THE BULLYING CYCLE AND RESTORATIVE PRACTICES 1

The Bullying Cycle and Restorative Practices

Deidre A Koziak and Mary E Jefferson
Loyola University

In partial fulfillment for

ED 776.601
Instructor: Gordon Michaloski, Ph.D.
December 1, 2016
THE BULLYING CYCLE AND RESTORATIVE PRACTICES 2

Abstract
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Introduction
Along with all the positive outcomes within the field of education, it unfortunately has its

downfalls, which at times can outweigh the good. An ongoing issue that plagues schools is the

bullying cycle. There are many articles written about the effects of bullying, and how to

approach the issue in our school systems. The bullying cycle effects not only the victim, but

parents and teachers as well. Bullying takes place in several different forms, including physical,

verbal, and psychological. The rise of technology within the recent years has created an

abundance of cyber bullying as well.

There are many questions we need to ask ourselves when getting to the root of this

problem. Where does the bullying cycle begin? What can educators do to prevent the cycle from

continuing? Can we consider the bullying cycle to be a healthy part of adolescence? What

strategies can be implemented in order to transform the culture within our schools?

Although this is still an ongoing issue within our schools, there are many resources

available that can restore our approach to the bullying cycle. As more research on this topic

develops, all participants of the bullying cycle are given strategies to try in order to prevent

future occurrences. Restorative practices is not the first strategy that teachers and administrators

choose to implement in their schools to prevent bullying. The approach is relatively new to the

field of education, which creates a hesitancy among educators. However, the research shows that

the approach is beneficial when given time to be implemented correctly.

Key terms:

 Restorative practices: Restorative practices, which evolved from restorative justice, is a

new field of study that has the potential to positively influence human behavior and
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strengthen civil society around the world. Restorative practices builds healthy

communities, increases social capital, reduces the impact of crime, decreases antisocial

behavior, repairs harm and restores relationships.

 Punitive discipline: Any form of punishment that is not positive.

 Shame: an individual’s social thermostat, mediating the state of social relationships.

 Bullying cycle: The various ways in which people react or participate in a bullying

situation.

 Conflict: a struggle or clash between opposing forces.

 Ignorance: lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.

 Bystanders: someone who sees or knows about bullying or other forms of violence that is

happening to someone else. They can be a part of the problem (hurtful bystander) or part

of the solution (helpful bystander).

 Defender: a support system for a victim in a bullying situation.

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Review of the Literature

School Bullying and Restorative Justice: Toward a Theoretical Understanding of the Role

of Respect, Pride and Shame

This study discusses the importance of three theories that support the practice of restorative

justice and its effects on school bullying: Scheff’s Theory of unacknowledged shame,

Braithwaite’s reintegrative shaming theory; and Tyler’s procedural justice theory (Morrison,

2006). It highlights the importance of being emotionally intelligible when addressing bullying

behaviors with all four parties of the bullying cycle: the nonbully/nonvictim, victim, bully, and

bully/victim. The root of the article is to have a better theoretical understanding of school

bullying, and the effects of interventions.

Through this study, restorative practices were used in order to strengthen the relationships among

those affected by school bullying. A true understanding of bullying is needed in order for

restorative practices to reach their full potential. The victim, bully, and community are all

accountable for behavior. “Feeling respected and connected are intrinsic to one’s self-worth; they

are basic needs of all human beings (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).

Scheff’s theory argues that “shame rests at the heart of the alienation process” (Scheff, 1994).

Victims in bullying situations lose a sense of who they are as an individual, in order to belong in

social groups. As for the bully, they are more likely to escape the thought of “I” by creating

“groups” in which the wrongdoing is condoned. Through his research, he finds that as all parties

involved in the harmful behavior acknowledge shame, they begin to find a balance between “I”

and “we”. In retrospect, Braithwaite’s reintegrative shaming theory states that “through the act of
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reintegrative shaming from respected others, a process of forgiveness and reconciliation can

emerge” (Braithwaite, 2002). Reintegrative shaming encourages the wrongdoer to reflect on the

behavior with a sense of respect and dignity, without disregarding the wrongful act. Tyler’s

procedural justice theory argues that “two aspects of group-oriented statuses are important in

shaping cooperation within groups: (1) the respect one feels as an individual within a group and

(2) the pride one feels as a member of a group” (Tyler and Linds, 1992). Healthy relationships

are built when individuals feel a sense of pride and respect within a group. Through the

integration of all three theories, there is a predicted differentiation within the four parties of the

bullying cycle. The “nonbully/nonvictim” will acknowledge shame with a high sense of pride

and respect at school, “victims” will acknowledge shame with a low sense of respect, the “bully”

will instill shame with high levels of respect and pride, and the “bully/victim” will displace

shame, with little sense of pride and respect.

The method is as follows

Self-report data was collected from 343 students (age= 12-16 years, males=163, females=180).

Prior to the method the students and their parents participated in a bullying survey. The sample

was taken from 22 public schools and 10 private schools in the Australian Capital Territory.

Bullying and victimization was measured using the same items from the Peer Relations

Questionnaire with all participants. Shame management was measured using the management of

shame state-shame acknowledgement shame displacement (MOSS, 2001). Group value was

measured using items related to Tyler and Blader (2000). Respect was measured through a 4-

point scale, ranging from disagree a lot (1) to agree a lot (4), based on how respected they felt at

school.
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An analysis was conducted using the five factors of interest within the study: shame

acknowledgement, shame displacement, pride, respect, and emotional group value. Through the

analysis, researchers found that the “nonbully/nonvictim”, as well as the “victim” group obtained

the greatest use of shame acknowledgement strategies. As predicted, the “bully” and the

“bully/victim” group showed the most significant use of shame displacement strategies.

“Nonbully/nonvictim” and “bully” groups felt the highest levels of respect within their schools.

Emotional group value within school was reported the greatest within the “nonbully/nonvictim”

and the “bully” groups.

In conclusion, the results of the study were consistent with the predictions based on the three

theories of shame and belonging. “Students who reported that they did not participate in bullying

in school, nor felt that they were victims of bullying, indicated that they were more likely to use

shame acknowledgement strategies, and less likely to use shame displacement strategies, when

involved in harmful behavior to others” (Morrison, 2006). The process of restorative practices

allows both victims and their offenders to reflect on who they are as an individual. They go

through a process which encourages them to listen and feel connected to all that are involved.

They must devote their time to develop an understanding of shame, pride, and respect in order to

minimalize the outpour of violence, alienation, and bullying within school communities.

Bullying: A Human Rights and Social Studies Issue

Schools are finding an increase in bullying in all its forms: physical, verbal, and psychological.

“The negative outcomes of bullying can be seen in the relationship between bullying behavior

and school issues, such as academic achievement, school bonding, and absenteeism” (Dake,

Price, & Tellijohan, 2003). In this article, the authors discuss how social studies classes can be
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beneficial to addressing bullying issues. It describes how bullying connects to different areas of

social studies such as community, justice, and human rights.

Through the social studies curricula, students gain a better understanding of what it means to be

a respectable member of their communities. More importantly, they focus on their

responsibilities of being a member of classroom and school. As an educator, it is important to

encourage students to participate in the classroom and emphasize the importance of the students’

role as individuals. Through this, “children can learn the ways in which the classroom

community includes and respects everyone” (Brewer & Harlin, 2008). Students will begin to

recognize when others are excluded, and want to make their peers feel like they belong.

Exclusion is a form of bullying. As students begin to see their teachers model how to prevent

exclusion, they too will take action. “In a safe classroom and school communities, bullying is

neither ignored nor tolerated” (Brewer & Harlin, 2008). In order to create a safe classroom

environment, teachers should create a list of expectations with their students. The wording of

these expectations should support positive outcomes, by wording them with “do’s” instead of

“don’ts”. Certain traits including caring, responsibility, respect, and friendship can be used to

promote a positive learning environment. Social studies provides many opportunities for students

to discuss what to do in bullying situations. Role-playing allows teachers and students to practice

what to do when bullying behaviors arise. It is important for students to know that rules

regarding bullying are being enforced throughout the school as a whole. Therefore, “schools and

classrooms should exemplify communities in which members receive equal protection, respect,

consideration, and treatment” (Brewer & Harlin. 2008).

In addition to the building of communities, the social studies curriculum devotes time to

discussing a nation’s system of justice. “Social studies are intended to develop students’
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understanding of democratic systems of justice” (Brewer & Harlin, 2008). Schools need to

provide their students with real-life experiences in which they can practice the responsibilities of

dealing with disputes. Peer mediation allows students to become involved in resolving conflicts,

and participation in the school community. It helps to eliminate the option of students being

expelled or suspended for behaviors, and instead holds them accountable for their actions.

“Through peer mediation, students must consider both sides of a bullying dispute, evaluate the

information, and develop workable solutions that are fare and agreeable to all parties” (Brewer &

Harlin, 2008). The outcome of peer mediation is often more sensible than that of an adults or

school administration. “Research has shown that peer mediation increases student interest in the

justice and legal system, while promoting citizenship” (Kajs et al., 2001).

Bullying is no longer viewed as rite of passage for children in the school systems. This provides

students with an “opportunity to explore the ways human rights protection is initiated, defined,

and enacted by different states within the United States, as well as around the world” (Brewer &

Harlin, 2008). Incorporating a state’s attempts to pass legislation about bullying can help to peak

a student’s interest in the legislation process. Students can use the social studies curricula in

order to compare their thoughts and understandings of bullying to that of the states. Through this

process, students are gaining an understanding of their individual rights, well-being, and safety.

This may impact students’ perspectives on both the bully and the victim in bullying situations.

“In 1989, the United Nations proclaimed that children deserve and need special protection, care,

and safeguards under its Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (Brewer & Harlin, 2008).

Teachers and school personnel are responsible for the well-being of their students throughout the

school day. This includes protecting them from physical and psychological harm. Students

should be able to rely on these adults for equal protection regardless of ethnicity, gender, culture,
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and language. Through the use of social studies curricula, school personnel can help to educate

their students on how to be respectable members of a school community, how to enforce peer

mediation in bullying situations, and their rights as individuals. “Teachers should focus on the

uses and abuses of power, and promote their students’ positive attitudes and tolerance of others”

(Brewer & Harlin, 2008). The most successful way to do so, is through “modeling appropriate

behaviors towards all children and recognize bullying for what it really is- a violation of

children’s human rights” (Brewer & Harlin, 2008).

Bullying and Being Bullied: To what Extent Are Bullies Also Victims?

“ The purpose of this study was to examine the victim-bully cycle in middle school…” (Ma,

2001). The bullying cycle is an ongoing issue in which people who are bullied become the

bullies, so the cycle continues making it hard put an end to. This study researched different

characteristics that could be contributing factors to why students bully. The study examined sixth

and eighth graders from New Brunswick, Canada. The main variables the students were

examined by were gender, socioeconomic status, number of parents and siblings, academic

status, affective condition and physical condition. The studied also looked at school level

variables, the size, socioeconomic status, discipline climate, academic press and parent

involvement.

In order to compile the data needed for this study the University of New Brunswick and the New

Brunswick Department of Education developed the New Brunswick School Climate Study or

NBSCS. The study examined students as well as teachers in order to determine trends of

bullying. Students and teacher both participated in questionnaires. Students took achievement

tests. The NCSCS collected data from 239 middle schools. The demographic variables that were

taken into considerations were gender, SES, and the numbers of family members. The reading
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scores were measured by a comprehension test that tested students on non-fiction and fiction test.

The students writing scores were also taken from two assessments given by teachers. One

writing was a period of months the next was during the assessment period. Students were grade

by a group of teachers who used a 6 point scale. Only sixth graders were tested in math and

science. Students were allowed to use manipulatives and calculators. Affection condition was

measure by suing the Self Descriptive Questionnaire I. The students reported on the frequency of

issues like stomachaches and headache to determine physical condition.

From these variables the researcher was able to determine trends between the variables and grade

levels. This study used an approach developed by Stephen Raudenbush in order to measure

school and student variables. This method, hierarchical liner models, has three levels,

measurement, student and school. For this study the “true scores or dependent variables (victims

and bullies) were transformed to form a base variable among victims and bullies and a contrast

variable between them.” (Ma, 2001). This made it possible to sort the variables into groups based

on association with bullies and victims.

The research found that gender, affective condition and physical condition all had a greater

association to victims. Academic status, socioeconomic status and the number of parents were all

equal variables to victims and bullies. The number of parents was found to be equal and

unrelated. The study had different results for the students in grade 8. Socioeconomic status and

number of parents were both equal variables that were found to be uninfluential to the bullying

cycle. Academic status, affective condition, physical condition, number of siblings and gender all

had “partial association to victims that was significantly different from that with bullies (Ma,

2001).” The research also found that in grade 6 the school wide variables that had association to

victims, but not bullies were the size of the school and parent involvement. The Socioeconomic
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status and academic press both showed no effects on victims or bullies. The discipline climate

“indicated an equivalently shared effect on victims and bullies that was statistically significant

(Ma, 2001).” The research shows that the climate of a school is a direct effect on the bullying

cycle. Schools with a restorative approach to the climate set the foundation for a school culture

that is better for all students. In grade 8 the research found that SES and parents were both

irrelevant to the study. Academic press had a stronger association to victims than bullies. Eight

grade students SES and parent involvement had a shared effect on victims and bullies that was

irrelevant to the cycle. School size and climate both had significant effects on the bullying cycle.

Overall the research shows that a main factor that contributes to the bullying cycle is the climate

of the school and something that will help deter the cycle is academic press. In conclusion the

research suggests “a joint effort to improve all aspects of school climate is essential.”

Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents

This article focuses on the troubling truth the suicide is a leading cause of death in elementary

aged children. The article studied the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data

on suicide deaths from children ages 5 to 14. The characteristics, precipitating circumstances,

racial differences, age, and relationships of the children were all factors that were analyzed to

discover trends in early adolescent suicide. The authors of the article wrote in order to determine

another similarities between children and adolescent suicide, specially focused on race. The

methodology used to draw conclusions was data taken form the NVDRS surveillance data. The

data spanned 17 states and also gave details on age, race, suicide method, time of injury, public

custody, precipitating circumstance, sex, and ethnicity.

The researchers analyzed the data by making comparisons to find similarities. The age groups

compared were 5-11 year olds and 12-14 year olds. “Comparisons were made on the basis of age
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group (5-11 years and 12-14 years) and race (black and non-black) within age strata.” (Sheftall

Ah, et al. 2016). With these comparisons the researchers were able to determine that the age

groups both had similarities and differences. For example, both age groups shared the most

common cause of death, relationship problems. However the specifics were different from each

age group. School aged children had more problems with friends and family. The early

adolescents’ relationship problems were from issues with a romantic partner (Sheftall Ah, et al.

2016). Students who are plagued with bullying and relationship problems are committing suicide

because they do not have the proper support to deal with the feelings they come along with

bulling, arguments and loss. In conclusion the authors are calling for “common and

developmentally- specific suicide prevention strategies during the elementary school-aged and

early adolescent years.” (Sheftall Ah, et al. 2016). Programs like restorative justice could be used

to help students communicate their feelings with peers, teachers and parents because of the

community feeling that is created. This feeling of community and open communication could

help to give students the help they need to find other ways of coping with their problems and

lead them away from suicide.

Closing the Connectedness Gap

In this article, a fifth grade teacher implements daily class meetings in order to strengthen her

students’ sense of connectedness to school. Connectedness refers to the quality of student-staff

relationship within a school setting. It is also used to reference “students’ feelings of being

valued, contributing, and influential” members of a school community (Schaps & Cook, 2010).

Throughout each class meeting, the students and teacher identify a problem, brainstorm

solutions, and choose ways to implement them. Research shows that a lack of connectedness can

directly effect a student’s learning and development. In addition, “low-income students and
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students of color tend to experience significantly less connectedness than their more privileged

counterparts” (Schaps & Cooke, 2010).

In order to build a sense of connectedness, the teacher in this study conducted class meetings on

a daily basis. These meetings served multiple purposes such as team-building, collaboration,

decision-making, and collaborative problem-solving. The class meetings were held in a circle

where students were held accountable for listening, making eye contact, and responding to one

another. The teacher posed opportunities for students to share with a partner for those who were

less adamant about sharing with the class. Through these class meetings, her students were

learning about each other’s interests, passions, and struggles both academically and socially. The

end goal of these class meetings was for her students to build relationships with one-another, and

use problem-solving as a technique for resolving issues that arise both in and out of the

classroom. These interactions helped to practice skills of compromising, building on each other’s

ideas, and disagreeing respectfully.

The teacher had found that role-playing played an important part in the class meetings. Students

were able to act-out challenging situations, followed by enriching discussions about possible

options to handle them. These role-playing situations varied from academic concerns, to social-

emotional challenges. As an outsider, the teacher was able to observe which students struggled

with regulating anger or staying attentive. This allows her to provide one-on-one support with

their individual needs. Class meetings encouraged the students to form supportive relationships

with one another. They were given opportunities for cooperative learning, where they could

work together to find solutions to challenging individual and group situations. Connectedness

matters greatly among middle and high school students. It is proven to have a positive effect on

students’ health risks and academic achievements. By the end of her study, the teacher found that
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her students began to conduct their own class meetings outside of the classroom. As problems

arose, they formed circles where they could ask for others opinions in challenging situations.

They used collaboration and problem solving techniques to resolve issues that could have been

handled in an unhealthy or punitive matter. She found that she had “closed the connectedness

gap by enabling students to take greater responsibility for becoming thoughtful, caring members

of their school community” (Schaps & Cook, 2010).

SaferSanerSchools: Transforming School Cultures with Restorative Practices

The International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) began the SaferSanerSchool pilot

program in order to introduce restorative practices to a troubled middle and high schools. The

program studied the amount of office referrals, administrative detention, detentions assigned by

teachers and incidents of disruptive behavior. The data spanned over the course of four school

years, two years with and two years without restorative practices.

When the program was first introduced in the 1998-1999 school year it was only used with a

select group of students and teachers, The Academy. This was a group of students focused on

project based learning who were struggling academically or behaviorally. The program was

unsuccessful for the students and frustrating to the teachers. The IIRP introduce restorative

practices in three waves with The Academy teachers. First, they trained them on “affective

statements and questions” (Mirsky,2007). These statements and questions led to students and

teachers sharing emotions with one another. Another aspect of restorative justice that helps

students and teachers to become successful are “circles, interventions, one-on-ones, and group

meetings with kids.” (Mirsky, 2008). This gave students and teachers multiple chances to

communicate their needs and feelings with one another in a controlled environment. With

guidelines and expectations the students were able to create a community of respect between one
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another. The teachers of The Academy were also taught to use a check in system at the beginning

and end of each class, another opportunity to collaborate on goals. The success in the once

failing Academy spread throughout the school.

The disciplinary data shows that administrative detentions went down by 434 over the course of

four years. (Mirsky, 2008). The research found that students, teachers and administration felt a

better sense of community since using the program. In conclusions all three schools analyzed and

studied have found restorative justice programs to be the best ongoing solutions to their behavior

and academic problems. A key component of restorative justice is building relationships among

students and teachers. Students who communicate feelings openly to one another are less likely

to verbally or physically bully other students. This respect continues to be built on each year

restorative justice is used, as shown by the data from Laura Mirsky.

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Ma, X. (2001). Bullying and being bullied: To what extent are bulliers also vicitim?American

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Mirsky, L. (2007). SaferSanerSchools: Transforming school cultures with restorative

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http://search.proquest.com/docview/214192657?accountid=231

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392. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00455.x

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Sheftall, A. H., Asti, L., Horowitz, L. M., Felts, A., Fontanella, C. A., Campo, J. V., & Bridge, J.

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