Revista Diálogo Educacional
Print version ISSN 1518-3483On-line version ISSN 1981-416X
Abstract
MELIM, Marcelo; PEREIRA, Beatriz and REBOLO, Amália. Promote school conviviality: the focus group as a means of training. Rev. Diálogo Educ. [online]. 2017, vol.17, n.53, pp.889-908. Epub Feb 28, 2020. ISSN 1981-416X. https://doi.org/10.7213/1981-416x.17.053.ao09.
Unfavorable school climate is a source of vulnerability for the integration and security of the educational community. Schools cannot give up responsibility in promoting psychosocial health of students. Government agencies should cooperate with the schools to determine what measures should be developed to deal with the different types of violence. This article documents the activity and main results of the User Friendliness Charter School Project, an intervention/research project overseen by the Regional Secretariat of Education and Human Resources, Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal and supervised by the Research Centre for Child Studies, University of Minho. The main objective of this project is to contribute to a safe, inclusive and respectful school environment, enhancer of learning and favoring school success. We use focus groups and qualitative interview to key members of the educational community. We found that there is not a set of policies and strategies in a single format to resolve conflicts and violence in all schools. It is necessary to identify and test the most appropriate measures to the specific needs, culture (ethos), the socio-cultural involvement and the management model. The changes require the commitment of the educational community. The evaluation of the results allows us to adjust and improve intervention, replace or adapt strategies.
Keywords : School violence; Friendliness; Prevention; Intervention.