American Journal of Applied Psychology, 2014, Vol. 2, No. 2, 42-52 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajap/2/2/3 © Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/ajap-2-2-3 Classroom Environment and Self-Control Skills and Their Relationship with Adolescents Violence in the Arabic Community of Israel Qutaiba Agbaria 1,* , Almaza Atamna 2 1 Educational Research and Development Authority, Al-Qasmie College, Baqa el Gharbieh, Israel 2 Learning & Instruction Department, Al-Qasmie College, Baqa el Gharbieh, Israel *Corresponding author: Qutaiba100psych@yahoo.com Received April 24, 2014; Revised June 03, 2014; Accepted June 17, 2014 Abstract This research aims to examine the relationship between classroom environment and self-control skills, and the prevalence of violence among Arab adolescents in Israel. The sample included 200 pupils with ages ranging between 13-15 from seventh to the ninth grade. Research hypotheses predicted that there was a statistically- significant inverse correlation between classroom environment and physical violence, and between self-control and physical violence; and that there is a statistically-significant positive correlation between age and self-control and between physical violence and classroom environment. Finally, the hypothesis predicted that there were statistically significant differences in physical violence, self-control and classroom environment that can be attributed to gender. The results of the research showed that there was an inverse correlation between the classroom environment and between self-control and violence. The more self-control pupils have, the lower the level of violence would be, which supports the hypothesis. The findings also revealed that there was no statistically-significant correlation between age, anger and physical violence. The results also reflected a positive correlation between age and classroom environment, and an inverse correlation between age and self-control, that is, growing in age leads to lowering the level of self-control, and these results supported the hypothesis on this regard. Finally, the research concluded a number of recommendations that will be discussed. Keywords: classroom environment, Self-Control, arab adolescents, violence Cite This Article: Qutaiba Agbaria, and Almaza Atamna, “Classroom Environment and Self-Control Skills and Their Relationship with Adolescents Violence in the Arabic Community of Israel.” American Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 2, no. 2 (2014): 42-52. doi: 10.12691/ajap-2-2-3. 1. Introduction The current research aims to examine the relationship between classroom environment and self-control skills as well as violence among Arab adolescents in Israel. The last two decades have witnessed a growth in the level of violence in this community, prompting many researchers to study this phenomenon. Interestingly, violence was particularly prevalent within educational institutions, as the school is a part of its’ cultural surroundings and the social and political context around it, and it is where student spend a large proportion of their time (Abas, ; 2002 Gomble & Zohar,2005 ). Israeli schools are certainly nonviolence-free, like all schools around the world (Benvenishti, 2002). Research indicates that 40 % of students in Israeli schools are subjected to various forms of violence (Benvenishti, Zeira, & Astor, 2002). Some studies that were conducted by the Rama Center (RAMA, 2011). showed that there is a variation in this phenomenon between the Arab and Jewish communities, and mentions rate of violence in the Arab schools that is lower by 3%, moreover, another report points out that being involved in incidents of violence and the use of non-lethal arms, threats and extortion, and exposure to physical violence by teachers, can lead to losing the sense of security (RAMA, 2011). Violence is one of the main problems in schools and have become a heavy burden on those responsible because of their daily interaction with such behaviors, and it has become a source of stress for teachers, parents and psychological health professionals (Benvenishti, Huri- Kasabri, Rosiner & Astor, 2005). There are a large number of researches that tried to examine and interpret the personal factors that affect violence (Agbaria, Ronen & Hamama, 2014; Rolider, 2007). Other researches pointed to the importance of environmental factors such as social classroom environment in determining the level of violent behavior at school and concluded that they are very important, and showed that there is a high correlation between emotional profile and positive environment which will give students a sense of belonging and acceptance and promote their self-image, in addition to activities directed at improving the emotional condition of these students (Bridges, Geyelin, & Janath, 2001; Flaherty, 2001). And from this point we arrived at the first question of the current