Bullying In Primary Schools Research Articles

Can schools reduce bullying? The relationship between school characteristics and the prevalence of bullying behaviours.

Bullying remains a persistent phenomenon in schools, but the extent to which day-to-day policies and practices relate to bullying prevalence has not been widely studied. In this study, we use an educational effectiveness framework to interrogate this relationship. The aim was to study the relationship between school factors and prevalence of bullying in primary schools. We hypothesize that school conditions (e.g., size), school policies (e.g., behaviour policies), and school processes (e.g., teaching quality) are related to bullying prevalence. Surveys were administered to pupils in 35 primary schools in four local authorities in England. Pupils (N=1,411) and teachers (N=68) in the final year of primary school (year 6) were surveyed. This study drew on the following data sources: A pupil survey on bullying behaviours A survey of teachers on school policies and processes Analysis of data on school processes from school inspection reports Analysis of secondary data on school conditions and pupil characteristics. Three-level multilevel models were used to analyse the data. Results show a substantial school- and classroom-level effect on prevalence of bullying. Effective school policies were found to be related to levels of bullying. The study provides support for the importance of schools' embedded policies and practices in relation to bullying prevalence and provides evidence for policy on the importance of focusing on a broad range of outcomes.

Custodians of silences? School principal perspectives on the incidence and nature of homophobic bullying in primary schools in Ireland

The research reported in this paper sought to determine the level of awareness among school principals in primary schools in Ireland where homophobic bullying is concerned. International research has previously shown that school leaders as animators of school climate are often lacking in their responses to this type of bullying [Walton, G. 2004. “Bullying and Homophobia in Canadian Schools: The Politics of Policies, Programs, and Educational Leadership.” Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education 1 (4): 23–36; Pizmony-Levy, O., and J. G. Kosciw. 2016. “School Climate and the Experience of LGBT Students: A Comparison of the United States and Israel.” Journal of LGBT Youth 13 (1–2): 46–66; Taylor, C. G., E. J. Meyer, T. Peter, J. Ristock, D. Short, and C. Campbell. 2016. “Gaps Between Beliefs, Perceptions, and Practices: The Every Teacher Project on LGBTQ-Inclusive Education in Canadian Schools.” Journal of LGBT Youth 13 (1–2): 112–140]. We sought to ascertain whether school principals in Ireland have had experience of dealing with this type of bullying, whether they believe it is a significant issue and what they perceive their role to be in relation to addressing homophobic bullying. The research focused on the views of school principals because of the critical role they play in policy implementation and school organisation. The research revealed that one in every two school principals had responded to homophobic bullying and that these same principals did not always consider the use of homophobic pejoratives to constitute homophobic bullying. The paper points to the need for further education and training for school leaders on the topic of homophobic bullying otherwise their perspectives will contribute to the many silences that surround this topic in primary schools in Ireland.

School Bullying and Moral Reasoning Competence

AbstractTo examine whether high moral reasoning competence of adolescents is associated with low levels of bullying, and to understand whether moral disengagement mediates or moderates this relationship, 925 German children ranging from 11 to 17 years of age (M = 14.18, SD = 1.21) completed questionnaires on moral reasoning competence and moral disengagement in surveys at three different schools. The children were classified according to their bullying role, based on a peer‐nomination procedure. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that moral reasoning competence negatively predicted whether a student took an aggressive role. Moral disengagement partially mediated this relationship. Corresponding effects for defenders and outsiders were not found. These results extend previous findings about the effect of moral reasoning on bullying in primary school. The implications for the prevention of bullying are discussed.

Training for teachers helps prevent primary school bullying

Training for teachers helps prevent primary school bullying

The Bullying Prevention Pack: Fostering Vocabulary and Knowledge on the Topic of Bullying and Prevention using Role-Play and Discussion to Reduce Primary School Bullying

The Bullying Prevention Pack (BPP) is a systematic bullying prevention intervention that fosters learner vocabulary and knowledge about bullying with the use of role-play and discussions. Its aim is to create a heightened awareness of the effects of bullying on peers within the school and to create a defending culture that reduces levels of bullying. Over the course of two school years the BPP was trialled with pupils and teachers in a designated disadvantaged inner city school in Cork. A mixed methods approach was used to analyse the effects of the BPP intervention. Data were gathered from pupils and teachers through learner focus groups, individual interviews, written feedback and the internationally recognised Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire - Revised to quantify levels of bullying pre and post-intervention. Results indicate that enhanced learner knowledge of the topic of bullying and the use of role-play were significant factors in reducing levels of being bullied.

Blackboard bullies: workplace bullying in primary schools

This paper offers a comprehensive examination of the ‘lived experience’ of workplace bullying in primary schools in Ireland. Underpinned by the qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with a class teacher, a chairperson of a Board of Management and a school principal – all of whom who believe themselves to have been targets of workplace bullying in their schools – the paper presents their personal narratives as representative inductive exemplars. Each of these case studies highlight the far-reaching impact of negative workplace interaction for both individuals and the wider school community and, in so doing, provide a voice for a hithertofore silent minority. Through a Foucauldian analysis of the complex exercise of power which is at the heart of all bullying relationships, this study reveals the key role of management and organisational cultures to both the experience and incidence of adult bullying in primary schools, as well as the critical importance of leadership in framing the nature of professional relationships in school organisations.

Listening to children's voices: moral emotional attributions in relation to primary school bullying

This study explored 10- and 11-year-old students' (N = 64) moral emotional attributions in relation to other and self in peer-to-peer bullying scenarios in primary school. Data were gathered using one-to-one semi-structured interviews facilitated by the use of a series of pictorial vignettes depicting a hypothetical story of peer bullying. The results demonstrated that worry and to a lesser extent shame were most often attributed to the other as victim character, indifference and pride to the other as bully character, and worry and shame to the other as follower character. Participants mostly attributed worry to self as victim, shame and worry to self as bully, and shame to self as follower. The findings are discussed in relation to the role of peers in addressing school bullying, such as through peer support. There are implications for school-based interventions to address bullying that facilitate self-awareness and empathy in children and young people as a means of addressing such behaviour.

An investigation into the efficiency of empathy training program on preventing bullying in primary schools

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of empathy training as an intervention program on bullying exercised by six graders in primary schools. The study, carried out as a true experimental design, used two experiment groups and two control groups. The subjects were 38 students exercising bullying. The study used Child Form of Bully and Victim Determination Scale and Empathy Index for Children as data gathering tools. As data analysis tool, repeated measures of ANOVA was used to analyze time and intervention effects of empathetic skills and bullying behaviors of the participants. The study found that bullying behaviors of the participants in the experiment group decreased significantly when compared to the subjects in the control group. The study also found that the levels of emphatic skills of the participants in the experiment group increased significantly compared to the participants in the control group.

Violence experience and quality of life in primary schools in Hamburg, Germany

Violence in schools (bullying) has repeatedly been in the focus of societal discussions. Public health studies were primarily conducted in secondary schools. This study is the first one in Germany...

Who escapes or remains a victim of bullying in primary school?

The stability of both direct and relational victimization and factors that contribute to remaining, escaping or becoming a victim of bullying were investigated. 663 children at baseline aged 6-9 (years 2-4) were interviewed about their bullying experiences and parents completed a behaviour and health measure. Children's perception of the degree of social hierarchical structuring and social prominence in their class was determined by peer nominations. 432 children participated in the follow-up either 2 or 4years after baseline aged 10-11 (year 6) and completed a bullying questionnaire. Relational victims and children from classes with a high hierarchical structure were more likely to have dropped out of the study compared to neutral children, and children from classes with a low hierarchical structure. Relative risk analyses indicated a twofold increased risk of remaining a direct victim at follow-up, compared to a child not involved at baseline becoming a victim over the follow-up period. In contrast, relational victimization increased but was not found to be stable. Logistic regression analyses revealed that being a girl, and receiving few positive peer nominations predicted remaining a direct victim. Becoming a relational victim at follow-up was predicted by a strong class hierarchy. The implications for future study of early recognition of likely long term victims and early preventative bullying initiatives are discussed.

Intervention research on school bullying in primary schools

Intervention research on school bullying was conducted in a primary school with an action research method. After conducting a five-week intervention program, the occurrence ratio of being bullied on the way to school and back home and the degree to which children were bullied dropped significantly, but the rate of reduction in grade three was greater than that of grade five. Moreover, pupils’ sense of security in school and the teachers’ awareness and problem-solving ability were also improved.

The relationship between the level of bullying in primary schools and children’s views of their teachers’ attitudes to pupil behaviour

It is known that the incidence of bullying reported by primary school children varies greatly between schools. It has also been shown that schools in which staff express a greater level of concern with managing the problem generally experience lower levels of bullying. This study examines the children’s, rather than the teachers’, views about the level of care and attention which the teachers pay to issues relating to behaviour and the social organisation of their school. It is shown that the children’s views are a good indicator of the frequency of bullying that will be found in that school.

The PEACE Pack: an evaluation of interventions to reduce bullying in four Australian primary schools

Background The evidence is now quite clear that bullying in schools is an international problem. Bullying is widely regarded as a particularly destructive form of aggression, with harmful physical, social and emotional outcomes for all involved (bullies, victims and bystanders), and with particular risks for children with special needs. The research of the past 25 years confirms its widespread nature where it is most likely in groups from which the potential victim cannot escape—e.g. schools. In 1994 an Australian Commonwealth Government inquiry, following on from the pioneering work of research documented by Smith and co-workers, heralded a growing awareness of the need to address the issue of school violence, particularly bullying. Internationally, researchers have identified the impact of intervention programmes to reduce school bullying. In Australia a nationally and internationally used, systemically based intervention programme called the PEACE Pack, has previously been shown to be effective in reducing bullying in primary schools. Purpose The purpose of the present study was to provide further supporting longitudinal evidence regarding the efficacy of the PEACE Pack in markedly reducing bullying among young children of junior primary and primary school age. Further, the study also identified the characteristics of a small group of children who do not appear to benefit from intervention efforts. Finally, in this paper, a computer-based innovation for collecting school-based data regarding student perceptions of bullying is described. Sample The sample of 954 pupils comprised 458 males and 496 females from four Australian primary schools in Adelaide, a large metropolitan city in Australia. The pupils ranged in age from 5.4 to 13.5 years. Design and methods The study involved a pre- and post-test design and the administration of a questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the PEACE Pack programme to address the issue of school bullying. Results The interventions were effective in reducing the level of school bullying in the junior primary and primary schools, although there were variations in the gains achieved across the age range and across the four schools. Conclusions In the present study the systemic PEACE Pack interventions resulted in approximately one-fifth of pupils in the overall sample reporting that they were being bullied ‘less’ as a result of year-long interventions. This effect was greatest in the primary schools, particularly for boys. Consideration was given to a small group of students who reported being bullied ‘more’ after the interventions, and to the development of a computer-based assessment procedure for assessing the extent of bullying in schools.

Primary school bullying and the issue of gender differences

This paper summarises research conducted into the issue of gender differences within primary school bullying. The study focused on the extent and nature of gender differences and teachers' perceptions and experiences of these differences. Primarily, the research shows that anti-bullying strategies need to be more focussed on girl's experiences of bullying. Within the study, the teachers' identification of boys bullying appeared to be in line with both well-documented gender differences and those reported by the pupils in the study. However, the teachers' appear to be less able to identify girls' involvement in bullying.

Pupil and parent attitudes towards bullying in primary schools

This paper describes an investigation of pupil and parent attitudes towards bullying, comparing attitudes with bullying behaviour. 747 parents and 326 children aged 6 to 11 from four primary schools completed the Parental Attitudes to Bullying Scale and the Children’s Attitudes to Bullying Scale. Most were found to be largely sympathetic towards victims, supportive of intervention, but less understanding towards bullies. There was little association between parental and children’s attitudes, nor did parent attitudes predict children’s behaviour, although there was a link between the children’s attitudes and their behaviour. Mothers were more sympathetic than fathers, but there were no sex differences among children. Children with more siblings were more likely to bully others.

The Stanley Segal Award: ‘Do You Want to be in My Gang?’: A Study of the Existence and Effects of Bullying in a Primary School Class

The winner of the 1997 Stanley Segal Award, Deirdre A. Torrance, a learning support teacher in a special school for secondary pupils with identified social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, considers the existence and effects of bullying in an Edinburgh mainstream primary school.