Factors Responsible for School Bullying

School bullying is one of the major problems that are arising in each and every school in this modern day scenario. Students are often harmed physically, emotionally, mentally and also in many other ways in their classroom. This often becomes one of the major obstructions in the path of sound education and student development. Students often find it very tough to cope up with the huge pressure that they receive from their peers.  In this context it must be noted that there are many new discourses of bullying coming up in this modern scenario. There are many socio cultural perspectives associated with it. So it is the duty of the schools, colleges, families and the community as a whole to make sure that they are being able to deal with this form of bullying as well. For an instance there can be the case of the Africans that is the black sinned (or non white skin) students to get bullied by the white skin students or the Australians.

So, it is evident here, that difference in the skin color or the racial discrimination is the main reason behind e classroom bullying. The socio cultural bias is becoming very prominent right from the grass root level of the society. As a result of this, the racial biasness is being injected into the minds of the children right from their school level. Apart from this, there are also other biases like the sexual orientation of students. Students who are gay or lesbians in nature might also be bullied in their classroom. This might be a very sensitive issue and the students mogh feel shy in sharing the same.

As per the opinion of Thornberg, (2015) there must be a very friendly and cooperative relationship between the teachers and the students. The teachers must not always look after the educational needs of the students. Saarento, Garandeau and Salmivalli, (2015) has also agreed to this idea supporting the fact that it is really very important for the teachers to understand their students properly. The teachers have to keep an eye on the behavior of their students during the classroom sessions. Apart from this, they have to make sure that students are also being able to narrate their entire day’s activities to their parents as well.

This is because of the fact that the students spend most of their time at home and with their parents. So, it is important that the students are not suffering from the feeling of hesitation while speaking with their parents. As per the opinion of Zych, Farrington, Llorent and Ttofi, (2017), it is not only the duty of the teachers but the parents as well to make sure that they are being able to understand their children properly (Hinduja & Patchin, 2014). It is also the duty of the teachers to maintain a regular and a clear connection with the guardians of their students. The teachers have to keep a strict eye upon the different kinds of behavioral changes or any kinds of unusual signs that they are seeing among their students. The teachers might fund their previous experiences quite helpful in this matter. It is common for a classroom teacher to have gone through such situations several times in their professional career (Modecki et al., 2014). So they will be able to make use of their past experiences to find out if any of their students are being bullied and are suffering in silence. The teachers can also use their knowledge of the normal behavior of their students. It is for this reason that the teachers must always try to develop a close and deep relationship with their students’ right from the beginning of their classroom teaching sessions.

Tactics Used by Schools agencies to Tackle the Issue

In the current context the teachers try to deal with this problem of bullying mainly by using the anti law rules and regulations. They might use the methods of scolding the children or somehow stop the issue without any strict actions. The teachers might think that this method of scolding or parents complaints might be a good method for dealing with this issue of classroom bullying. However it is not the case, the teachers must realize that

 There can be several reasons responsible for the bullying that takes place at the school level. The reasons might take place at the social, economic, emotional, cultural and also the social hierarchical levels. The context and the effects of bullying are changing day by day as the social scenarios are also changing. It is for this reason that the conceptualization and manifestation of school and the way in which it is taking place in various groups are shifting day by day. However, it has to be noted in this context that no matter whatever be the situation, bullying is never a healthy thing and it can actually turn out to be very harmful to the mental and social well being of the victim (Pabian & Vandebosch, 2016). As the modern day scenario is advancing and developing at a very rapid rate, there are also several new discourses that are being added to these concepts like that of school bullying. Earlier there were only two kinds of bullying that are the verbal and the physical bullying. These might be considered as the relational or the traditional forms of bullying. However, in this era of the concept of bullying from the socio cultural aspect is increasing day by day. This is because there are students coming from many minority groups or from different social and cultural backgrounds. This often makes them easy bait for the ones who are in the habit of bullying. A very common instance can be the classroom bullying of the Indian, African or any other such students coming from different ethnic backgrounds other than the white skin Australian. This might make the Indians or the non white skin students vulnerable towards bullying. On the other hand there can also be a certain group of students like the tribal or any kind of minority class like the scheduled tribes or backward tribes can feel that they are not being well accepted by the teachers. They feel demotivated and can suffer from the feeling of depression. So, in this scenario it is natural for team to bully over other students.

A teacher might get to know that his or her student is being very restless in the classroom. A student who is being bullied might become very aggressive or arrogant all of a sudden. The teachers might also try to know if the students have been suddenly injured after any lunch breaks or when that student is going out for any short breaks from the class. There might be some marks of injury over his body parts like bruises, cuts or any other such signs. These might be the result of any physical abuses that the children are being subjected. The teachers must immediately take the student to some medical assistance and try to calm them down.

Zero Tolerance Policy

However, Catalano, (2014) suggests that this is not all. The teachers must be much more responsible and make sure that they are going to the root of these problems. They have to talk to the student and try to understand what the exact cause behind this is. The teachers might also find that the student is not being active in class. One of the major symptoms of bullying is changes in the speaking ability of the students or the ability to socialize. The teachers must make it a point to note all these warning signs in the class. They must immediately take it to the notice of the parents. As per the opinion of Watson, Rapee and Todorov, (2017) the schools must not be concerned about their own reputation. They must make sure that they are consulting his matter with the management and the senior coordinators of their school.

There has to be a sense of equality among all the students. Many of the schools in Australia impose an also follow many anti-bullying policies like the ZTP or the zero-tolerance policy. Apart from this, there are also other commissions like the fair works commission that help in protecting the students from the bullying taking place at their school (Singh et al., 2017). However, in this modern day scenario, it is really very important for the schools to make sure that they are taking care of the new kinds of discourses that have been added to the concept of bullying.

Litigation is another method being used by schools to help students deal with the harms that can be caused after they have suffered through bullying. This is indeed a very helpful method that can help the students and their families to deal with these harsh nesses.

There are only some places that have made some special laws for the students who are much more vulnerable to the acts of bullying. As for example there are some regions like Massachusetts that provides special attention to some students who might fall a prey to bullying because of their cultural, social, sexual or many other such backgrounds. So there is a debate if the schools should actually use the enumeration of the protected classes of students in the anti bullying laws or they must have a normal anti bullying laws without any such specific protected class of students.

A strong evaluative argument must be made in terms of identifying which strategies/programs/tactics are currently being used in schools/classrooms

The teachers often take these matters lightly. Schools often do not try to deal with their matters in a prominent manner as they feel that these issues would bring their reputation in a stake. Often the parents think that involving police or other investigation teams into these affairs will be very effective. So they want a proper cooperation from school and particularly the class teachers. However, often the class teachers or the school council as a whole do not feel it essential to help out the parents. They feel that this will be very troublesome for their reputation. This will not really be helpful to combat the problem of bullying. Often the schools try to ease the student by telling that things will turn out to be well and they will make sure that the student is not being bullied anymore. However, this is really a very half-hearted approach. Schott and Søndergaard, (2014) are of the opinion that the schools must not take these matters lightly.

They have to make sure that they are taking care of all the other kinds of disturbances or problems that the students are facing in the school (Strier & Katz, 2016). This can be some disparities due to their cultural or ethnic backgrounds as well. Often the schools have the habit of separating the aboriginal students and the other students in the class. This is often very harmful to the students. Students who are always stigmatized as the other from the main streams have a habit of becoming aggressive or violent. In the later years, they might try to rule over the rest of the students. Baldry, Farrington and Sorrentino, (2017) has stated that the teachers must try to inculcate a sense of equality among the students rather than separating them based on their economic, social, cultural or ethnic groups. There is the chance that the aboriginal students might suffer through a lot of disparities in the Australian Schools.

The aboriginal students’ might feel bullied by their teachers and even by their friends and all other classmates. So it is the duty of the teachers and the entire school corporation to make sure that they are not protecting a handful of students from the incidences of bullying. They have to develop a positive learning framework. This can be done by using the REAP (respect, ears, attitude, personalize) framework. This might be helpful in dealing with the problem of bullying. The students must be taught how to respect, cooperate and support each other. This framework particularly will be very helpful for dealing with the students who belong to the Aboriginal group or any other kinds of ethnic communities (Molnar, 2018).

What extent they provide a robust positive, responsive and needs based approach to the issue?

The laws like litigation, ZTP ns other anti bullying laws definitely help in protecting the students from the classroom bullying. It is due to these laws that people who usually have the habit of bullying or bossing over other students think twice and stay under a check. However there are several cases that might need some special attention. The process of protecting the students from bullying does not end here; the teachers have to make sure that students are being able to fight with the after effects of bullying as well. Methods like litigation and students counseling can turn out to be very positive and helpful for students who have suffered from the bullying incidents.

The parents must take special training classes that will help them to use the anti-bullying sites like Bullying. No Way!, Student Wellbeing Hub and many other such sites. Hinduja and Patchin, (2018) are of the opinion that the students or the children must be allowed to live their lives in a free and uninterrupted way. If the parents try to check personal things like mobile phones and laptops of their children then it will create a negative impact on their lives (Parris, Varjas & Meyers, 2014). So, it is for this reason that parents might not be able to know if their children are being bullied online. Therefore the parents must always talk with their children in a very free and friendly manner. This will help the children to know that they are always welcome to share their problems with their parents and also with teachers at home. The schools must be responsible enough to make sure that they are keeping an eye upon the behavior of students and trying to talk with them whenever they start behaving in an unhealthy way. It is for this reason that a free and sound communication system has to be present.

References

Baldry, A. C., Farrington, D. P., & Sorrentino, A. (2017). School bullying and cyberbullying among boys and girls: Roles and overlap. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 26(9), 937-951.

Catalano, R., JUNGER-TAS, J. O. S. I. N. E., MORITA, Y., OLWEUS, D., SLEE, P., & Smith, P. K. (Eds.). (2014). The nature of school bullying: A cross-national perspective. Routledge.

Cloud, H., & Townsend, J. (2017). Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life. Zondervan.

Epstein, J. L. (2018). School, family, and community partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools. Routledge.

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2014). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Corwin Press.

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2018). Connecting Adolescent Suicide to the Severity of Bullying and Cyberbullying. Journal of School Violence, 1-14.

Meter, D. J., & Bauman, S. (2018). Moral disengagement about cyberbullying and parental monitoring: Effects on traditional bullying and victimization via cyberbullying involvement. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 38(3), 303-326.

Modecki, K. L., Minchin, J., Harbaugh, A. G., Guerra, N. G., & Runions, K. C. (2014). Bullying prevalence across contexts: A meta-analysis measuring cyber and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(5), 602-611.

Molnar, A. (2018). Giving kids the business: The commercialization of America’s schools. Routledge.

Pabian, S., & Vandebosch, H. (2016). An investigation of short-term longitudinal associations between social anxiety and victimization and perpetuation of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Journal of youth and adolescence, 45(2), 328-339.

Parris, L. N., Varjas, K., & Meyers, J. (2014). “The Internet is a Mask”: High School Students’ Suggestions for Preventing Cyberbullying. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 15(5), 587.

Saarento, S., Garandeau, C. F., & Salmivalli, C. (2015). Classroom?and school?level contributions to bullying and victimization: A review. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 25(3), 204-218.

Schott, R. M., & Søndergaard, D. M. (Eds.). (2014). School bullying: New theories in context. Cambridge University Press.

Singh, M. M., Ng, P. J., Yap, K. M., Husin, M. H., & Malim, N. H. A. H. (2017). Cyberbullying and a mobile game app? An initial perspective on an alternative solution. Journal of information processing systems, 13(3), 559-572.

Strier, M., & Katz, H. (2016). Trust and parents’ involvement in schools of choice. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(3), 363-379.

Thornberg, R. (2015). School bullying as a collective action: Stigma processes and identity struggling. Children & Society, 29(4), 310-320.

Watson, H., Rapee, R., & Todorov, N. (2017). Forgiveness reduces anger in a school bullying context. Journal of interpersonal violence, 32(11), 1642-1657.

Zych, I., Farrington, D. P., Llorent, V. J., & Ttofi, M. M. (2017). School bullying in different countries: prevalence, risk factors, and short-term outcomes. In Protecting children against bullying and its consequences (pp. 5-22). Springer, Cham.