What is it about?
None of the children in this study considered themselves as 'bullies'. They felt pressured to target 'vulnerable' children. Children can become popular with their peers through bullying. Several males from particularly deprived backgrounds felt 'picked on' by their peers and teachers and subsequently retaliated aggressively.
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Why is it important?
Traditional ways of identifying 'bullies' can be used to target those already marginalised whlist more sophisticated bullying is usually accepted and approved of in school.
Perspectives
We need to reconsider the way we identify 'bullies', look at the underlying reasons behind the behaviour, and increase our understanding of more sophisticated bullying so effective resolutions can be made. More strategies are needed to deal with bullying between pupils and teachers - these could be incorporated into anti-bullying policies. Pupils should have an input into how their school deals with bullying.
Elizabeth Nassem
Birmingham City University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The complexity of children’s involvement in school bullying, Journal of Children s Services, December 2017, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/jcs-03-2017-0009.
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