Preparing future educational psychologists to prevent school bullying

Abstract

Relevance. School bullying is a widespread problem that requires effective prevention strategies. However, many teachers and educational psychologists lack sufficient knowledge and skills to address bullying. There is a need to better prepare future educational psychologists to prevent and intervene in bullying situations. Purpose. The purpose of the research article is to develop and test an elective course for training future educational psychologists in bullying prevention in Kazakhstan schools. Methodology. An elective course titled �Prevention of school bullying: from theory to practice� was developed and implemented with third-year bachelor's students in Pedagogy and Psychology at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. The course included theoretical and practical components. Students' knowledge and skills were assessed before and after the course using tests and case studies. Results. Prior to the course, most students demonstrated low levels of knowledge and skills related to bullying prevention. After completing the course, students in the experimental group showed significant improvements, with 64% reaching a high level of competency compared to 0% in the control group. The course helped students acquire both theoretical knowledge and practical skills for addressing bullying. Conclusions. The elective course was effective in developing future educational psychologists' professional competencies for bullying prevention. Recommendations are provided for improving bullying prevention efforts in Kazakhstan schools, including raising awareness, providing training for teachers and psychologists, and maintaining communication with parents. The study demonstrates the importance of practice-oriented training in preparing educational psychologists to address school bullying. Keywords: bullying; bullying prevention; school violence; educational psychologist; educational environment; anti-bullying course