Adolescent School Violence and Counseling Research Proposal

Adolescent School Violence and Counseling - Research Proposal Example The purpose of the research is to identify how far student counseling is useful in managing or preventing violent and aggressive behavior among high school learners in the San Diego Unified School District. A qualitative research approach will be employed for the research as it best suits the topic under consideration. Random sampling and questionnaires will be made use of in the research. A before and after research design will be administered on the target group who will randomly be selected from the various senior high schools in the San Diego Unified School District. The proposed research is sure to attract the attention of any student or researcher of education while its research outcomes will be beneficial to the larger group of teachers, parents, learners, psychologists, counselors and educators. Introduction a. Statement of the research problem: The topic for the research proposal is the relationship between student counseling and school violence. The research seeks to explor e whether counseling reduces or prevents adolescent school violence. The purpose of the research is to identify how far student counseling is useful in managing or preventing violent and aggressive behavior among high school learners in the San Diego Unified School District b. Statement of the importance of the study: The statistics of school violence among the adolescents in the United States is quite alarming. It has been identified that almost forty percent of all violent crimes against adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 take place on school grounds (Fitzpatrick, 1999). Similarly, the Department of Education and Justice (2007) measured approximately 628,000 violent behaviors and crimes among students aged 12-18 during the year 2005 alone. While the reasons for these violent and aggressive behaviors among school children are many and varied, researchers unanimously agree that school counselors have a pivotal role in teaching these children appropriate behavior. The present research proposal assumes greater significance as there have not been any previous authentic studies that tested how far student counseling has been useful in managing or preventing violent and aggressive behavior among high school learners in the San Diego Unified School District. The review of literature also offers the rationale for the current research. Researchers such as Rayburn (2004) have identified that school counselors who deal with problems of students as well as their families are better equipped to teach high school learners the importance of values and moral education. Similarly, studies have also revealed that school counselors can develop feelings of mutual respect, support, cooperative individualism, and develop mutual trust among school children (Sink & Rubel, 2001). The need for adequate counseling services at the school level has been pointed out by many researchers. In this respect, researchers at Hamilton Fish Institute observe that schools offer only limited counseling services to the needy students and that â€Å"expansion of these services is necessary to identify troubled students and assist them before their problems become severe and to respond adequately if a serious incident should occur† (Hamilton Fish Institute, p. 8). In certain cases, counseling and psychotherapeutic interventions are necessary not only for the perpetrators but also for the victims and witnesses of violence as well. The research questions would appeal to any student or researcher of education while the research outcomes will be beneficial to the larger group of teachers, parents, learners, psychologists, counselors and educators. c. Summary of prior literature: The major data bases searched for the research proposal includes