Bullying E-Book

Luciana Cataldi

• Herausgeber: BookThug
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 47

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Intimidation, abuse and bullying are increasingly common threats to children nowadays. Learn how to prevent and eradicate these types of violence in your role as parent, teacher or school principal. Discover the most useful approaches to promoting peaceful resolution of conflicts and preventing all kinds of harassment.

Leseprobe

Introduction

Bullying is a type of violence increasingly commonin the educationalfield. It is an abusive behavior;an imbalance of power which occurs in a situation where there is an uneven relationship in terms of control.

When talking about school bullying, we refer tosituations in which a child is targeted or intimidated by one or more children, by means of insults, rumor-spreading, socialisolation,physical attacks,threats and coercion. Bullyingcan develop overmonths or evenyears. In that casethe patterned behavior is repeated over time. The consequences for thechild being targeted by thebullyingare devastating.

School bullyingcan be classified accordingto the type ofaggressive behavior as follows:

Physicalbullying: It includes situationswhich mayresult in bodily injury. Some examples involvehitting, kicking, punching, pushing, spitting, damaging physical property, etc.

Verbalbullying: It involves all violentactions through hurtful statements, such as insults, malicious name-calling, humiliation, teasing aboutphysical defectsorsocial differences.

Psychologicalbullying: It refers to actions, omissions or attitudes that either result in, or have a high potential to result in, emotional harm. It involves actions such asexclusion, isolation, spreading malicious rumorsabouta peer,and othersimilar behaviors. Note thatsome authors includeverbal harassmentas a form ofpsychologicalbullying.

Cyberbullying: It refers to any violent behaviorthat occurs betweenpeers through the use of technology(mobile phones, internet, and social networks).

Sexualbullying: It is any aggressive behavior making use of sexuality to intimidate and harass another person. Clear examples ofthis type ofbullyingare observedwhen gossip or rumors of a sexual nature are spread, for example through homophobic remarksoroffensivesexualcomments. It may lead to even muchmore serious conditionssuch asgenital touching of a school mate.

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School Bullying -- a Risk Factor

Bullyingcan become apermanentantisocialbehavior and for this reason,several surveyshighlight thatthis wayof interacting may lead to different types ofjuvenile delinquency.This assertionmight seeman overstatement, but it appears to be objective data confirmedafter having conducted multiplestudies.

In his book,Risk factors andJuvenile Delinquency,the psychologistAndreasHein statesthat, “the delinquency phenomenonis due to multiplecauses, both of structural nature (housing, employment, health) and those based on human development(subject, family, school, community). In the case of minorsviolating law, several authors pose thecause-effect relationshipamong the variablescapable of negativelyaffectingpeople’s development.”These factors, according to the same author, have six areasof origin:

Individual factors: poorcapacityfor conflict resolution, risk attitudes and behaviors(use and abuse of alcohol,drugs andvandalism), hyperactivity, ill-humor in childhood,frustration,anxiety and depression

Family factors: low family attachment, stress at home, familydisintegration, abuse experiences,coerciveparenting styles

Factorslinked topeer groups: belonging to peergroups involvedin risky activities(unlawful behavior ordrug use,for example)

School factors: school violence, lack ofclear rules and limitsinthe institution,low affectionate relationships, unruliness

Social orcommunity factors:lowcommunity support,stigmatization and exclusionfrom social activities

Socioeconomic and cultural factors: livingunder poverty conditions

As stated by experts on the matter, bullying has negative effectsin the short,medium and long termon those whoare trapped inthis type of behavior,regardless of theirrole.

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How toPreventBullyingat Schools

Undoubtedly, thebullying issue is not new. However, it isalso true thatin today’s societymultiple changes have occurred. Increased aggressivebehaviors and, ingeneral, lessabilityfor constructiveconflict resolutionin all fields have been observed. Mass media oftenreportbullyingcasesand surprisingly theages at whichthese highly harmful practices occur, have tended todecreaseover theyears.

There are a numberof useful guidelines andmethodologies aimed at preventingthese abusesat the school level. Some suggestions are given below.

1.Schools should be clear about the concept ofbullying and thedefinition it will use. The definition should be appropriate for each classroom, being representative of the group. It can be “co-created,” as it should not be forgotten thatbullyingisa group phenomenon and not just a problembetween two people.

2.Conduct a surveyortestto measurethe type ofbullyingmost frequently observed in order to identify whetherit is actuallybullying, a conflict orother type of violence.

3.Developa common languageaboutbullyingto be sharedby the educational community.

4.Understandthe consequences ofbullyingfor studentsand for the school.

5.Foster respectful relationships among students, reinforcing positive social interaction.

6.Promote training programs, workshops and protocols onbullyingin teaching curricula. This often provesto render highly useful results.

It is important for all parties involved in the school community, such as directors, students, parents, psychologists and educational authorities -- not only teachers -- to work together to address the issue, as bullying has multiple causes and resulting problems.

Bullying is a phenomenon reflecting problems related to intolerance, discrimination, rejection of diversity, gender distinctions, prejudices, stereotypes. It is also associated with severe mental and physical health disorders, including depression, anxiety and suicide. When this happens, the school climate is strongly affected, which impacts on the child’s right to education.

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Effective Techniques for Teachers

Educators playan essential role: They are responsible for promoting respect and encouraging positive relations. Ifyou are a teacher, the six effective techniques listed below will help youhandle abullying situation in the classroom. Ifyou are a parent, you will be able to accesssome effectivetipsifneeded.

1.Teach childrenschool rulesonbullying. It is necessary to discuss thisissue on the first day ofclass.

2.Test that students know what bullying is.

3.