School bullying has become a serious issue in U.S. schools, with children being harassed, hurt, and even killed or driven to suicide or homicide as a result of being bullied. Bullying in schools has persisted despite the various intervention measures taken to curtail the phenomenon. The purpose of this phenomenological exploration was to explore how teachers and principals at a U.S. middle school perceive the school's existing bullying programs and elicit recommendations about how to improve the programs. The theoretical basis of this investigation was Bandura's social learning theory. Data were collected through interviews with 4 principles and 6 teachers. Interview data were transcribed, and then coded and analyzed using a modified Van Kaam procedure, as revised by Moustakas. Nine themes emerged from the data analysis that encompassed participants' perceptions of the causes of bullying and how teachers and principals can help to prevent bullying. The key finding is that teachers reported that more professional training to reduce bullying is needed. Additionally, social learning theory is explanatory of participant experiences as they noted that encouraging positive behavior, kindness, and empathy in the classroom will help minimize bullying conduct in schools. This study may foster societal change by providing insight to educational leaders about how to improve antibullying programs, which may lead to reductions in school dropout rates, incidents of homicide and suicide as a result of school bullying, and other antisocial behaviors associated with school bullying.

Peer-to-peer bullying negatively impacts over 20% of school-aged children annually. While much literature exists on bullying on school premises, peer-to-peer bullying outside of the classroom is still relatively understudied. Despite states' implementation of antibullying legislation, peer-to-peer bullying has continued in schools and other areas such as afterschool centers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate staff perceptions of peer-to-peer bullying in afterschool centers. It specifically investigated bullying and the hierarchical imbalance of power using Sidanius and Pratto's social dominance theory. The research questions were designed to investigate the staff members' knowledge of bullying at the Boys and Girls Club. A phenomenological approach was used and data were collected through one-on-one interviews of 11 Boys and Girls Club staff members. Data from the interviews were deductively coded and subjected to thematic analysis. Findings indicate that staff members do not have a uniform understanding of bullying behaviors, nor did they have a clear guidance on practices to minimize bullying which leads to continued peer-to-peer bullying at the Boys and Girls Club. Staff also reported that they have been offered little training on dealing with bullying behavior, nor are there clear policies in place to combat bullying behavior from participants in the afterschool program. Positive social change may be achieved by the implementation of recommendations to the Boys and Girls Club including mandatory antibullying training for staff and the creation and implementation of a comprehensive antibullying policy.