A NEWSPAPER survey found that 73.3 percent of respondents are aware of incidents of schoolyard violence, the China Youth Daily reported yesterday.

    The newspaper surveyed 1,002 people at various education levels, with 43.7 percent of respondents attributing school violence to improper family education while 50.9 percent suggested that enhanced school-family collaboration could help curb school violence.

    According to the paper, 54.2 percent of those questioned say violence in schools is common.

    A middle school student going by the pseudonym Yuan Yuan told the paper that she had been bullied by a boy over a trivial matter simply because he was in bad mood. Later, she carefully avoided having any contact with him or with boys in general.

    Miao Weiming, from the East China University of Political Science and Law, said that violence in schools has been on the rise in recent years, with attacks becoming crueler and more arbitrary.

    Miao added that the effects of the Internet, particularly online games, are partially to blame.

    Also, China’s exam-oriented education puts great pressure on students, Miao said. If students fail to find proper outlets for this pressure, they can become violent toward themselves and others.

    Ma Nana, who works with a Beijing-based training organization, says the school she attended paid more attention to “good students,” ignoring those who had poor academic performance.

    Wang Qi, deputy head of Beijing Wenhui Middle School, says many students are the sole child in their families. As a result, they can be self-centered and struggle to control their moods.

    Many parents overprotect their children and fail to teach them proper ways to resolve conflicts, the report added.

    In addition, middle school students have limited legal awareness, with the subject only touched on in political studies classes. Some students think that stealing pocket money from their peers is not a big deal, Wang says.

    Wang believes that legal education should be better integrated with daily life and that teachers and parents can help problematic students by instilling respect for others.

    “Legal education is a compelling force from the outside while education that focuses on gratitude and love functions from the inside,” Wang said.(SD-Agencies)