However, teachers seem to be largely unaware of the extent and consequences of bullying. One of the main implications of this study is that policies that specifically address school bullying should be developed to curb the problem.
Introduction
Bullying is not recognized as a problem in most schools, so I chose this topic to raise awareness in primary school. Literature that examines bullying in South African schools as well as internationally will be reviewed.
Introduction
Understanding of bullying
According to Salisbury and Jackson (1996), everyday life in schools, clubs and colleges is a violent experience for many students. According to Marano (1995), bullying involves a pattern of repeated aggressive behavior with negative intentions directed from one child to another where there is a power differential.
Causes of bullying
Not everyone has the ability to cause pain to others or is involved in bullying.
Personality characteristics
Family factors
School ethos
Bullying in South African schools
Professor lening Squelch of the Rand Afrikaans University headed South Africa's first comprehensive long overdue investigation into bullying. The study conducted by the Human Rights Watch in 2001 revealed that 62% of the reported cases involved a racial incident or racism at school, including derogatory and racial epithets and various forms of racial harassment that often leads to physical
Impact of Bullying
In the next chapter of this study, the research design, methodology and actual processes used to collect data from the school under study will be described. The school is a primary school, located in Isipingo and serves learners from both wealthy and disadvantaged homes. The school is located in an upper class historically 'Indian' area. The reason for using these learners was that they were the highest grade in the school and it is in this group of learners that a high incidence of bullying occurs.
First, students were given a questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended questions to explore their understanding and experiences of bullying at school. Secondly, an analysis of school and classroom policies was conducted to examine the ways in which the school views and deals with bullying. The management team responsible for discipline at the school was interviewed using unstructured and informal interviews (see appendix 4ix 2).
The researcher had an advantage as she is an educator at the school where the study was conducted. While they were on duty during lunch or in the staff room, the conversations of the learners and educators gave a deeper insight into the bullying concept of the school.
Introduction
Perception of bullying among Grade 7 learners
- Perception of prevalence of bullying
34;Bullying, well, that's old, can you ever let a day go by without these students complaining, I'm really tired of these petty complaints." Educator One. While the educators acknowledged that bullying was a problem, one educator was also rejected as unimportant or very exaggerated by the students who are victims because of it. The response shows that in all 410f students experienced bullying at one time or another during the school year.
These findings also indicate that both boys and girls experience bullying from individuals and groups. On the international front, Dan Olweus (cited by Smith, 1999) conducted a nationwide survey in Norway on bullying. On the other hand, in Australia Ken Rigby (1995) noted that the main gender difference was that girls used more indirect methods, while boys opted for more direct ways of bullying.
Girls are likely to report being bullied by boys and girls, while boys report being bullied exclusively by boys.
Purpose and rationale for the study
- Forms of Bullyin
Of the 59 girls in the study, 11 were bullied by girls and 24 were bullied by boys. However, when it came to the opposite sex saying hurtful names, six out of 41 boys and 16 out of 59 girls experienced being called hurtful names by the opposite sex. Second, of the five respondents who reported being touched by the opposite sex once or twice a week, four were boys and one girl.
However, two girls out of the 59 indicated that they were touched once or twice a week and made them feel uncomfortable by the opposite sex. None of the students experience being touched by the same sex and making it feel uncomfortable. Three boys and 10 girls out of the 100 respondents reported having trouble sleeping at night because of bullying.
Eight boys and eight girls out of 100 respondents reported experiencing stress when they were bullied at school. Eight out of 100 students indicated that they do not mind seeing other children being bullied, six of whom were boys and two girls.
Perceptions of bullying amon educators
- Behaviour form
- Detention
- uspen ion
The reports in the event book and the conversation with the principal also confirm that bullying occurs. According to the principal, in addition to the usual bullying issues such as teasing, hitting, pushing, cursing and gossiping, upperclassmen are now resorting to threats and fighting. Another interesting aspect the principal noticed was that the younger students now ask for help from their older sisters and brothers.
According to the director, educators are not in the habit of reporting cases of bullying by girls, as they consider it unimportant. When asked what strategies the school has put in place to deal with bullying in the school, the principal had the following to say: There is no case in place. According to the principal and educators in the disciplinary committee, the principal first deals with students who commit minor offenses.
The principal sends for the parent. The student discusses the problem with the parent. At the end of the day, the principal checks the form and if he finds that the student is misbehaving, he sends for the student.
Observations of Bullying in the School
The School Act places responsibility for the management of student behavior directly on the entire school community, which includes parents, students and the governing body (Ministry of Education . 1997). Another common practice was kicking the students' lunch bulls out of their hands and also spitting by the boys on the girls' faces. The most common forms of bullying observed by teachers and students were physical bullying, including hitting and kicking, and emotional abuse, which included name-calling, racial slurs, and forced expropriation of property such as money, food, and stationery.
Summary of major findings
Bullying had affected some of these students to the extent that they stayed home. Another key finding was that more students felt more comfortable talking to their peers about being bullied than to their parents and teachers. One of the key findings was that there was no school policy regarding bullying at the school.
The following chapter will discuss and analyze the issues raised by the data presented in this chapter, as well as draw implications for policy and practice.
Introduction
The intention of the study was to investigate workable solutions to the problems of bullying and how the teachers and learners should deal with bullying at school. Some of the strategies identified in this study include the formulation of a ~~~.!!!tiH-U y" with all stakeholders involved, the creation of awareness among the learners, teachers and parents and the identification of ways to encourage learners to feel comfortable reporting any form of bullying. In addition, most children, whether individually or in a group, at one time or another become involved in carrying out some type of bullying.
As is clear from the data analyzes of the previous chapter, there was evidence of bullying in the school. It is clear that more learners tend to report incidents of bullying to their peers than to teachers or parents. To avoid the embarrassment of being called a 'teller', the victim of bullying remains silent.
Unless the socialization of boys is stopped and boys are not taught new ways to express themselves, acts of bullying will continue. Third, according to Olweus (1991), girls are more exposed to indirect and subtle forms of bullying than to bullying with open attacks.
The first step is for schools to take these indirect forms of bullying as seriously as physical forms and implement policies and rules aimed at curbing them. In addition, harassment should be treated as a punishable offense to discourage the perpetrator. can be developed. From this study and the literature reviewed here, the following strategies can help eliminate bullying and other forms of violence among students. first, to address the situation, a policy specifically aimed at addressing bullying needs to be implemented.
These should be taken seriously and incidents of bullying automatically reported to parents and members of governing bodies. Second, in the fight against bullying in schools, it is important to create public awareness and knowledge about the problem of bullying and its impact on students, both victims and perpetrators. Therefore, initiatives should be taken to raise awareness among teachers, parents and students about the phenomenon of bullying.
Fifth, rewards and praise should be given to students who behave appropriately to reinforce positive behavior. More extensive research is needed to explore the problem of bullying in primary schools in depth to find solutions that would benefit a wider range of schools.
Conclu ion
This study used a case study with a small sample (100 students) and therefore cannot be generalized to all primary schools. If bullying is ignored, students will be exposed to ongoing harassment that can cause lifelong damage to victims. It is only when schools recognize and acknowledge the problem of bullying that appropriate strategies can be identified and implemented.
34; Effects of school-based peer victimization and perceived social support on adolescent well-being" Journal of Adolescence 23, 57-68.
QUESTIONNAIRE TO LEARNERS
BULLYING SURVEY
Bullying Survey
