Crises containment management in South African schools: A critical review

Abstract

Various accidents and incidents occur daily in schools, which can have a lifelong impact on both school learners and their family’s life. These events at schools might lead to physical and psychological symptoms which would affect school learner and educator performance. This critical review searched the peer-reviewed scientific literature that were published (2009 to 2019) to identify contemporary crisis containment management practices in South African schools. We utilised the Search, Appraisal, Synthesis, and Analysis (SALSA) method to examine crisis containment management in South African schools. We included peer reviewed studies that met the following criteria: Published literature, PhD theses, and Master dissertations focusing on school safety. We excluded conference proceedings and studies published in other languages than English. Our search yielded four published articles for this critical review. Applying a qualitative synthesis approach, we identified the three themes: (i) schools are not safe due to various problems hampering effective teaching and learning; (ii) obstacles to ensuring safety within schools; and (iii) policies and skills necessary for crises containment and management. We conclude that policies on physical safety are needed, in addition to equipping educators and other stakeholders with the necessary skills and training in terms of the psychological and emotional safety of the school community.