Bullying in Schools

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Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that is intended to frighten, harm or coerce someone. The bully is often someone in a position of power who actions have an intent and repeats their actions over and over again. The victim in the situation suffers in different ways including psychologically, physically or socially. Bullying has a variety of causes and inflicts much damage on both the bully and the victim. Schools are no strangers to bullies as it is often where bullying begins at a young age. Today there are many movements against bullying and any form of discrimination. In order to understand bullying, it is important to look at the causes and effects in order to find a way to most effectively deal with it.

The causes of bullying are many and varied. One of these causes is gender norms embedded in children by society. Males are often considered to be dominant while women are considered to be weak and subservient to men. It is these perceptions that will lead boys to target young girls. There are many forms of gender violence and inequalities in society that mislead the young boys and men to think that is simply the order of things.

Discrimination is another important cause of bullying. Some discriminatory practices are spread through the school curriculum and other practices in schools. Gender discrimination also emphasize that men and women can only play a specific role in society hence leading to subjugation and a toleration of violence especially towards women. Corporal punishment in schools also encourages bullying (Juvonen, J., & Graham, S. 2014). It passes the message that violence is okay and can be tolerated.

The school environment itself is an important contributing factor to whether a bullying culture develops or not. Some students in schools find themselves idle and having nothing else to do, they choose to pick on those they consider to be inferior to them in one way or another. They bully them simply as a way to pass their time. If schools do not have a strong anti-bullying practices and policies, it creates an environment for bullying to thrive. For example, if a student has been bullied and makes a report to their teacher or any other school staff and they fail to take any action, it signals that it is not a problem. The bully will grow bolder and even torment other kids as they know that there is no one willing to punish them for their deviant behavior. The victims will keep suffering in silence and this will eventually lead to major damage that might go on to last a lifetime (Juvonen, J., & Graham, S. (2014).

Bullying in school is not just about school life. Children come from different families and communities and this context can be a determinant on whether the child becomes a bully or not. If the culture of bullying is permitted at home and the parents or guardians do nothing to stop children from bullying each other, such bullies will tend to take this behavior with them to school. A community where gang violence is considered the norm will give birth to violent children who will bully others. Bullying is a reflection of the wider society in which the bullies and victims come from.

Bullying has profound effects both on the bully and the victim. Some effects such as anxiety, depression and other psychological symptoms will be common to both the victim and the bully. Bullies will also tend to develop antisocial personality disorder and have higher risk of committing other crimes. The victims suffers the most with short term effects such as lack of trust, anger, feelings of helplessness, significant decline in school performance, hyper vigilance, PTSD and even suicide. Those who have been bullied may go on to become bullies themselves in a desire to seek revenge for their own suffering (Wolke, D., & Lereya, S. T. 2015).

Understanding the causes and effects of bullying can give important pointers on the solutions to the problems. School should be a place where children can feel safe in order to be able to learn as much as they can in a stress free environment. The first step in dealing with bullying is ensuring a good communication policy where those who have been bullied are free enough to speak to a trusted adult or friend. Staff and children should be trained on what to do in case of bullying. Art such as poems and plays can be an important way of passing across anti-bullying messages. Teachers can also have meetings in the classrooms with their students to teach them about bullying (Smith, P. K., & Thompson, D. (2017). Action should be taken against bullies while still taking into consideration the fact that a bully’s actions can signal a much deeper problem. Communication is very important.

Bullying is an undesirable part of the education system and much has to be done to fight this culture. The main causes include an enabling environment and societal norms such as gender stereotypes. It has significant effects on both victims and bullies such as anxiety and depression (Wolke, D., & Lereya, S. T. (2015). Solutions to bullying can be found by educating all the parties involved on ways to eliminate it including communication. Parents, teachers, students themselves and other staff members have a responsibility to keep their schools a safe place for everyone.

References

Burton, B., Lepp, M., Morrison, M., & O’Toole, J. (2015). Acting against bullying in schools. In Acting to Manage Conflict and Bullying Through Evidence-Based Strategies (pp. 79-98). Springer, Cham.Juvonen, J., & Graham, S. (2014). Bullying in schools: The power of bullies and the plight of victims. Annual review of psychology, 65, 159-185.

Smith, P. K., & Thompson, D. (2017). Practical approaches to bullying. Routledge.Wolke, D., & Lereya, S. T. (2015). Long-term effects of bullying. Archives of disease in childhood, 100(9), 879-885.