Implicit in this research is a social constructivist ontological position. Social constructivism views human society as simultaneously subjective and objective; as human interaction creates and sustains an individual’s knowledge about the world. Furthermore ‘meaning is the product of the prevailing cultural frame of social … persons and groups interacting together in a social system form, over time, concepts or mental representations of each other’s actions. These concepts eventually become … is embedded in society” (Galbin, 2014). This research emerges from a belief that the fundamental challenge for bullying prevention is discordant attitudes, beliefs and values across levels of the school community. It is founded on the position that people …show more content…
School Climate refers to overall the tenor of social relations (Crosnoe, 2014) within a school community. It is a conceptual metaphor for the overall health of a school (Freiberg, 1999) delineating school life through spheres of safe and supportive relationships, learning and teaching practices, and larger institutional patterns indicative of either cohesive or fragmented values and beliefs (Cohen et al., 2009; DeWitt & Slade, 2014). Investigating school climate has been shown to be a key indicator in a school 's ability to address instances of bullying and harassment (Cixin-Wang, Berry, & Swearer, 2013; Cohen, …show more content…
“Phenomenological writers … dwell in the borderland between a “poetic attitude” and a utilitarian writing style”(Friesen & Henriksson, 2012). The short narratives remain true to events or meaning of the experience, yet constructed with a degree of poetic license for aesthetic purposes. It serves an illustrative purpose; revealing the personal narratives that prompted the focus of my research and bridging the limitation of personal bias through consciously examining school bullying bracketed by my
Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)
Although bullying has always been a problem in schools, it has more recently become a bigger crisis with vicious consequences. “However it is defined, bullying is not just child’s play, but a terrifying experience many schoolchildren face everyday. It can be as direct as teasing, hitting or threatening, or as indirect as exclusions, rumors or manipulation” (Garrett 2). Most kids do not think certain actions are classified as bullying, yet they do not realize the severity of the way they treat their peers. What they may see as “joking around” can be viewed as them being a bully, and they may even be hurting someone’s feelings without realizing the effect that they have. This can then lead to school violence, which is a prevalent issue in today’s society. There are many causes to bullying and school violence and many effects as well. However, if dealt with properly, there are ways to solve these prevailing problems.
Bullying, often dismissed as a normal part of growing up, is a real problem in our nation's schools, according to the National School Safety Center. One out of every four schoolchildren endures taunting, teasing, pushing, and shoving daily from schoolyard bullies. More than 43 percent of middle- and high-school students avoid using school bathrooms for fear of being harassed or assaulted. Old-fashioned schoolyard hazing has escalated to instances of extortion, emotional terrorism, and kids toting guns to school. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of all incidents of school violence begin with verbal conflicts, w...
Even though I work in a school district where we are expected to watch videos on bullying annually, this series was eye opening to the real problem of bullying. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development three out of ten children are a bully, victim, or both. Another statistic from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reveals that 3.2 million youth are bullied and 3.7 million youth are the bullies. These statistics are staggering. The characteristics of bullying is repeated aggressive behavior that is carried out over time with the intent of inflicting verbal, nonverbal, or physical harm to another individual. Normal peer conflict happens infrequently between two equal
Bullying has been a part of schooling for as long as children have been congregating. To some it seems like a natural, though uncomfortable, part of life and school experience, while to others it can mean terrifying experiences which spoiled and characterized otherwise happy years in school. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in bully behavior research documented that 2.7 million children are affected as victims, and that 2.1 children act as bullies (Fried, 1997, as cited in Aluedse, 2006). With bullying cited as the reason for violent, gun-related crime in the past few years, school districts as well as national governments have put anti-bullying policies in place. Bullying is a complicated phenomenon, involving more than one child demanding lunch money from a smaller child. It is a worldwide epidemic hitting schools everywhere. Virtually everyone has seen or experienced bullying. With technological advances, bullying is even hitting the internet. Parents, teachers, students and governments agencies alike are attempting to put a stop to bullying practices.
In middle school and high school, the issue of bullying has accumulated an adequate amount of attention to grow into a national concern. In the textbook, Sociology Now: The Essentials by Michael Kimmel and Amy Aronson, a study disclosed that 77 percent, in Midwestern towns, reported being a victim of bullying during their school years (p. 433). Bullying develops when a person is continually teased or physically hurt, sometimes both, for durations of time. There are different types of bullying such as physical bullying, verbal bullying, indirect bullying, social alienation, intimidation, and cyberbullying (“Types of Bullying”). This issue is important to recognize because children are now living with bullying and it could lead to further problems. It can make schools unbearable for victims of bullying and cause distractions from obtaining a good education. Also, bullying can be endangering by generating impulsive outcomes such as suicide, murder, school shootings, and harm to oneself from depression.
In a CNN study by Chuck Hadad he states “That bullying is pervasive even though the schools have anti-bullying programs from kindergarten through 12th grade, assemblies throughout the year, and a peer-to-peer program where older students talk to younger students about the dangers of bullying” (Hadad). Robert Faris, a sociologist found that bullies and victims are generally the same person. Whe...
Bullying in schools is something that is currently on going and most likely never disappear on its own. Bullying is the unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance (stopbullying.gov). Although, bullying is not new it is becoming more prevalent today. Socially withdrawn, shy, and reserved children are prime targets of bullying (Juvonen, 2007). For many years bullying has been put off as a sort of rite of passage, everyone must go through it. Many adults today will say that they have been involved in bullying as child and it just faded. That was okay in the past, but today many children are hurting themselves as a result to bullying. To try to help with bullying one must know the
Bullying is something that is not something new and is actually something that society continues to face. Over the years, bullying has been looked at as being so ordinary in schools that it is continuously overlooked as an emanate threat to students and has been lowered to a belief that bullying is a part of the developmental stage that most young children will experience then overcome (Allebeck, 2005, p. 129). Not everyone gets over the extreme hurt that can come as an effect from bullying, for both the bully and the victim. Because of this, we now see bullying affecting places such as the workplace, social events and even the home. The issue of bullying is not only experienced in schools, but the school environment is one of the best places
Rodriguez, Andre A. "Schools Tackle Bullying ; By Andre A. Rodriguez." Gannett Co., Inc.. 22 oct. 2007: A2. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. .
The aim of my study is to find the importance of School Culture in the development of future of the students studying in a school. In the past years, many studies has been done by different people to find the role of school culture in the life of students, teachers and parents.
The article, “Bullies and Their Victims”, by Berk (2010) gives an analysis of how bullies and their victims develop, what makes them persistent and how they and their victims can be assisted. Bullying is an activity that thrives mostly in a school setting because of peers and the various cultures and diversities among them. Interactions are inevitable among children, but bullying is destructive because it aims at peer victimisation. Both boys and girls have the ability to become bullies but the majority of them are boys who use physical and verbal attacks on their victims. In the more recent generations, the means of bullying is amplified in the adolescent stage by using electronic means like cyber bullying. Students will rarely like bullies but if they do, it is because of their leadership abilities or influential personalities. Their peers may join or stand by to watch as the victims are bullied.
In recent times bullying has become a national issue, notwithstanding the fact that it has been in existence for many years. Traditionally, bullying has been seen as horseplay, but with the increase of harassment in schools and suicides; parents and schools are now forced to take action to prevent bullying in schools. Bullying is an unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance which has the potential to be repeated over time. Strategies to prevent bullying in schools are grouped into identifying the causes of bullying, creating policies and rules, building a safe environment and educating students and staff.
Bullying can also be considered as a major problem in the teenager bracket. This can occur in any social environment not just schools as mostly portrayed. Bullyi...
Thapa, A., Cohen. J., Higgins-D'Alessandro, A. & Guffery, S. (2012). School climate research summary: August 2012.