A brand new micro-program on violence prevention in schools saw its first day of online classes at Université Laval this week.
The first of three classes offered by the program started Monday. Claire Beaumont, who is responsible for the program, said the first class focuses on the consequences as well as the effects of violence in schools.
While violence in school is often thought of as bullying among students, Beaumont explained that the issue is bigger and that the micro-program concentrates on every kind of violence. Teachers and other adults are also subject to violence in school, either by being a victim or a bully, Beaumont said in a French interview.
Although the course is taken online, the participants will have to work in groups. Collaboration is a big part of the program and is a necessary skill to develop in order to prevent violence in schools, Beaumont said.
“What’s really interesting is that the groups, which each have six participants for discussions, all have different kinds of people such as students, teachers [and] principals who will share their different experiences, opinions and judgments,” Beaumont said.
The program, which Beaumont said is the only one of its kind, was full after two days of registration and sparked an interest overseas.
“We even got registration requests from Europe and Africa, but we aren’t ready to offer them the course yet,” she said, adding that they are working on making the micro-program available abroad.
Beaumont, who is also the co-director of the Canadian Observatory on School Violence Prevention, said it’s a difficult task to evaluate the change in the presence of violence in school over the years.
“Ten years ago, children were facing different kinds of violence that they were not aware of. Nowadays, we educate them, we inform them, we give them resources,” Beaumont said. “What’s certain is that people’s preoccupation is increasing. What’s uncertain, is whether or not violence is increasing,” she added.
However, Beaumont said through the years, the consequences of violence in school have become more and more apparent. She said the objective is to create an atmosphere in schools where student and teachers feel comfortable.