Tim Evans

S00107220

13/09/2011

What are the most effective ways to respond to bullying and unacceptable behaviour in primary schools? An issue that adversely affects children in primary schools in Australia and indeed the majority of the Western world is bullying. A report by Parada states bullying is more likely to occur in primary schools, with the prevalence declining as students move through their high school years (as cited in Stutz, 2010); bullying appears to peak when children are 10 to 12 years of age, with boys more likely than girls to bully others and also to be bullied themselves (Leech, 2007; Stutz, 2010). Bullying is when someone, or a group of people, deliberately excludes or either verbally or physically threatens another person. It may also include damaging their property, reputation or social acceptance on more than one occasion. There is an imbalance of power in incidents of bullying with the bully or bullies having more power at the time due to age, size or other reasons (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [DEECD], 2010; Slee & Wotherspoon, 2008). It is the responsibility of primary school teachers and the wider school community to identify when bullying or unacceptable behaviour occurs, and to determine the best way to respond to this behaviour. This essay will attempt to outline some ways to address this issue. It is important to understand why bullying occurs in the first place in order to begin to address the issue. It may occur for a number of reasons, such as perceived differences in gender, sexual orientation and physical appearance, to name only a few. It may be motivated by jealousy, distrust, fear, misunderstanding or lack of knowledge. It can continue over time, is often hidden from adults and will probably continue if no action is taken (DEECD, 2010, p. 8). Perhaps not surprisingly, bullying causes serious harm to students' social, physical and psychological wellbeing.
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Tim Evans

S00107220

13/09/2011

Children who are bullied or who bully others are more likely to suffer from poor health, including low self esteem, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts (Leech, 2007, p. 56). Bullying affects around one in six students on a weekly basis and one in 10 are active bullies; intervention therefore becomes an extremely important matter (Stutz, 2010, p. 9). Intervention strategies should pay particular attention to the needs of very young students between the ages of five and seven years, as this is the time in childrens development where they begin to establish what the acceptable social norms are. Some of these strategies include: helping students identify feelings - e.g. angry, sad, happy and the differences between them; actively teaching children not to respond to conflict with conflict; seeking help from other educators and parents; helping new children make friends e.g. using a 'buddy' system (Slee & Wotherspoon, 2008, p. 23). The main aim of intervention is to educate students to enhance their understanding of their own emotions, the possible reasons different situations affect them, and how their actions affect others; essentially moving towards the teachers long term goal for students - that they become independent and successful learners (Douglas, 2009, p.10). Research has shown there is a strong link between the students' sense of self and their behaviour and attitude to learning. If teachers want students to develop a strong sense of self worth, to understand the importance of community and be able to respect, work and play with others then factors other than discipline need to be considered (Douglas, 2009, p.10). Therefore, if students are provided with an environment where they feel valued, respected and trusted, there is a reduction in the likelihood that bullying will occur.

Tim Evans

S00107220

13/09/2011

The best way to create this environment is by engaging students; not simply providing them with a list of rules outlining what they should not do, but rather providing them with positive and clear expectations. Students, their families and staff should be involved in a discussion to reach a common understanding of the ideal school environment; preferably a safe and respectful one that applies to all members of the school community (Douglas, 2009, p.11). However, while intervention may be effective in promoting understanding of how students actions may impact on other people, it is generally best as a preventative measure. Of course, there may be times where bullying is already occurring, and therefore prevention in this particular instance is no longer an option. While there are no definitive answers of the best ways to stop a student who is bullying others, there are several responses a teacher may suggest to their students when they come for help in the first instance: Trying to ask the bully calmly and politely to stop and then increasing this to telling them firmly and loudly to stop. Have the student who is being bullied consider putting on a protective shell by acting unimpressed. If the student feels up to it, make a funny comment. Keep notes (what, who, where and when) and make sure the bully knows this is being done. Have the bullied student talk to a friend and ask for support and ideas about what they could do to solve the problem (DEECD, 2010, p.19). Research by the Friendly Schools program found that 96 per cent of students said they didn't like bullying and didn't want to see it in their school, and 92 per cent of students said they admired someone who stood up for someone being bullied (as cited in Leech, 2007, p. 57). It is therefore important to train students who witness

Tim Evans

S00107220

13/09/2011

another person being bullied of what they can do to intervene. This training is based on the notion that bad things continue if good people do nothing, and aims to build students confidence in their conflict resolution skills and enable them to challenge the actions of those inflicting harm (DEECD, 2010, p. 20). Bystander training involves discussion with students about what they could do if they observed someone being bullied and provide reasons for their reaction. It also encourages students to think of ways they could voice their disapproval of bullying together as a group (DEECD, 2010, p. 20). Ideally, teachers would like to concentrate on the learning of their students, rather than needing to punish students who have acted in an inappropriate manner. As well as educating students in intervention techniques, it is equally important for teachers to appear in control at all times. The teachers that successfully do this are those that dont seem to get fazed by student behaviour and their students want to work for them (Hockey, 2010, p. 13). This control comes from not focusing on the childrens behaviour and trying to keep them quiet, but rather what the learning focus of the lesson will be. Teachers need to show enthusiasm and passion for what their students are learning because enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. By showing students that learning about these things has value, teachers give them more opportunity to become interested (Hockey, 2010, p. 14). This is important, because once a student stops feeling engaged, they begin to act inappropriately and in a disruptive manner. As much as a teacher may like all their students to arrive settled and ready for learning, many factors contribute to the difficult behaviours they might struggle to deal with in their classrooms. As well as factors mentioned earlier, students may have had to deal with absent, neglectful, abusive or alcohol- or drug-affected

Tim Evans

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parents while also dealing with their own fears, hunger, lack of material possessions, mental illness or other issues (Hockey, 2010, p. 13) before they even arrive at school. By educating students about how their actions may affect others and providing them with skills to understand their emotions and thus self-regulate before significant behaviour issues surface, bullying and inappropriate behaviour may be prevented and therefore cease to affect so many primary school students in Australia.

Tim Evans

S00107220 References

13/09/2011

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2010). Building respectful and safe schools: A resource for school communities. Melbourne: Communications Division for the Student Wellbeing Division Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Melbourne. Douglas, M. (2009). Leading and engaging a community. Teacher learning network, 16(2), 10-11. Hockey, A. (2010). Difficult behaviour: Beyond telling off. Teacher, (216), 12 14. Leech, R. (2007). Friendly schools. Teacher, (183), 56-59. Slee, P. T. & Wotherspoon, A. (2008). Young children and bullying. Every child, 14(3), 22-23. Stutz, F. (2010). Bullying in schools : who's to blame? Independent Education, 40(2), 9 11.