Principals’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs about Managing Bullying Cases in Secondary Schools

Abstract

School education is termed as the foundation that has the whole life of the child dependent upon. Schools are expected to be at par with the latest educational trends, shaping the students' personalities by mitigating the adversities of life yet contemplating skills needed to succeed in life later on. For the very same reason, modern schools ensure an overall environment conducive to the overall development of children. Several factors can hinder the process, among which bullying in schools has become the major concern. School principals have the encumbrance to maintain a hassle-free environment and an uninterrupted teaching-learning process in school. The study, therefore, sought to explore the efficacy beliefs of the principal to deal effectively with bullies while interplaying with different paradigms of bullying management. The theoretical framework was nested in the six approaches presented by Rigby as in Traditional Disciplinary Approach, Strengthening the Victim, Mediation, Restorative Justice, The Support Group Method, and the Shared Concern Approach. A Phenomenological research design was used, and seven principals of schools in Lahore were selected as participants of the study through purposive sampling. A self-constructed, semi-structured interview guide was used as the basic data collection tool. The obtained data were interpreted to meaningful information in relevance to the study by using profiling and then the reflexive thematic analysis technique. Findings revealed that participants are well aware of the concept of bullying, its types, and the adversities associated with bullying. Most of them have devised their hybrid systems to counter bullying in their schools. However, strengthening the victim was found to be the approach the participants feel most efficacious to work with. They regard it fruitful and rewarding in terms of the outcome.