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Bullying in Schools

Bullying is a serious form of violence in schools across the nation. Since school shootings and bomb threats to schools people have contemplated the serious effects of bullying on children and adolescents. 30 percent of students in grades 6 through 10 have been the victims of bullying or have bullied a peer (Whitted & Dupper 2005). Children of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures are affected by bullying. Bullying causes harmful effects to individuals and the school climate. Parent, teacher, and school involvement are equally important towards ending the harmful effects of bullying. Interventions are a step towards reducing bullying and creating a safe school environment for all children.

Literature Review

Definition of bullying

Defining bullying is an important step in working towards understanding the concept and working on intervention and prevention programs. Bullying is a term that is used that can have various different meanings to different people. Smokowski and Kopasz (2005) point to defining bullying as a type of aggression towards another child or group of children. A power imbalance typically exists between the bully and the victim. Bullying can be viewed as a form of dominance over another person to gain personal power and status (Smokowski and Kopasz 2005). On the other hand, a qualitative study of children in fourth and fifth grades, parents, teachers, and school administrators found that it to be difficult and complex to describe bullying (Mishna 2004). Children and adults stated that a power imbalance and force over someone weaker can define bullying. Intent to harm the other person with name calling, threatening, hitting and being mean defines bullying (Mishna 2004). Lastly, bullying can create a long term pattern of abuse and harassment (Whitted and Dupper, 2005). Harmful behaviors and a power imbalance that are ongoing behaviors are important qualities to defining bullying. Each person will word the definition differently, but with similar concepts bullying can be understood by a large amount of people.

Parent involvement

Parents have impacts on their children in countless ways, and can be a factor in their children being bullies or bullied. In association with school intervention programs, it is important to keep parents involved. Schools can offer training about bullying to parents, keep them informed of rules that their children are learning, and support parents to join the school if they feel their child is being bullied or is a bully (Whitted and Dupper, 2005). Parents should learn what bullying is and the effects on children. Parents should be encouraged to become aware of their views surrounding bullying and their own definition. They should be aware that childrens’ experience surrounding an incident may be different that the parent’s reaction and feelings (Mishna, 2004). Parents can be a supportive figure to a child or they can be unsupportive and uninterested, but parents are a key part to creating anti-bullying environments.

School intervention

Schools have become a place for violence and aggression in the form of bullying. Schools, however, should be a safe environment that fosters healthy development for every student. Various intervention programs focus on different program ideas and components for effective bullying prevention programs. Whitted and Dupper (2005) point out conflict resolution, peer mediation, and increasing self-esteem techniques do not work with bullies. They are working for power and status. In addition to working on an individual case by case basis, working to change the culture of the school is the most effective way to create a bully free environment (Whitted and Dupper 2005). School intervention programs should set firm rules that prohibit bullying where staff and administrators model the rules and behave in a caring and respectful manner (Whitted and Dupper, 2005). A comprehensive program that targets all levels of the school is seen as most effective (Smokowski and Kopasz, 2005). The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, implemented in Norway, set firm nonnegotiable rules not tolerating of bullying behaviors, consistency, appropriate consequences, and adults acting as role models for behavior (Smokowski and Kopasz, 2005). Consistency and firmness in the rules and consequences in schools help to create successful intervention programs. Accountability in following the rules is effective to creating an anti-bullying environment. Students need to know what is expected and held to those standards (Smokowski and Kopasz, 2005). People have personal bias and interpretation of various situations and this can complicate the clear intervention strategy (Mishna, 2004). Creating an anti-bullying school climate includes consistency, role modeling of respectful behaviors, and openness to discussing issues and differences.

Summary

Bullying is a complex definition that requires attention. Anti-bullying programs require schools to for consistency and firmness with the rules and to create an environment where bullying is not tolerated. Children, teachers, administrators, and parents are all key contributors to creating anti-bullying environments.

References

Mishna, F. (2004). A qualitative study of bullying from multiple perspectives. Children &

Schools, 26( 4), 234-247.

Smokowski, P.R. & Kopasz, K. H. (2005). Bullying in school: An overview of the types, effects,

family characteristics, and intervention strategies. Children & Schools, 27(2), 101-110.

Whitted, K.S., & Dupper, D.R. (2005). Best practices for preventing or reducing bullying in

schools. Children &Schools, 27(3), 167-175.