Violence in European Schools: Victimization and Consequences. ZWE Discussion Paper No. 07‐004: ZEW ‐ Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research

Abstract

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar. Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server: ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp07004.pdf Nontechnical summary Violence at schools is a phenomenon that is apparent in most countries. Despite the public attention devoted to outbursts of violence nowadays, little is known about the dimension and consequences of small-scale violence which students face at school each day. Common forms of everyday violence at schools are students being excluded from social groups, being verbally and physically harassed, being bullied and being stolen from by classmates. The motivation, concentration and self-confidence of students are likely to suffer when students are affected by violence. This paper uses representative data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for eleven European countries and the British National Child Development Study (NCDS) to examine the degree to which students experience violence at schools and the consequences on student performance and further outcomes. The main questions being addressed are: What is the dimension of school violence? Who are the victims? What is the effect of being a victim on student performance, educational achievement and earnings? The analysis of the TIMSS data refers to both students in grade four and in grade eight since a child's personality develops fast and students in primary and secondary schools may be affected differently by school violence. The indicators for violence are whether students have been stolen from or been hurt by other students in the preceding month. In addition to the cross-country TIMSS data, the longitudinal NCDS data for Britain is analyzed. This data provides the opportunity to study the impact of being bullied as a child not only on contemporary outcomes like student performance but as well on later outcomes like educational degrees and earnings. Moreover, the NCDS includes information on the physical appearance of children that are strongly linked to being bullied. The self reported degree of student violence is high, both for students being hurt and stolen from by other students and for children that are bullied. Students in grade four report a higher level of school violence than students in grade eight. Looking at surveys from different years reveals no clear time-trend. The determinants of being a victim show that female students and students in villages or small towns are less likely to be hurt or stolen from by other students while students with an immigration background are more likely to be victims. Besides the student characteristics typically observed in student performance studies, also the appearance of students such as their looks and their height play an important role in the process of victimization. Moreover, having older siblings reduces the probability of being bullied while it increases when having younger siblings, in particular when siblings have the same gender. The effect of being a victim of school violence on student achievement is significant both for the TIMSS and the NCDS data. The longitudinal NCDS data allow for a more credible identification of the effect, providing controls for prior achievement, prior victimization and additional student characteristics. The analysis shows that the behavior of peers in form of school violence is an important determinant of both contemporary and later student achievement. The effect size of 0.04 on contemporary reading achievement is small but significant. Moreover, being bullied as a child has a significant impact on the level of educational attainment and labor market earnings, but only through the effect on student performance. The results show that school violence is a widespread problem which has short and long term consequences for victims, be it boys or girls. Reducing violence at schools not only eases life for many students who suffer from it but should also lead to more investment in human capital. Violence in European Schools: Victimization and Consequences Andreas Ammermueller Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), L7, 1 68161 Mannheim January 2007 Abstract: Violence at schools is a well-known problem in many societies. This paper assesses the degree of school violence in 11 European countries and analyzes the determinants of being a victim and its effect on student performance. The study draws on the international TIMSS 2003 and the British longitudinal NCDS data. The level of school violence is high in most countries but seems not to increase over time. Besides gender, social and migration background and the appearance of students determine being bullied, hurt or stolen from by fellow students. Being a victim has a small but significantly negative impact on contemporary and later student performance and the level of educational attainment and thereby affects earnings. It is hence an important peer effect that should not be omitted in the estimation of educational production functions