Over the last ten years, the rapid increase in school violence has captured the attention of policymakers, educators and even the students. According to a 1996 Children's Institute International Poll of American Adolescents, 47 percent of the respondents asserted that schools were becoming increasingly violent. Ten percent of the respondents stated that they were fearful of being victimized by violence and over 20 percent were wary of going to restrooms or other areas where students were frequently victimized (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1998a).
School violence also occurs at the elementary school level. The NCES (1998b) reported that one or more violent incidents occurred at 45 percent of elementary schools during the 1996-97 school year. Moreover, four percent and 41 percent of elementary schools reported one or more serious violent crimes and less serious or nonviolent crimes respectively. In their report commissioned by the Department of Education, Sinclair, Hamilton, Gutmann, Daft and Bolcik (1998) found that elementary schools accounted for nine percent of the expulsions that resulted from students bringing firearms to school. During the Fourth Phi Delta Kappa Poll of Teacher's Attitudes toward the Public Schools, Langdon (1997) reported that 12 percent of elementary school teachers highlighted the occurrence of school violence such as racial fights, physical attacks on the teachers and theft by force in their schools.
The escalation of school violence during the adolescent period highlights the critical need for prevention programs at the elementary school level to minimize the development of behavioral problems and propensities that will lead to school violence (Greenberg, Domitrovich & Bumbarger, 1999, p. 1). Many research studies have indicated that violence committed during adolescence are typically preceded by aggression such as hitting, kicking, and abuses during younger years. La...