School Climate and Victimization in Mali

This book sheds light on the state of the school climate and victimization in Malian schools. It presents a study-innovative in the African context-on victimization and the school climate by measuring both the victimization experiences of school stakeholders, their views on the school institution, and their social interactions at school. The social reality of victimization and the school climate is thus analyzed through an emphasis on the decisive role of the meanings and interpretations produced by school stakeholders. This research reveals a unique interplay between victimization and school climate in Malian schools-a reality that contrasts with that of schools in Northern countries and contradicts the consistent finding of European studies, namely that school climate deteriorates in proportion to the prevalence of school violence. The paradoxical relationship between the school climate and victimization characterizing Malian schools demonstrates both the importance of context in the study of social dynamics in schools and the relativity of the phenomenon of school violence.