Bullying at Australian School: Causes and Solution

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Table of Contents

Introduction/Justification
Problem
Theory
Reference List

Introduction/Justification

Though not new, the issue of bullying will never wear out its welcome in discussions and is unlikely to ever disappear from the social agenda (UNICEF 2016). Despite numerous measures undertaken so far to address the issue, it continues to be a significant problem in the school environment that inhibits the learning process and creates major impediments for bullied learners to develop the necessary communication patterns, achieve personal growth, and succeed in their academic life.

At present, the total number of students that have ever experienced bullying constitutes 21.5%, which is an excruciatingly much. The 5,386,000 students out of the total of 25,013,000 reported being bullied in 2012 globally (U.S. Department of Education 2013), which is already a huge number. Given the fact that a lot of students prefer silencing the situation for several reasons (e.g., fear of being laughed at, humiliated, etc.), the situation is getting out of control.

Problem

Herein lies the necessity to address the issue. Much to the credit of educators and child psychologists around the globe, a range of programs and projects for putting a stop to school bullying have been created, such as StopBullying.gov (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2016). The technological breakthrough that was witnessed in the late 90s and the early 2000s also contributed to the development of the phenomenon, sparking the concepts such as cyberbullying and online bullying (Kowalski, Schroeder, & Guinetti 2014).

The situation is just as dire in Australia. An analysis carried out lately has shown that 10-20% of children get bullied on the Internet (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2014). At school, the statistics are even worse – 20% male and 13% female students aged 8-18 report being bullied at school (Australian Human Rights Commission 2016).

Thus, there is a need to address the delicate issue of bullying at school so that the students’ wellbeing could not be jeopardized. Since the subject matter is likely to not only prevent students from acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills but also contribute to the development of a range of psychological issues from depression to social phobias (Ranta 2013), it is crucial to evaluate the current situation and come up with appropriate solutions.

Theory

Definition

Although the phenomenon of bullying has been in existence since the first semblance of society emerged (Hudson-Davis et al. 2015), it has not been paid due attention until recently. At present, the subject matter is explained from the perspective of the primitive instinct to compete for a higher position in the social hierarchy.

According to the identified theory, two primary types of bullying can be isolated from the rest of behavioural patterns among students in modern schools, i.e., direct and indirect one. The theory mentioned above also identified bullying as “unwanted, aggressive behaviour among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance” (Allanson, Lesterm & Notar 2015, p. 32).

Thomas, Connor, and Scott (2014), in their turn, assert that the phenomenon should be determined as peer aggression that, outside of power imbalance, includes the features such as intention and repetition. The authors also make it quite clear that the identified type of abusive relationships between peers includes not only verbal assaults but also the elements such as physical aggression and social one (e.g., spreading malicious rumours about the person in question, subjecting them to social ostracism, etc.). Although the phenomena listed above are typically viewed as isolated instances of bullying, they often comprise a single social relationship between an individual and a group in the context of the school environment.

Reasons for Concern

Among the reasons for bullying to exist, a range of factors are isolated, the role models designed by the parents and promoted to their children as the only possible framework of communication being the key one: “Research suggests that the bully’s level of aggression will increase if the caretaker continues to tolerate aggressive behaviors toward the child’s peers, siblings, and teachers” (Smokowski & Kopaiz 2014, p. 102). For older students, the habit of drinking, in general, and binge drinking, in particular, is also often viewed as the factor shaping their attitude toward their peers and resorting to bullying as the mechanism for asserting their dominance.

Although drinking cannot be deemed as the sole factor causing bullying, a study by Archimi and Kuntsche (2014) shows that, while often being the coping mechanism for victims, drinking often becomes the trigger for an outburst of aggression among bullies. As a result, the stereotypes imposed on both a bully and their victim are reinforced and, therefore, learned in a more efficient manner, which later on eliminates opportunities for a successful intervention.

The lack of preparation toward the threat of being bullied can be viewed as another possible reason for the rates of the phenomenon to become consistently higher every year. Indeed, it is typically believed that bullying as a form of abuse may exist only in socially disadvantaged environments: “parents held idealized beliefs about the bucolic nature of country life, which could contribute to thinking that their children were unlikely to experience bullying and victimization” (Leadbeater et al., 2013, p. 39).

At this point, the phenomenon of victimization needs to be addressed. Although at the earliest stages of their development, learners are unlikely to have the specific behavioural patterns that will inevitably mark them as victims, once bullied, they are highly likely to assume the behaviour that will, later on, help bullies label them as potential victims.

Policy

The current policies approved by the Australian educational institutions are geared toward managing the emergent conflicts as well as preventing the situations from occurring in the future. Indeed, a careful look at the strategies presently available to educators will show that the focus of the models designed to prevent bullying is twofold. In other words, both addressing the emergent issues and designing the environment, in which learners will not be inclined to engage in aggressive behaviour, is promoted. Claiming that the present-day Australian policies on addressing the problem are immaculate would be quite a stretch, though.

It is also quite important that the current resources shed a lot of light on the issue of parental involvement. Indeed, the significance of family support can hardly be overrated when it comes to shaping the victim’s behaviour and perception of their self, as a recent study indicated. The Australian state policies on the promotion of anti-bullying campaigns and strategies point to the necessity to engage parents in the process.

To be more accurate, the state authorities stress the significance of telling the children about the threat, as well as the tools for its prevention and management: “Talk to your child about cyberbullying before it happens. Work out strategies to address cyberbullying that both of you are comfortable with so your child knows what to expect if they do report their concerns to you” (New South Wales Department of Education 2016, par. 5).

However, as the excerpt provided above shows quite graphically, the current emphasis on the issue of cyberbullying shoves the phenomenon of traditional bullying into shadows, making teachers and parents underrate it significantly. Therefore, it is recommendable that the contemporary guidelines for parents and teachers about the problem in question should focus on school bullying as much as on its Internet version.

Practical Literature

Studies on the subject matter also indicate that it is not merely the process of bullying but the fact of social ostracism that triggers a subsequent psychological issue development in students and, therefore, contributes to the development of chronic psychological disorders; “Thus risky/illegal behaviour into adulthood was explained, not by bullying or victimization per se, but by a persistent overall antisocial tendency” (Wolke, Copeland, & Cosetllo 2014).

In other words, the attitude of the peers toward the person that is being victimized defines the outcome of the phenomenon to a considerable extent, reducing the chances of the victim to overcome the psychological trauma and the barriers within in adulthood.

Suggestions and Strategies

Although the current situation with bullying remains dire, it would be wrong to assume that no tools for addressing it and preventing similar instances in the future can be suggested. Quite on the contrary, an array of devices and programs for improving the relationships between students, as well as creating the environment in which learners will not feel inclined toward abusing others, have been suggested. It is quite remarkable that a lot of researchers point to the necessity to create an anti-bullying culture at the earliest stages of learners’ development.

For example, Jones and Augustine (2015) suggest that the corresponding programs should be launched in secondary schools. In fact, by promoting the idea of educating students about bullying at a comparatively young age, the scholars bring up a very important fact about the problem. Particularly, they state that several teachers share a common misconception that children have an intrinsic understanding of what bullying is and, therefore, an immediate aversion to it: “Teachers often assume that children come into school with the ability to empathize with their classmates, but empathy is a characteristic that must be taught” (Jones & Augustine 2015, p. 77). Put differently, the students are expected to comply with the norms of behaviour that they yet have no concept about. Consequently, students design their ideas of a societal norm, which are often not only erroneous but also harmful to their and their peers’ mental and physical health.

Thus, the promotion of the corresponding cultural and ethical values, as well as the provision of the behavioural model that the learners can follow when shaping their relationships with their peers can be viewed as the first and the most important step in addressing the bullying issue. Along with the redesign of the school values, with a tighter focus on the social needs of learners, their safety will also have to be enhanced in the school.

Seeing that a range of students does not feel secure in the environment of their educational institution, the safety rates must be restored. As a result, the learners that often fall prey to bullies may put a stop to asserting the position of a victim and take the corresponding measures (e.g., inform the authorities, the parents, etc.) to manage the situation.

Challenges

Changing the traditional way of looking at bullying is the primary challenge that educators are facing currently. Because of the lack of proper understanding of the phenomenon to be addressed, teachers may design the strategy that will be not only useless but also harmful to the students’ wellbeing.

Therefore, it is imperative to create a program that will promote awareness about school bullying among teachers, students, and parents alike. Although targeting three different types of the population is a rather complicated task, it is still crucial to make sure that the information is provided to all parties involved appropriately. Otherwise, the increasingly high effects of bullying on students will be detrimental to their mental and physical health.

Addressing the intrinsic fears and the emotional issues that victims of bullies have is another obvious area for concern, as recent studies point quite evidently too. There is no secret that a range of students prefers to silence the problem out of fear of aggravating the situation. Thus, it is essential to enhance awareness on the need to contact the corresponding school authorities, the teacher and the school psychologist being the first choice of the bully-victim.

However, creating the role model that the students would want to follow and, therefore, abandon their bullying behaviour is by far the most challenging task that the teachers will have to accomplish. The identified goal will require designing a unique leadership approach based on the transformative model that will allow appealing to the students’ positive qualities. As a result, the learners will be motivated to accept the newly designed philosophy of communication, which will prevent them from justifying bullying and, instead, promote positive behavioural patterns based on efficient communication, negotiation, and compromise.

Implications

The overview of the existing challenges and opportunities shows quite graphically that there is a strong need to design a mass awareness program aimed at enhancing people’s knowledge of bullying as a phenomenon. More importantly, the program will help build stronger ties between students and their parents so that the latter could provide their children with sufficient support and assistance in case the problem appears. As a result, educators will be able to engage parents in managing the issue of bullying in the school environment.

Another area that further studies should be aimed at concerns the wrong perception of the phenomenon of bullying by educators and parents. While the latter should realize that bullying is not characteristic solely of the environments with poor social and economic backgrounds, teachers must reconsider their image of children’s moral stance and values.

Specifically, educators must view empathy as not an intrinsic but acquired quality, which must be fostered among students of all ages, starting with the youngest students. In other words, educators must assume the role of transformational leaders, who shape the behavioural patterns of their subordinates by fostering the necessary qualities and appealing to the learners’ virtues and sense of social justice.

Furthermore, it is necessary to isolate the population that is likely to be victimized in the school setting. As a result, a more efficient strategy can be designed to address the needs of the learners and create the environment, in which they could feel psychologically safe. Espelage, Rose, and Polanin (2015) indicate that students with disabilities are the most likely targets of bullying in the environment of a middle school: “students with high incidence disabilities engaged in significantly higher rates of reactive perpetration and experienced higher levels of victimization than their same aged peers without disabilities” (Espelage, Rose, & Polanin 2015, p. 299).

However, one must admit that the process of locating a target for social ostracism is more intricate than simply pointing out disadvantages in one’s appearance or the lack of specific skills. Therefore, the essential characteristics of the school climate should be determined so that the patterns of locating a victim could be defined by the teacher and that the threat could be addressed appropriately.

The study aimed at developing the program mentioned above can be viewed as a probable direction in which the analysis should be heading. As soon as educators reconsider the traditional approach to managing to bully and address the lack of awareness, the problem regarding the victimization process, the parents’ engagement concern, the leadership issues and the promotion of the necessary behavioural patterns to the target audiences etc., opportunities for addressing the issue of bullying in schools can be created. Expecting that the identified strategy will solve the problem of bullying would be quite a stretch; however, it will serve as a device for addressing the associated conflicts and increasing awareness about the phenomenon to fight it more efficiently. Thus, creating a healthy environment for students is the primary goal for educators at present.

Reference List

Archimi, A, Kuntsche, E 2014, ‘Do offenders and victims drink for different reasons? Testing mediation of drinking motives in the link between bullying subgroups and alcohol use in adolescence,’ Addictive Behaviors, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 713–716.

Australian Human Rights Commission 2016, Children and young people.

Australian Institute of Family Studies 2014, Children who bully at school. Web.

Espelage, D L, Rose, S A, & Polanin, J R 2015, ‘Social-emotional learning program to reduce bullying, fighting, and victimization among middle school students with disabilities,’ Remedial and Special Education, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 299–311.

Hudson-Davis, A, Bourne, P A, Sharpe-Pryce, C, Francis, C, Solan, T, Lewis, D, Watson-Coleman, O, Blake, J A, & Donegon, C 2015, ‘The psychology of the bullying phenomenon in three Jamaican public primary schools: a need for a public health trust,’ International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 406-414.

Jones, R J, & Augustine, S M 2015, ‘Creating An anti-bullying culture in secondary schools: characteristics to consider when constructing appropriate anti-bullying programs,’ American Secondary Education, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 73-84.

Kowalski, R N, Schroeder, A M, & Giumetti, J W 2014, ‘Bullying in the digital age: a critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth,’ Psychological Bulletin, vol. 140, no. 4, pp. 1073–1137.

Leadbeater, B J, Sukhawathanakul, P, Smith, A, Thompson, R S Y, Gladstone, E G, & Sklar, N 2013, ‘Bullying and victimization in rural schools: risks, reasons, and responses,’ Journal of Rural and Community Development, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 31-47.

New South Wales Department of Education 2016, Cyberbullying prevention – tips for parents. Web.

Ranta, K 2013, ‘Peer victimization and social phobia: a follow-up study among adolescents,’ Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 533-544.

Smokowski, P R & Kopaiz, K H 2014, ‘Bullying in school: an overview of types, effects, family characteristics, and intervention strategies,’ Children & Schools, vol. 27, no. 2, 101-110.

Thomas, H J, Connor, J P, & Scott, J G 2014, ‘Integrating traditional bullying and cyberbullying: challenges of definition and measurement in adolescents – a review,’ Educational Psychology Review, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 135-152.

UNICEF 2016, Peer violence. Web.

U.S. Department of Education 2013, Student reports of bullying and cyberbullying: results from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey.

Wolke, D, Copeland, W E, & Costello, E J 2014, ‘Impact of bullying in childhood on adult health, wealth, crime and social outcomes,’ Psychological Science, vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 1958-1970.

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