Exploring teachers' definitions of bullying

This paper is based upon detailed research over a two‐year period into primary school teachers' attitudes and approaches to bullying. All the teaching staff in a single school contributed to the research and they were thoughtful and reflective in their engagement with the research. The project focuses on the key issue of how teachers define bullying and begins with a consideration of factors that might influence their definition before moving on to develop a framework of key concepts that inform definitions and the problems that emerge from that framework. Teachers' own understanding and the differing forms of definition that developed are discussed. What emerges is a picture of a shared vocabulary and a strong personal understanding about what is meant by ‘bullying’, but little consensus is evident. It leads to a conclusion that endorses the importance of shared understanding amongst the professionals within an institution, and those who work alongside them, that are often called upon to resolve bullying issues.     

PREDICTORS OF CYBERBULLYING INTERVENTION AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STAFF: THE MODERATING EFFECT OF STAFF STATUS

Cyberbullying behavior among youth has become a growing concern among parents, educators, and policymakers due to emerging evidence documenting its harmful consequences on youths’ development. As such, schools are increasingly required to address to this form of bullying. Thus, effective responses by school staff are needed. However, no study to date has examined the likelihood of cyberbullying intervention among certified and noncertified school personnel. To that end, the present study assessed whether perceptions, attitudes, and self‐efficacy beliefs predicted the likelihood of cyberbullying intervention and examined whether these relationships were moderated by staff status (e.g., certified and noncertified). Results revealed that attitudes toward victims and self‐efficacy beliefs to intervene were significant predictors of the likelihood of cyberbullying intervention among staff; however, the prevalence of bullying and staff attitudes toward bullies were not significant predictors of intervention likelihood. Implications for in‐service staff training efforts are discussed.     

Effects of antibullying programs on teachers’ interventions in bullying situations. A meta‐analysis

Even though teachers are key figures of a program's effectiveness, most intervention studies have not focused explicitly on the effects of antibullying programs at teacher level. We conducted a meta‐analysis into the effects of school‐based antibullying programs on determinants of teacher intervention, including teachers’ attitudes towards bullying, their self‐efficacy and knowledge regarding intervention strategies, and the effects on teachers’ bullying intervention itself. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 13 peer‐reviewed papers were retrieved that reported outcomes on teachers, staff, and students (N = 948, 2,471, and 138,311, respectively). Antibullying programs had a significant moderate effect on determinants of teacher intervention (g = 0.531) and a significant small to moderate effect on teacher intervention in bullying situations (g = 0.390). Results of the meta‐analysis indicate that the effectiveness of antibullying programs may increase when components are included to reinforce teachers’ attitudes, subjective norms, self‐efficacy, knowledge, and skills towards reducing bullying in the school.     

The long‐term effectiveness of anti‐bullying work in primary schools

The DFE Sheffield Anti‐Bullying Project showed that schools can reduce the problem of bullying through the use of whole‐school anti‐bullying policies, curriculum exercises, environmental improvements and individual work with bullies and victims. However, the length of time necessary to plan these interventions meant that, in many cases, the work was not completed when the project evaluations ended. This study investigates the continuing progress made in primary schools in the year after the end of the project. Eleven heads took part in interviews; all schools had made some progress with policy development, and all used some curriculum resources. Most had continued with environmental improvements, but few had used the methods for dealing with bullies and victims. Four schools then administered the Olweus bullying questionnaire to all pupils between ages seven and eleven, 657 children taking part. Two schools had a consistent decline in reported bullying, one experienced a consistent rise and the other an initial fall and subsequent rise. Important factors influencing success appeared to be the extent of the consultation exercise and the date of implementation of the anti‐bullying policy. All four schools had reduced bullying among boys, but three experienced a rise in bullying among girls. Anti‐bullying work may have been influenced by a male stereotype of bullying behaviour: efforts are necessary to raise awareness and promote honesty among girls. No school had raised the proportion of victims who had told staff about being bullied.     

A content analysis of school anti‐bullying policies: progress and limitations

Schools in England are legally required to have an anti‐bullying policy, but the little research so far suggests that they may lack coverage in important areas. An analysis of 142 school anti‐bullying policies, from 115 primary schools and 27 secondary schools in one county was undertaken. A 31‐item scoring scheme was devised to assess policy. Overall, schools had about 40% of the items in their policies. Most included improving school climate, a definition of bullying including reference to physical, verbal and relational forms, and a statement regarding contact with parents when bullying incidents occurred. But many schools did not mention other important aspects, and there was low coverage of responsibilities beyond those of teaching staff; following up of incidents; management and use of records; and specific preventative measures such as playground work and peer support. There was infrequent mention of homophobic bullying, and of cyberbullying. There was little difference between policies from primary and secondary schools. Findings are discussed in terms of national policy, and ways to support schools in maximising the potential of their policies for reducing bullying.     

INITIAL DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE BULLYHARM: THE BULLYING,HARASSMENT, AND AGGRESSION RECEIPT MEASURE

This article describes the development and preliminary validation of the Bullying, Harassment, and Aggression Receipt Measure (BullyHARM). The development of the BullyHARM involved a number of steps and methods, including a literature review, expert review, cognitive testing, readability testing, data collection from a large sample, reliability testing, and confirmatory factor analysis. A sample of 275 middle school students was used to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the BullyHARM, which consists of 22 items and six subscales: physical bullying, verbal bullying, social/relational bullying, cyber‐bullying, property bullying, and sexual bullying. First‐order and second‐order factor models were evaluated. Results demonstrate that the first‐order factor model had superior fit. Results of reliability testing indicate that the BullyHARM scale and subscales have very good internal consistency reliability. Findings indicate that the BullyHARM has good properties regarding content validation and respondent‐related validation, and is a promising instrument for measuring bullying victimization in school.     

Bullying, ‘cussing’ and ‘mucking about’: complexities in tackling homophobia in three secondary schools in south London,UK

In countries such as the UK, schools have a responsibility to prevent all forms of bullying, including those related to sexual orientation. However, relatively little is known about how schools go about this work successfully. This study aimed to identify how three secondary schools in south London, England, were addressing homophobia. Three different kinds of schools – a co-educational, boys' and girls' school – were selected, each known to have conducted work to counter homophobic bullying. In each school, interviews were conducted with staff and pupils. Work on homophobia and homophobic bullying was said by most staff respondents to be part of a general commitment to countering bullying. Pupils stated that they were keen that homophobic bullying should be tackled – and distinguished bullying from ‘cussing’, ‘taking the mick’ and ‘mucking about’. Work carried out in schools had influenced pupils to consider homophobia and its effects – although the media as well as personal and family relationships were also important in this respect. Findings are discussed with regard to ways in which schools might better align what they do with regard to pupils' own values and understandings about how best to address homophobia and bullying.     

School bullying in Korea and christian educational approach

The central purpose of this study is to examine approaches for dealing with the problem of bullying (wangtta in Korean) in schools from the Christian educational perspective. There has been much development in both research and practice in the 1990s and 2000s relating to bullying in Korean schools. Most Korean research on bullying, however, has almost exclusively focussed on verification of the facts that bullying or peer rejection is a widespread phenomenon in schools. This study, however, is mainly concerned with how to tackle effectively the bullying problem on the basis of Christian educational philosophy. To do this, this paper suggests a four stage approach to dealing with bullying: namely, clarifying the Christian school ethos, leading to determine the school’s bullying policy. With the bullying policy, school anti-bullying programs could be developed in order to create a bullyingfree school environment.     

Gender organization of schooling and television viewing among early adolescents: a test of two alternative hypotheses

In this analysis, single‐sex and mixed schools are compared in terms of pupils' television viewing habits, the latter factor being considered as an indicator of a pupil's sense of educational responsibilities. It was hypothesized that the presumably lower levels of television watching among girls attending single‐sex schools could be explained by school climate factors pertaining to adolescent subculture values and/or to the pedagogic approaches of a predominantly female staff. Use was made of data from 68 academic‐type secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Of these schools, 25 were mixed and 43 were single‐sex (21 girls', and 22 boys' schools). Respondents were third‐year pupils: 3370 girls and 3057 boys, aged 14 and 15 years. A multilevel analysis (HLM) was performed controlling for parental socio‐economic status, curriculum enrolment, school residency and school mean SES. The results mainly indicate that the differential effect of single‐sex and coeducational schools on girls' TV watching habits may be partially accounted for by factors associated with pedagogic approaches by the predominantly female staff in girls' schools, but not at all by norms related to the adolescent subculture.     

Teachers: A Critical But Overlooked Component of Bullying Prevention and Intervention

To complete this special issue on theoretical bases for antibullying efforts in schools, we focus in this article on the importance of teachers and other educators in the ecology of schools. First, we present evidence that teachers are not perceived to be effective at intervening when bullying occurs. Then, using a social motivational lens, we provide an overview of teachers' role as a socializing agent in the classroom and school with a particular emphasis on their influence on bullying behaviors among students. Then we present two theories, the theory of planned behaviors, and the transactional theory of emotions and coping. We believe these theories highlight the complexity of teacher responses and make the case that teachers need more than knowledge of bullying to be effective in their role. We discuss implications for teacher training and professional development.     

Mapping the landscapes of bullying

Past bullying research has consistently identified common locations (e.g. bathrooms, hallways, playgrounds) on school campuses where bullying occurs, but not specific locations. This limitation does not allow researchers to take into account the unique geography of individual schools and how it contributes to bullying. A random sample of 741 grade 4–6 students from nine different elementary schools identified where bullying occurs on a campus map and this information was analysed in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). While this study offers preliminary findings (e.g. diffusion of bullying, specific locations for bullying) that increase awareness about bullying, the emphasis in this paper is to present a new methodological tool in the analysis of bullying. The use of GIS mapping to analyse bullying offer researchers an advanced instrument to understand the experience of bullying within the physical context of a school. These preliminary findings focus future research.     

Stand by me: The effects of peer and teacher support in mitigating the impact of bullying on quality of life

Bullying is one of the most common forms of school violence. Engagement in bullying has been shown to have adverse effects on perpetrators and victims of bullying. In this study, the impact of bullying on well‐being (quality of life/life satisfaction) was explored in a sample of elementary and middle school children (N = 4,331). Results suggest that students who bully and/or are bullied experience reduced life satisfaction and support from peers and teachers compared to “bystanders” (children who are neither victims nor perpetrators of bullying). Mediational analyses demonstrate that peer and teacher support might mitigate the impact of bullying on the quality of life of victims. This study underscores the value of efforts to promote social support from peers and teachers in both universal bullying prevention programs and school climate initiatives. Furthermore, results support further investigation into the possible contributions of bystanders in supporting school‐wide bullying prevention/school climate strategies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Normative cruelties and gender deviants: The performative effects of bully discourses for girls and boys in school

Since the 1990s the educational community has witnessed a proliferation of ‘bullying’ discourses, primarily within the field of educational developmental social psychology. Drawing on ethnographic and qualitative interview data of primary and secondary school girls and boys, this article argues that the discourse ‘bullying’ operates to simplify and individualise complex gendered/classed/sexualised/racialised power relations embedded in children's school‐based cultures. Using a feminist post‐structural approach, this article critically traces the discursive production of how the signifiers ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ are implicated in the ‘normative cruelties’ of performing and policing ‘intelligible’ heteronormative masculinities and femininities. It shows how these everyday gender performances are frequently passed over by staff and pupils as ‘natural’. The analysis also illustrates how bully discourses operate in complex racialised and classed ways that mark children out as either gender deviants, or as not adequately performing normative ideals of masculinity and femininity. In conclusion, it is argued that bully discourses offer few symbolic resources and/or practical tools for addressing and coping with everyday school‐based gender violence, and some new research directions are suggested.     

Telling is compelling: the impact of student reports of bullying on teacher intervention

Research increasingly recognises the importance of student bystander and adult educator shared responsibility for successful bully prevention. The role of teacher observations versus student reports of bullying, as well as staff preparedness, as predictors of teacher involvement was investigated in 115 middle school teachers. Being told by students about bullying incidents was the strongest predictor of teacher involvement. However, the relation between being told about bullying, or observing it, and coaching students on how to manage bullying was most evident when teachers felt highly prepared to handle bullying situations. Results from this study point to the pivotal role that both teacher preparedness and student reporting play in teacher responsiveness to bullying. Implications for training school professionals and bully prevention programmes are discussed.     

Impact of the Friendly Schools whole-school intervention on transition to secondary school and adolescent bullying behaviour

Peer bullying increases in times of school transition, influenced by changing peer and friendship groups, new schooling environments and greater stress. Covert forms of bullying, including cyberbullying, become more common in secondary school and cause considerable distress and long-term harm. The period of transition to secondary school is therefore a critical window for intervening to manage and prevent bullying. A three-year cluster randomised control trial was conducted to develop, implement and evaluate the Friendly Schools Project intervention which aimed to reduce bullying and aggression among more than 3,000 students who had recently transitioned to secondary school. Intervention schools were provided with individualised training and resources to support students’ transition and reduce bullying using a multi-level comprehensive intervention addressing classroom curriculum, school policies and procedures, the social and physical environment, pastoral care approaches and school-home-community links. Although the observed effect sizes were small, the intervention had a consistently significant positive effect across a range of outcomes, including bullying perpetration, victimisation, depression, anxiety, stress, feelings of loneliness and perceptions of school safety at the end of the students’ first year in secondary school. However, none of these differences were sustained into the students’ second year of secondary school. These findings demonstrate the immediate value of whole-school interventions to reduce bullying behaviour and associated harms among students who have recently transitioned to secondary school, as well as the need to provide strategies that continue to support students as they progress through school, to sustain these effects.     

Psychology's Contribution to Understanding and Managing Bullying within Schools

This paper investigates the extent to which psychological theory and research has contributed to how bullying is managed within schools. Teachers' awareness of the behaviours that constitute bullying, gender differences leading to identification difficulties, and low levels of reporting are discussed as plausible reasons for teachers' low intervention rates. Pupils' attitudes towards and responses to bullying are examined within the contexts of self‐efficacy, self‐acceptance and level of problem‐solving skill. Subsequent anti‐bullying interventions focusing on these aspects are explored and the importance of a whole‐school approach emphasised.     

‘Just be friends’: exposing the limits of educational bully discourses for understanding teen girls’ heterosexualized friendships and conflicts

The present paper explores the conceptual limitations of the bully discourses that ground UK anti‐bullying policy frameworks and psychological research literatures on school bullying, suggesting they largely ignore gender, (hetero)sexuality and the social, cultural and subjective dynamics of conflict and aggression among teen‐aged girls. To explore the limitations of bully discourses in practice, the paper draws on a pilot, interview‐based study of girls’ experiences of aggression and bullying, illustrating how friendships and conflicts among the girls are thoroughly heterosexualized, en‐cultured and classed. Drawing on girls and parent interview narratives, I also trace some of the effects of bully discourses set in motion in schools to intervene into conflicts among girls. I suggest these practices miss the complexity of the dynamics at play among girls and also neglect the power relations of parenting, ethnicity, class and school choice, which can inform how, why and when bullying discourses are mobilized.     

Breaking out of the (anti)bullying ‘box’: NYC educators discuss trans/gender diversity-inclusive policies and curriculum

New York City (NYC) is considered to be one of the world’s most progressive cities and gender and sexuality diversity (GSD)-inclusive education departmental policies appear to reflect these values. However, even within such a context, NYC educators report challenges in their work to meet the needs of trans/gender-diverse students and the visibility of trans/gender diversity more generally within their pre-K – 12 school communities. This paper reports on interview data from 31 school staff members from nine public and independent schools located in the NYC metro region, with a specific focus on their framing of inclusivity and bullying, and reported support of trans/gender-diverse students. Based on educators’ representations of their schools, the nine schooling environments fell into two broad clusters: (1) those framing trans/gender inclusivity as an anti-bullying initiative and working at the minimum policy requirements, and (2) those working beyond bullying discourses and policy frameworks to conceptualise trans/gender inclusivity as integral to the school’s mission and as offering clear whole-community benefit. Findings support the constraints of bullying discourse on even supportive educators’ curricular ‘translation’ of GSD-inclusive policies, reinforcing the need for relevant policy reframing and targeted of professional development opportunities, particularly for school leaders.     

Social violence and the trivialising effects of youth in school bullying: Extended listening to South Australian young people on bullying and violence

School bullying attracts significant research and resources globally, yet critical questions are being raised about the long-term impact of these efforts. There is a disconnect between young people's perspectives and the long-established psychology-based technical definitions of school bullying dominating practice and policy in Australia. This dominant paradigm has recently been described as the first paradigm of school bullying. In contrast, this paper explores the potential for reorienting school bullying research towards the concerns of young people and away from adult-derived technical definitions. Borrowing from paradigm two, which emphasises the social, cultural and philosophical (among others) elements of school bullying, in this paper, I approach bullying under the broad banner of ‘social violence’. This approach addresses some of the inherent limitations of the first paradigm to conceptualise social and cultural dynamics. I argue that a ‘social violence’ approach reveals that the exclusionary effects of the social phenomenon of youth continue to be overlooked. Furthermore, the term ‘violence’ in bullying research could benefit from integrating contemporary sociological insights on this phenomenon. This paper draws on qualitative insights from a small group of young people in secondary schooling in South Australia gained through prolonged listening to peer conversations in a series of focus groups. In addition, 1:1 interviews were conducted pre and post the focus group series. I argue that these participants' insights reveal the exclusionary effects of youth and the employment of bullying to trivialise young people's experiences and concern for harm. There is a need to reprioritise young people's knowledge in school bullying research and the exclusionary effects of youth alongside other social forces.     

Pastoral Care to Regulate School Bullying: Shame Management among Bystanders

Bystanders can reveal valuable information about bullying to school personnel to take action on it. If they remain reluctant, of course, they frustrate our efforts to stop bullying. But then, why would they get involved if doing so might make them victims of aggression too?
This paper investigates the importance of adaptive shame management in encouraging bystanders to prevent bullying. Data were collected through the Cross-national School Behaviour Research Project from 1452 secondary school students (49% girls) in grades 7–10 (mean=8.42) in Bangladesh. As predicted, students who scored higher on shame acknowledgement (admitting shame, accepting responsibility, making amends) were more likely to intervene to prevent bullying. Those with low shame displacement (blaming or hitting out at others) were also likely to intervene to stop bullying. Implications of these findings pertaining to pastoral staff, counsellors and school teachers working with students to encourage coming forward against bullying are discussed.