Prevention of Bullying In Schools (Research Paper Sample)

Prevention of Bullying In Schools
[Student’s Names]
[Institutional Affiliation]
Abstract
This paper discusses the intervention strategies that schools could use in the prevention or reduction of bullying within the school setting. Some of the strategies discussed include assessment bullying in the school, coordination between parents, teachers, staff and students and policy formulation. Additionally, education of the teachers and students and the participation of students in activities against bullying also bear fruit in the fight off bullying. Researchers, teachers and policy makers should consider the propositions in this paper when coming up with strategies to fight bullying in schools. Generally, the effects of bullying are far-reaching not only to the student but the whole society in general and call for the discussed intervention strategies.
Key Words: Bullying, prevention strategies, policy, regulation, rules, and Safe Environment.
Introduction
Peace of mind is very important in every activity that transpires within a school. However, bullying reduces the chances for calm in a school. Bullying not only affects the physical well-being of a student but also affect their emotional safety and thus reduced performance in academics and extracurricular activities. Bullying refers to the conscious, deliberate, repetitive, willful, hostile and intentional activity that is marked by coercion and imbalance of power through threats, coercion, physical assault and actual acts that jeopardize the victim. Bullying also involves verbal messages such as labelling, threats, and homophobic bullying. Moreover, the act could be social or physical or involve the use of technology and thus cyberbullying. The school where most students spend their time forms a serene environment for those perpetrating bullying. The prevention of bullying in schools requires the involvement of the wider school fraternity including parents, the students, and the teaching as well as non-teaching staff. There are different processes involved in the prevention of bullying some which have worked for some schools. Most importantly, bullying should be stopped before it occurs.
Methods of Preventing Bullying
Evaluation or Assessment of Bullying in the School environment
The first step in the prevention of bullying involves the assessment of the prevention and intervention strategies based on the factors that exacerbate bullying such as violence and substance abuse. Through the assessment, all the elements that make the school environment favorable for the perpetrators are evaluated. With that in mind, the subsequent stages are likely to be successful altogether. Furthermore, it is at this phase that the risk factors of bullying are unearthed (Gregory et al., 2010). The next procedure involves evaluating the frequency of the act within the school environments. There are many methods to do this. First off, the students’ complaint book is assessed to review the number of cases reported. Secondly, a questionnaire or survey might be administered to the student population (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009). The aim of this step is to assess whether or not bullying occurs and at what frequency (Durlak et al., 2011). Moreover, the evaluation also helps in testing the effectiveness of the bullying prevention strategies set by the school administration (Hong & Espelage, 2012). There are also some additional factors that the assessment aids in determining (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009). These factors include the locations where bullying take place, the vulnerable groups, the attitude of staff towards the act, the perceptions of students on their safety, the response of the adults and peers and the school climate facilitating bullying (Hong & Espelage, 2012).
Engaging the Parents, Staff, and the Students
It is important to ensure that the school fraternity is collectively involved in the process of ensuring that there is zero bullying in the school (Gregory et al., 2010). To succeed in doing this, all the relevant stakeholders who are either directly or indirectly affected are summoned for a meeting and asked for their insights on the issue (Gregory et al., 2010). The parent’s contribution at this level is through such things as volunteering, whistleblowing, parent teacher association and improvement programs within the school (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). The students narrate their encounters and views on bullying (Hong & Espelage, 2012). Additionally, the students can also take leadership roles to promote inclusion and mutual respect, ensure communication and togetherness against bullying activities within the school (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). Moreover, the students also come out as ambassadors against bullying within the school (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009). The latter applies mainly to students whose personal and academic life have been affected by bullying even though they have overcome the situation (Gregory et al., 2010). The school staff, on the other hand, helps in keeping the parents informed on any bullying actions of their children. Additionally, staff also partner with the parents and students to end the vice.
Policies and Rules against Bullying
The ultimate solution for both reduction and prevention of bullying is through anti-bullying policies, rules and regulations. Formulation and implementation of policies as a bullying prevention strategy involve the creation of a code of conduct for the students, student bill of rights and a strong mission statement that has zero tolerance on bullying (Gregory et al., 2010). These policies should make any form of bullying, however, small unacceptable (Hong & Espelage, 2012). The policies should also provide clear guidelines and definitions of the responsibility of the students, parents, and teachers as well as other staff in preventing bullying (Turner, Finkelhor, Hamby, Shattuck & Ormrod, 2011). The policy should also state the clear reporting procedures and methods to be used by the parents, students, and caregivers as well as the victims upon encountering or witnessing any incident of bullying. The policy should also have support methods for the students who already are victims and encourage parents to take a healing role on the victims.
The policy formulation process should also factor in the patterns and the hotspot areas where bullying is prevalent (Stopbullying.gov, 2015; Turner, Finkelhor, Hamby, Shattuck & Ormrod, 2011). As an effective move, the policy should also spell the intervention strategies to stop bullying in the hot-spots that are targets of the culprits (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). Some of the intervention strategies include increased staff presence in the hot spots, use of CCTV cameras, and changing the access points to the hotspots. Additionally, the policy should have incident reporting system or procedure such that the victims and the whistleblowers remain confidential and cushioned from further victimization.
The school policy should also stipulate the conditions when the parents come in as complainants and to whom they report (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). The policy should also entail punitive measures for the offenders so that they shun their behavior and quicken the healing process of the victims (Hong & Espelage, 2012). The punishments could range from mild to severe depending on the frequency and the perceived impact of the type of bullying committed by the victimizer (Gregory et al., 2010). Some of the common punishments include suspension, expulsion, a public apology, and probation as well as the detention of those who perpetrate such acts. The success of the policy should be the basis that is used to review it. Nonetheless, an annual, monthly or weekly review of the policies is sufficient enough to keep bullying at bay (Gregory et al., 2010). After formulation of the policies, rules and regulations, the students, staff and parents are made aware of the meaning and implications non-compliance to the policy.
The school management should ensure that there are proper reporting systems in place to ensure a clear documentation of the incidences (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009). The reporting system should make it easier for whistleblowers to report any form of bullying in an easy and confidential manner (Gregory et al., 2010). The reports should be maintained and used by the administration and the teachers as well as parents in predicting the trends and patterns in bullying within the school environment (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). Ultimately, privacy and confidentiality of the records must be maintained by the school administration to prevent further victimization (Ttofi & Farrington, 2010).
Building a Positive School Climate/ Safe Environment
Recent research indicates that a safe school environment aids in mitigating bullying. A positive and safe environment is that which is supportive and ensures equality among the students (Gregory et al., 2010). The safety of the students starts from the classroom and radiates to the whole school fraternity. The process is very engaging and requires the involvement of the parents, teachers, staff and the students. The school culture should be inclusive of the diversity among the students (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). Reward systems can be used to encourage students to stop bullying (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009). The process of interaction between the students should also be encouraged through extracurricular activities such as sports, seminars and leisure activities such as recreation and tour as well as picnics (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009).
The teachers should also teach prosocial skills as part of the regular classes, small group meetings, and advisory classes (Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano, 2009). Additionally, the teachers should use the media such as movie...