Bullying
Bullying research papers are written by sociology experts and will follow your guidelines as to what exactly you wish to have explored in the research. As a prolific problem in schools and society in general, bullying is important to research and obtain the most accurate information on this problem. Whether it is bullying in schools, the workplace or at home from sibblings, Paper Masters can provide the most recent statistics and information on bullying for you.
It is estimated that approximately 75% of adolescents in the United States has been bullied at some time in school. This is one of many statistics found in the article "Bullies, victims grow into roles that can last a lifetime". An author, reveals that bullying, while it has many forms and levels of severity, can be devastating and it's effect often lasts a lifetime.
Bullying was largely overlooked as a type of violence until recently, after reactions to bullying were associated with motives in several school shootings. That oversight has been corrected, and bullying is widely described as school violence now, with strong proscriptions against permitting or perpetrating it. Bullying creates a climate of fear, anger, timidity, depression, vengeful feelings, hatred, self-loathing, and other complicated states in emotionally developing young people, and it is a reason that students avoid attending school and class participation. Although its occurrence is not high compared to other school violence or crime, ranging from 2% to 12%, the effect of watching bullying or being aware of it as a threat may have a considerable effect on non-bullied students and contribute to a toxic psychological environment in the same manner that witnessing of other forms of violence does.
ullying is loosely defined as "the abuse of power that is intended to cause pain". Some common examples of bullying are teasing, name-calling,ridiculing, threatening, and physical acts of aggression such as pushing and shoving. Researchers are emphasizing the need to understand the cause and effect of bullying as statistics reveal a marked rise in the participation of this behavior.
- About one in seven school children is either a bully or a victim of bullying.
- Bullying affects approximately 5 million U.S. elementary and junior high students.
- 10% to 15% of children report being bullied on a regular basis.
Bullying in Schools
Bullying is a significant problem in today's schools, impacting one-third of all students. These types of behaviors, such as physical aggression, threats, social exclusion, and spreading rumors, can result in long-lasting physical and psychological damage. Most states have passed legislation regarding bullying in an attempt to curb the behavior. For example, New Jersey requires all school districts to adopt a policy of prohibiting bullying and harassment, including that which occurs with the use of technology, such as cyberbullying. In addition, New Jersey law states that school districts may be held legally liable for student harassment due to sexual orientation. In response to this problem, schools implement a variety of strategies, including whole school programs, which are effective in deterring this behavior.
Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) is one example of a whole-school program successful in reducing bullying. This program provides the tools and resources necessary for teachers to maintain positive social and learning environments. Thus, instead of the single-level approach, which is more reactive, this approach focuses on prevention. This program focuses on a number of defined student outcomes, including school achievement, social relations, and safety. In order to achieve these outcomes, the program revolves around four central principles: setting limits on unacceptable behavior, ensuring that rules are consistently enforced, providing adult role models, and motivating staff to become positively involved in the lives of students.
One strategy used by the students in response to bullying behavior was "Stop, Walk, and Talk." A student who witnesses bullying performs a "stop" signal to encourage those involved in the situation to take a step back and stop the behavior. Children are also taught to simply "Walk" away from the bully and, if these first two steps are ineffective, to "Talk" to an adult. This strategy has been shown to increase positive behaviors and decrease aggression and discipline referrals.
Another successful whole-school intervention is the Friendly Schools intervention used in the Australian School System. This program sought to create a positive school environment through policy and practice, classroom management and curriculum, school ethos, physical environment, links with the families and community, and student services. Peer influence is a powerful deterrent to bullying behavior, and encouraging students to intervene when witnessing incidents of bullying has proven successful. Other factors important in effective bullying prevention efforts, according to this program, are consistent rules, a motivated staff, an educated staff and body of parents, improved supervision in areas that are known to involve bullying, and community partnerships in the effort.
Bullying is a serious issue and one that must be addressed at the schoolwide level. It is important that school staff remain committed to making changes and enforcing rules. Furthermore, both parents and students must be on-board with prevention efforts, as their influence can be powerful. Bullying can destroy lives. While state laws may help to lessen the incidence of this problem, it is the local schools that serve as the primary solution.
Bullying and Trauma
This article was interesting and informative. Although I know bullying has been around for a long time, I was not aware of how severe it had become or that the emotional and physical trauma it can cause is now being identified as a risk factor for the type of adolescent violence seen in school shootings in the past few years. The article is very useful in that it contains a list of warning signs to help parents and professionals identify whether a youngster is a victim of bullying or a bully himself.
While bullying occurs more or less equally in schools everywhere, school crimes vary by location. Urban students are exposed to more serious crime at school. NCES data from the 1996-1997 school year indicate that no serious violent crimes were reported by 90% of public schools that year. The portion of schools (10%) reporting a serious violent crime was composed of 17% of all urban schools, 8% of rural schools and 5% of all town schools that had reported a serious violent crime.