Bullying prevalence and numeracy performance among primary school children in Johannesburg: Implications for school-based interventions

Jace Pillay

doi:10.4102/sajce.v11i1.956

Abstract

Background: Research has provided evidence about the negative impact of school bullying on the academic performance of primary school children, but studies on the prevalence of school bullying and numeracy performance of children are very scant.Aim: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of school bullying and numeracy performance among primary school children, and its implications for school-based interventions.Setting: The sample comprised 435 children (56.3% females and 43.7% males; Grades 1–7; median age = 11 years) attending six primary schools in three different education districts in Johannesburg, South Africa.Method: The children self-reported their experience of bullying by peers through a questionnaire. In addition, they completed numeracy tests. For children aged 6 to 9 years, the questionnaire was completed with the assistance of trained field workers.Results: The results following a linear regression with multiple predictors indicated that numeracy was significantly associated with contextual variables such as grade and home language. Bullying was strongly associated with socio-economic indicators such as school quintile and regional situation. These variables are important in early school support interventions directed at improving learner numeracy performance in the primary school.Conclusion: The results show a relatively high percentage of bullying in primary schools in the Johannesburg region. The performance in numeracy was significantly associated with the grade and home language of the learner. Contextual variables related to socio-economic situation of learners such as school quintiles and regional situation had strong associations with bullying.

Highlights

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2017) provides the most recent global overview of the nature, extent and impact of school violence and bullying on the academic achievement and mental health of children
The relationship component implies that the bullying occurs over time for individuals, whilst the power part usually indicates that the perpetrators generally have more power than the http://www.sajce.co.za
Aligned to the research questions the results are presented across gender, age, language and school quintile in terms of frequencies, prevalence of bullying, and the association between numeracy and school bullying

Summary

Introduction

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2017) provides the most recent global overview of the nature, extent and impact of school violence and bullying on the academic achievement and mental health of children It broadly defines school violence as encompassing ‘physical violence, including corporal punishment, psychological violence, including verbal abuse; sexual violence, including rape and harassment; and bullying, including cyberbullying’ (UNESCO 2017:8). Olweus (2016) emphasised three key criteria for the definition of bullying, namely bullies intentionally harm others, there is repetition, and power issues are at play. He identified relationships and abuse as critical aspects of bullying. Research has provided evidence about the negative impact of school bullying on the academic performance of primary school children, but studies on the prevalence of school bullying and numeracy performance of children are very scant

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Discussion

Conclusion