Implementation of public policy of school coexistence in Colombia

Introduction: In Colombia, after legal processes derived from cases of direct and structural violence that had students as victims, Law 1620 of 2013 was enacted; despite the existence of the public policy, this scourge persists.

Objective: This article presents the results of a study that determines the perception of middle school students and teachers about implementing the public policy of school coexistence and mitigation of school violence in the municipality of Tunja, Colombia.

Methodology: Two questionnaires were used: one applied to 1,074 students in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades of public and private schools, and the other applied to 50 teachers assigned to these courses.

Results: Regarding the perception of the implementation of the policy, it was found that there is a significant difference between the responses of students and teachers in the factor of socialization of the procedure (t = 3.207, p = 0.002 < 0.005). In the aspects of strengthening and perceived impact, there were no significant differences.

Conclusion: There are differences in the perception that both groups have regarding the implementation of the School Coexistence Law in their educational institutions. It was evidenced that teachers have a more positive perception than students concerning the implementation of the policy.