The Relationship between the Outdoor School Violence Distribution and the Outdoor Campus Environment: An Empirical Study from China

Abstract

It is widely believed that outdoor environmental design contributes to outdoor violence prevention. To enhance the effectiveness of environmental design, the intrinsic link between the outdoor school violence distribution (OSVD) and the outdoor campus environment (OCE) should be fully considered. For this purpose, this study investigated boarding school L, located in southern Zhejiang Province of China, through a questionnaire and Spatial Syntax theory. Based on the questionnaire marker method (N = 338, 50.59% female), the OSVD was mapped using the kernel density estimation in ArcGIS, including four types of teacher-student conflict: verbal bullying, physical conflict, and external intrusion. The spatial analysis of the OCE (spatial configuration and spatial visibility) then was generated by the DepthmapX, involving four spatial attributes such as integration, mean depth, connectivity, and visibility connectivity. Statistical analysis results indicated the correlation between the OSVD and both the spatial configuration and spatial visibility of the OCE. For the different violence types, there were differences in the impact relationships, with integration being a significant predictor of teacher-student conflict and physical conflict (p < 0.01) and a general predictor of verbal bullying (p < 0.05), while mean depth was a significant predictor of physical conflict (p < 0.01), but not recommended as a predictor of external intrusion. This study explores and predicts the relationship between the OSVD and the OCE, providing guidance and evidence for school violence prevention environmental design. It is a novel attempt, but still challenging and requires more research to refine.