Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Bully victimization takes place within a social context of youths’ parents, peers, teachers, school administrators, and community. Victims often rely on parents, educators, or peers for support. However, there is a gap in the literature in understanding parents’ experiences of what occurs before, during, and after reporting bullying to school officials. Therefore, this dissertation study examined parents’ experiences in discovering, reporting, and living through the aftermath of their child being bullied. This study used a purposeful sample that was criterion-based. Nine mothers and one mother/father pair were tape-recorded using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Follow-up phone interviews followed. Key themes and patterns were analyzed using the philosophical method of interpretive phenomenology based on Heidegger’s philosophy of being. Exemplars were used to illuminate several themes. Results suggest three unique stages. In the first stage, discovery, parents often noticed psychosocial changes in their child related to bullying. Parents often responded initially by providing advice to their children. When signs of their schoolchildren being bullied persisted, parents decided to report the incidents to school officials. Nine parents reported incomplete interventions that let their youths’ victimization continue. One parent, a paradigm case, shared understandings of how her son’s school official provided a full intervention that was restorative. However, all other parents who received an incomplete intervention found themselves rethinking how to protect their children from bullying. In this aftermath, several parents moved their children out of the school into a new district or began to home school. However, half the parents were left unable to move their child and therefore could not provide protection. Indiana’s anti-bullying law was unknown to eight parents and was unsuccessful in leveraging protection for one parent who used it with school officials as a threat. School official’s responses to bullying were incongruent with student handbook procedures. Recommendations from a parent’s perspective indicate school officials must: 1) have a clear process in place for parents to report, 2) follow through by calling parents back with results from investigating and procedures that will be taken to intervene, and 3) call the bullies’ and victims’ parents to notify what has occurred and what will be done to ensure safety. Discussed are implications for school officials, including social workers, and state policymakers. There is a proposed intervention model (Appendix J) that addresses how parents can respond to school officials who are hesitant to provide bullied youth protection.

Though many studies have been conducted on bullying and ways to prevent it, there is still little evidence that bullying has been reduced (Bauman, 2008). Since bullying behaviors have become prevalent, incidences of negative outcomes for students who are bullies and victims have increased, hence more discussion of the topic is taking place at school, home, and in the media (Bauman, 2008; Kaiser & Raminsky, 2001; Salmon, James, & Smith, 1998). This study proposes to learn how students make sense of these multiple messages. Through an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith & Osborn, 2003), 8-10 year old students were interviewed through semi-structured interviews, in addition to student drawings and elaborations from the draw-and write-technique (Williams, Wetton, & Moon, 1989). These methods were used to explore student bullying experiences and the process in which they make sense of the education provided to them. The study is framed through Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1994) ecological systems theory considering the multiple influences that individuals face through systems and their interactions. Data from the semi-structured interviews and the draw-and-write technique were analyzed through coding according to IPA guidelines, compared, and converged. Results showed that students confuse conflict with bullying, and receive conflicting messages about how bullying should be handled. Students are confused by what is the best reaction to a bullying situation due to conflicting messages from school and home, and the possibility of disappointment or trouble if they do not follow suggestions from one or the other. The media had minimal influence on children of this age in regards to bullying.

<p>Mobbning är ett problem som framför allt finns i skolans miljö och som kan leda till allvarliga konsekvenser för alla inblandade. Då begreppet har olika definitioner, kan det dessutom vara svårt att upptäcka. Den svenska skolan är obligatorisk och det förebyggande arbetet mot mobbning som där bedrivs är därför viktigt. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur en skola definierar begreppet mobbning och om det påverkar det arbetssätt som används för att motverka mobbning. Undersökningen ägde rum på en grundskola med årskurserna F-6, där individuella intervjuer genomfördes med rektorn och två av skolans pedagoger. För att försäkra att de frågor som ställdes i undersökningen skulle bli besvarade, användes intervjumallar. Vid intervjuerna ställdes öppna frågor, då detta gav informanterna möjlighet till eftertanke. Resultatet visade att den undersökta skolan använde flera förebyggande åtgärder för att motverka mobbning och att informanterna hade samma grunddefinition av begreppet mobbning. Slutsatserna var att informanternas definition av begreppet mobbning hade viss inverkan på skolans förebyggande arbete och att personalens engagemang hade betydelse för det arbete som bedrevs.</p>

Mobbning är ett problem som framför allt finns i skolans miljö och som kan leda till allvarliga konsekvenser för alla inblandade. Då begreppet har olika definitioner, kan det dessutom vara svårt att upptäcka. Den svenska skolan är obligatorisk och det förebyggande arbetet mot mobbning som där bedrivs är därför viktigt. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur en skola definierar begreppet mobbning och om det påverkar det arbetssätt som används för att motverka mobbning. Undersökningen ägde rum på en grundskola med årskurserna F-6, där individuella intervjuer genomfördes med rektorn och två av skolans pedagoger. För att försäkra att de frågor som ställdes i undersökningen skulle bli besvarade, användes intervjumallar. Vid intervjuerna ställdes öppna frågor, då detta gav informanterna möjlighet till eftertanke. Resultatet visade att den undersökta skolan använde flera förebyggande åtgärder för att motverka mobbning och att informanterna hade samma grunddefinition av begreppet mobbning. Slutsatserna var att informanternas definition av begreppet mobbning hade viss inverkan på skolans förebyggande arbete och att personalens engagemang hade betydelse för det arbete som bedrevs.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka preventiva och behandlande effektiva insatser det finns för att motverka mobbning i skolmiljö. Redan under tidigt 70-tal började mobbning betraktas som ett socialt problem. Än idag är mobbning i svenska skolan ett återkommande problem där allt fler upplever att de är utsatta. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar används en kvalitativ ansats i form av litteraturstudie, med en analytisk kartläggning av effektiva insatser för de som utsätter andra samt de som är utsatta. Studien utgår från pionjären Dan Olweus teoretiska grund om mobbning, som beskriver beteenden hos de som utsätter och de som är utsatta, samt i vilka miljöer de typer av beteenden frodas och motverkas. Studien visar att miljöer som har tydliga gränssättningar mot mobbning, är effektiva i motverkandet av att utsätta andra samt upplevelsen av att vara utsatt. Samtliga miljöer som elever befinner sig i bör inkluderas i arbetet mot mobbning. Även samtliga aktörer, alltså lärare, föräldrar, mobbare, mobbade och åskådare borde involveras i arbetet. Miljöerna bör även guida elever i att utveckla sin förmåga att reflektera och öka empatin för andra.

Anti-bullying policies are effective in reducing bullying victimization in secondary schools when they are written precisely, have a clear description of what bullying entails and how the school responds, and maintains a high priority through regular updating. Research on anti-bullying policies in the United Kingdom is not very extensive and has thus far only been done qualitatively. This research aims to utilize an in-depth content analysis to investigate trends and patterns within secondary schools anti-bullying policies in London, England. The purpose of this research is also to find preliminary results of the difference between public community schools and international schools. The documents are coded and counted systematically per keyword of each definition and then compared and averaged. The data was then analysed using descriptive statistics and compared by other school and policy characteristics, such as location of the school, the Ofsted educational inspectorate rating, the number of pages of the policy and when the policy was last updated. The findings of this research indicate that there is an underrepresentation of aspects of relational bullying, weight-based bullying, and the role of bystanders as stated in the policies. The main focuses in the selected policies are on the responsibility of school staff and parents, a reporting system and updating of the policy. This implies that anti-bullying policies should be improved further to include relational bullying, weight-based bullying, and the role of bystanders more. This study contributes to the field of International and Comparative Education by filling a research gap in the investigation of anti-bullying policies in England and providing an updated and quantitative insight into the status of these policies. This research also adds to the field by examining differences between community schools and international schools and comparing various school and policy characteristics, contributing to the understanding of how bullying is addressed by different types of schools.

How do conventional performance-based models of drama in high schools serve to oppress students? How can Applied Drama models serve to emancipate students? This thesis invites educators to imagine drama programs in high schools as being capable of employing the use of imaginative dramatic arts processes for their emancipatory potential aimed to break oppressive habits and to rehearse alternative dialogue and action in the lives of students. Drama processes in high schools could be designed within an emancipatory paradigm of curriculum-making. Instead of designing drama programs around the goal of producing scripted theatre performances, drama programs in high schools can be designed with the goal of engaging students imaginations. Specifically, Applied Drama processes have the potential to nurture students social and moral imaginations which, in turn, allow students to become more empathetic. Moreover, through dramatic role-play, students enter an imaginary world and rehearse alternative ways of acting in the world. If the dramatic role-play addresses issues of oppression in the world, then the imaginary world presents scenarios in which students can rehearse emancipatory ways of acting and thinking about their lived reality. Specifically, Applied Drama processes are best suited for emancipatory, imaginative drama programs in high schools. In this thesis, I also discuss the importance of reflection in emancipatory drama processes.

How do conventional performance-based models of drama in high schools serve to oppress students? How can Applied Drama models serve to emancipate students? This thesis invites educators to imagine drama programs in high schools as being capable of employing the use of imaginative dramatic arts processes for their emancipatory potential aimed to break oppressive habits and to rehearse alternative dialogue and action in the lives of students. Drama processes in high schools could be designed within an emancipatory paradigm of curriculum-making. Instead of designing drama programs around the goal of producing scripted theatre performances, drama programs in high schools can be designed with the goal of engaging students imaginations. Specifically, Applied Drama processes have the potential to nurture students social and moral imaginations which, in turn, allow students to become more empathetic. Moreover, through dramatic role-play, students enter an imaginary world and rehearse alternative ways of acting in the world. If the dramatic role-play addresses issues of oppression in the world, then the imaginary world presents scenarios in which students can rehearse emancipatory ways of acting and thinking about their lived reality. Specifically, Applied Drama processes are best suited for emancipatory, imaginative drama programs in high schools. In this thesis, I also discuss the importance of reflection in emancipatory drama processes.

Legal principles need to be considered when anti-bullying policies are established in public schools where bullying is taking place. The purpose of this study is to investigate how public schools establish anti-bullying policies and which legal principles are considered during the cyclic policy-making process. The research questions are: (1) How do public schools establish their anti-bullying policies? (2) Which legal principles are considered during the process of establishing anti-bullying policies? To answer these questions, four policies collected from participating schools were studied using a document study data collection method and eighteen participants were interviewed using semi-structured individual interviews. This research utilised a qualitative case study design. The study involved two primary schools and two secondary schools in the Witbank area. Themes such as needs analysis, type of policy used to deal with bullying, formulation of anti-bullying policy, policy implementation, policy monitoring and policy evaluation were developed. Research findings show that the content of the anti-bullying policies is not clearly incorporated and is not sufficient. Most policies have few legal principles that are relevant to bullying. There is insufficient stakeholder involvement in terms of needs identification, policy formulation, implementation and monitoring, as well as evaluation of policies that deal with bullying. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Bullying is a serious problem on its own but emerging research suggests that bullying may present differently in students with disabilities and affect them more severely than previously thought. The purpose of this study was to explore the multi-layered issue of bullying involving students with disabilities, examine the programs and legislation developed around this issue, and determine the training and knowledge teachers and teacher candidates have regarding the problem. An exploratory survey was completed by 105 teachers and teacher candidates in northeast Tennessee. Descriptive statistics and T-tests revealed that in-service teachers were more knowledgeable in identification of bullying and the components of Tennessee’s anti-bullying law than pre-service teachers. Additionally, this study found that elementary teachers answered more general bullying knowledge questions correctly than upper grade teachers. The limited utilization of evidence-based bullying prevention and intervention programs and strategies was also noted. Implications for teacher training programs will be discussed.