Bullying Consequences and Preventive Measures - Essay Example

Bullying- consequences and preventive measures of the Bullying is widely prevalent phenomena in many schools within the US. It is associated with several health and developmental consequences both for the bully and the victim. In order to prevent bullying in schools several policies and laws are implemented across many schools in the US. In addition, adequate training is provided to teachers and school staff to effectively handle the issue and prevent it in future. Various interventional approaches have been successful in many schools which include counseling and identifying students at risk as a long term measure in controlling bullying. Keywords: bully, policies, teachers, students, counseling Bullying is still widely prevalent across many schools in the US according to recent statistics. This form of behavior has a negative impact on those who are being victimized and also promotes aggressive and violent behavior among those who take on the role of a bully. Bullying can have several physical, social, emotional and psychological consequences on those who are being victimized (Bullying Overview, 2014). Bullying which was thought to have originated in Scandinavia is now widespread in many countries around the world including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom (Olweus, 2001). In the United States, several policies and laws are being implemented in schools across the country to prevent and protect children from the effects of bullying (Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies, 2011). School authorities play a major role in implementing and coordinating the various anti-bullying policies and laws along with the support of teachers, parents and support staff such as practicing school psychologists. The main objectives of the anti-bullying policies in schools involve establishment of a school mission statement, code of conduct and a student bill of rights. Any updates on the policies need to be incorporated in the school rules and passed on to the staff, students and parents. These policies provide a means of early intervention in preventing bullying and they do not propose any kind of harsh punishments to those who involve in bullying their peers. Instead it recommends using a restorative justice approach in correcting the behavior of the perpetrators and offers suitable counseling to them as well as to those who have been victimized (Bullying, n.d; Sherer & Nickerson, 2010) 5. Analysis of these policies has revealed that they have been effective in reducing the rate of bullying in schools (Effective Evidence -based Practices, n.d). Bullying, which is defined as repeated exposure to negative actions inflicted by one or more students, affects nearly 2.8million students every year. Bullying can involve physical harm such as kicking and hitting, or verbal abuse such as teasing and taunting. Other forms of indirect bullying which are intended to control actions or relationships could be in the form of making faces, rude gestures, spreading rumors and excluding specific children from a group. Bullying often involves an imbalance of strength between those who are bullied and the culprits. More recently bullying through electronic medium has become more common which is referred to as cyber-bullying (Bullying Overview, 2014; Sherer & Nickerson, 2010). A 2007 survey by the National Center for Educational Statistics revealed that 1 in 3 students reported that they were bullied while 1 out of 9 teens in high school reported bullying. About 900,000 reported that they were cyber-bullied. a similar survey conducted by the center in 2009 revealed that 28% of students from grade 6 through 12 experienced bullying. A Youth Risk Behavior Survey system in 2011 reported that 20% of high school students from grade 9 through 12 experienced bullying. Bullying has been stated as one of the major factor behind the recent episodes of school shootings in the US. Those students who engage in bullying are most often exposed to violence at home or in their surrounding environments. These students then tend to act violently with their peers in school.. Bullying has been associated with several physical, emotional, social and psychological consequences to both bullies and their victims. In addition to bearing the physical pain if inflicted those who are bullied are also at risk of developing mental problems such as depression, anxiety, headache and difficulty in attending schools. It also causes long-term damage to the self-esteem of the victims. Those who take on the role of a bully are at risk of engaging in substance abuse, attain lower academic qualifications and indulge in violent and criminal activities later in life. Those children who bully and are also victimized suffer more serious consequences. Recent form of cyber-bullying has also been linked to increased depression for those who are subjected to bullying (Bullying Overview, 2014). In the United States several laws have been implemented in order to prevent bullying and protect individuals who have been victimized. The US Department of Education has encouraged schools to develop policies and rules to help prevent bullying. Some of the policies mandated by the Department include a school mission statement which everyone is expected to know and work along with the school authorities in helping them achieve this shared goal. In addition, every school is expected to establish a code of conduct which specifies the positive behavior which is expected from the students and the entire school community. State laws also specify certain rules which need to be incorporated by the schools in its code of conduct. A student bill of rights is also framed by schools which explain what can be expected by the students from the school. All these policies help create a sense of purpose and belonging to the school and help to prevent any kind of deviant behavior among students. Each state in the US has framed its own set of policies and rules with regard to preventing bullying in schools. In December 2010, the Department reviewed the state laws and identified key components which are part of the bullying legislation in various states. This includes a prohibition and purpose statement which explains the various negative impacts of bullying on student learning, growth, safety and school environment. It also lays emphasis about all kinds of bullying are prohibited and that suitable and necessary action will be initiated against those indulging in this kind of behavior. The scope statement includes the conduct expected from students both within the campus and in other school related activities including within the transport provided by the school. Another key component described in the state laws includes prohibited behavior which clearly defines all aspects of bullying and cyber-bullying. These definitions can be easily interpreted by school authorities, staff, students and the community at large. The enumeration of groups component states that bullying need not be limited to any particular characteristic or acts that have been perceived for long as bullying. The development of local policies directs a collaborative effort from all the parties involved for developing and implementing policies against bullying. The review of policies component directs the state to regularly monitor the implemented policies and ensure that the statute goals are adhered. Six subcomponents have further been identified which are mandated in the local district policies; these include: definition, reporting, investigating, written records, sanctions and referrals. Another key component identified by the Department is communication of all the policies, rules and consequences related to bullying to the school students and their families. The training and prevention component includes the provision about training provided to school staff, aides and bus drivers on identify, prevent and report any form of bullying. It also directs the schools to develop school and community based anti-bullying programs. The transparency and monitoring component requires the district schools to report all the data pertaining to bullying and to develop suitable privacy protection programs that will help protect the students from the effects of bullying. Finally the state policy also provides the right to the victims to seek alternative legal approaches (Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies, 2011). In addition to the state policies and laws that are available to address the issue of bullying, at the school level the role of school staff, parents, the educational approach of the school, and school psychologists have been identified to play a key role in implementing these policies and monitoring their progress. The school staff can be adequately trained to handle bullying and the adult supervision increased in an effort to reduce bullying. The teachers need to be regularly updated on policy changes through group meetings and offered suggestions about handling children who are at risk of being bullied and those who indulge in such activities (Sherer & Nickerson, 2010). In an effort to provide more effective guidance and training to teachers the US Department of Education has released a two-part training tool-kit for teachers and educationalists in order to help them offer effective intervention and prevent bullying among their students. The toolkit offers teachers the required knowledge and skills to handle incidences related to bullying. It has been developed in a manner that will reduce the frustration among teachers and help them effectively handle the situation. This training toolkit has been developed in response to success of previous training kits that was developed for school bus drivers. The training materials for school bus drivers have helped about 100,000 bus drivers understand the effects of bullying and how they could play a role in preventing bullying in school transportation. Further, according to the National Educational Association about 33% of bullying occurs within the classroom and only 55% of teachers have received training on how to handle bullying and the various preventive measures that could be undertaken. Hence this teacher training toolkit released by the Department of Education would help teachers gain the necessary skills to handle the problem and would serve to enhance the skills of those who have already been trained (Bullying, n.d). Apart from teachers and parents, other adult-led educational approaches can also be undertaken by school authorities and school psychologists along with teachers may be employed to play a key role in such activities. Together they can help to establish classroom rules against bullying, include strict warnings or consequences for those who have violated the rules and organize regular classroom meetings to discuss the issue of bullying among students. Through such approaches awareness and concerns pertaining to bullying may be addressed which may also help to change attitudes and behavior patterns in children who are at risk of being bullied or who indulge in such activities. In cases where such adult-led supervision is not feasible, other options such as group work involving students in which they work together to achieve common anti-bullying goals could be implemented. In addition, a formal educational curriculum can also be designed to educate students about resolving conflicts among peers, management of emotions, and problem-solving approaches. All of these will help them devise effective strategies to prevent and manage bullying in school. Apart from the above various schools have also used student interventional and prevention approaches where students are trained to provide relief to victims of bullying, act as peer mediators for resolving conflicts, and take part in school legalistic processes wherein students act as jury’s and judge the actions of those who have been accused of bullying their peers (Olweus, 2001; Sherer & Nickerson, 2010). As part of the interventional strategy school staff have been advised to meet with those who were involved in the bullying incident and explain to them about the various consequences of their action. Several models have been designed to interrogate those who indulged in bullying and their victims. This should be followed by regular meetings with all the students. Long-term strategies involve providing effective counseling to those involved in bullying and help them manage their emotions, develop empathy towards their peers, management of anger and develop social skills. However, self-esteem building skills are not recommended for bullies as they tend to possess high-levels of self-esteem in most cases. On the other hand victims can be counseled to become more assertive, aware and regulate their emotions and build self-esteem in order to handle the situation and overcome their bitter experiences (Sherer & Nickerson, 2010). Given the various interventional and prevention programs that are currently undertaken to address the issue of bullying, the issue cannot be resolved using any particular solution in all cases. Every case of bullying is different and needs to be approached in an effective manner that will help prevent similar incidences in future. Meta-analysis studies that have been conducted for studying the effectiveness of policies and interventional programs pertaining to bullying have found these programs to be effective in changing the knowledge and attitudes of those children engaging in bullying as well as those targeted for bullying. The research has also pointed that in most cases the programs have been effective in understanding the program elements and have contributed to reducing the rate of bullying (Effective Evidence -based Practices, n.d). However, as additional measures several anti-bullying programs also require more improvement and development in order to make these programs more effective. Some of the strategies that warrant more attention include effective education and training for the staff and reporting procedures, implementing and school-wide positive behavior support plan, more effective interventional and preventive approaches, school-wide surveys to assess the rate of bullying, increased parental and student involvement, educational activities to create better awareness about the issue, written anti-bullying policy, increased mediation and supervision in classrooms, formation of committees to coordinate the activities, immediate action taken against bullying, adopting a zero-tolerance policy and providing effective counseling to all those who are involved in the incident (Sherer & Nickerson, 2010). In a one-of-a-kind initiative the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention has been set up in the University of Buffalo that seeks to reduce bullying among students by developing tools for teachers, students, parents and the community. The center is directed by Amanda Nickerson, an educational psychologist, who believes that bullying should not be merely viewed as a normal part of growing up, instead children should be discouraged from abusing their peers and should be taught to be kind and compassionate towards them. Since its inception the center has conducted several researches on the issue and published toolkits and arranged presentations pertaining to the issue. The research conducted by the center also revealed that in most schools the action taken against bullying involved disciplinary measures for the bully, talking with those involved and informing parents. These methods however, have been less successful in preventing bullying in the long run. Thus in an effort to increase the effectiveness of the approaches the center has collected evidence-based information pertaining to bullying and has designed and developed all it programs which encourage the development of a whole school anti bullying policy involving the concerned school authorities, teachers, students and parents 7. While in most cases bullying can be controlled by the concerned personal within the school federal and government assistance would also be required in cases where children are bullied after school hours and outside the school campus. Also in cases where the issue is not being addressed by the school authorities, the incident can be taken to the local education board or to the State Department of Education (Bullying Overview, 2014). From the view point of a social worker, the issue of bullying can be addressed through effective interventional strategies such as talking and providing counseling to those involved. On a long term basis it would also be helpful to identify students who are at risk of being bullied or who would engage in such activities and provide them the necessary counseling. In addition, parents and other staff could be involved in devising anti-bullying policies for students. These need to effectively disseminated to all school members, students and their parents and should be regularly evaluated for its effectiveness in addressing the issues and help reduce the rate of bullying in schools. References 1. Bullying Overview. (2014). National Institute of Health. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/bullying/conditioninfo/Pages/help.aspx 2. Olweus, D. (2001). Bullying at school: tackling the problem. OECD Observer, 225. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/archivestory.php/aid/434/Bullying_at_school:_tackling_the_problem.html 3. Bullying. (n.d). U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from http://www.ed.gov/category/keyword/bullying 4. Sherer, Y. C., & Nickerson, A.B. (2010). Anti-bullying practices in American schools: perspectives of school psychologists. Psychology in the schools, 47(3): 217-229. DOI: 10.1002/pits 5. Effective Evidence -based Practices for Preventing and Addressing Bullying. (n.d). Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/bullyingdcl-enclosure-8-20-13.pdf. 6. Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies. (2011). U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/index.html Read More