Background
to the Research
- Bullying
in schools is an issue that has prompted Government bodies, local
education authorities and schools to make a structured effort to ensure
that pupils' educational experiences are free from intimidation, fear
and unhappiness.
- Recently,
evidence-based strategies have been developed, which aim to increase
awareness and understanding about bullying issues and promote anti-bullying
policies.
- This
research aimed to establish evidence about bullying in schools in
NI which can be used to inform policy. It's objectives were to measure
the nature and extent of bullying in primary and post-primary schools,
according to the pupils, and to explore the attitudes of the schools'
staff around a number of issues related to bullying.
Research
Approach
- 120
schools were selected to take part, taking into account the Free School
Meal band, rural/urban location and school management type to ensure
representativeness.
- One
class of pupils from Year 6 in 60 primary schools and one class of
pupils from Year 9 in 60 post-primary schools participated. They were
given the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire to complete. This took place
during May and June 2000.
- A questionnaire
was devised and given to teaching and non-teaching school staff in
all participating schools.
Main
Findings
Primary
Schools - Victims
- 40%
of children reported being bullied in the last couple of months.
- Name
calling was the most common form of bullying.
- Bullying
happened most often in the playground.
- Girls
were usually bullied by a female classmate.
- Boys
were usually bullied by an older boy.
- Support
for victims would be first sought from parents or friends.
- Pupils
with a larger circle of friends (four or more) were less likely to
be bullied.
Primary
Schools - Pupils as Bullies
- 25%
of children reported that they had bullied another pupil.
- Name
calling was the most usual form.
- Boys
were more likely to be involved than girls.
- A teacher
was more likely to have discussed a pupil's bullying behaviour with
them than someone at home.
Primary
Schools - Staff Attitudes and Behaviours
- Being
threatened was the form of behaviour most frequently perceived to
constitute bullying.
- Physical
bullying, name calling, spreading rumours and being excluded were
perceived as being more hurtful to girls than boys.
- 74%
of staff reported that their school had an anti-bullying policy (often
embedded within other policies).
- Staff
reported feeling more confident about dealing with bullying than preventing
it.
- 75%
of staff requested further training, mostly for counselling skills.
Post-Primary
Schools - Victims
- 30%
of children reported being bullied in the last couple of months.
- Name
calling was the most common form of bullying.
- Bullying
happened most often in the playground.
- Girls
were usually bullied by a female classmate.
- Boys
were usually bullied by boys.
- Boys
were more likely to have been bullied than girls.
- Girls
held a more pro-victim and pro-teacher attitude than boys.
Post-Primary
Schools - Pupils as Bullies
- 28%
reported that they had bullied another pupil.
- Name
calling was the most usual way.
- Boys
were more likely to have been involved than girls.
- Female
bullies were more likely than their male counterparts to use methods
of exclusion.
- About
half of bullies had not discussed their bullying behaviour with a
teacher and most of the bullies had not discussed their bullying behaviour
with anyone at home.
Post-Primary
Schools - Staff Attitudes and Perceptions
- Being
threatened was the form of behaviour most frequently perceived to
constitute bullying.
- Blackmail,
being threatened and being forced to hand over money were perceived
as the forms of bullying most hurtful to boys.
- 90%
of staff reported that their school had an anti-bullying policy (often
embedded with other policies).
- Staff
reported feeling more confident about dealing with bullying than preventing
it.
- 77%
of staff requested further training, mostly for counselling and behaviour
management skills.
Recommendations
Bullying
Policy
- Every
school should have an explicit anti-bullying policy, available and
comprehensible to parents and pupils. Within it, social exclusion,
rejection, or persistent, directed spreading of rumours should be
defined as bullying.
- Consideration
should be given to the development of peer support systems within
schools, where appropriate.
Role
of Senior Management
- Managers
should monitor concerns from parents regarding bullying and there
should be procedures for taking action in relation to this information.
- Managers
and teachers should monitor incidences of ethnic and religion-based
bullying, and this area should be explicit within policies.
- Managers
and teachers should monitor incidences of bullying by means of name
calling with a sexual connotation or homophobic intent, and this should
be included in school policy.
- The
playground should be monitored for signs of bullying.
- The
school canteen, gyms, toilets and changing rooms should also be considered
as likely locations for bullying and monitored as such.
- There
should be early identification of pupils in primary schools who are
being consistently bullied, so that such children will not be bullied
for the duration of their time at school.
In Service
Management
- Playground
supervisors, bus staff and other non-teaching staff should be made
aware of indicators of bullying and should have clear reporting procedures.
- Teachers
should be alerted to the possibilities of indirect bullying in the
classroom.
- The
problems of being bullied in the absence of teachers in the classroom
or corridors in primary school should be recognised.
- Staff
development activities should foster an anti-bullying ethos.
- Teachers
should be given staff development in counselling and classroom management
strategies designed to counter bullying.
- Staff
development should be offered to non-teaching staff to ensure that
they are aware of anti-bullying procedures and have the necessary
behaviour management skills.
Organisation
of Teaching and Learning
- Pupils
should be educated regarding their observation of incidents of bullying
and their responsibilities in this respect.
- Curriculum
development processes should look at ways that teachers can help to
counter bullying through promoting personal growth for pupils.
- Opportunities
for role play and group work should be sought, to increase the awareness
of pupils in relation to bullying and to present strategies for supporting
victims.
- The
nature of playground play and pupils interaction should be reviewed,
in order to ensure that opportunities for pupils to gain social and
interpersonal skills are maximised, and contexts that enable bullying
to take place are minimised.
Initial
Teacher Training
- There
should be consideration of the need to address the curriculum for
initial teacher training, in respect of educating trainee teachers
to recognise and manage bullying effectively.
Please
see Briefing
on the DENI
website
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