Percepciones y significados sobre la convivencia y violencia escolar de estudiantes de cuarto medio de un liceo municipal de Chile

abstract this study was carried out in a high school in the community of talca, chile, with fourth year students. the general aim was to learn the views that such students have on topics such as co-existence, conflict and violence among peers within school precincts. the methodology used was quantitative and qualitative, using a sample of 140 students. the main results were the following: that these young studentsperceive that the school is highly vulnerable to violence, something which boys find normal and girls react to negatively. the causes of such violence are seen as intimidation between peers and the pressure put on students by their teachers and parents, the environments from which the students come, the length of the school day and stress felt by the teaching staff. it is concluded that the phenomenon of violence among peers has a cultural connotation and that strategies to prevent and/ or intervene in situations that produce aggression in schools are felt to be absent