Mitigating Peer Violence and Crime in Post Primary Schools

About a quarter of school-age children in the world report to experience some sort of peer violence at school. Research shows that experiencing verbal and physical bullying at school during crucial developmental periods, particularly in adolescence, may have significant negative impacts on a range of health and achievement outcomes. The proposed study aims to test a unique mentorship program that is designed using substantial adolescent feedback through a series of qualitative research. The objective of the program is to lower peer violence and establish a good climate for learning in middle schools that are identified to be at-risk. The program will be evaluated with respect to outcomes that describe school and classroom climate, such as reported violence and social exclusion, as well as with respect to various cohesion indicators such as belongingness, trust, and cooperation.