Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.Ed. / The staffroom which was once a retreat for a cup of tea, coffee, a breather and a catch-up of educational talk has become an empty room of silent voices that echo; a place characterised by unresolved grievances, unmanageable workloads, ignored opinions, feelings of being excluded, vital information that was withheld, excessive monitoring, repeated reminders of errors, hostile reaction on approach, persistent criticism, humiliation or ridiculing and impossible deadlines for completion of tasks. The voices of educators have become silent and complacent; actions are defined by what is expected and prescribed by the government. Bullying in the workplace has largely been regarded as insignificant. This complex and universal phenomenon, however, is firmly rooted in South African schools. Changes in an organisation as well as political influences have severe consequences on educators, as educators are more exposed to diversity, cultural differences, increased workloads, harassment, and humiliation, unmanageable workloads in order to meet targets, intimidation, hostility and degradation. Exposure to bullying in the staffroom and personal experiences as being a victim of bullying motivated this researcher to improve her qualifications and to conduct research in downward bullying. The research, based upon educator perceptions, attempts to investigate whether downward bullying is taking place, when it is taking place, as well as how often it is perceived to occur within primary schools in Gauteng. To facilitate this investigation, the following objectives were set; to investigate the nature of downward bullying, to probe the perceptions of educators as to the frequency of downward bullying and to devise strategies to enable educators to recognise and cope with downward bullying. Completing this research, a set of management strategies for the identification and reduction of downward bullying were suggested. Indistinguishable from compliance, control, governmentality and managerialism, downward bullying, if not addressed, is a concern for the education system in South Africa. The dynamics presented within this research will shed light on the "dark side" of legitimate power, exposing the gravitational nature of bullying as an escalating workplace phenomenon.

Whole-school development was introduced in South Africa by the Department of Education (DoE) after 1994 as a method of effectively addressing barriers to learning. Whole-school development is an effort that requires the combined contribution of all stakeholders to manage and facilitate effective change at schools. In this respect the school is recognised as an organisation with various interdependent systems, of which all contribute to the functioning of the school. In South Africa it is evident that schools are faced with many and various barriers to learning. One such barrier, and the topic of this study, is bullying. In primary and high schools alike, bullying is rife, occurring not only on the playground but also in the classroom. Bullying is an external barrier that contributes to internal trauma, such as fear and anxiety amongst victims. These consequences then filter through to the various systems at the school, like the parents, teachers, and the school system which are negatively influenced by bullying. The result of bullying then impacts on every system at the school thus enhancing the negative consequences associated with bullying. The trauma associated to bullying has been recognised. South African researchers recommend that bullying should be addressed in order to facilitate an inclusive learning environment. In this respect whole-school development has been suggested to effectively address bullying from a systemic perspective. Although the trauma of bullying has been recognised, these researchers have all concluded that limited information is available with regard to addressing bullying in South Africa. Vorster (2002) has researched the development of anti-bullying guidelines using a whole-school approach; however these guidelines have not been applied to discuss the effectiveness of it. In this study, Vorster’s guidelines are implemented with the aim of understanding the educators’ experiences of using whole-school development during the process of drawing up the anti-bullying guidelines at the school. A subsidiary aim of this research is to make recommendations for future development of anti-bullying guidelines. Action research has been selected as the research design with the motivation that participatory research is aimed at providing those who experience the problem to engage in the research process with the purpose of seeking suitable solutions to the problems. It allows such people to take ownership of the process of finding appropriate solutions and thus empowering them. Whole-school development originated from the need to allow stakeholders to participate in decisions that influence their schools. It further emanated from the need to facilitate effective change in schools in an attempt to build an inclusive learning environment. Vorster’s (2002) guidelines include the process of creating an awareness of bullying at the school, suggesting feedback sessions with both learners and teachers on the findings and the development of an anti-bullying committee who would be responsible for the development of the anti-bullying guidelines. In conclusion, these guidelines allowed the teachers to explore various strategies that can be implemented at the school. The research process in turn allowed the teachers to take charge of the process thus empowering them. It is apparent that each school needs to experience this approach in an attempt to contextualise and understand the school and thereafter explore feasible and realistic guidelines that are appropriate to their context. In this manner South African schools will be actively taking charge of addressing barriers to learning. / Mrs. H. Krige

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education of the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 2007. / This study investigated educators' perception of bullying in schools. Literature on bullying, were reviewed. The sample consisted of 200 educators. The descriptive method of research was used to collect data with regard to educators' perceptions of bullying. An empirical survey comprising a structured questionnaire was completed by educators in the Umbumbulu Circuit of the Umlazi District in the Ethekwini Region of Kwazulu Natal. The data that was collected reflected the perceptions of the target group of educators: ~ Bullying should not be tolerated at school. ~ Respect for human dignity should prevail among all learners at school. ~ The school should be a place that promotes a safe environment. ~ Every learner's unique personality and value should be respected. ~ Support programmes should be provided for learners that bully and victims of bullying. ~ A Provincial bullying policy will ensure uniform address on this escalating violence in schools. The research revealed that bullying can occur in any group of learners whatever age or size of the members and that about two thirds of the learners have been/are bullied during their schooling years. There are many forms of bullying. The spectrum varies from relatively harmless teasing and extends to serious assault or harassment. Verbal and psychological bullying can be just as harmful and hurtful as physical violence. Sexual and racial harassment are particularly serious forms of bullying. It becomes clear from the research that there is no simple solution to bullying. It is a complex and variable problem so each school must develop its own policy. Of course this would be easier if there was a national climate of concern similar to that in Norway. Bullying has been ignored for too long. Individuals are powerless before its insidiousness but schools can adopt collective remedies which will not only help the victims but also strengthen the relationship between parents, educators and learners. The perceptions of educators' cast an illuminating light on an appalling problem that is prevalent at schools.

No description available.

The issue of bullying in schools is an age old problem and it does not only occur in schools but even in the workplace. This study aims to explore the experiences of learners who witness bullying in schools and how this issue affects them psychologically, emotionally and academically. This was a qualitative study and data was collected through open-ended interviews and focus group discussions. Data for this study was collected from learners from grades eight to twelve, who had witnessed bullying. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed and analysed, and data was categorised into themes. The results of this study revealed that there were some psychological, emotional and academic problems that emanated from witnessing bullying. The trauma of watching bullying endangered the lives of the witnesses, psychologically and emotionally, meaning that it affected the way they reasoned out things. Some witnesses even pointed out that bullying compelled them to think with their hearts rather than with their minds. Ultimately, they made decisions that they regretted because they had taken those decisions when they were furious. The results also revealed that bullying negatively impacted on some learners’ academic performance. Their studies deteriorated and some ended up repeating a grade. The results of this study also revealed a lack of intervention by educators, parents and the Department of Education and more especially a lack of programmes that aimed at helping the witnesses. Witnesses of bullying in this study revealed that they were not given a voice about the issue of bullying, but seemed to be neglected despite the negative impact on them. When witnesses in this study watched bullying, their rights and freedom to think, behave acceptably and learn without disturbance were infringed upon. Witnesses in this study also proposed a number of effective and varied intervention methods. It is recommended that educators should be equipped with skills of dealing with witnesses in bullying. Witnesses should be exposed to strategies that would help in instilling assertiveness to them, so that they would have a hand in the struggle of eradicating bullying altogether in schools. Policies implemented by both the Department of Education and the school should be reinforced. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology), 2017 / The growing epidemic of bullying is one that warrants urgent deference. When considering the repercussions of this issue in the South African context specifically, it is essential that a high level of criticality is taken into account. This is mainly due to South Africa’s rich historical background and the country’s urgency to protect and respect the basic human rights of all individuals in the country (Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention; and the Department of Basic Education, 2012). According to our Bill of Rights, “everyone has the right to be free from all forms of violence, on the part of either the government or other sources; not to be tortured in any way; and not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way” (CJCP & DBE, 2012). Any act or behaviour which goes against these essential human rights thus results in grave ramifications such as the infringement of human rights. The purpose of this study was thus to investigate the prevalence, nature, and intervention surrounding the issue of bullying in South African high schools. More specifically, this study aimed to explore the possible differences between the prevalence, nature, and intervention in government/public and private high schools. In addition, the possible differences between gender and the issue of bullying were further investigated. The study employed the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire in order to find possible associations between the two independent variables (type of school and gender); and the issue of bullying. The total sample comprised of 358 grade eight to eleven learners from one private school and one government school in Johannesburg. The statistical analyses were done by means of frequencies and cross-tabulations using the chi-square statistical test with school type and gender as independent variables. The overall results on the prevalence of bullying indicate that 27.7% of high school learners have experienced bullying in school. Neither the type of school nor the gender of the learner was found to have a significant impact on the prevalence of bullying. In addition, the current study found that verbal bullying is most commonly experienced by the learners, followed by social bullying. Common areas for bullying behaviour are the playground and the classroom (with and without the teacher present). Boys have been found to partake, as well, as experience bullying more than girls. Teacher and learner intervention are commonly reported, whereas adult intervention is not seen as a means of support for learners. / XL2018

Phase two was a large scale survey, whereby a convenient sample of 1319 junior secondary school students were recruited from five schools in the main study. A total number of 1211 students aged 11 years and older completed the questionnaires. The results of the main study showed that the three occurrences of bullying stressors which occurred most frequently were "Bullies make fun of my physical appearance unpleasantly", "Bullies insult me in front of other people" and "Bullies intentionally trick me". Findings also indicated that adolescents often appraised bullying as being "Physical harm or emotional hurt" and "Threaten of getting harm or loss". In particular, the highest levels of stress experienced by adolescents were in incidents where "Bullies gain peer support that I deserved to be bullied", "Bullies make fun of my physical appearance unpleasantly" and "Bullies insult me causing me to lose emotional control". Elaborating further on the Chi-square analysis measuring on the frequency of bullying behaviors, the results indicated that there were significant gender differences with regard to types of bullying behaviors such as "Being hit, beaten and punched", "Made fun of me and treated me badly", and "Being threatened to be beaten". In general, it was discovered that adolescent boys were more inclined to be involved in different types of direct and indirect bullying behaviors than girls. / Significant findings of regression analyses showed that only appraisals of school bullying to be a mediator in the relationship between levels of stress and psychological distress of school bullying. Emotional focused coping strategies and parental-support were found to be the partial mediators. Moreover, appraisals of school bullying and emotional focused coping strategies were also found to be partial mediators in the relationship between levels of stress and social distress. More importantly, appraisals of school bullying and parent-adolescent closeness were also shown to play a moderating role in the link between levels of stress and psychological distress arising from school bullying. In contrast, only problem-focused coping strategies, friendship support and parent-adolescent closeness were seen to play a moderating role in the relationship between levels of stress and social distress. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of Hong Kong adolescents involved in school bullying and to examine the stressors, perceived levels of stress, appraisals, coping strategies, coping resources and psychological consequences arising from school bullying. / The T-test analysis also highlighted the disparity between boys and girls with regard to direct bullying, indirect bullying, and levels of stress, emotional-focused coping strategies, parental support, parent-adolescent closeness and psychological distress of school bullying. The F-value of the one-way ANOVA showed that there were statistically significant grade differences in problem-focused coping strategies and parental support for the three grade groups. According to the results of correlation analyses, the levels of stress was found to have positive significant correlations with appraisal of threat, appraisal of harm, emotional focused coping strategies, social distress and psychological distress. Moreover, psychological distress was positively associated with appraisal of harm, appraisal of threat and emotional-focused coping strategies but negatively related to family support. Social distress was also found to be positively associated with appraisal of harm, appraisal of threat and emotional-focused coping strategies, however social distress was only negatively related to parental-support. / This study attempted to link the two bodies of "Bullying" and "Cognitive-transaction coping" knowledge to conceptualize "coping with stress of school bullying" as being a complex interplay between the person and the environment. This involved incorporating a cross sectional study of the quantitative approach which was comprised of two phases: Phase one was essentially the conducting of a pilot test to ensure the reliability and selection of measuring scales which would be used for the purposes of conducting the main study. These scales included "School Bullying Behavior" scale, "Levels of Stress" scale, "Appraisals of School Bullying" scale, "Adolescent Coping of Bullying" scale, "Coping Resources of Bullying" scale and the "Psychosocial Consequences of Bullying" scale. Based on a convenient sample of sixty known-case adolescent victims, the six instruments selected for the main study, were shown to have reliability coefficients exceeding 0.70 and thus only minor modifications to measuring scales were made. Based on the pre-test findings, a questionnaire comprising 170 items was developed to measure the perceptions of adolescents toward school bullying behaviors, the levels of stress encountered and appraisals of school bullying. The questionnaire also measured coping strategies adopted by students, coping resources used, psychosocial consequences of school bullying and the social demographic profile of the main study. / Law, Kin Man. / Adviser: Ma Lai Chong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-01, Section: A, page: 0333. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 354-387). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

The current focus in bullying intervention programs has shifted from the traditional attention to bullies or victims of aggression in isolation, and instead focused on systemically targeting the ecology in which the behavior occurs. This study sought to determine if a six session classroom intervention coupled with a teacher education program was sufficient to alter the attitudes and behaviors related to overt aggression of fourth grade students. The treatment manual for this intervention was developed following a review of the literature on ecological intervention for overt and social/relational aggression. The objectives of the study's treatment program were to reduce bullying behaviors through an ecological approach by: 1) educating students on types of bullying (physical and social), the role of the bystander in contributing to the existence of bullying, and the consequences for individuals and the classroom environment when bullying occurs; 2) challenging sympathetic attitudes about the appropriateness of bullying; 3) providing students with strategies for intervening when they observe bullying; 4) modeling bystander interventions; 5) giving students an opportunity to practice bystander interventions; and 6) empowering classrooms to develop a code of conduct for working together to reduce bullying. Participants were 71 fourth grade students from a Central Texas elementary school. Participants completed self-report measures on attitudes related to the appropriateness of aggression and a peer-ratings measure of their classmates' frequency of prosocial behavior and overt aggression. Research questions sought to determine whether participants in the intervention would demonstrate: 1) decreased attitudes favorable to aggression; 2) increased prosocial behavior; and 3) reduced overt aggression. Results of the study supported the hypothesis of reductions in participants' peer-rated overt aggression but did not support hypotheses of reduced favorable attitudes towards aggression and increased peer-rated prosocial behavior. A supplementary analysis found that participants rated as most overtly aggressive by their peers demonstrated significant reductions in overt aggression following intervention. Implications and limitations of the study's findings are provided.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-93). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xi, 109 leaves, bound 29 cm