Essays on school bullying: Theoretical perspectives on a contemporary problem (original) (raw)

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Rethinking school bullying: towards an integrated model

Action Learning: Research and Practice, 2012

What would make anti-bullying initiatives more successful? This book offers a new approach to the problem of school bullying. The question of what constitutes a useful theory of bullying is considered and suggestions are made as to how priorities for future research might be identified. The integrated, systemic model of school bullying introduced in this book is based on four qualitative studies and incorporates theory from systemic thinking; from cognitive, social, developmental and psychoanalytic psychology; and from sociology, socio-biology and ethology. The possible functions served by bullying behaviour are explored. Consideration is also given to the potential role of unconscious as well as conscious processes in bullying. The model suggests a number of causal processes within one-to-one relationships and peer groups, and highlights factors within individuals and schools that shape the form, intensity and duration of bullying behaviour in practice. The issue of 'difference' is also addressed, focusing on childhood deafness.

Literature Review of School Bullying 1 Literature Review of Bullying at Schools

EDUA 7740: School Bullying Literature Review of School Bullying 2 Bullying and Harassment at Schools Bullying and harassment are not new issues that students and schools face. In fact, over the years, it has been viewed as being so commonplace in schools that it has been overlooked as a threat to students and reduced to a belief that bullying is a developmental stage that most youth will experience then get over (Ross, 2002, p. 107). But not everyone gets over the personal trauma that can come with bullying both for the victim and the bully. This is why it is seen happening by adults in work places, in homes, and in the community. Therefore, this harassment is not isolated to schools alone. But schools are the best place to actively intervene. Teachers, administrators, counsellors, and even students have the greatest access to the most students through a school system. It is here that school staff can intervene, support and educate students about ending bullying behaviours directly and indirectly; breaking the bullying-cycle. This paper will address bullying in general at all grade levels, but its intervention focus will be at the high school level. Harris & Hathorn, (2006, p. 50) state:

Working to prevent school bullying: key issues

Bullying in Schools

A brief historical background Over the last two decades, bullying in schools has become an issue of widespread concern (Smith, Morita, Junger-Tas, Olweus, Catalano and Slee, 1999). This is not to say that in earlier times bullying in schools was ignored. There was much animated public discussion of bullying in English private schools in the mid-nineteenth century following the publication of the famous novel Tom Brown's school days (Hughes, 1857). This book evoked strong expressions of abhorrence towards, and condemnation of, the practice of bullying, and various suggestions were made on how it could be countered (see Rigby, 1997). However, the systematic examination of the nature and prevalence of school bullying only began with the work of Olweus in the 1970s in Scandinavia. The volume of research since then has clarified much about the nature of bullying, and the suffering it can cause (see Rigby, 2002; Smith, 2004). Certain pupils are clearly more at risk of being involved as bullies or victims, or sometimes both (bully/victims), by virtue of personality, family background factors, characteristics such as disability, and the nature and quality of friendships and peer-group reputation. Also, there is considerable evidence that the experience of being a victim can exacerbate outcomes such as low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, mistrust of others, psychosomatic symptoms, and school refusal (Hawker and Boulton, 2000). In addition, a career as a bully in school predicts increased risks of violence and abuse in later life. There is now a clear moral imperative on teachers and educators to act to reduce bullying in schools; and a moral imperative on researchers to try to give the most informed advice in this respect. The most tragic outcome of victimisation is suicide. It was the suicide, within a short interval, of three boys in Norway that led in 1983 to the first major anti-bullying intervention by schools, at a national level. The reports of an evaluation of this intervention in Bergen, with supplementation by the developing Olweus Bullying Prevention programme 1

School bullying as a creator of pupil peer pressure

Educational Research, 2008

Background: Research into school bullying has a long tradition but a rather narrow scope. Many prevention programmes have been designed, but despite extensive investigation, most studies suggest that bullying is not decreasing. There is something paradoxical in this phenomenon. In order to have any real impact on some phenomena, thorough understanding is needed. What, then, is the essence of school bullying? How does it develop and how is it maintained in a community? In the present study written material and interviews concerning pupils´experiences of bullying were used to examine how the status of the bully is created among pupils and how cultural norms and values in the community are constructed via bullying. Bullying as a phenomenon is a hidden process, where teachers are often misled. The meanings given to bullying behaviour can often be understood only by the pupils in the community. This is why bullying is possible in the presence of the teacher and also during lessons. The study suggests the need to see bullying in a broader social and cultural framework, which also provides a new way of understanding pupils´social relationships. Purpose: This study attempts to understand school bullying as a phenomenon from a social and cultural viewpoint. Communication in and meanings given to bullying acts in the school community are in focus. Sample: The study sample comprised 85 lower secondary school pupils, aged 13-15, from various schools in central Finland. The data analysed consisted of 85 written accounts and 10 interviews. Design and methods: Pupils were asked to write about 'School bullying'. The interviews were open-ended thematic interviews or episodic interviews (cf. Friebert-sha¨user). A hermeneutic method was used in analysing the meanings in the texts. The transcribed texts were analysed using categories and themes within which the meanings given to bullying were interpreted. Results: Our study suggested that bullying behaviour consists of short communicative situations which are often hidden from teachers. These separate situations account for the subjective experience of bullying. Bullying behaviour is a way of gaining power and status in a group or school class. The status is maintained by calling a pupil who is bullied different names. The 'difference' in the bullied pupil is interpreted as a culturally avoidable characteristic. In this way, bullying behaviour creates cultural norms and forces all pupils in the bullying community to follow them. Telling stories and calling the bullied pupil names increases the group's cohesion and the treatment of the bullied pupil creates fear in other pupils, who do not dare to fight bullying. In a community where bullying occurs, fear and guilt are obvious. Conclusions: Bullying is embedded in cultural norms, values and social status in the whole community. The hidden nature of the phenomenon emerges in short communicative situations that should be taken seriously. This research applies an approach from sociology and cultural studies to an area that has been dominated by

Bullying in School: Prevalence, Students Involved, and Consequences

White Paper , 2018

Although the bully-victim conflict is an age-old scenario, researchers only began studying it in school settings 45 years ago. The most agreed upon definition of bullying includes three criteria: 1) intentionality (desire or goal of inflicting harm, intimidation, and/or humiliation), 2) some repetitiveness, and most importantly, 3) a power imbalance between the socially or physically more prominent bully and the more vulnerable victim. The power differential can manifest among a variety of factors, such as physical dominance, self- confidence, peer group status, etc. Conversely, conflict between equals is not considered bullying, but rather, general aggression. Another, more recent concept that has emerged in the field of bullying research is the category of “bully-victims,” a smaller subset of youth who both perpetrate and experience bullying. The forms bullying can take include: direct aggression (e.g., name calling, hitting, belittling someone in front of others) or indirect, relational aggression (e.g., spreading rumors, exclusion from the group, hurting another’s reputation). Often occurring in school contexts, which has expanded in recent years to include cyberbullying in the virtual worlds of digital and social media, bullying takes place throughout the school years, from elementary to high school and has likewise been studied across the grades. And since bullying is a familiar, if not intimate, school experience for most people, it is sometimes easy or tempting to accept it as a rite of passage or a typical childhood experience, rather than a problem that needs to be addressed. As Olweus (2013) explains, “being bullied by peers represents a serious violation of the fundamental rights of the child or youth exposed” (p. 770). It is with this understanding of bullying – as a violation of basic human rights – that this two-part brief explores the phenomenon (history, prevalence, risk factors, and consequences) in Part I and reviews research- based interventions in Part II.

School Bullying Definition, Types, Related Factors, and Strategies to Prevent Bullying Problems

This article discusses school bullying, which sometimes occurs among schoolchildren, aiming to raise pupils’, teachers’, administrators’, and parents’ awareness of the problem. Within this framework, the definition, characteristics, frequency and types of school bullying, relation of bullying to sex and age, the negative effects of bullying on pupils, characteristics of bullies, victims, and bully/victims, the risk places at schools and the response of school staff to bullying are all examined. Finally, strategies to prevent bullying problems at schools are suggested. This work is based on a review of theliterature and because of the limited number of publications on the subject in Turkish, mostly work written in English is referred to.

Bullying in Schools Bullying in Schools

Bullying Outline, 2021

Outline BULLYING IN SCHOOLS 1 Specific Purpose: To inform my classmates about the prevalence and dangers of bullying in schools Thesis Statement: Despite the numerous efforts put in place by the government, bullying has remained prevalent, leading to adverse impacts of depression, suicide, and dropout from schools. This outline offers a blueprint for analyzing the problem through the lens of its definition, precipitating factors, severity, impacts, and viable solutions.

2008).School bullying as a creator of pupil peer pressure

2020

Background: Research into school bullying has a long tradition but a rather narrow scope. Many prevention programmes have been designed, but despite extensive investigation, most studies suggest that bullying is not decreasing. There is something paradoxical in this phenomenon. In order to have any real impact on some phenomena, thorough understanding is needed. What, then, is the essence of school bullying? How does it develop and how is it maintained in a community? In the present study written material and interviews concerning pupils´experiences of bullying were used to examine how the status of the bully is created among pupils and how cultural norms and values in the community are constructed via bullying. Bullying as a phenomenon is a hidden process, where teachers are often misled. The meanings given to bullying behaviour can often be understood only by the pupils in the community. This is why bullying is possible in the presence of the teacher and also during lessons. The s...