
- KAKO DO SPODBUDNEGA IN VARNEGA UČNEGA OKOLJA?
- https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MVI/SRI/NASILJE/Kako-do-spodbudnega-in-varnega-ucnega-okolja.pdf
- NAVODILA S PRIROČNIKOM ZA OBRAVNAVO MEDVRSTNIŠKEGA NASILJA V VZGOJNOIZOBRAŽEVALNIH ZAVODIH: https://www.zrss.si/digitalnaknjiznica/navodila-medvrstnisko-nasilje-viz-2016/files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf