School communities are supposed to be safe places for children where they can build healthy and positive relationships; protected places where children not only gain knowledge, but also learn about themselves. However, research indicates an increase in violent behaviour within school communities. The serious nature of violence in South African schools is evident in reports of physical and sexual abuse, gang-related activities and children bringing and using weapons at schools. The violence is not limited to violence between children but also involves interschool rivalries where gang conflicts have become part of the problem. Despite the measures taken by the DoE, violence in schools is still escalating and educators in some schools can spend more time on solving issues relating to violence than being involved in the process of effective teaching. Consequently violence in schools might become a threat to the provision of effective education for children. Current South African research on bullying behaviour tends to follow a linear, individualistic approach as a means to understanding the phenomenon of bullying. Research conducted within the South African context tends to focus on the individual behaviour of children involved in bullying incidents with the need to address the aggressive behaviour of the bully, the need to protect the victim and describing concerns for the bystanders. The concern of such a linear approach is that research does not place enough emphasis on the relationships of members in school communities and the contexts in which bullying behaviour occurs. To address this gap in the knowledge regarding our understanding of bullying behaviour from a relational perspective, the researcher explored the relational experiences of secondary school children who were involved in bullying incidents in three secondary school communities in South Africa. A systemic developmental approach developed by Cairns and Cairns (1991) and adopted by Atlas and Pepler (1998) as well as a complex interactive dynamics systems approach informed this study. The purpose of this study is to contribute to efforts to find solutions to the escalation of bullying behaviour by exploring the relational experiences of children who were involved in bullying incidents in the context of secondary school communities in South Africa. It is anticipated that an exploration of the relational experiences of these children might facilitate a deeper understanding of the dynamics that emerge in the interactions between the various members in school communities and an understanding of how these interactions contribute toward the escalation in bullying behaviour. In order to obtain a deeper understanding regarding the phenomenon of bullying, a qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to explore the relational experiences of children involved in bullying incidents within three secondary school communities. Within the first phase of data collection thirty three participants (between grade 8-11), who were purposely selected, completed a written assignment. The written assignment included a short essay based on their experience of a bullying incident and twenty incomplete sentences that were open-ended in nature. In the second phase of data collection the researcher conducted semi- structured interviews with six of the participants who participated in the first phase of data collection. The semi-structured interviews allowed the researcher to ask further questions to obtain a deeper understanding regarding their relational experiences of bullying incidents in their school community. Based on the responses of the participants, three themes were identified: (1) Relational experiences of interactions between teachers and children based on the experiences of children where they spoke about interactions that suggested reciprocal disrespect between children and teachers, incongruence between teachers and learners, teachers attempting to control the behaviour of children and lack of interest displayed in children by their teachers; (2) Relational experiences of interactions between children that included subthemes of assertion of power to obtain status amongst peers, exclusion based on group membership, competiveness amongst groups and violating the trust of friends; (3) Relational experiences of interactions in conflict situations where participants described their bullying experiences and suggested that teachers display apathy in these forms of conflict situations. The participants also reported that children tend to instigate and reinforce conflict. Learners also often choose to remain silent out of fear for retaliation and that teacher-parent disputes exist regarding the managing of conflict situations between children. The relational experiences of the children assisted to inform our understanding of the interactive dynamics that underpin bullying behaviour. In view of the findings of the study, recommendations are made for practice, policy development and suggestions for future research are also offered. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

School communities are supposed to be safe places for children where they can build healthy and positive relationships; protected places where children not only gain knowledge, but also learn about themselves. However, research indicates an increase in violent behaviour within school communities. The serious nature of violence in South African schools is evident in reports of physical and sexual abuse, gang-related activities and children bringing and using weapons at schools. The violence is not limited to violence between children but also involves interschool rivalries where gang conflicts have become part of the problem. Despite the measures taken by the DoE, violence in schools is still escalating and educators in some schools can spend more time on solving issues relating to violence than being involved in the process of effective teaching. Consequently violence in schools might become a threat to the provision of effective education for children. Current South African research on bullying behaviour tends to follow a linear, individualistic approach as a means to understanding the phenomenon of bullying. Research conducted within the South African context tends to focus on the individual behaviour of children involved in bullying incidents with the need to address the aggressive behaviour of the bully, the need to protect the victim and describing concerns for the bystanders. The concern of such a linear approach is that research does not place enough emphasis on the relationships of members in school communities and the contexts in which bullying behaviour occurs. To address this gap in the knowledge regarding our understanding of bullying behaviour from a relational perspective, the researcher explored the relational experiences of secondary school children who were involved in bullying incidents in three secondary school communities in South Africa. A systemic developmental approach developed by Cairns and Cairns (1991) and adopted by Atlas and Pepler (1998) as well as a complex interactive dynamics systems approach informed this study. The purpose of this study is to contribute to efforts to find solutions to the escalation of bullying behaviour by exploring the relational experiences of children who were involved in bullying incidents in the context of secondary school communities in South Africa. It is anticipated that an exploration of the relational experiences of these children might facilitate a deeper understanding of the dynamics that emerge in the interactions between the various members in school communities and an understanding of how these interactions contribute toward the escalation in bullying behaviour. In order to obtain a deeper understanding regarding the phenomenon of bullying, a qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to explore the relational experiences of children involved in bullying incidents within three secondary school communities. Within the first phase of data collection thirty three participants (between grade 8-11), who were purposely selected, completed a written assignment. The written assignment included a short essay based on their experience of a bullying incident and twenty incomplete sentences that were open-ended in nature. In the second phase of data collection the researcher conducted semi- structured interviews with six of the participants who participated in the first phase of data collection. The semi-structured interviews allowed the researcher to ask further questions to obtain a deeper understanding regarding their relational experiences of bullying incidents in their school community. Based on the responses of the participants, three themes were identified: (1) Relational experiences of interactions between teachers and children based on the experiences of children where they spoke about interactions that suggested reciprocal disrespect between children and teachers, incongruence between teachers and learners, teachers attempting to control the behaviour of children and lack of interest displayed in children by their teachers; (2) Relational experiences of interactions between children that included subthemes of assertion of power to obtain status amongst peers, exclusion based on group membership, competiveness amongst groups and violating the trust of friends; (3) Relational experiences of interactions in conflict situations where participants described their bullying experiences and suggested that teachers display apathy in these forms of conflict situations. The participants also reported that children tend to instigate and reinforce conflict. Learners also often choose to remain silent out of fear for retaliation and that teacher-parent disputes exist regarding the managing of conflict situations between children. The relational experiences of the children assisted to inform our understanding of the interactive dynamics that underpin bullying behaviour. In view of the findings of the study, recommendations are made for practice, policy development and suggestions for future research are also offered. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015