Discuss How Bullying Can Be Addressed In Schools
Bullying is understood as the activity of aggressive or antisocial behaviour intended to physically or emotionally hurt another individual repeatedly (Olweus, 1999). Developmental psychologists have interpreted the intention of peer aggression as a means of gaining power over another individual (Berger, 2014). The reason for gaining power through bullying is the movement up rankings of a particular hierarchy that the individual bully may be present in (Fuller, 2003 ; Gardner, 1961). In addition, the bully domineers and gains power over another individual because there may be differences in personal factors such as race, religion, sexual orientation, personality and reputation (Ericson, 2001) …show more content…
Also, understanding the structure for interventions will allow an easier comprehension of the devised progress into addressing bullying in schools. Recently, peer victimisation and antisocial behaviour in general has become an increasing concern for schools (Olweus, 1991), just in the U.K. alone around five percent of children (below the age of 16) are seen as regular or severely bullied (Slater & Bremner, 2011). It is worrying not only because the victims are hurt but also because the victims develop a fear of telling who the bully is (Smith & Sharp, 1994). If the bully or mobbing group is not identified, there can be no interventions that may prevent the victims’ safety. Therefore schools have had an attempt at bettering the methods of identification and recognition of bullying. It is also fundamental to acknowledge the fact that children who were victims of bullying have been shown by retrospective studies to have long-term victimisation effects in adulthood (Hugh-Jones & Smith, 1999). Over the last twenty years, ways of intervening upon and identifying bullies have been developed by many educational and developmental psychlogists (Olweus, 2003 ; Salmivalli et al., 1996 ; Pepler & Craig, 1995). These programmes and interventions have been successful and have reduced bullying in schools by fifty percent (Olweus, 1991). The …show more content…
The important factors that allow schools to intervene are the abilities of identifying bullying as it happens or has happened. Past developmental and educational psychology research throughout the nineties has allowed a myriad of methods for schools to recognise bullying as it occurs, which then enables professionals to intervene to stop the antisocial or aggressive behaviour. Schools have adopted the Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1999) and the Life in Schools Questionnaire (Arora, 1994). These are methods that schools use to gather data on the life of students and to identify any potential bullying happening within the school premises. Although time consuming and expensive, the method of direct observation on the playground is the highest in ecological validity amongst ways of identifying bullies (Pepler & Craig, 1995), thus can be easily replicated in different economically stable educational institutions worldwide. The recent progress made in research in bullying now allows psychologists to intervene in a definite time frame in schools across the United States. This new research shows that most bully victims that are occasionally bullied throughout U.S. schools are mostly oppressed during the school terms on campus (Nansel et al., 2001). In recent times, psychologists have made an attempt at preventing bully and antisocial in children
Bullying is understood as the activity of aggressive or antisocial behaviour intended to physically or emotionally hurt another individual repeatedly (Olweus, 1999). Developmental psychologists have interpreted the intention of peer aggression as a means of gaining power over another individual (Berger, 2014). The reason for gaining power through bullying is the movement up rankings of a particular hierarchy that the individual bully may be present in (Fuller, 2003 ; Gardner, 1961). In addition, the bully domineers and gains power over another individual because there may be differences in personal factors such as race, religion, sexual orientation, personality and reputation (Ericson, 2001) …show more content…
Also, understanding the structure for interventions will allow an easier comprehension of the devised progress into addressing bullying in schools. Recently, peer victimisation and antisocial behaviour in general has become an increasing concern for schools (Olweus, 1991), just in the U.K. alone around five percent of children (below the age of 16) are seen as regular or severely bullied (Slater & Bremner, 2011). It is worrying not only because the victims are hurt but also because the victims develop a fear of telling who the bully is (Smith & Sharp, 1994). If the bully or mobbing group is not identified, there can be no interventions that may prevent the victims’ safety. Therefore schools have had an attempt at bettering the methods of identification and recognition of bullying. It is also fundamental to acknowledge the fact that children who were victims of bullying have been shown by retrospective studies to have long-term victimisation effects in adulthood (Hugh-Jones & Smith, 1999). Over the last twenty years, ways of intervening upon and identifying bullies have been developed by many educational and developmental psychlogists (Olweus, 2003 ; Salmivalli et al., 1996 ; Pepler & Craig, 1995). These programmes and interventions have been successful and have reduced bullying in schools by fifty percent (Olweus, 1991). The …show more content…
The important factors that allow schools to intervene are the abilities of identifying bullying as it happens or has happened. Past developmental and educational psychology research throughout the nineties has allowed a myriad of methods for schools to recognise bullying as it occurs, which then enables professionals to intervene to stop the antisocial or aggressive behaviour. Schools have adopted the Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1999) and the Life in Schools Questionnaire (Arora, 1994). These are methods that schools use to gather data on the life of students and to identify any potential bullying happening within the school premises. Although time consuming and expensive, the method of direct observation on the playground is the highest in ecological validity amongst ways of identifying bullies (Pepler & Craig, 1995), thus can be easily replicated in different economically stable educational institutions worldwide. The recent progress made in research in bullying now allows psychologists to intervene in a definite time frame in schools across the United States. This new research shows that most bully victims that are occasionally bullied throughout U.S. schools are mostly oppressed during the school terms on campus (Nansel et al., 2001). In recent times, psychologists have made an attempt at preventing bully and antisocial in children