Abstract:
This study aims to explain how adolescents in a rural high school conceptualise school violence. Qualitative
data were collected over two two-day periods (24 hours) through child-centred tasks like drawing and the
completion of open-ended sentences, informal conversations regarding the given activities, observations
documented as visual data (photographs), a research journal, and focus group discussions. In total, four
boys and five girls participated in the study. Results of the study indicate that the adolescents (aged 15–17
years) view school violence both as negative, in that it causes harm, and positive, in that it serves as a
strategy to ensure order and protection. The adolescents conceptualise violence as interweaving constructs
of power, discipline and aggression. Future adolescent-focused interventions regarding violence must include
conversations about these nuanced understandings.
