M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Learner violence is and has been a thorny silent issue among learners and teachers as well as part of daily schooling in South African schools before and after the advent of democracy. This epidemic is not only unique in South African schools but the world over including developing and countries where it does not receive necessary attention from both parents of the victims and perpetrators, authorities and with no coverage from the media. The South African government through The Bill of Rights in The Constitution Act 104 of 1996 together with the Department of Education (DoE) through legislation such as South African Schools Act (SASA) 84 of 1996 made provision through School Governing Bodies (SGB) and school managers of ensuring that violence in schools should be managed and be eradicated by means of formulating sound policies with appropriate measures to discipline whoever is found in transgression of good behaviour. However, irrespective of endeavours by authorities to curb these problems, we are still witnessing the serious incidents where learners are committing forms of violence against other learners . This motivated the researcher to explore the experiences and strategies of school principals, in particular public school principals with regard to how they manage learner violence in their schools. In addition, it was of importance to determine the contribution of stakeholders such as parents towards the management of violence in the school as regulated by SASA and what are the impact of violence on learners themselves as observed by principals. The aim was to research incidents of violence in schools, and what are the principals’ experiences and strategies of managing learner violence. A qualitative research method study was used through a semi-structured interview to get in-depth experience and knowledge from identified participants.

Despite the increase in bullying behavior that has occurred among high school students, there is a lack of age appropriate intervention programs available to assist secondary administrators and staff with this problem. The purpose of this case study in 1 high school in a suburb of a major Mid-Atlantic city in the United States was to determine the perceptions held by secondary administrators and staff of an adapted antibullying program, originally created for use in elementary schools, in reducing the incidences of bullying behavior and feelings of strain. This study was also designed to explore how administrators and staff perceived if the bullying prevention program fostered prosocial behavior, and the extent to which the program reduced peer aggression, peer harassment, and strain. The conceptual framework was general strain theory described by Durkheim and Merton. The design for this case study included interviews with 5 teachers and 3 administrators who had been involved in implementation of the antibullying program. Open coding was used to organize and analyze the data for the emergence of significant concepts and patterns. Codes were formulated into four associated meanings or themes; relationships, student responsibility, positive culture, and trusting and supportive environment. The results indicated that school personnel were able to modify an existing bullying prevention program that has changed the culture of the school and the mindset of its student body while helping the students to alleviate strain and issues of aggression and harassment. The current research may affect social change by encouraging other secondary schools to assess their bullying prevention programs to determine if the material being used is age appropriate for secondary students and if the programs are indeed alleviating bullying behavior and strain in their students.

This study investigated the severity of bullying perpetration in secondary schools in the Uthungulu District of KwaZulu-Natal. The study further sought to establish the various types of bullying that were rife in secondary schools, the factors that contributed to bullying perpetration and the negative impact of bullying behaviour on all stakeholders of the school system. An in-depth literature study was conducted in this regard. Accordingly, various theories relevant to the phenomenon were explored exhaustively. A qualitative research design and methodology was employed to investigate the phenomenon through interviews with participants from five secondary schools, including the circuit manager of the circuit concerned. Strict ethical principles were adhered to throughout and the study was also evaluated for reliability and validity. The study found that the factors that contributed considerably to the problem of bullying in secondary schools were embedded at the level of the family, the school and the community. In addition, the study established that the impact of bullying was so severe that it affected the day- to- day functioning of the school from a management perspective where a considerable amount of time was spent managing the problem, substantially reducing valuable teaching time. The impact was also felt significantly among victims who experienced low self-esteem, humiliation, embarrassment and palpable levels of stress and anxiety that ultimately led to appreciable rates of absenteeism, truancy, dropping out of school, transfers to other schools, ill-health, depression and even suicide. On the basis of the findings of the literature study and the empirical investigation, a model to curb bullying was developed, which required all stakeholders of the secondary schools in the Uthungulu District of KwaZulu-Natal to work collectively as a team to manage the problem effectively and efficiently. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

This study aimed to gain insight into the nature and extent of traditional and cyberbullying among Grade Six and Seven learners in four public primary schools in Benoni. Using the Social Learning Theory as a basis for understanding bullying as a learned behaviour (socially learned through the observation of authoritarian parents), a quantitative research method was applied which utilised an online self-report questionnaire to examine the relationship between bullying and the Authoritarian parenting style. Results indicate that 50.4% of learners had been victimised, while 31.6% and 8.8% had engaged in perpetrating traditional and cyberbullying, respectively at least once (N = 279). Further results revealed that the Authoritarian parenting style is significantly related to the perpetration of both types of bullying. These results bring to the fore the reciprocal relationship between both types of bullying, and indicate a need for systemic intervention at the primary school level (involving parents/caregivers). Interventions should therefore not seek to separate types of bullying into discreet problems, but rather focus on their common underlying aspects, including parenting behaviours / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to gain an awareness of the behavioural characteristics, physical mannerisms and relational techniques exhibited by young adolescent girls in South Africa who may be susceptible to, or have been traumatised by being bullied. A literature study and an empirical investigation were conducted to establish whether victims of bullying have distinct personality traits, as well as to determine if specific parenting styles affect the vulnerability of their adolescent daughters. The effectiveness of bullying prevention strategies in adolescent relationships was also explored. A questionnaire was developed to ascertain how adolescents perceive victims of bullying. Eight semi-structured interviews using photographs and a cartoon as projective techniques were conducted with victims to gather data and to enrich the findings. This study has demonstrated that international research about victimisation is pertinent to South African children. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

School bullying is becoming a problem throughout the world. It is deemed necessary that schools become safer environments for teaching and learning to take place. This study focused specifically on the impact of bullying, educationally and psychologically, on primary school learners. In the literature review conducted, research studies showed that learners were clearly affected by bullying. An empirical investigation, which included four individual sessions and a focus group session, was undertaken to determine what the effects of bullying were on the victims. Transcriptions were made of all the interviews and the data was then analysed to determine what the main themes were. The investigation concluded that bullying does affect learners educationally and psychologically. Based on the results, guidelines were provided for schools, parents, educators and the Department of Education. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This study aimed to gain insight into the nature and extent of traditional and cyberbullying among Grade Six and Seven learners in four public primary schools in Benoni. Using the Social Learning Theory as a basis for understanding bullying as a learned behaviour (socially learned through the observation of authoritarian parents), a quantitative research method was applied which utilised an online self-report questionnaire to examine the relationship between bullying and the Authoritarian parenting style. Results indicate that 50.4% of learners had been victimised, while 31.6% and 8.8% had engaged in perpetrating traditional and cyberbullying, respectively at least once (N = 279). Further results revealed that the Authoritarian parenting style is significantly related to the perpetration of both types of bullying. These results bring to the fore the reciprocal relationship between both types of bullying, and indicate a need for systemic intervention at the primary school level (involving parents/caregivers). Interventions should therefore not seek to separate types of bullying into discreet problems, but rather focus on their common underlying aspects, including parenting behaviours / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)

<p>Bullying can have serious consequences on everyone involved. Consequently it is important that school counselors are able to intervene. Thereby they need an unambiguous definition and knowledge about bullying that has been produced from research so they do not make mistakes that could lead to further damaging of the students. Thus the aim of this study was to examine how school counselors define bullying compared to the views held by scientists and students in secondary school. Through a review of previously done research the definitions of scientists and schoolchildren was summarized. To establish the school counselors’ definitions a qualitative interview based method was used. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews using an interview guide with open-ended questions. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the method of phenomenological concentration of its meaning. By the theory of logic-in-use and reconstructed logic the definitions of school counselors’, pupils and researchers was compared. Results showed that school counselors hold similar definitions to scientists and children but differ in some aspects. The results also indicate that the school counselors mainly have created their definitions through former experiences and knowledge and not through science and they also seem to experience difficulties in identifying bullying situations.</p>

Bullying can have serious consequences on everyone involved. Consequently it is important that school counselors are able to intervene. Thereby they need an unambiguous definition and knowledge about bullying that has been produced from research so they do not make mistakes that could lead to further damaging of the students. Thus the aim of this study was to examine how school counselors define bullying compared to the views held by scientists and students in secondary school. Through a review of previously done research the definitions of scientists and schoolchildren was summarized. To establish the school counselors’ definitions a qualitative interview based method was used. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews using an interview guide with open-ended questions. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the method of phenomenological concentration of its meaning. By the theory of logic-in-use and reconstructed logic the definitions of school counselors’, pupils and researchers was compared. Results showed that school counselors hold similar definitions to scientists and children but differ in some aspects. The results also indicate that the school counselors mainly have created their definitions through former experiences and knowledge and not through science and they also seem to experience difficulties in identifying bullying situations.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on May 3, 2010). School of Social Work, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Margaret E. Adamek, Valerie N. Chang, Nancy Chism, Rebecca S. Sloan, Lorraine Blackman, Matthew C. Aalsma. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-241).