ARTICLES
DOI DOI: 10.66434/ijspsy.v6i2.519

Fear and learning: Learners’ experiences of school violence at a township primary school in the Metro South Education tistrict,

Zandisile Mawethu Sitoyi 1
  1. 1 Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Abstract

School violence remains a feature of daily life in many South African township schools, particularly in areas such as the Cape Flats, where poverty and inequality are deeply entrenched. Learners live with this reality, yet their voices are often absent from research on school safety. This study explored how younger learners experience and make meaning of school violence in their everyday school lives. A phenomenological qualitative approach was employed. Five learners (four girls and one boy) aged between 12 and 13 years were purposively selected from grades 6 and 7 at a primary school in Samora Machel Township, Cape Town, within the Metro South Education district, because they had directly experienced school violence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in English and isiXhosa, depending on the learners’ language preferences. The study was theoretically framed by Noddings’ Ethics of Care and the African philosophy of Ubuntu. The findings revealed four themes: fear as a daily reality, silence and mistrust, the normalisation of aggression, and hidden resilience through acts of care. Learners described living with constant fear in classrooms, toilets, and on their way to school. They also reported incidents to teachers, only to be ignored, which contributed to silence and mistrust. Aggression was normalised, with fighting, bullying, shouting, and physical punishment being part of everyday school life. At the same time, learners practised care by protecting siblings, warning friends about danger, walking together for safety and comforting one another. The study argues that safer schools cannot be achieved through rules and policies alone; they also require adults to listen to children, recognise their voices as a form of knowledge, and place dignity, trust and care at the centre of daily school life. By amplifying the voices of younger learners, this study shows that children are not powerless but actively practice care and resistance within violent spaces.

How to Cite

Sitoyi , Z. M. (2026). Fear and learning: Learners’ experiences of school violence at a township primary school in the Metro South Education tistrict,. International Journal of Studies in Psychology, 6(2), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.66434/ijspsy.v6i2.519
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