Multiple Perspectives in Persistent Bullying

Capturing and listening to young people's voices

Deborah Green, Deborah Price

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317335771
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Multiple Perspectives in Persistent Bullying: Capturing and listening to young people's voices recognizes that bullying plays a significant role in influencing the social, emotional, physical and cognitive wellbeing of many children and young people. The authors of this insightful text question what reinforces and perpetuates persistent bullying despite intensive interventions and suggests proactive strategies to address this phenomenon. Multiple perspectives on persistent bullying are provided by giving voice to those who bully, are victimized, are both bully and victim and those who desist their bullying behaviour. This book foregrounds these voices to gain new insights into the characteristics of those who persistently bully and the mechanisms that reinforce their behaviour. Examples drawn on include discussions of turning points, teacher expectancy theory and self-verification.

Multiple Perspectives in Persistent Bullying includes international research that explores bullying in relation to education, psychology and social media, with implications for policy and practice. It is a crucial and fascinating read for anyone wishing to gain insight into the lives of those who are victimized or bully and find proactive support measures involving all stakeholders. These multiple perspectives will inform future school-based interventions and serve to improve the life trajectories and wellbeing of students, their peers and the school community.

PART I

Introduction

1

YOUNG PEOPLE’S PERCEPTIONS OF BULLYING

Some bullies might stop, some bullies may stay the same or others may get worse because they are like ‘addicted’.

(Thirteen-year-old girl)

Schools should be safe and fun learning environments where students make friends and interact with peers. Yet often this is not the case due to the impact of bullying. Although the effects of bullying are most detrimental for bullies and victims, other members of the peer group and school community are also negatively affected (Green 2015). Understanding bullying is important because the effects can be significant. For example, students who are persistently victimized may experience internalizing problems such as anxiety, mental health difficulties and, in extreme cases, suicide (Baldry & Winkel 2003). Likewise, those who persistently bully describe elevated risks in the individual, parent, peer and relationship domains, and may experience long-term negative outcomes as a result of their behaviour. While some bullies decrease or desist their actions, persistent bullies are immune to interventions and sanctions employed by schools and continue to bully throughout their school life. Of concern, persistent bullies are more likely to have a criminal conviction in adulthood (Olweus 1995; Pepler, Jiang, Craig & Connolly 2008) and, like victims, are at a greater risk of experiencing mental health difficulties and suicidal thoughts (Hinduja & Patchin 2010; Kim & Leventhal 2008; Kumpulainen, Räsänen & Puura 2001; Sampson 2002). Given the widespread impact, it is important to hear the voices of all young people involved in the phenomenon of persistent bullying, regardless of the role they may play.

Childhood bullying is considered a socially unacceptable form of aggression often described as:

[a]‌ physical, verbal or psychological attack or intimidation that is intended to cause fear, distress or harm to the victim; an imbalance of power (psychological or physical) with a more powerful child (or children) oppressing less powerful ones; and repeated incidents between the same children over a prolonged period.

(Farrington & Ttofi 2009, p. 282)

This behaviour is actively discouraged in schools globally, with interventions designed to reduce the prevalence of bullying and to promote young people’s safety and wellbeing. Despite these interventions, some individuals persist in bullying, particularly those who increase the behaviour over time or who consistently bully at moderate or high levels (Pepler et al. 2008). These individuals continually challenge interventions while adversely affecting the mental health, wellbeing and schooling experiences of their peers (Bond, Carlin, Thomas, Rubin & Patton 2001; Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpelä, Marttunen, Rimpelä & Rantanen 2000; Olweus 1993).

Multiple Perspectives in Persistent Bullying: Capturing and listening to young people’s voices aims to provide insight into why some students persistently bully despite extensive interventions. The intention is to engage international researchers, clinicians and educators (including educational leaders, teachers, school counsellors and higher education providers) in advancing the understanding of individual experiences through critical exploration of the complexities and turning points experienced in addressing persistent bullying. Underpinning this book are the voices and lived experiences of those who persistently bully, are relentlessly targeted, or are seemingly uninvolved. These first-hand accounts share personal and complex insights in relation to persistent bullying.

Part I, Chapter 1: Young people’s perceptions of bullying, begins by exploring contemporary understandings of bullying before turning specifically to how bullying is perceived by young people. Part II moves to critically explore the lived experiences through the voices of those who are victimized. It begins with Chapter 2 and Leah (victim), who expresses her narrative as a young student and her experiences of being bullied by her peers. This is followed in Chapter 3 by a case study of Brooke who, as a young adult, reflects on her school life which was fraught with persistent victimization. Through Leah and Brooke’s lived experiences we identify turning points and chain reactions as a means of further understanding persistent bullying. Part III turns to the voices of those who bully, commencing with Chapter 4, in which Abbie (bully/victim) shares her lived experiences as a student who was victimized in some circumstances and yet bullied her peers in other situations. Chapter 5 presents the voice of Rebecca (bully). A self-reported bully since commencing school, Rebecca shares with the reader her perspective. This is followed by Chapter 6, in which John (persistent bully) provides a retrospective view of a young man who engaged in bullying throughout his school life. John’s unique narrative sheds light on the perspective of a persistent bully, which is a relatively unexplored field. While victims and bullies have traditionally been deemed to be the central players in bullying situations, Part IV moves to capture the voices of those who are uninvolved. Chapter 7 critically examines the turning points and chain reactions which enabled Samantha (desister) to stop bullying, a behaviour that she had engaged in since the commencement of school and yet stopped by Year 4. Of particular interest, Chapter 8 turns to capture the voice of Bystanders – the majority of the student population who are present in bullying situations, but stand by as events unfold. Analysing their decisions – whether or not to act – provides a valuable perspective in addressing persistent bullying. Expanding on the bystander insight, Chapter 9 explores the notion of Cyber and hybrid bystanders who move between face-to-face and online environments. Having captured the voices of those who are affected by bullying experiences, Part V considers the issues involved in addressing the problem. Chapter 10, Relationships, wellbeing and bullying, attends to the key role of relationships and the complex interplay between bullying and the wellbeing of victims, bullies, bystanders and the school community. This is followed by Chapter 11, Turning points and chain reactions, where we propose a new lens and unique theory which may help to explain persistent bullying. The book concludes with Chapter 12, Educational implications, which synthesizes the multiple perspectives on persistent bullying and integrated theories to propose proactive educational measures involving all school community stakeholders. Given that the wellbeing and achievement of every student is the core responsibility of educators globally, gaining insights and understanding through multiple perspectives on persistent bullying is foundational.

Multiple Perspectives in Persistent Bullying: Capturing and listening to young people’s voices relies on extensive research in the field of bullying, while drawing on three distinct research projects. The first project involved students across nine South Australian schools and considered their perspectives on bullying and persistent bullying (Green 2015). The second project involved case studies of ten participants recruited from two sites: (1) a Reception–Year 12 school in South Australia; and (2) the University of South Australia’s pre-service teacher education programmes (Green 2015). These participants self-identified as bully, victim, bully/victim, desister or bystander and provided insight into their experiences. The third project draws on the voices of 961 students from a South Australian secondary school (Years 8–12, mean age of 15 years). These students were involved in a research study titled Cyber-bystanders: The role of the bystander in cyberspace and cyberbullying in an Australian context (Spears, Johnson, Scrimgeour, Barnes, Geer, Price & Green 2009/2010). They provided deep insight into their responses to viewing a digital animation of a typical cyberbullying scenario of a fight that was filmed and uploaded to YouTube. Before turning to the perceptions of those young people who are at the centre of bullying experiences, it is important to outline past and current research understandings of bullying.

Bullying from a researcher perspective

Initially known as ‘mobbing’ or ‘mobbning’ (the Swedish translation for bullying), research into the area of bullying is extensive and spans decades (Olweus 1978; Smith, Madsen & Moody 1999, p. 8). Prior to this, research focused on aggression: behaviour intended to cause harm to someone who is motivated to avoid it. In the 1960s and early 1970s, it was established that ‘mobbing’ differed from aggression whereby the latter included a large group or crowd of people who were involved in a common negative activity (Salmivalli 2010). In this early stage, researchers accepted that ‘mobbing’ was a group phenomenon; a thread remaining in literature over time (e.g. Craig, Pepler & Atlas 2000; Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, Österman & Kaukiainen 1996; Sentse, Scholte, Salm...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Part I Introduction
• Part II The voices of those who are victimized
• Part III The voices of those who bully
• Part IV The voices of those who are uninvolved
• Part V Addressing the problem
• Index