With the goal of exchanging educational experiences with specialists from Cuba, Spain, Chile, and the Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago), the Ministry of Education of Nicaragua (MINED) organized the International Forum for the Promotion of Values to prevent Bullying.

According to information from MINED, during the forum, the main actions that can be done by schools and families to prevent these types of acts were reflected upon. The meeting took place in Managua on the 15th and 16th of October and was attended by about 200 individuals, amongst them portfolio managers, national and municipal pedagogical consultants, directors of centers, teachers, and representatives of mothers and fathers of families.

TERCE study and violence in the school environment

Mary Guinn Delaney, regional consultant of OREALC/UNESCO Santiago presented an analysis of the perceptions of violence from students and the relation with their learning achievements, through data from the Third Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (TERCE). “These inputs constitute elements of analysis for discussion about educational policies, in particular of Nicaragua”, she said at the event.

Delaney explained that the study of associated factors with learning achievements applied questionnaires to boys and girls within the school, considering six questions referring to possible acts of violence and bullying that students experience, and whether these occur within the school or not.  The specialist from OREALC/UNESCO Santiago indicated that upon reviewing the affirmative answers, it was possible to conclude that in the countries that participated in the TERCE study, the majority of students declared that they had experienced teasing from their classmates.

On the other hand, although there are no differences according to sex, parents’ education level, administration type<a name="_GoBack"></a> or rural location of the school among these diverse groups of students, it is shown that pupils belonging to an indigenous ethnic group tend to perceive many more acts of violence by their peers, especially in Panama.

With regard to the types of violence in the school environment, Delaney affirmed that in the majority of countries in the region, psychological violence is the most prevalent. “The issue affects both girls and boys equally, with a larger impact in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. This represents a challenge when creating educational environments with greater harmony among students, but one way to do it is through the type of relationships that teachers create.

About Nicaragua
Another aspect presented by OREALC/UNESCO Santiago made reference to data from Nicaragua about the perception of violence in the school environment, which is among the lowest in the region. Evidence from the TERCE study demonstrates that in Nicaragua, the level of classroom environment (human relationships among students in school) is the highest in the region.

The above demonstrates that favourable conditions exist in order to foster a strategy of improvement of human relations within schools and with the school’s community, as the violence seems to be a phenomenon that has not been replicated in the school system in Nicaragua”, assured Delaney.