|
|
Safe
Schools Fact Sheets
| Bullying Prevention: Recommendations for Schools |
|
|
|
|
The Role of Schools in Preventing
Bullying
The school should be a safe and positive learning environment
for ALL students. In order to achieve this goal, schools
should strive to:
- Reduce, if not eliminate, existing bully/victim
problems among students in and outside of the school
setting;
- Prevent the development of new bully/victim problems;
and
- Achieve better peer relations at school and create
conditions that allow in particular, victims and
bullies to get along and function better in and
outside of the school setting.
Recommended General Rules
for Improving Overall School Climate
Two general conditions must exist in order to prevent
bullying: (1) adults at schools should be aware
of the extent of bully/victim problems in their own
schools; and (2) these adults should involve
themselves in changing the situation.
Schools and classrooms should establish and stick
to rules to prevent bullying. Adults must clearly
and consistently communicate that bullying is not
acceptable behavior. The following rules target all
students:
- We will not bully other students.
- We will try to help students who are bullied.
- We will make it a point to include ALL students
who are easily left out.
- When we know somebody is being bullied, we will
tell a teacher, parent, or adult we trust. Students
should be assured that telling an adult is not "tattling,"
but instead students are showing compassion for
victims of bullying behavior.
It is important to note that these rules target all
students, not just the bullies or victims. The introduction
of these rules establish classroom norms or "structures"
that can contribute to the prevention of bullying.
Consequences of Bullying
Behavior
Establishing rules against bullying necessitates creating
positive or negative consequences for following or violating
rules. The best results are obtained through a combination
of generous verbal praise or other social reinforcements
for positive activities and consistent negative consequences
for aggressive, rule-violating behavior. Teachers should
establish a positive, friendly, and trusting relationship
with the class and each individual student. This is
especially true for aggressive, acting-out students
who may have had negative experiences with adults. It
is easier for a student to accept criticism if he/she
feels appreciated and liked. Teachers should also be
aware of their own behavior. Teachers often serve as
"models" for students who respect them and
may wish to emulate them. Likewise, students will not
respect the teacher or classroom rules against bullying
if the teacher is sarcastic, unfair, or abusive.
School-Level Interventions
School-level interventions are designed to improve overall
school climate. These interventions target the entire
school population.
- Establish a Bullying Prevention Coordinating
Committee: This committee will coordinate all aspects
of a school’s violence prevention efforts,
including anti-bullying efforts.
- Administer an Anonymous Questionnaire Survey:
A student questionnaire can determine the nature
and extent of bully/victim problems in the school.
- Hold a School Conference Day: Raise school and
community awareness and involvement by creating
a long-term anti-bullying plan. In addition to school
personnel, selected students and parents should
participate.
- Improve Supervision and Outdoor Environment:
Provide adequate number of adults ("teacher
density") during lunch, recess, and breaks
in an effort to intervene quickly in student conflicts.
- Involve Parents: Conduct meetings with and disseminate
information to parents at the school to make them
aware of the school’s anti-bullying plan of
action.
Classroom-Level Interventions
Classroom-level interventions are designed to improve
an individual classroom’s social climate. These
interventions target the entire classroom.
- Establish Classroom Rules Against Bullying: Involve
students in creating rules against bullying in order
to develop a student’s personal responsibility
for conforming to those rules.
- Create Positive and Negative Consequences of Bullying:
Establish social reinforcement (i.e., praise, friendly
attention) for positive behavior and sanctions for
undesirable behavior. The negative consequence should
cause discomfort without being perceived as malicious
or unfair. Negative consequences should be appropriate
and related to the behavior. Extra assignments,
such as homework or copying from a dictionary, should
not be used.
- Hold Regular Classroom Meetings: Provide a forum
for students and teachers to develop, clarify, and
evaluate rules for anti-bullying behavior.
- Meet with Parents: Hold general classroom- or
grade-level meetings with parents to improve school-family
communication and keep parents informed about anti-bullying
efforts.
Individual-Level Interventions
Classroom-level interventions are designed to change
or improve the behavior of students in general. These
interventions target specific students who are involved
in bullying, either as bullies or victims.
- Serious Talks with the Bully or Bullies: Initiate
immediate talks with the bully/ies. These talks
should include:
- documenting involvement of participation
in bullying,
- sending a clear, strong message that bullying
is not acceptable,
- warning the bully/ies that future behavior
will be closely monitored, and
- warning that additional negative consequences
will be administered if bullying behavior does
not stop.
- Serious Talks with the Victim: Talks with the
victim and his/her parents should occur after a
bullying incident. These talks should include:
- documenting specific bullying episode(s) that
includes: How did the bullying start? What happened?
How did it end? Who participated and in what
way?;
- providing victim with information about the
teacher’s plan of action in dealing with
the bully/ies; and
- attempting to persuade the victim to immediately
report any new bullying episodes or attempts
to the teacher.
- Involve the Parents: When a bullying situation
is discovered, the teacher should contact the parents
concerned. Depending on the situation, meetings
can be held together with the parents of both the
bully/ies and the victim, or to minimize tension
meetings can be held with each family separately.
A teacher might want to invite the school psychologist,
guidance counselor, principal, or vice principal
to attend.
- Change of Class or School: If anti-bullying measures
are in place and the problem persists despite these
measures, moving the aggressive student(s) can bring
about change. If possible, the aggressive student(s)
should be moved before considering moving the victim.
This solution should not be taken lightly, and all
concerned parents and teachers should plan and consult
with each other.
|
|
|
|
|
|
