NCJ Number
196982
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 33-36
Date Published
September 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article analyzes the results of a questionnaire distributed in Australia that was designed to ascertain the usefulness of encouraging students to report bullying behavior to their teachers.
Abstract
The authors begin by explaining that many teachers in Australia now encourage students who are being bullied to report this behavior to school authorities. However, the authors question whether this tactic of “telling” actually works to reduce the incidents of bullying. In order to ascertain the usefulness of “telling,” the authors analyzed the results of the 1993 Peer Relations Questionnaire, which was distributed to over 38,000 primary and secondary school students in Australia. First, the survey revealed that in the course of one year, approximately half of the respondents were bullied at least once by peers, while one in six had been bullied weekly. Between 70 percent to 82 percent of these students reported that they told someone about the bullying. However, the authors showed that for older students, those in grades 7 through 12, telling a teacher about the bullying resulted in negative outcomes rather than a positive resolution to the bullying. Thus, the authors conclude that telling teachers, especially for older students, does nothing to resolve the bullying and, most likely, worsens the situation. In conclusion, the authors note that the results of this study come from only one school and, thus, more research on this topic is called for. They also offer possible solutions to dealing with the bullying problem, such as having teachers employ the Method of Shared Concern in order to illicit a favorable response from the perpetrator of the abuse. Tables, references