Avaliação da Violência no Espaço Escolar e Mediação de Conflitos

Abstract

In our society, there is a common-sense belief about the behavior of our students in terms of indiscipline and hostility – physical aggression, steals and vandalism – implying in disharmony in the academic place. In this investigation, we aim at discussing about mediation as a practice for the solution of the school conflicts. We adopted a collaborative methodology – a re-approaching between the researcher and the researched community – developed in a municipal public school in Fortaleza/CE/Brazil, located in a vulnerable area. Several methodological procedures were taken in this research: i) general observations of the school and the classroom; ii) interviews; iii) quizzes and iv) courses about mediation and “culture for peace” to the teachers, students, fathers and mothers/tutors. The sample was constituted of 118 students, 30 teachers, 2 principals and 5 tutors (fathers and mothers). The analysis followed an approach of quality and quantity data, what caused a wider approach to the studying object and promoted an interpretation of the phenomena, besides the establishment of intercourse relation between the variables. We verified that the school community was not ready to manage the conflicts and the violence in the institution. Thus, we suggested a strategy of intervention based on a non-adversarial technique – the mediation – in order to stimulate the practice of the dialogue. The mediation does not point out innocents nor guilties, neither winners nor losers. The aim is at working with the polemical voices in order to reach the solution for the tension: cooperative interaction to find out creative alternatives for the solution of the impasses in a just way. Since the school mediation was adopted, there was a reduction of the violence in the school. Thus, it is important to deal efficiently with the conflicts in order to promote actions for peace