School Violence in Secondary School: It’s Effect on social development Etta Roland Daru, M.Ed. Abstract This study examined the functioning of perception and causes of school violence in order to further understand their social competence in peer social networks. Within my sample of 160 secondary school participants recruited from four (4) urban secondary schools in the Buea sub division in the south west of Cameroon, their perceptions and causes of school violence were identified. Participants were found to hold varied perceptions and causes of school violence and this had an influence on their social development. Further, results illustrate how school violence impedes social networks among peers. Findings extend previous research by demonstrating the power of perception and causes of school violence on social development of students. Keywords School violence, perception, causes, social development. Introduction Extant research has demonstrated how the fear of school violence affects students’ education significantly. The opportunity for a successful education is seriously jeopardized when students, teachers and the community fear going to school and remaining (Mulhem, Dibble, & Berkan, 1994). Equally, social development has separately been shown to be the process in which students learn to interact with others around them in creating friendships and acquaintances that help to boost their moral and self-esteem. Further, evidence has indicated that prosocial behavior may buffer the negative effect of school violence in adolescent friendships. According to Burton (2008) the most common form of violence in schools involves learners acting violently towards other learners. Similarly, Jefthas and Artz (2007) contend that