This research was undertaken from an ecosystemic perspective and aimed to explore how male adolescents from diverse racial and cultural groups experienced violence in an urban, private, secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal. The first part of the dissertation consists of a brief introductory overview of the study incorporating background and aim of the research, problem statement, clarification of terminology, research methodology and course of study. A comprehensive literature review, encompassing detailed explanations of the ecosystemic perspective, incorporates a study of violence and its multiple facets, components and interacting contributory systems. Furthermore, a specific rationalization of South African violence and male adolescent violence in South African secondary schools is analytically unpacked. In line with the researcher's epistemology, the methodology utilised was qualitative in nature and the phenomenological interview technique was employed to explore the experiences of male adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 years. The responses of the participants were subjected to a thematic analysis. The imperative themes that emerged from the data analysis procedure are outlined in the results chapter and it is apparent from the responses of the participants that issues of masculinity, gender-role socialisation, male identity formation and peer pressure are significant contributory factors influencing the prevalence of violence in South African secondary schools. The results are therefore discussed with reference to the literature review and expressly associated with the South African context. Finally a conclusion is offered together with reflections of the researcher and recommendations for educators.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.