D.Ed. / The existential philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre (Jordaan and Jordaan, 1998:544) maintains in the drama ‘Huis Clos’: “Hell is the presence of other people”. For Jean Paul Sartre (1998:30) people are at the mercy of their freedom and doomed to choices but this is absurd because it is unavoidable for people to come up against the tragedy of suffering. Victor Frankl (Meyer, Moore and Viljoen, 2000:556) is an existential psychologist with a particularly positive focus and he believes that the indestructible meaning of life and self is to be found in suffering. Researchers have found that the victims of bullying find themselves in this particular piece of the puzzle of life. For many victims it may feel as if they have been trapped in a labyrinth. The researcher has long been a reflector on the reason and purpose of human existence and under the influence of Victor Frankl (Meyer et al, 2000:562) came to the conviction that values play an important role in the lives of people. In addition, the will to find meaning is the real motivation that underlies human behaviour. The researcher admires Frankl (Meyer et al, 2000:556) who maintains that even in suffering (such as being bullied) meaning can be found to enrich the victim’s lives if they are taught to handle bullies. Human beings are people whose humanity includes the freedom of responsibility, a quality unique to the human race. Freedom of responsibility implies that when people are continually faced with choices they have the freedom to choose and they are free to act as well. People can do nothing about the things that happen to them, such as being bullied. But they can choose how they feel about it and how they react to it (Frankl 1959:178). People’s (victim’s) primary need is the need to make sense of life (Frankl 1959:178). The moment suffering gains meaning, it looses it unbearableness and becomes a life task, one that offers the highest challenge and reward (Frankl 1978:43). In this study the researcher uses a psycho-educational programme with the victims to guide them in the managing of the behaviour of bullies. The researcher used the following two lines of investigation: “tell me how you have been bullied” and “tell me what your experience of bullying is”. The purpose of this viii study is the description, implementation and evaluation of a psycho-educational programme to promote the management of bullies. The afore-mentioned proposal was realised from a methodological point of view by using a qualitative investigation. In this regard the research was both exploratory and descriptive. Research was done by means of the writing of scenarios by the participants, partially structured interviews, notes by the participants, focus group interviews, as well as observations of the participants and the taking of field notes by the researcher. The results obtained from this research were analysed and categorised. The findings of this data are presented by means of a literature rubric. The researcher abided strictly by ethical procedures and confidentiality. The following main themes were identified: direct bullying acts and indirect bullying acts. Under direct bullying acts the following categories were identified: physical acts and verbal acts. Different subcategories were identified. Under indirect bullying acts these categories were identified: psychological acts under which different subcategories were identified. The results of the data analysis revealed that the experience of bullies evokes feelings of heartache, emotional pain, anger and fear in the participants. In addition the participants described their experience of bullies in terms of incidents that relate to physical, emotional and verbal abuse. It was also found that learners are still reliant on teachers to solve bullying behaviour constructively at school. The research also made it clear that this psycho-educational programme would make a valuable contribution towards the guidance of the participants in managing the behaviour of bullies. The research also highlighted the need for the participants to go through a process of self analysis to discover who they are and that this would guide them towards self-assertive actions, realistic observations of bullying acts, humour, self- transcendence (which shows that the participants are not only tuned into themselves, but also look outwardly), as well as respect for the uniqueness of others. These aspects should make a contribution towards the meaningful management of bullying behaviour. In the research it also came to the fore that in many instances the participants, had inadequate behavioural skills. It was necessary for the participants to be educated in ix behavioural skills and in self-determining actions, self assertive behaviour, the recognition of inappropriate behaviour through realistic observation, the learning of friendship skills, together with humour and self-transcendence, respect and value for the uniqueness of others by making use of the three Ws (as discussed in the programme). In this regard in the research it became clear that the facilitator plays an important role in the guidance of the participants. The facilitator must guide the participants in managing the behaviour of bullies. Consequently a psycho-educational programme was developed whereby the behaviour of bullies can be managed. This programme was developed from the themes and categories of the research. The purpose of this programme is to empower the participants to manage the behaviour of bullies. The implementation of the programme is discussed next. The programme was presented over a time period of ten weeks. It was presented during the Life Orientation lessons. It was presented to the Grade 9 group and also worked into the year plan. The entire group participated voluntarily in this dynamic programme. Finally the participants’ experiences of the programme were presented in focus group interviews. The data was collected and analysed and the conclusions were made that the psycho-educational programme leads to the enlightenment of the participants regarding what bullies are, the kinds of bullies, the extent and effectiveness of bullies, as well as the negative effects of bullies on their victims. In addition the participants discovered the uniqueness of their self image and that this knowledge empowered them to discover paradigms and habits of self upliftment. The self upliftment of the participants enabled them to develop self-assertive behaviour as well as the sharpening of particularly effective behavioural skills such as the realistic observation of certain behaviour and the value of friendship skills. The necessary skills in regards to goal setting, choices, problem-solving and conflict management were developed by the participants as skills for managing the behaviour of bullies. This thesis therefore offers a psycho-educational programme for guidance of victims in the management of the behaviour of bullies. It could make a positive contribution to their effective functioning in their social worlds.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:8261 |
| Date | 31 March 2009 |
| Creators | Geyer, Johanna Margaretha |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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