Vardarbības tendences starp skolēniem

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the actual extent of bullying in the primary schools of Latvia, and analyse the different types of bullying, the parents' awareness of the relationships between pupils, and the factors that influence the attitudes and ability of schools to deal with abuse. The objective of this study is finding a way of how to minimize bullying and promote understanding among pupils. The pupils, teachers and parents were asked to complete anonymous questionnaires, and the results were triangulated with the help of further interviews and informal conversations. The results show that children who have access to art and music classes show higher intelligence and they are less aggressive. In schools where sports classes are predominant, violence among students is more widespread. Analysing the data obtained, it can be concluded that 42 % of children from Grades 1-4 have been exposed to bullying (the percentage is calculated from 100 completed questionnaires). It is almost every second child, although many of recorded bullying cases have happened only once, have not been severe, and have lasted only for a short period of time. Physical abuse is reported less frequently than emotional abuse – 20 %. There are some particularly cruel cases, when the bullies have been pupils from the older grades and even police has been involved, but no such cases were reported among children from Grades 1-4. 22 % of cases are related to emotional abuse, when a child is insulted or ridiculed for a long time. The reasons for this type of abuse varies, and there has been a case when mocking is directed towards a child with movement disorders. The random incidents, when the classmates engage in argument or call some ugly names at each other, are not recorded as bullying if the situation did not escalate to a conflict and if the friendship did not suffer. From the research findings it can be concluded that the numbers of bullying cases in urban schools are higher than in rural schools. In comparison with the world statistics, Latvia takes the penultimate place with regards to bullying at schools (30,6 %).