Teachers and bully teenagers in the Saudi society

Abstract

The aim of this work was studying the problem of bullying among adolescent pupils from the teachers' perspective in Ha’il, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It also attempted to describe the characteristics of bullies and their victims. The objective of the study was to identify how Saudi teachers diagnose the problem of school bullying and deal with it. The study used both diagnostic and descriptive methods. A survey was conducted in public education schools. The sample of this study consisted of 346 male teachers. The researchers used the Richard Geiger equation to determine the size of the study sample individuals and determine the targeted sample size. The results of the study show that from the teacher's point of view, bullying follows a pattern that reaches its peak at the middle school stage, when the students are in their teens, and then it tends to decrease by the end of high school years. The effects of bullying deeply influence the future of the victims. Further, the sample of the study considered the factors outside the school environment, associated with the social environment in general, to be the main motivations and causes of school bullying. The results of the study are consistent with the studies that identify the serious effects that bullying has on its victims including shame, introversion, fear, and learning difficulties, and show that bullies deliberately challenge moral obligation and transgress social norms and consider them as motivation and justification for bullying. The results of the current study are also in line with what other studies have confirmed that teachers are essential actors in the educational process who can play a crucial role in diagnosing and addressing the problem of bullying. The advantages of controlling peer-to-peer conflict are limited as compared to understanding and directing the very nature of adolescence and the peer culture. The study recommends training programs for the teachers and supervisors. Sports, cultural and recreational activities must be given prime importance. Further, scientific research and monitoring centers should be funded so that this problem can be handled effectively.