Bullying: Effective Strategies for Long-term Change (School Concerns)

230 Pages·2001·0.66 MB·English

by  Tiny Arora

Bullying
Bullying: effective strategies for long-term improvementtackles the
sensitive issue of bullying in schools and offers practical guidance
on how to successfully deal with the issue in the long-term.
The authors examine how bullying begins, the impact of bullying
on the victimised child, and how the extent of bullying in schools
can be reliably measured and assessed. They go on to explain how
to set up anti-bullying initiatives which will maintain their effective-
ness over the years. The complexity of the bullying process is
emphasised throughout, but care is also taken to clearly outline
which actions can be taken to substantially reduce bullying in the
long-term.
This book is the outcome of over 10 years’ research into bullying.
The authors draw on their own major studies and international
research to provide real workable solutions to the problem of
bullying, which are illustrated by case study examples throughout.
The book is essential reading for school managers, teachers, student
teachers and researchers determined to tackle the issue of bullying
head on, and would also be of use to school governors.
David Thompsonis a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University
of Sheffield.
Tiny Arorais an Honorary Lecturer in Education at the University
of Sheffield, and Specialist Senior Educational Psychologist at
Kirklees Metropolitan District Council.
Sonia Sharp is Assistant Director of Special Educational Needs at
Birmingham City Council.
School Concerns series
Edited by Peter Blatchford
Institute of Education, University of London
This topical new series addresses key issues that are causing concern
in schools. Each book is based around a case-study school, which is
used to illustrate and contextualise best practice whilst showing the
real implications of current research on the everyday classroom.
The books provide an innovative and accessible approach to
dealing with the inclusive classroom and are written by leading
names in their respective fields. They will be essential reading for
teachers, heads of department, headteachers and policy-makers
determined to address the key concerns in education today.
Supporting Inclusive Education
Jenny Corbett
Educating Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
John Thacker, Dave Strudwick and Elly Babbedge
Bullying
David Thompson, Tiny Arora and Sonia Sharp
Enhancing PSHE
Sally Inman, Martin Buck and Miles Tandy
Underachievement in Schools
Anne West
Bullying
Effective strategies for long-term
improvement
David Thompson, Tiny Arora
and Sonia Sharp
London and New York
First published 2002
by RoutledgeFalmer
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by RoutledgeFalmer
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor and Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2002 David Thompson, Tiny Arora and Sonia Sharp
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-99482-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0–415–23092–6 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–23093–4 (pbk)
Contents
Tables vi
Preface: series introduction vii
Introduction: an overview 1
PART 1
Understanding bullying 15
1 The emergence of bullying 17
2 The social basis of bullying 29
3 How much bullying? Assessment and measurement 49
4 The experiences of those who are bullied 71
PART 2
Towards effective intervention 89
5 Changing cultures 91
6 Managing the anti-bullying project in school 108
7 Preventing and responding to bullying behaviour 127
8 Researching bullying: where are we now? 156
9 Conclusions: the limits of current knowledge 176
Appendix: measuring bullying with the
Life in School checklist 184
References 195
Index 208
Tables
2.1 The distribution of pupils across the different
participant roles in relation to the four status
groups: popular, rejected, controversial and average 35
3.1 Frequency of elements included in the definition
of bullying provided by 13 to 14-year-olds 56
3.2 Items from the Life in School checklist identified as
bullying by 12 to 14-year-old respondents 57
4.1 Results from an international study of stressful
life events for ‘being ridiculed in class’ 75
6.1 Bullying indices in subsequent years at Underham
Junior School (illustrating use of Life in School
checklist to monitor levels of bullying yearly) 125
A.1 Bullying indices on the Life in School checklist
in the three phases of education in Britain 193
Preface: series introduction
School staff face many challenges today. Recently they have had to
respond to a plethora of curriculum and assessment reforms, Literacy
and Numeracy Strategies, Government-led moves towards perfor-
mance indicators, regular OFSTED inspections, and a general push
towards accountability and raising achievement levels of pupils. But
there are other, possibly more enduring, concerns that also affect the
day-to-day functioning of schools.
I get insight into these concerns in the course of one of my
professional responsibilities – supervising teachers who are under-
taking research for dissertations, as part of MA-level courses. When
choosing a topic I encourage them to reflect on their own professional
concerns and ways in which they can shed light on them. The range
of topics is rich and varied and in recent years has included under-
achievement of particular groups in school, student motivation and
attitudes, bullying, effective approaches to inclusion in classrooms,
and pupils’ emotional and social difficulties. Some issues are made
particularly pressing because of recent events in their own or neigh-
bouring schools, and are high on agendas of current educational and
political discussion, as well as at staff meetings.
However, too often the information teachers and others need
on these topics is not available in a form that they find helpful or
accessible. Sometimes the topic is addressed in a way that is too
academic and removed from the practical concerns of everyday school
life. But there is a converse problem that seems to have become more
obvious recently – a tendency to oversimplify and trivialise what is
likely to be a complex issue, and offer packaged solutions instead of
a full analysis.
This book series – School Concerns – has been set up to bridge
the gap between these two types of approach. It was designed to
viii Preface
address contemporary issues, usually related to behaviour in schools,
that are cause for concern. The aim of each book in the series is to
summarise and evaluate relevant research evidence and theory, and
to seek to provide insights, conclusions and suggestions of value to
readers, and to relate research findings and theory to classroom
concerns. The series is designed to be helpful but to avoid a ‘cook-
book’ approach, to do justice to the complexity of a topic while
avoiding dense argument and jargon. This is a difficult balance to
achieve, but each author has been chosen because it was felt that not
only was he or she a leading authority on a particular topic, but he
or she would also be able to make the topic accessible to a wide
audience.
The publishers were keen to start the series because, as far as they
knew, there has not been an attempt to cover these kinds of issues
in a unified and accessible fashion. The series covers both primary
and secondary sectors.
Each author has been asked to think carefully about the potential
readers of the book. We have asked each author to include, as an
integral part of the book, a case study of a class or school and to use
this to illustrate and exemplify key ideas and conclusions. The books
should be of interest to all in schools, to tutors and students on Initial
Teacher Training and Professional Development Courses, as well as
to researchers and lecturers, LEA and government staff. The books
will also be of interest to a wider and more general audience – for
example, parents. Some issues are of obvious international interest
and authors have been encouraged, where appropriate, to draw out
conclusions of relevance overseas.
This is a timely and exciting series, and I expect the books to
provide a significant contribution to educational debate.
Introduction to this book
This is a timely book. There has been a lot of concern about bullying
in schools, which has been inflamed by high-profile cases of children
who have suffered, with sometimes tragic consequences. Past research
has shown that bullying in schools has been underestimated and not
always taken seriously enough. This has put staff in schools in a
difficult position, with understandable cries that more could have
been done to help. But this raises questions about what staff cando
about bullying, and this book by David Thompson, Tiny Arora and
Sonia Sharp is an important contribution.
Preface ix
There are dangers in oversimplifying the causes of bullying and
the ways of dealing with it; there are also dangers in overcomplicating
the issue or conducting research that has limited relevance in practice.
I feel that this book succeeds in avoiding both extremes. It is a careful
coverage of the main issues involved in understanding what bullying
is and the ways of intervening effectively. It is particularly timely in
addressing long-term issues connected to bullying – in terms of the
origins of bullying and also the need for a long-term perspective on
interventions.
The authors have been working on this topic for a number of years,
and in this book they put together their findings and conclusions.
There is a thorough review of what we know from research, but also
sound advice on what to do. It is grounded in the school experience
of bullying, with particular cases being highlighted. This is a book
that manages the difficult trick of being relevant to all concerned with
this issue: to teachers, policy-makers, school managers, parents, and
also researchers and academics.
Professor Peter Blatchford
Institute of Education, University of London