Behavioural Support in Schools: Approach for Schools Eager to Reduce Bullying

victims are confronted with aggressive behaviour in form of open physical attacks as for example by shoving, pinching, hitting or kicking or by removing the victims belongings (Beale, 2001, p. 301). Indirect bullying takes place in form of “relational aggression” (Merrell et al., 2008, p. 26) which is excluding a person socially by spreading rumours, lies or threats, verbal insults, “obscene gestures” (Olweus, 1994, p. 1173) or psychological pressure.

The policy should include information about the different tools in bullying used by boys and girls. Whereas boys prefer direct bullying including physical and open impact on the victim, girls often choose the psychological and emotional path of indirect bullying (Beale, 2001, p. 301). What is more, boys are more often bullies and also victims of bullying than girls (Beale, 2001, p. 301). However, it should be clearly lined out that “[a]nyone can be bullied - it isn’t limited by age, sex, sexuality, cultural or religious background […] and [it] can happen in many different environments including school, at home, on the sporting field or at work” (Healey, 2006, p. 1).

It is important to stress that both parties in a bullying situation, bully and victim, are hampered from effective learning and self-development (Morrison, 2002, p. 1). Victims often develop emotional and psychological instabilities which can effect them a whole lifetime. Persons who are bullied often have low self-esteem (Olweus, 1994, p. 1178), feel lonely, start to withdraw from society and become worse in academic matters (Beale, 2001, p. 302). This may lead to illness, depression (Morrison, 2002, p. 1) or even the bringing of weapons to class for revenge purposes (Merrell et al., 2008, p. 27). The worst and last solution which victims of bullying sometimes see for themselves is suicide (Morrison, 2002, p. 1).

Things to know about student bullies are that they use bullying “as a way of making themselves more powerful” and deal with there own problems (Healey, 2006, p. 1). They become increasingly unpopular and with that lonely as his or her social environment grows older. They might have problems to fit in and are at risk of continuing to act antisocial as for example by using alcohol or drugs which can lead to dropping out of school (Morrison, 2002, p. 1). Furthermore, studies show that bullies are at high risk of breaking the law in their future lives (Olweus, 1994, p. 1181).

Rigby ((2003) suggests an info sheet about why some people bully and why not. This comparison can help to make clear that bullying behaviour is not just harmless teasing but a

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profound character trait. Whereas bullies are described as being “aggressive and impulsive” as well as having “relatively low levels of empathy” (p. 17), people who do not bully are seen as having “a high level of empathy”, “social skills” which keep them occupied and “positive experiences in the home” (p. 18). They feel successful and see no sense in bullying others (p. 18).

Further appearances of bullying which policy readers should be informed about are cyber bullying and bullying via mobile phones. Bullying that takes place via using the internet leaves victims nearly no safe space to feel secure at. The same applies to bullying that takes place through sending harassing SMS or MMS. Cyber and mobile phone bullying makes it easier for bullies to stay anonymous while at the same time easily involve more co-bullies into the process (Healey, 2006, p. 11). This assumes that cyber bullying “could have even worse consequences” (Healey, 2006, p. 11) than bullying that takes place in an interpersonal situation.

It is very important to proclaim in the policy that inactive bystanders to any of these above mentioned bullying situations support bullying rather than using their power to stop it. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it” (Martin Luther King, 1929-1968, cited from Murphy & Lewers, 2003, p. 57).

The formulation of such a policy might have to be adjusted to the understanding of younger ages.

A whole school approach may provide further information about bullying and its effects beyond the policy as for example in student, parents and staff workshops. It can be discussed which role bullying plays in school shootings and stabbings such as the 2009 shooting in Germany where eight children and two adults were killed (Alberici, 2009) or the 2006 stabbing in Australia where a fourteen year old boy stabbed two classmates at school (“Boy to face court over school stabbing”, 2006).

Furthermore, the school could raise school wide attention to and discussion of bullying by organising role plays and dramas addressing this problem as for example the play “Bullybusters” (Beale, 2001, 304). Another way to do so could be to talk about famous

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people ² and role models who have been bullying/bullied/bystanders (Murphy & Lewers, 2000, p. 58) or invite them directly to talk about their bullying experiences themselves and give helpful advice.

In order to provide further information to families and include them in this wholeschool approach the school could give away info booklets including advice on which actions ³ students can take to appear confident and not become a target (Murphy & Lewers, 2000, p. 70). Advice on friendship formation ⁴ and how to detect if your child is a victim ⁵ could be a part of this booklet (Murphy & Lewers, 2000, p. 83, 96; Rigby, 2003, p. 73). A fact sheet ⁶ about bullying and which steps to take after parents have detected that their child bullies or is being bullied might be helpful (Murphy & Lewers, 2000, p. 97 - 99).

Obligation

An anti-bullying policy should clearly outline its expectations to students, teachers and parents as well as everybody who might be involved in school life as for example bus drivers and cafeteria staff. It is the omnipresent responsibility of every of these parties to create an atmosphere and environment which minimizes the breeding ground for bullying behaviour. This includes opening one’s eyes and to actively intervene when bullying occurs. Additionally, teachers can offer support and advice to their students and educate about bullying (Rigby, 2003, p. 29). It should be understood that teachers are obliged to take early signs of potential bullying seriously that is, to address and answer seemingly ‘low severity appearances’ of bullying that affect the teaching climate as for example sporadic name-calling or shoving (Rigby & Thomas, 2003, p. 40). Even those sporadic verbal, not the least physical, attacks can hurt the student very much and should be answered to the perpetrator by for example sending him/her to the thinking room reflecting on his/her actions and working out a short apology to hand to the aggrieved party. Those ‘rabbit punches’ are supposed to function as a galvanising warning. Further treatment of bullying appearances will be discussed further down.

The policy should proclaim that all staff are expected to think about their position towards bullying. They should reflect on whether they might ever have been bullies to

² See appendix

³ See appendix

⁴ See appendix

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⁶ See appendix

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students or fellow teachers themselves (Rigby, 2003, p. 15 - 16). They have to be aware of their influence in being a role model to students.

The Haupt - and Realschule Salzbergen in Niedersachsen, Germany, specifically obligates the teachers in its policy about violence prevention to a “lückenlose Beaufsichtigung der Schüler und Schülerinnen, indem wir mit ihnen den Klassenraum betreten […], indem wir Pausen nur dann machen, wenn sie auch geplant sind […]“ (“Gewaltprävention an der HRS-Salzbergen”, 2009, p. 4). Teachers are held to ensure a gapless supervision of their class by entering the classroom together with the students and only have breaks that are planned. This is a sensible entry in the policy since it is “known that most bullying occurs during breaks from lessons and that bullying tends to be lower when there is more supervision by adults” (Smith et al., 2004, p. 3).

Students have the strong obligation to not be bystanders to bullying but to offer help and support through whatever ways. They have to be aware that they have a responsibility to care for their social environment. At the far end of this intention might even stand their own safety and well being. Furthermore, they should be aware that continuous disruptive and extremely disrespectful behaviour towards certain teachers can be classified as bullying and will have the same consequences as outlined later in this text.

The policy should make parents responsible for contacting staff for help with bullying matters and for working together with the school rather than against it. They should be aware that their influence and role as caretaker for the family should be taken very seriously since violence at home increases the chance that their children become bullies at school (Healy, 2006, p. 7).

To strengthen everyone’s awareness for their profound responsibility the school could institute an anti-bullying pledge that is omnipresent in daily school life.The anti-bullying policy should furthermore offer clear instructions about how the school will precede with cases of bullying. It should be achieved overall agreement about these proceedings among staff in order to make them effective. I suggest here a mixed approach combining the promoting of pro-social behaviour with the punishing of anti-social behaviour in a possible second step (Rigby & Thomas, 2003, p. 39).

When students are recognised as being involved in actions that could be labelled as ‘bullying’ the school will first of all try to work on this problem with victims, bullies and

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