School Violence, Essay Example

The article discusses the problem that is becoming increasingly aware to the public in the wake of the columbine shootings. The problem is essentially rooted in the cultural perspectives of individuals. These perspectives regarding the control of guns and their proliferation play a large part in the idealizations of the society of which these laws are apart. These issues stem from various causes, and are rooted in various problems from subjects ranging from politics, to psychology, to social science.  For this reason, the author indicates that the need for interdisciplinary analysis.

This approach takes into consideration various factors and levels of social interaction in its study.  By doing so, the author creates a framework for interdisciplinary study.  “Taking an interdisciplinary approach suggests simultaneous considerations of the interrelated components constituting the problem from micro to macro and the multiple levels in which the problem is manifest” (Henry 1).  In this way, the author is able to observe the necessary factors in the issue of mass school shootings, taking into account the complex and nuanced composition of the issue in order to come to a more accurate conclusion as to what can be done in order to alleviate the situation.

The main focus of the research question in this article is the compounding effect that these various social factors take into play in their association with the columbine shooter.  The argument is, basically, that all of these factors taken together essentially limited the ability of the shooter in his judgement and the decisions that he made.  This basically eliminated any rational choices that he had, and stripped away his ability to choose the path that he would take going forward, due to various social stresses.  In this way, the research focuses on the ability to make free and rational choices under the pressures of civil society.

The author begins the essay by describing the development of the appropriate form of interdisciplinary study regarding criminal behavior in youths.  He cites the developmental studies that have been done over the last fifty years, and shows how these studies developed into a complex and intricate interdisciplinary form of research over the years.  This incorporates studies done in various subjects, by a multitude of researchers.  By doing so, he leads to the conclusion that the choices made by the shooter are, essentially, the result of the practices. “When these factors are mediated by cultural conditions and structural factors, such as race, gender, and class, the limits to free rational choice are compounded” (Henry 1247).  In this way, the choices of those who commit these crimes become limited.

The author clearly defines the scope of the study by specifying that focus will be put on those facts that have been put forth by previous researchers regarding the rise of violence in schools across the country. The scope is essentially any scholarly research that has been done on subjects that can be related in any way to school crime.  This includes not only social or psychological evaluations, but studies concerning the economic and cultural traditions of the individuals involved.  By doing so, a more accurate representation of the issue can be achieved by those analyzing the complex problem.

The author uses various approaches in order to avoid the tendencies that would run counter to the interdisciplinary process.  In order to overcome disciplinary bias, the author has engaged in a rigorous study of other subjects, in order to better cement his understanding of the issue.  In order to overcome his personal bias, the author has attempted to create a framework for interdisciplinary study that can help to guide his research towards a more objective result in regards to his research. In this way, it is evident that this author’s tendency is to allow for the research of multiple viewpoints in order to overcome his own personal biases.  By doing so, he is able to come to a more accurate position in his research.

The author addresses the “so what” question by explaining the importance of the research in overcoming these biases. The reason this is important is that previous studies have failed to take into account the complexity of the issue. “This narrow microanalytical framing of the issue failed to consider the multiple causal components of this complex problem” (Henry 1246).  By focusing on more interdisciplinary research, Henry is able to overcome these restriction, and promote a more wide-ranging framework that takes into account the various disciplinary elements that had come before.  In doing so, he is able to create a more dynamic and accurate representation of the problem.

The importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach lies in its effectiveness in accurately portraying the complexity of the issue.  The problem in this case is the evidence of cultural factors leading to these actions by individuals in society. The author demonstrates the importance of understanding the complexity of the research question.  He explains that the underlying causes of violence are an important element in understanding society’s issues. “The central argument of this article is that school violence is a broad phenomenon with multiple manifest forms that together compose a continuum of violence” (Henry 1250).

The author goes on to imply that there are many important insights into the problem that have been offered by multiple disciplines.  The author does an overview of the current research into the problem by various disciplines.  He continues by arguing that no single discipline can address the problem comprehensively. This is set out in the essay where the author discusses the previous research that has been done on the subject. The author specifies that all of these concerns are due to unresolved issues underlying society. The purpose of the essay is to find these problems through the interdisciplinary academic research that he discusses.

The most important disciplines that the author uses in the study include sociological and psychological studies. By overviewing these studies, the author has created a more complex approach to the issue. These are the disciplines that would be potentially relevant to the problem. While the author does use these narrowed elements in consideration, he fails to explain his considerations in selecting these specific disciplines. This is essentially his common sense approach.  By approaching the issue in this way, the author is able to offer an alternative standpoint from the various other forms of research that he came across in his studies on the issue.

The most important element that the author discusses is social inclusion.  “In particular, social exclusion can occur in multiple ways that are both evident and concealed. In particular, they can be the product of social hierarchies in the social networks of peers, bolstered by societal-cultural discourses of masculinity and violence and supported by school systems through their own hierarchies of power” (1262). By identifying this source of conflict, the author is able to provide an agreement among the various insights that he has made into these social issues. These insights can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the problem, and a solution to it can be reached.  In doing so, the author is able to create a more comprehensive understanding of the issue.

The author finishes by mapping a table of the insights that were made in this research.  In the article, beginning on page 1255, he maps out the characteristics of the constituent elements of school violence. By creating this table, the author is able to demonstrate the inherent differences in these studies, as well as their similarities in comparing the information that he has collected during his study.  It is an overview of not only the structure of violence that has been committed, but also determines the source and nature of the violence, as well as who the violence was committed against.

This interdisciplinary study has enlarged my understanding of this issue by providing multiple viewpoints and studies from different areas that were merged together to form a more coherent understanding of the problem. This approach was truly interdisciplinary in this way.  By incorporating these various ideas, the author was able to create a more comprehensive framework for understanding the issue. By doing so, a better understanding of this type of research can be obtained.  This study has shown me the importance of undertaking interdisciplinary research.

While this article takes into account various points of research in order to come to its conclusions, it essentially focuses on mainly two specific disciplines in the context of its research subjects. These subjects include both sociology and psychology. Because the study mainly takes into account these two subjects, and research that has been done in them, it more of a multidisciplinary study than an interdisciplinary one. The author fails to take into account the economic and political aspects of the problem in his research, it is evident that it is not truly an interdisciplinary study.

Works Cited

Bose, Joseph. Defining Interdisciplinary Studies. Sage. 2006.

Calvin, Tom. Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Griffith Institute for Higher Education. 2010.

Conole, Graine. Interdisciplinary Research. Technology Enhanced Learning. 2009.

Golding, Clinton. Integrating the disciplines: Successful interdisciplinary subjects. Centre for the Study of Higher Education. 2007.

Henry, Stuart. School Violence Beyond Columbine: A Complex Problem in Need of an Interdisciplinary Analysis. American Behavioral Scientist. 2009.

Mathison, Sandra. The Logic of Interdisciplinary Studies. American Educational Research Association. 1996.