TEACHER PREPARATION FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND PEACE EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF PUNJAB, PAKISTAN: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY

Abstract

Violence in school is a major issue in secondary schools, especially in situations where teachers are given minimal hands-on training in how to prevent and intervene in students' aggression. This was a convergent mixed-methods study that explored the teacher training and school violence prevention strategies among secondary school teachers in Punjab, Pakistan. A questionnaire with 15 items was used to gather quantitative data from 280 teachers from urban and rural secondary schools on training adequacy, intervention strategies, self-efficacy, perceived training needs, and disciplinary practices. Semi structured interviews were used to gather qualitative data from 15 senior teachers. Descriptive statistics, selected correlations and multiple linear regression were used to analyze survey data, and thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data. Findings showed that training adequacy was low to moderate and the use of intervention strategies was relatively high, particularly in the areas of building positive relationships and consistently implementing classroom rules. Of the independent factors, only self-efficacy was found to be a significant predictor of use of the intervention strategy (B = 0.229, β = .351, p < .001), while the other factors (training adequacy, training gaps, location, gender, teaching experience) were not significant. The results of the interviews indicated that there was still heavy use of parental involvement, individual counseling, informal experience and in some instances, traditional disciplinary practices. The findings were integrated and indicate that current teacher preparation is not sufficiently practical and that confidence and applied classroom skills of teachers play a significant role in violence prevention. The study suggests that pre-service and in-service teacher education should be revised to incorporate conflict resolution, positive behavior support, restorative practices and early warning recognition and referral systems at school.