BULLYING: A TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE

YVES LOYER

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION

NIPISSING UNIVERSITY SCHULICH SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NORTH BAY, ONTARIO

ÓYves Loyer June 2017

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the effects of bullying in the classroom from a teacher perspective. Based on a sampling of 5 teachers from across experience levels and genders, in-depth interviews were conducted with a General Schedule of Interview

Questions to obtain these teacher perspectives about bullying. While analyzing the data, 5 key themes and 3 subthemes were discovered and exposited. The study concludes with some suggestions from myself and the researcher data about how principals, parents, teachers and students can help address the topic of bullying from an open and understanding perspective.

v Acknowledgements

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST For giving me the grace, skills, and patience to do this work.

MY LOVELY WIFE For being with me and supporting me through this difficult process.

MY MOTHER For giving me life and nurturing me all these years.

MY FATHER For giving me a good work ethic and strong values.

TO MY RESEARCH SUPERVISOR For your unabated wisdom and patience within this process.

TO MY STUDY PARTICIPANTS JANET, STEWART, NELLY, SARA, AND REBECCA Thanks for the time that you put aside for this study.

TO MY FUTURE LITTLE GIRL This was for you my little one.

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” Alexander the Great

vi Table of Contents Page Abstract iv Acknowledgements v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Context of the Study 1 Study Rationale 1 Purpose of the Study 2 Definition of Terms 2 Organization of the Study 7 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE 8 Perceptions of Bullying 8 Effects of Bullying 10 Profile of the Bully and the Victim 18 CHAPTER THREE: METHOD/METHODOLOGY 21 I Situate Myself in my Study Methodology and Method 21 Qualitative Research 21 Interviewing as Qualitative Research 24 Validity 25 Research Ethics Board Approval Process 25 The Interview 25 My Personal Experiences 26 Study Participants 27 Selection Criteria 27 Researcher Bias 28 Interview Procedures 29 Field Journal 29

vii Informed Consent 30 Location 30 Transcription 30 Data Handling 30 Forthcoming in Chapter Four 31 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION 32 Themes: Data Interpretation and Analysis 32 Bullying and Insecurity 32 Bullying and Targeting 36 Parental Involvement 39 Antibullying Protocols 42 Communicating and Educating 46 Bullying and Solutions 49 Concluding Remarks for the Chapter 52 CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND FINAL THOUGHTS 55 Themes Discussion 55 Relevance of Themes 63 Links between the Themes and the Literature 63 The Role of Teachers, Students, Principals and Parents 68 Some Practicalities moving forward 70 Limitations of the Study and Recommendations for Future Research 73 Final Thoughts and Personal Review of my Study 75 Final Thoughts/Closing Remarks 75 References 77 Appendix A: Research Ethics Board Letter of Approval 95 Appendix B: General Schedule of Interview Questions 96 Appendix C: Informed Consent Form 97

vii i CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION In this chapter, I will give the context of this study as well as its major purpose. Also, I will offer the rationale for the study and a section of definitions to clarify my understanding of these terms as they relate to this research. Last, I will offer an outline my study.

Context of the Study

Bullying is an issue that touches a great many of our youth today (Olweus & Limber,

2010; Salmivalli, 2010). Bullying continues to be highlighted as an issue of major concern and the focus of many studies. Bullying seems to affect a great many individuals from all walks of life (Olweus, 2003; Salmivalli, 2010; Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt, & Hymel, 2010). Bullying is a common problem that exists in all schools and societies (Olweus, 1991; Pepler & Craig,

1997). In a 2004 Canadian study,

1 in 10 children have been identified as victims of bullying and as many as 25% in grades

four to six have been bullied. Also, about one in seven Canadian children aged 11 to 16

are victims of bullying. Studies have found bullying occurs once every seven minutes on

the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom. (What is bullying, 2004, p.

173.)

Study Rationale

Bullying continues to be a major issue among children and youth (Cook, Williams, &

Guerra, 2010; Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, & Voeten, 2006; Swearer et al., 2010). With the advent of modern technology or information technology (IT), bullying is now perhaps more prevalent than ever before and can be done somewhat anonymously through peer to peer networks and social chatting sites such as Twitter and Facebook (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

1 2

Purpose of the Study

The main goal of the study is to obtain clarification on the perceptions of teachers regarding bullying. Having also been a victim of bullying, I too will offer my personal experiences on the struggles I have had with bullying. People telling their own stories about bullying may help enlighten ongoing challenges around this issue at school and in society.

Definition of Terms

In this section, I define key terms for the reader that I will use in this major research paper. These key terms speak to my understanding of these terms for the purposes of this major research paper.

Bullying

Defining the word “bullying” can be quite a challenge. Here are some definitions that I have found: “Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior characterized by repeated acts against victims who cannot easily defend themselves. It can include direct physical or direct verbal attacks, but also indirect forms of aggression such as excluding others or rumoring” (Fekkes,

2005, p. 10). Here is another definition from a Canadian study,

Bullying is a form of aggression, a kind of violence to which children are exposed that

can be defined as a form of social interaction in which a more dominant individual, the

bully, exhibits aggressive behaviour intended to cause distress to the less dominant

individual, the victim. (Smith & Thompson, 1991, p. 2)

Bullying can also be defined as

the exposure of an individual, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of

one or more others. Bullying can take physical forms, such as hitting, pushing, kicking, or 3

punching, and/or verbal forms, exemplified in threatening, teasing, taunting, and name

calling. (Olweus, 1991, p. 3)

This last bullying definition from Olweus (1991) is the one which, for the purposes of my study, I feel best explains my understanding of bullying, its frequency, and its many forms.

Bully

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines bully as: blustering, browbeating person especially, one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable” (Merriam-Webster, 2017). According to a

2007 study by Frisen, Jonsson and Persson, bullies were described by highlighting character traits rather than with a broad definition. These terms include but are not limited to: the bully has psychological problems or problems at home, the bully has low self-esteem, the bully wants to impress others, the bully is jealous of the victim, the bully lacks respect for other people, and the bully is annoyed with the victim. This characterization seems to encompass how most researchers would define the word

‘bully’ (Frisen, et al., 2007, Olweus, 2003, Salmivalli, 2010).

Victim The word “victim” can be used in many contexts. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary holds that a victim is “one that is subjected to mistreatment, oppression, or hardship”. The victim is someone who has then suffered through the actions of either another person or a societal group. The student or victim who is exposed to the bullying may be physically weaker than the bully or may perceive herself/himself as such in relation to the bully (Olweus, 1996).

4

Bully-victim

Bully-victims are new constructs in the field of study related to bullying. According to

Salmivalli (2010), bully-victims are individuals who are stuck between the worlds of being both a victim and a bully. The reason behind this is an inherent fear of becoming targets themselves and as such they succumb to the bully by joining in the bullying action (Olweus, 2003; Salmivalli,

2010). According to Hinduja and Patchin (2008), there is a strong correlation between those who bully and those who are bullied and the rates of suicidal thoughts, actions, or completed suicides.

These individuals, who might appear vulnerable, cannot distinguish themselves from the action of being both bully and victim so “fall” into a subcategory that, according to many experts, needs to be further acknowledged and explored (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008; Olweus & Limber, 2010;

Salmivalli, 2010; Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt & Hymel, 2008).

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying, with the advent of technology, has transferred bullying to the realm of cyberspace. In a 2006 British government report chaired by Smith, Madhavi, Carvalho and

Tippett, cyberbullying was defined as an “aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself”. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying which has in recent years become more apparent as the use of electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones by young people has increased (Salmivalli, 2010; Smith et al., 2006). Cyberbullying can take many forms, and for this study they subdivided the concept of cyberbullying into seven subcategories:

i) Text message bullying.

ii) Picture/ video clip bullying (via mobile phone cameras). 5

iii) Phone call bullying (via mobile phones).

iv) Email bullying.

v) Chat-room bullying.

vi) Bullying through instant messaging.

vii) Bullying via websites.

Physical bullying

Physical bullying is defined as the repeated physical aggression of a bully towards a victim (Olweus, 2003; Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). It is demonstrated by physical actions such as kicking, punching, biting, tripping, or any other physical action that leads to harm

(Olweus, 2003). I discuss the effects of this type of bullying later in my literature review. Most of the bullying that occurs in schools tends not to be as physical later in middle school, where it tends to become more relational and verbal in nature (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008; Olweus, 2003;

Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

Social bullying

Verbal or social bullying is a type of bullying that occurs mostly in middle school and gradually fades in the high school level (Olweus, 2003; Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli,

2010). Verbal bullying may be demonstrated through name calling and teasing meant to cause emotional pain to the individual (Wang et al., 2009). I also describe the effects of this type of bullying later in my literature review. It is more common with boys than girls (Olweus, 2003;

Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010). 6

Relational bullying

Relational bullying is defined as an indirect form of bullying that is demonstrated through social actions such as spreading rumors and social exclusion (Olweus, 2003; Salmivalli, 2010;

Wang et al., 2009). The goal is to isolate the victims indirectly by not including them in group activities and shunning them or excluding them entirely (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli,

2010). According to a study by Owens, Shute, and Slee (2000), girls tend to be more involved in this form of bullying than boys.

Neutral

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 2017) defines the word “neutral” as a person or group that is “not engaged on either side of an argument or not aligned with a particular position or ideology”. This idea pertains to the individual in bullying situations that is neither a victim nor a bully (Olweus, 2003; Salmivalli, 2010). These individuals exist between these two

“worlds” and take no specific position with either the perpetrator or the victim (Olweus &

Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

Emotional

Merriam Webster’s dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 2017) holds that the word emotional pertains to “a person that is dominated or prone to emotion and markedly aroused by feelings or emotions”. In the bullying situation, they are easily “excitable” and can be easier targets for bullies than the general population (Olweus, 1991, Olweus, 1993, Olweus, 2003; Salmivalli,

2010). 7

Organization of the Study

For my major research paper, in Chapter One I cover the major goals and purposes of my study while providing insight into the topic of bullying and its effects. I include a section of definitions as well as the organization portion of this study. In Chapter Two I review the relevant literature pertaining to bullying and its effects and provide links and support for the study. In

Chapter Three I include both the methodology and method of my study, which includes: a discussion of qualitative research, interviewing as qualitative research design and method, my

General Schedule of Interview Questions, and an explanation of my data gathering protocols. In the Fourth chapter, I discuss and interpret my collected data, which I transcribed myself, and I discuss the data thematically across all interviews, including my personal experiences. In the final chapter, I present my conclusions and the meanings I attach to my study. Chapter Five also addresses current ideas around bullying, limitations of my study, and my thoughts for future research.

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE

In this chapter, I explore the relevant literature under several subheadings. In the first section, I focus on the perceptions of bullying by young children, adolescents, and adults as found in the research. In the second section, I discuss the effects of bullying in general, while focusing on the physical, academic, social, emotional, and psychological effects. In the third section, I discuss the school intervention programs in various countries that attempt to curb bullying and their effectiveness. Also, I explain the group dynamics involved in bullying. Last, I include a specific profile of a “typical” bully and victim as offered by researchers.

Perceptions of bullying

Young children’s perceptions may change, but so do the related behaviors. In adolescence, the social structure and culture seem to indicate that relational aggression is more prevalent than in earlier years (Cook et al., 2010; Smith, Madsen & Moody, 1999). Gender is also a related factor in perception and related bullying behavior (Craig & Pepler, 1996; Erdur-Baker,

2010; Olweus, 2003; Patchin & Hinduja, 2010). Girls tend to use and experience more relational aggression (deliberate social isolation, rumours, threats) while males tend to use and experience more physical aggression in bullying situations (Crapanzano, Frick, & Terranova, 2010; Crick &

Grotpeter, 1995; Hinduja & Patchin 2008; Lagerspetz, Bjorkqvist & Peltonen, 1988; Marsee &

Frick, 2007). This experience and use of both relational and physical aggression then results in females using relational aggressive themes in their personal definitions of bullying while males tend to use more physical elements in their own definitions (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; Marées &

Petermann, 2010). Another interesting factor is that most students, regardless of age, did not include the three major bullying criteria that researchers use: intentionality, power imbalance and

8 9 repetition (Olweus, 1993; Vaillancourt et al., 2008). These three factors are used by researchers to discuss the major elements of bullying. According to Vaillancourt et al (2008), students tend to include intentionality (the intent behind an action) most often in their definitions, followed closely by repetition and then by power imbalance. While the students did include these behaviors in their answers, most do not acknowledge or understand the role of these three key factors in the act of bullying (Vaillancourt et al, 2008).

As adults, our perceptions of bullying can be quite different. Two studies (Carney, 2008;

Smorti, Menesini, & Smith, 2003) explain that the perceptions of adults in various countries as it pertains to bullying vary greatly. Also, it seems that constant teacher supervision has a positive effect on bullying frequency and may change our perceptions of it (Craig & Pepler, 1996;

Carney, 2008). Our understanding and perceptions of bullying and its dynamics can also influence how and when we choose to intervene (Carney, 2008; Hazler, Carney, Green, Powell,

& Jolly, 1997; Maunder, Harrop, & Tattersall, 2010; Roberts & Morotti, 2000). For example, if teachers think that bullying may be occurring, they might be more predisposed to intervene. If, however, teachers think or believe that it’s simply occasional teasing, they might choose not to intervene and let these children solve these problems on their own as individuals.

The language of bullying can be a factor when it pertains to bullying intervention. One

European study suggests that the language of some countries does not give a global picture of how bullying should be defined (Smith & Monks, 2011; Smorti, Menesini, & Smith, 2003). If individuals cannot agree on the language of bullying, we might well question how as adults we can come to a global understanding of it. 10

Effects of bullying

The effects of bullying can be either short term or long term. Bullying affects a variety of different aspects of student life such as academic achievement, psychological and social development, emotional wellness, and can even manifest itself physically (Arseneault, Bowes &

Shakoor, 2010; Farrington & Ttofi, 2011; Hesketh et al., 2010; Salmivalli, 2010; Strom,

Thoresen, Wentzel-Larsen, & Dyb, 2013). Now, I explore these effects in more detail.

Bullying and academic achievement

The link between academic achievement and bullying has been researched for some time

(Ladd, 1999; Olweus, 1991; Strom et al., 2013). The prevailing view is that victims of bullying have lower academic performance than “neutral” children (Olweus, 1978; Strom et al., 2013). A later study conducted by Olweus (1991) found that bullies and victims both had lower than average academic achievement. Another study (Schwartz, Farver, Chang, & Lee-Shin, 2002) concluded that children who had lower grades in school tended to be more frequent targets of bullying, but those data were exclusively linked to “bully/victims”, a subset of children that they labeled. This subset of bullying accounts for only a small percentage of victims who exhibit higher rates of internalizing and externalizing feelings of anxiety or depression (Arseneault et al.,

2006; Juvonen, Graham & Schuster, 2003; Nansel et al., 2001; Salmivalli, 2010; Veenstra et al.,

2005). These bully/victims also have more trouble adjusting socially, as they seem to be stuck “in between” being a victim and a harasser (Cook et al., 2010; Egan & Perry, 1998; Salmivalli,

2010).

Peer rejection or exclusion and its relationship with academic achievement have been studied extensively. For the most part, children who have been rejected by their social group have 11 demonstrated lower test scores and seek to participate less in school classrooms (Buhs & Ladd,

2001; DeRosier, Kupersmidt, & Patterson, 1994; Konishi, Hymel, Zumbo, & Li, 2010). Bullies have also been shown to have higher social intelligence and higher social manipulation skills and thus tend to have more influence in peer group situations (Konishi et al., 2010; Peeters, Cillessen,

& Scholte, 2010). The studies that I have read stop short of declaring an absolute causal link between academic achievement and bullying but perhaps suggest a more indirect path (Buhs &

Ladd, 2001; Ladd, 1990; Peeters et al., 2010). This indirect path has been suggested as a negative effect on learning, such as a lack of attention on the lesson or concept being taught (Buhs &

Ladd, 2001, Salmivalli, 2010). This lack of attention could affect academic achievement by not allowing the student to concentrate on the absorption of the content (Olweus, 2003; Olweus &

Limber, 2010). It seems to me that more research needs to be conducted in this area to provide a clearer picture of the relationship between bullying and academic performance.

Bullying and social development

Understanding the effects of bullying on psychological and social development in school may be important. How a child reacts to the act of being bullied may determine how he or she interacts with his or her peer group (Caravita, DiBlasio & Salmivalli, 2010; Pepler & Craig,

1996; Salmivalli, 2010). Researchers suggest that indirect aggression is more frequent in peer groups and that it is more prevalent with girls than boys (Cairns, Cairns, Neckerman, Ferguson,

& Gariépy, 1989; Crick & Grotpeter, 1995, Swearer et al., 2010). Also, the frequency of depression and anxiety in relation to the presence of bullying behavior is much higher than in

“neutral” peer groups (Arseneault et al., 2010; Silverman, LaGreca & Wasserstein, 1995).

Children also report higher levels of anxiety and depression in relation to threats of social exclusion, rejection, or betrayal (Arseneault et al., 2010; Silverman et al., 1995). The prevalence

12 of bullying behavior tends to decline with age (Salmon, James, & Smith, 1998; Ttofi, Farrington,

Lösel, & Loeber 2011). Another European study (Van Der Wal, De Wit, & Hirasing, 2003) shows that children who are bullied between the ages of 9 and 13 years have higher incidences of depression, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety than their older counterparts. This same study also stated, “indirect bullying causes the greatest amount of suffering, while it has a greater chance of going unnoticed by teachers” (Van Der Wal et al., 2003, p. 1315). Crick and Grotpeter (1996) support these findings, stating that children aged 8–12 years are affected similarly in that they experience more depression and loneliness while adjusting to relational bullying.

Emotional wellness

Emotional wellness is a term often used to describe how “well” you feel (Bowes et al.,

2010; Olweus, 2003). In this section, I examine the role of this construct as it pertains to bullying, as well as the role of self-esteem. In a 1995 study, Sharp (1995) found that approximately one third of secondary level students feel that bullying is “stressful” while only a few viewed it as

“extremely stressful” (nearly 11%). Other related and more recent studies have demonstrated that victimization is ongoing and is directly associated with a lowered level of self-esteem (Austin &

Joseph, 1996; Bowes et al., 2010; Mynard & Joseph, 1997; Rigby & Slee, 1993). This lower self- esteem can even stretch into adulthood, where adults that were bullied throughout their formative years have shown higher incidences of depression, anxiety, and even have difficulty with future relationships (Farrington & Ttofi, 2011; Gilmartin, 1987, KIDSCAPE, 1998; Olweus, 1993).

Affective disorders such as depression become commonplace in adolescence and are confounded by higher incidences of anxiety (Arseneault et al., 2010; Bowes et al., 2010; Rigby, 1998). The problems associated with puberty (such as depression) can manifest and create emotional difficulties (Olweus, 1983; Rigby & Slee, 1993; Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2006,). For 13 the most part, it seems that emotional well-being is negatively affected by bullying (Bowes et al.,

2010; Farrington & Ttofi, 2011).

Physical symptoms related to bullying

In a British study of several thousand elementary students, Williams, Chambers, Logan, and Robinson (1996) found that victims of bullying were more likely to experience symptoms of headaches and upset stomachs. These bully/victims were also “far more likely” to exhibit these physical ailments than nonbullied students. An Australian study (Juvonen, Graham, & Rigby,

1999) shows that elementary students who were exposed to higher levels of victimization demonstrated poorer physical health later in secondary school. A Japanese study (Sato et al.,

1987) claims that children who are bullied do suffer from a variety of symptoms including headaches, fits, fainting, vomiting, limb pains, paralysis, and stomach aches. Another Chinese study of bullying victimization (Hesketh et al., 2010) suggests that nearly half of all school-age children that were bullied had a higher prevalence of psychosomatic symptoms, such as headaches and abdominal pain. These symptoms are often a result of direct or physical bullying and are not necessarily linked to relational or indirect bullying (Craig, 1998; Crick & Grotpeter,

1996; Wang, Iannotti, & Luk, 2010; Wolke & Stanford, 1999).

School intervention, antibullying programs and their effectiveness

The problem of bullying has been studied for many decades, but knowing the effects of bullying is perhaps only part of the issue (Olweus, 2003; Olweus, 1993). Schools can initiate antibullying strategies and programs designed to protect all students and minimize the impact of bullying on all who work in the educational setting. Recent research (Ttofi et al., 2011) indicates that most anti bullying programs do help reduce the prevalence of bullying. These same researchers also explain that while these programs are effective, they do little to curb the behavior 14 of bystanders who are not directly involved in a bullying situation (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). If bystanders intervene on behalf of the victim, researchers claim they can successfully stop bullying in more than half of all cases (Craig, Pepler, & Atlas, 2000; O’Connell, Pepler, & Craig,

1999; Salmivalli, 2010; Trach, Hymel, Waterhouse, & Neale, 2010). This “bystander” or “peer group intervention” approach was designed to create an empathetic response to bullying so that these same bystanders will intervene to assist the victim (Andreou, Didaskalou, & Vlachou,

2008).

Another type of antibullying program is the “Whole School Approach” (Garrity, Jens,

Porter, Sager, & Short-Camilli, 1996). This strategy emphasizes that to curb bullying one must effect changes at all levels, whether on the playground, in the classroom, or even at home

(Garrity et al., 1996; Richard, Schneider, & Mallet, 2012). This same approach has very clear guidelines which help to promote positive social behavior within a supportive environment

(Garrity et al, 1996; Richard, et al, 2012). The “Whole School approach” takes its theoretical construct from research by Olweus (1993) as well as Smith and Sharp (1994) into the mechanisms behind the reinforcement, maintenance and even the termination of bullying behaviors. Another antibullying program is called “Steps to Respect” (Frey et al., 2005). This program focuses on addressing school policy through staff training, promoting prosocial behavior, and enhancing social-emotional learning through the advent of a school-based curriculum (Frey et al., 2005; Richard et al., 2012). The studies concluded that the program did effectively curtail bullying behaviors as well as encourage peer and adult intervention (Frey et al.,

2005; Richard et al., 2012). Researcher Olweus also created and implemented a Norwegian-wide antibullying program that appeared to have a strong positive impact on bullying. The program was designed to reduce victim/bully issues at both the elementary and secondary levels. It aimed 15 to increase awareness of bullying and involve teachers and parents more actively in the process of detection and reporting. The program provided victims with support and protection. The interventions were at three levels: class, individual, and school. Reductions of more than half of incidents of victimization as well as other antisocial behaviors such as truancy, theft, and vandalism were observed (Olweus, 1983; Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2006). A similar program in Spain (see above) achieved comparable results with the Norwegian study. The

“Seville Anti Bullying in School Project” combined a research initiative component along with a preventative action program aimed at reducing the incidence of bullying and violence in thirteen

Spanish schools in the region of Andalucía (Ortega & Lera, 2000). There was a drop of more than half in victimization reports (Ortega & Lera, 2000). Other studies have more modest results. The

“Sheffield Project” (based in Sheffield, England) had a total of 30 schools for its study.

Researchers concluded that there was a small reduction of victimization at the primary level and an even smaller one at the secondary level (Gregg, 2010; Whitney, Rivers, Smith, & Sharp,

1994). For the most part, antibullying initiatives can have a mixed variety of results (Salmivalli et al., 2006; Swearer et al., 2010). These antibullying policies can have either modest (as in the

“Sheffield Project”) or sometimes great positive results such as in the “Steps to Respect” program. The “Sheffield Anti-Bullying Project” is a whole school policy, which includes training for staff, as well as curricular activities designed to address bullying. The program also used interventions on the playground, with individuals and small groups of pupils. The long-term effects of any initiative may depend on several factors such as school motivation, enforcement, and even steady school involvement (Olweus, 1993; Olweus & Limber, 2010; Pepler & Craig,

1995). The literature seems to suggest that an anti-bullying program is only as good as the willingness of staff and students to properly implement its protocols (Olweus, 1993; Olweus &

Limber, 2010, Salmivalli et al., 2006, Swearer et al., 2010) If there is little to no motivation to

16 implement such an initiative and to maintain its effects, the program then may fail to achieve its goal.

Group dynamics in bullying

Often, we may think of bullying as a direct social construct between a bully and a victim, with little to no peer group involvement; however, the peer group can have a direct or indirect impact on the bullying situation (Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2006).

An example of peer-avoiding behavior may be described as a peer in the classroom avoiding friendship with the victim to prevent becoming a victim him/herself (Cook et al., 2010;

Hoover, Oliver, & Hazler, 1992; Salmivalli, 2010). The aim of peer-avoiding friendship is to protect oneself from becoming either a direct or indirect target of a bully. Bullying seems to be a very complex social problem that evolves and grows within social contexts and is influenced not only with individuals but also within the larger social group (Cairns & Cairns, 1991, Cook et al.,

2010). Indications are that most children do have some level of empathy when it comes to intervening in bullying situations (Crick, 1997; Salmivalli, 2010). A Canadian study (1997) showed that “83% of students, aged 5 to 14 years, find bullying ‘very unpleasant’, with 41% who try to intervene to help peers and 11% who ‘always try’ to stop bullying when it occurs”

(O’Connell et al., p.12). This same study found that “31% of students will assist the bully in teasing those that they do not like” (O’Connell et al., 1997, p. 13). In an Australian study (Rigby et al., 1993), results were similar to the 1997 Canadian study in which most students reported that they would intervene in a bullying situation; however, only a small percentage of them showed little or no empathy for the victim.

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The reported behavior doesn’t always represent the actual social behavior. For example, in a study (Craig & Pepler, 1996) of playground bullying, most children participated in the act of bullying while only a small percentage of them intervened, which contradicted the questionnaire responses. It seems that children will intervene only when they feel that they are “safe” in doing so. This type of intervention is what is called “diffusion of responsibility” whereby an individual will intervene but only if another person assists them (Darley & Latané, 1968; Reijntjes,

Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010). This assisted intervention is related to the inherent fear that the interveners may become the bully’s next target and best shows a self- preservation mindset (O’Connell et al., 1999; Salmivalli, 2010; Swearer et al., 2010). Children are also more likely to assist a bully if they share similar characteristics and if the bully is rewarded rather than punished. This learned behavior is supported by the social learning theory

(Bandura, 1977; O’Connell, Pepler & Craig, 1999; Salmivalli, 2010). The social learning theory, first proposed by Albert Bandura, explains that behaviour can be learned by observing a model and consequences related to that model’s behaviour. That behaviour is either adopted or not by the individual based on the “vicarious reinforcement” of that behaviour. (Bandura, 1977;

Salmivalli, 2010) Also, Craig and Pepler (1996) observed that only a few bullies were punished, a result that could reinforce the social group in assisting the bully further. Evidently, the need for prosocial intervention perhaps is outweighed by the need for self-preservation in children and youth in bullying situations.

Other relevant literature points to the peer groupings between victims and bullies (Cairns et al., 1989; Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli, Huttunen, & Lagerspetz, 1997; Swearer et al., 2010).

The literature concluded that similarity binds people together, whether this is a shared interest in certain hobbies or even bullying (Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 1997). These groups then

18 assist and support each other in their endeavours, whether this is bullying, defending against a bully’s actions, or even withdrawing from bullying situations (Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al.,

1997). Bystander reactions to bullying can either reinforce the behavior or serve to cull it (Kärnä,

Salmivalli, Poskiparta, & Voeten, 2008; Pozzoli & Gini, 2010). To conclude this section, it appears that peer group influence can affect the frequency and intensity of bullying behaviours.

The fear of interfering in a bullying situation can cause one to withdraw, leaving the victim to suffer tremendously. The bully, being a very socially dominant figure, may get more support by either having people (especially adults) ignore the situation or having others “join in” (Kärnä, et al., 2008; Pozzoli & Gini, 2010).

Profile of the Bully and the Victim

From my own personal experiences, I have always thought of a bully as a “socially” weak individual who seeks to gain popularity and attention because of his or her academic or social failings. Also, I have personally found that bullies act better within groups than alone. Victims, like I was, seem “socially weak” and are easy targets of the bully’s aggression. For a long time, I thought that I was to blame as I felt too “weak” to defend myself. In conducting this review of the relevant literature, I have found that this rather simplistic view is not completely supported by the research. In this section, I will discuss the bullying (victim and bully) profile expressed by several researchers, most notably Daniel Olweus.

In his research, Olweus (1993) states, “Bullies intentionally inflict harm repeatedly and over time to an individual” (p. 9). These bullies tend to manipulate their social environment to gain support for their actions (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Solberg, Olweus, & Endresen, 2007).

Bullying behavior is often linked to a need for social dominance or an asymmetrical social power structure where they seek to gain an advantage (Olweus, 2003; Olweus & Limber, 2010). The 19 bully is “socially smart” and finds ways to fit in and justify his/her behavior (Olweus, 1978,

2003; Olweus & Limber, 2010). S/he (the bully) is proactive in her/his aggression, such that s/he attacks the victim seemingly without prior provocation (Calvete, Orue, Estévez, Villardón, &

Padilla, 2010; Olweus, 1996). According to Olweus, both genders bully, but his research found that more boys tend to bully physically and tend to bully more often while girls bully less often statistically but perpetrate more social and relational bullying than do boys (Olweus, 1983;

Olweus & Limber, 2010). A recent status report on bullying, commissioned by the United States government, shows:

The trends across grades for self-reported bullying behavior are also similar between girls

and boys until high school, when the percentage of boys who report bullying others

increases with increasing grade while the percentage of girls who report bullying others

decreases. Among elementary and middle school students, there is a 1 to 2 percent

difference between boys and girls in bullying behavior, but this difference increases to 3

percent by tenth grade and 4 percent in eleventh and twelfth grade. Boys consistently

bully other students more than girls do, especially in high school. (Luxenberg, Limber, &

Olweus, 2014)

Another study (Cerezo & Ato, 2010) shows that the incidence of bullying (either being a victim or a bully) is still higher statistically overall in boys than in girls. Olweus also concludes that when boys bully it is far more physically aggressive and girls tend to be more relationally aggressive by excluding members from the group and spreading rumors (Olweus, 2003; Olweus

& Limber, 2010). It seems that bullies do not vigorously chase after people who are overweight, wear glasses, have a strange accent, or come from a different ethnic background, despite popular belief (Calvete et al., 2010; Nansel et al., 2001; Solberg & Olweus, 2007). Another variable that

20 fits into the bullying profile is adult perception and intervention. Educators (teachers and principals) who intervene on a regular basis to address bullying have a positive impact on the school environment (Olweus, 2003; Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

The victim, according to Olweus (1993), is a more physically and socially weak individual who is either unable or unwilling to defend him/herself. The victim often is smaller in physical stature than the bully and tends to have weaker social skills (Olweus, 2003; Salmivalli,

2010). These victims also have difficulty making friends because of their situation (Olweus,

1983; Peeters et al., 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2006). This “situation” of bullying may make the victim less appealing to befriend and as such isolate the victim further (Olweus, 2003; Peeters et al., 2010). The victim can be occasionally protected by what is called a “defender” who steps into the bullying situation and attempts to stop the event (Craig et al., 2000; Olweus, 1993; Salmivalli,

2010). This defender doesn’t always step in, however, because of fear of bully retaliation

(O’Connell, Pepler & Craig, 1999; Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2006). As noted, the victim does have a large burden to either absorb the abuse or defend him/herself. I personally identify strongly with this statement, as I often suffered much verbal and physical punishment by my tormentors.

In conclusion, it seems apparent that the effects of bullying can be wide ranging. The perceptions of adults, children, and youth can have an impact on not only the prevalence but also the intensity of the events. Intervention programs must be strictly adhered to if their effects are to gain widespread influence in the school. Understanding the group dynamics within the classroom and the playground can help identify any problem interactions so that they may dealt with accordingly. The victim and the bully seem to be an oft misunderstood dyad

CHAPTER THREE: METHOD/METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, I discuss the reasons that I chose a qualitative research design for my study and provide theoretical support for my decision. I explore my choice of the interview

(including my personal narrative descriptions) as well as the theoretical support for that methodological decision, discussing the Research Ethics Board (REB) approval process to conduct research, describing my study participants, outlining my interview procedures, and as well, addressing my research biases to close the Chapter.

I Situate Myself in my Study Methodology and Method

My previous research experience was quantitative in nature—a study of soil geology. My choice of a qualitative design to investigate bullying can be explained by the premise that bullying is a social issue and a very personal issue. I wish to learn about the firsthand experiences and stories of a few individuals, in their own words, around bullying in its many guises (Glesne,

2016; Seidman, 2013). I therefore chose qualitative research strategies as my theoretical underpinnings and one-on-one personal interviews as my method of data collection. Glesne

(2016) and Seidman (2013) suggest that hearing from participants in their own words offers data rich in personal insights, a strategy very helpful for investigating a very personal topic such as bullying. I too have personal insights from my knowledge as a bullied child that I am including as stories of experience (Glesne, 2016).

Qualitative research

Qualitative research seeks to make sense of actions and narratives and the ways in which they cross paths (Glesne, 2016). Learning to make sense of other people’s words and interpreting and retelling their accounts is a key aspect of qualitative research (Glesne, 2016). Since bullying

21 22 is such a social issue, qualitative design seems appropriate because,

the qualitative researcher’s perspective is perhaps a paradoxical one—it is to be acutely

tuned-in to the experiences and meaning systems of others—to indwell—and at the same

time to be aware of how one’s own biases and how preconceptions may be influencing

what one is trying to understand. (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994, p. 123)

This perspective of qualitative inquiry may seem paradoxical because one can be within a study and yet also a part of it (Seidman, 2013). In my case, as noted above, I am including my own stories of experience where appropriate. Also, one’s preconceptions or biases may and can influence how a researcher might misinterpret or even use the data (Glesne, 2016; Seidman,

2013). According to Glesne (2016), no single “right” way exists in interpreting data. There are several methods that can help make the study “more trustworthy” (Glesne, 2016, p. 152). These include: member checking, using multiple methods/participants, and thick or rich description.

Glesne (2016) notes that while using many strategies will ensure that a research study is more than an anecdote, these strategies will not necessarily guarantee a good or useful study.

Glesne (2016) also stated,

Through inquiry, you seek, interpret, and share others’ perspectives, as well as your own,

on some aspect of the social condition, contributing to the multiplicity of voices and

visions, and to the plurality of knowing. This ‘knowing’ can be about the topic, about how

people relate to it and even how the topic seems to influence the researcher. The many

voices and visions add to the richness of the study and to the body of research. (p. 26)

Including multiple perspectives as well as my own may help to better interpret and understand how bullying affects all those involved, either directly or indirectly. While I identify as being a victim of bullying, my goal is to interpret the experiences and views of others without letting my personal feelings around bullying influence their interview and what they have contributed. I 23 weave my personal reflections on bullying into this research paper under the subheading “My

Personal Experiences” in Chapter Four, and will include “emotional accounts” of events that may stir “harsh memories”. Adler and Adler (1987) identify three types of roles researchers can play in their studies: (a) researchers who are outsiders to the topic being researched; (b) researchers who identify with the study but do not commit or share the group’s common goals or values and

(c) those researchers who “fully commit” or “identify” with these said values. I find myself in this third category as a victim of bullying. Today, many researchers identify their positions in the context of qualitative research to better qualify their relationship to it (Angrosino, 2005; Glesne,

2016, Seidman, 2013). The insider role, such as that which I provide, has been proven to build a greater trust from the participants and a greater depth of data than those from just “outsider” researchers (Adler & Adler, 1987; Glesne, 2016). This relationship of researchers “being with” our participants and not merely objectively observing them may offer a richer depth of information and a larger view of the topic (Dwyer & Buckle, 2009; Kanuha, 2000). As qualitative researchers, we are not completely outside or inside the study; we occupy the space in between to maintain a “credible element of objectivity” (Dwyer & Buckle, 2009; Glesne, 2016; Kanuha,

2000). Glesne (1999) suggests that we must maintain this balance between rapport and

“professional distancing” to ensure a more holistic research approach. This balance must be carefully “thought out” and applied diligently to ensure the research doesn’t lose any validity or trustworthiness (Glesne, 2016). “We must be fully authentic with our participants and honour the consequences of acting with genuineness while highlighting the necessity of remaining reflexive”

(Glesne, 1999, p. 105). Qualitative research design seems well supported by the scientific community so long as one can maintain the space between being “inside” and “outside” of the study (Dwyer & Buckle, 2009; Glesne, 2016; Kanuha, 2000).

24

In the next section I discuss the specific qualitative design method I chose to acquire my data—the interview.

Interviewing as Qualitative Research I chose interviewing as my strategy for data collection to obtain valuable detailed personal accounts and perspectives on bullying. According to Seidman (2013), interviewing is a way of knowing through experiences as people convey stories that are rich in detail. The qualitative interview can also be a tool to allow the researcher to analyze and interpret social phenomena, such as bullying (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). Interviewing then, is a basic mode of obtaining information qualitatively and helps make sense of our experiences in life (Seidman, 2013). It is the ‘heart’ of getting ‘words to fly’ (Glesne, 2016).

Glesne (2016) argues,

Unlike a baseball pitcher, whose joy derives from throwing balls that batters never touch,

you toss questions that you want your respondents to ‘hit’ and ‘hit well’ in every corner of

your data park, if not clear out of it—a swatted home run of words. As a researcher, you

want your pitches—your questions—to stimulate verbal flights from respondents who

know what you do not. From these flights, come the stuff of dissertations, articles and

books. (p. 96)

At the heart of interviewing, a researcher might anticipate finding value in people’s stories; people are beyond “cold” numbers and “pseudonyms” (Kvale, 1996, Turner, 2010). While interviewing, a researcher should understand that these experiences must be reconstructed from what “was”; then great reflection is required to obtain meaning from these lived experiences

(Seidman, 2013; Van Manen, 1990). Further, Van Manen (1990) notes, “a lived experience is what we experience as it happens, but we can only get at what we experience after it happens, which requires lengthy reconstruction of that experience” (p. 38). 25

Validity

Researchers must be cautious when reflecting on this experience to not add or take away any information, as doing so may corrupt the data and the validity of the study (Seidman, 2013).

Many qualitative researchers debate this notion of validity as it assumes that every word of data is infallible (Kvale, 1996; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Seidman, 2013). Lincoln and Guba (1985) and

Glesne (2016), however, view the word “validity” as being synonymous with “credibility,”

“trustworthiness,” “transferability,” and “confirmability.”

Research Ethics Board Approval Process

The Research Ethics Board approval process is mandatory for all those who wish to conduct research in Canada and most countries where research is done (Glesne, 2016; Seidman,

2013). It involved completing an online modular tutorial course and a research protocol that is sent to the local ethics board of Nipissing University. The result of this was an approval letter which I have included in Appendix A.

The Interview

The interview can provide valid information if the researcher is faithful to the process and is careful to offer participant-intended meaning (Glesne, 2016; Seidman, 2013). Interviews provide in-depth information about people’s experiences and viewpoints in their own words on a topic with which they are familiar and have a viewpoint (Turner, 2010). My interviews contain open- ended questions whereby participants were invited to contribute as much information as possible in their own words and in their own way (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 2003, Glesne, 2016; Seidman,

2013). These “open-ended questions,” which the researcher brings to the interview are not necessarily a binding contract (Glesne, 2016; Seidman, 2013). While a General Schedule of

Interview Questions is generally recommended for novice interviewers, some questions can be added, modified, or even abandoned (Glesne, 2016). I have included a copy of the General 26

Schedule of Interview Questions in Appendix B at the end of this study. According to Glesne

(2016, pp. 100–102), the types of questions to consider are as follows:

1. Grand tour questions (these types of questions aim to take the participant to a place or

time or even a sequence of events. They are good starting points as they ask experiential

detail that participants can answer easily)

2. Experience/behavior questions

3. Opinion/value questions

4. Feelings questions

5. Sensory questions

6. Knowledge questions (though not shaped as typical “test” questions)

These types of questions encourage well-thought-out, developed answers that create a rich, multilayered dialogue (Glesne, 2016; Patton, 2002). The interviewer, in posing some of these questions, may challenge long held views that an individual may have about a certain topic

(Schostak, 2006, Seidman, 2013). Gall et al., (2003) also explain several forms of the interview process and posit that the “standardized open-ended interview” using a General Schedule of

Interview Questions is the easiest one to conduct because of the similarity of the questions asked.

While standardized open-ended interviews may make it difficult to extract coded themes, they can provide the least amount of potential bias from the researcher (Creswell, 2007; Seidman,

2013).

My Personal Experiences

In this MRP, I detail my own thoughts related to my experiences being a victim of bullying. These personal stories are about how my bullying experiences have shaped who I am today, and how I interact with incidents of bullying of students in my own teaching career. Under this subheading, I will discuss instances where I suffered the effects of bullying from the age of 27

12–16 years. This section includes both a “victim” perspective (very personal to me) and an

“outsider” perspective which deals with the data of my participants. So as not to identify the people who were the bullies, I use terms such as “student” or “acquaintance”. These personal experiences will be interwoven into the study as an additional piece of data to supplement my interview data and to aid understanding.

Study Participants

Selecting study participants was a daunting challenge. I wanted to select participants who would provide rich data (Seidman, 2013). This selection process was done purposively (Glesne,

2016). For qualitative design, I used what is called “purposeful sampling” where, as the researcher, I intentionally selected participants who understood the phenomenon of bullying and who met the criteria that framed my study (Glesne, 2016; Seidman, 2013).

Selection Criteria

I selected five study participants who are qualified to teach in Ontario or were at one time.

I included a variety of age groups, with both males and females represented. Having the need for rich data, I selected teachers that had a wide range of experience from those who had taught for only 5–7 years to those who had taught for 25–35 years. I selected participants who were geographically close to my place of residence. All names are pseudonyms.

Janet

Janet is a teacher between the ages of 25 and 30. She has eight years of teaching experience in both the elementary and secondary panels. She has taught a variety of subjects, including physical education, religion, parenting classes, and French.

Nelly

Nelly is a teacher with sixteen years of experience at the secondary level. She has taught

English, French, and Law and is currently the school guidance counselor. Her students have

28 ranged from ninth through twelfth grade level. Nelly is between the ages of 35 and 45 years.

Rebecca

Rebecca is now retired after more than 25 years of teaching experience at the elementary level. Rebecca also has had ten years of experience with children in the juvenile prison system.

She has taught all subjects, except for science and physical education. She is between the ages of

55 and 65 years. Rebecca indicated that she taught mostly kindergarten and first grade levels.

Sara

Sara is between the ages of 65 and 75 years. She has twenty-five years of experience at the elementary level in grades ranging from third to sixth and even has had 13 years of experience as a principal at the same school in which she taught. Sara has been retired now for almost seven years.

Stewart

The lone male participant Stewart was chosen from an original list of three potential male candidates. Stewart is the only male who professed an interest and could commit to the time required for the study. Stewart is between the ages of 25 and 35 years. He has taught on northern

Aboriginal reserves for six years in total and taught seventh and eighth grade classes. He has also provided tutoring help for high school mathematics students.

Researcher Bias

As humans, we seem to be naturally biased about some topics (Glesne, 2016; Seidman,

2013). This bias could be based on our experiences or our own feelings regarding the topic in question. Krishna, Maithreyi, and Surapaneni (2010) state, “Bias is a systematic deviation from what would have been the most effective route to one goal because of commitment to another particular tendency or inclination, especially the one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question” (p. 2320). Biases can be randomized or systematized (Creswell, 2015; Krishna et al., 29

2010). Additionally, biases can be a result of innumerable sources, such as complex human factors (Krishna et al., 2010). As a researcher, I was careful to represent the views and intended meaning of my participants (Glesne, 2016). The section, “My Personal Experiences” are presented as separate from my participant data. I include my data from the perspective of

“victim” and “external observer,” so to enrich my study data (Glesne, 2016).

Interview Procedures

The one-on-one interview had many steps to follow to ensure that it was an appropriate method of data capture and transcription (Seidman, 2013). Interviews, 45–60 minutes in length, contained open-ended questions that allowed participants to share their ideas or views in a safe, quiet environment (Glesne, 2016; Seidman, 2013). In all cases, the interview locations were their personal residence.

One of my concerns was technical issues with the recording of participant data using an audio recorder. I was concerned the recorder might miss subtle but important details about the individual interviews; therefore, I used a field journal to note any gestures that might have been made during the recording, for example, rolling of eyes (Seidman, 2013).

Field Journal Glesne (2016) notes,

The field journal is the primary recording tool of the qualitative researcher. It holds

descriptions of people, places, events, activities, and conversations. It also becomes a

place for ideas, hunches, notes about patterns and even contains personal reactions. They

are not written as documents to be shared, as some observations might be too

embarrassing or hurtful to participants. (p. 72)

In this instance, my journal supplemented my recording device to record occurrences of note that the recorded word would not convey (e.g., facial/body gestures). I conducted interviews in quiet 30 locations convenient for the participants (their homes) and each lasted between 45 minutes and

60 minutes (Seidman, 2013).

Informed Consent

My participants each signed a consent form that explained how I intended to proceed with the interviews, share the data, and provide confidentiality and protection (Glesne, 2016; Seidman,

2013). I also explained the consent form orally and answered all their questions before they signed two copies—one for their files and one for mine as researcher. Signed consent forms are an expected part of Research Ethics Board requirements to protect all participants (Glesne, 2016).

I have included a copy of this consent form as Appendix C, at the end of this study.

Location

These interviews were all conducted during evening hours, usually between 6 and 8 pm in the participant’s homes. We chose a quiet, comfortable location in each home where distractions were limited (Glesne, 2016).

Transcription

After each interview was completed, I transcribed the audio file using word processing software (Microsoft Word). Each transcription was done verbatim within a period of 24 hours after the recorded interview.

Data Handling

I read each transcript carefully a total of three times. The first go-through consisted of a cursory reading while searching for key words (Seidman, 2013). The second was more thorough as I located recurring themes found across all interview data. In the third reading, I highlighted sections of data that tied in with my initial themes. I also underlined subthemes. While perusing

31 the interview transcripts, I finally coded the data into six relevant themes across all interviews

(Glesne, 2016; Seidman, 2013). I used a color coding system to identify these themes within the data. I took reflective notes during and after the interviews, which helped me structure ideas and make links with my literature review and the interview data (Glesne, 2016). To help ensure intended meaning of the interview transcripts, I asked each participant to verify the accuracy and intended meaning of each of their transcripts (Creswell, 2015; Seidman, 2013). This strategy, in turn, helped maintain the validity of the interview data and the accuracy of the findings

(Creswell, 2015). Once the study was completed, I erased all interviews from my recording device and I also gave my participants the option of either keeping their copy of the interview transcript or having it destroyed (Creswell, 2015; Seidman, 2013).

Forthcoming in Chapter Four

In Chapter Four, I interpret and analyze my data around my themes and subthemes.

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION

In this chapter, I interpreted the identified themes from my data collection while referring to specific instances within the interviews. The 6 major themes from my participant data are: bullying and insecurity, bullying and targeting, parental involvement, anti-bullying protocols, communicating and educating and finally bullying and solutions. Within my data, I found several sub themes that also seemed significant. These words appeared often and I found this discovery important to include here. The key words are: ‘insecure’, ‘suspension’, ‘power’, ‘control’,

‘repetition’, ‘bystander/witness’, ‘victim’, ‘bully’, ‘cyberbullying’, ‘tracking’ and ‘time’. These key words will be interwoven into the theme discussion as will my own personal experiences under the specific sub heading “My Personal Experiences”.

Themes: Data Interpretation and Analysis

The six major themes that I found in my interview data seem to explore major topics within the field of education in relation to bullying. Their significance encompasses the major concerns teachers have about how bullying affects their classrooms and their school environment, how school boards and administration create policies and how these are implemented, how parents should be involved in antibullying initiatives, how education and open communication should be handled, and possible solutions to bullying.

Bullying and Insecurity

In this section, I explore the links between bullying and insecurity through the lens of my participants’ data. From the interview data, it seems that insecurity can be associated with the bully or with others around them. Teachers state very clearly that bullies are insecure and they

32 33

“pick” on other kids to make them feel better about themselves. Sara said, “The bully could feel insignificant in some way and therefore tries to make up for that lack of status.” This inherent need then pushes bullies to ensure that their own feelings are validated and others’ are not. It seems that bullies have innate insecurities that make them feel uncomfortable. Nelly stated, “The bully starts by being uncomfortable or unhappy with themselves or something in their own lives and they try to make others feel bad.” The bully’s goal then appears to be the elevation of his or her own self-esteem at the cost of another’s. Sara then added, “The bully could feel a need to elevate themselves through the act of deprecating [sic] another person insignificant in some way and therefore tries to make up for that lack.” This apparent lack of self-esteem might then motivate individuals to bully others simply to improve their own feelings of insecurity. Rebecca said, “Children who didn’t have well-developed social or verbal skills resorted to physical aggression to get what they wanted.” Rebecca mostly taught senior kindergarten and first grade groups and saw this behavior quite often. She used the word “chronic” to describe its pervasiveness. Janet said, “It’s about making someone else feel uncomfortable in their own skin.”

Stewart added to the discussion saying, “If bullies are feeling insecure about something they often point out someone else’s flaws because they do not feel comfortable in the current situation.” The need to escape these insecurities may then manifest itself through bullying.

Though the bully may appear “powerful” or “dominant” s/he may be merely hiding personal inadequacies by attacking and bullying others. Victims can demonstrate these signs of insecurity as well by saying them directly or demonstrating them in a social group. This outward demonstration of their insecurities makes them an easy target for the bully. Janet said,

“Unfortunately, victims can be their own worst enemy.” When bullies perceive these weaknesses, they then pounce on these insecure individuals, using these weaknesses as excuses to bully others.

34

Within this framework of bullying and insecurity, we often think of emotional or social insecurity where an individual has a difficult time focusing on the lesson and their own views about their self-worth. Janet, a physical education teacher, discussed how she sees bullying causing physical insecurities in the gym, “People who are athletically inclined are always chosen for teams first. Those who may not be so athletic are always selected last. Being chosen last may make them feel very vulnerable or insecure.” Janet also said, “Some people that I have seen bully others do so because they [the bully] feel insecure about their lack of physical ability and through bullying these feelings can subside, but only for a little bit.” Both insecurities may trigger bullying, either by the bully or the victim. Whether the bully feels insecure and has the need to augment his or her self-esteem or the victim demonstrates a lack of self-esteem, the results can be just as damaging if the bully “pounces”. Sara did mention in her interview, “most personal insecurities are physical or emotional, social, academic, or can even be on a spiritual level.

Bullies then can ‘pick’ and ‘choose’ which insecurities to target.” Janet mentioned this masking of personal insecurities in her interview: “Bullies can sometimes see through our insecurities. If we expose any vulnerable spots, bullies can ‘jump’ on those insecurities like a tiger.” Many people feel insecure from time to time, and this insecurity should not be allowed to make bullying more prevalent within the classroom or the school. As educators, we should be on the lookout for students who may exhibit warning signs of insecurity and try our best to equip them with tools and strategies to cope with those insecurities.

My Personal Experiences with Insecurity and Bullying

The word “uncomfortable” describes how I felt most days during my eighth-grade year. I would often make myself sick or would become sick simply by thinking of going to school and exposing myself to further emotional and occasionally physical harm. In my own experiences 35 with bullying, I can say that as a victim, I often recall how insecure I felt before and after every bullying incident. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of fear and dread when I entered a classroom and there were several people who I knew were “preparing to target me”. For me, being treated this way meant that my feelings of self-worth withered away, with nothing left but a

“husk” of the person I truly was. I think back to my experiences when bullies would use these insecurities to attempt to make themselves seem better than me. One incident comes to mind when a student asked me a personal question and then used it in a twisted way in a social situation. I hesitated to participate in class discussions moving forward, as I felt that these personal feelings or opinions might be again used against me. Another such instance occurred during the same year when all three bullies were in class discussing God. The teacher asked whether we believed in God and why. Discussions such as these were common, and the bullies’ insecurities were made known to me. I often wondered (and still do) if I said or did something to aggravate the bullies. But looking at these two experiences through the theme of bullying and insecurity, I could say that these insecurities might have fueled the need to bully me as they searched for ways to enhance their own status.

Summation

To sum up, we all have hidden insecurities that occasionally manifest themselves either through action or spoken word. Bullies seem to see these insecurities as signs of weakness and bully people to help satisfy their own feelings of inadequacy. This so-called “targeting” of victims will be addressed in the next section.

36

Bullying and Targeting

Rebecca stated, “Often, bullies choose one particular target until that event or conflict was resolved.” If this bullying was then addressed, the bully would move on to another target. Janet said, “It can be as simple as this kid has been an easy target and then gets picked on all the time.”

She then goes on to state, “The bully should not be doing this, but if the bullied person acts in a way that doesn’t bother them as much, the bully might stop doing this because they do not see a reaction as often.” The need to see that reaction seems to reinforce bullying. If the victim acts calm or doesn’t exhibit a strong reaction, the bully seems to move on to another target. Sara adds,

“When bullies get the attention they crave, then they are on to something that can benefit them.

They may have deep psychological needs that are not being met at home.” These needs manifest themselves in bad behavior that is damaging to others. This isolation of the victim becomes the all-consuming goal of the bully (Patchin & Hinduja, 2010; Olweus, 2003). Sara then adds,

If you perceive this isolation, you know that the child is being bullied. They could be

bullied for a variety of reasons. That is why peer pressure is so powerful, they need to

conform so that they do not become the next target.

Targeting may also be done either in isolation where no one is looking or where everyone is visible. Rebecca said, “I have seen more bullying in the hallway where there is a lot of movement or out in the schoolyard. There the ratio of adults to kids is smaller and the environment was more conducive to it.” Rebecca added, “I have also seen bullying occur in bathrooms or change rooms where adult supervision is not present.” Sara said, “Students egg each other on. I can’t think of a situation where there wasn’t a chanting crowd when bullying happened, so, it’s a spectator sport.” This seeming contradiction indicates that bullying can occur

37 either when there is a crowd or when there isn’t. The goal then appears to be the targeting or

“isolation” of the victim.

Targets in bullying also demonstrate certain differences. These differences can be physical, cultural, or even social (Olweus, 1991; Salmivalli, 2010). Stewart talked about his own experiences by stating, “I think of myself as a kid with red hair. Getting bullied just for that reason. It’s something different that not everyone is used to seeing.” Stewart’s comments here seem to contradict the literature that states bullies do not aggressively seek out these physical differences as was once thought (Calvete et al., 2010; Solberg et al., 2007). This idea of not seeing something familiar might then lead to bullying simply out of fear or lack of understanding.

Sara added to this saying, “He or she may be a new kid in the school, they may be different physically or intellectually. Anything that seems to set them aside.” Finally, it all seems to return to isolating a child based on some perceived difference with which the bullies can assert themselves or fill in a deep-seated need for attention by belittling another person.

My Personal Experiences with being Targeted

I often return to this theme of “targeting” when reliving my experiences. The questions I ask are: “What did I do to become a ‘target’?” “What then did I do to become a recurrent

‘punching bag’ for those bullies?” This idea of self-pity or guilt has lingered with me during this entire research process. Looking back as an adult, I can think of one instance where I made myself an open “target” by reacting to the bullying plainly and visibly. It happened when preparing a play. I was told I looked stupid in my costume and others laughed. I was tripped, then fell, and had a bit of a split lip which required me to go to the office. A bully smirked at my

38 predicament. I cried all the way back to class and went into the bathroom feeling embarrassed, unwilling to come out.

Did my reaction fuel the bullying? Janet did say, “If you demonstrate even a slight reaction, the bullying might continue because they enjoy the power they have over you.” My social, emotional, and intellectual differences were always present through my development. I was outwardly emotional and would not endeavour to find many friendships outside of my family.

These differences might have also made me seem “weird” or “unnatural” to those bullies, which probably encouraged their bullying behavior. Sara and Stewart mentioned that “differences” make us “easier targets”.

Summation

According to my participants, bullies seem to target based on differences in personality, social dynamics, or physical makeup. These perceived differences then make the bully’s choice of target easier. For example, if you react more in a social setting, you may be singling yourself out for negative attention by a bully. Peer pressure to conform, as Stewart and Sara both noted, may make us hide these differences to avoid any uncomfortable social interactions.

The goal seems always to avoid exposing yourself as a potential victim to the bully

(Olweus, 1991; Salmivalli, 2010). Bullies are trying to humiliate their victims. Peer pressure to conform as Stewart and Sara said, may make us hide these differences to avoid any uncomfortable social interactions. Bullies also seem to choose social isolation either in private, such as Rebecca said, or out in the open, as Sara said. This chosen “area” of bullying could be based on the comfort level of the bully. Bullies target those they perceive as being weaker than they are. The elements of power and control seem to be demonstrated through this targeting of

39 victims who are perceived as weak. Choosing to react may give undue power to the bully and exacerbate the bullying situation.

So, what can we glean from this commentary of bullying and targeting of victims as noted by my participants? Differences are part of who we are, but the data do seem to indicate, at least from the information provided by these participants, if we choose not to react or minimize any reaction to the bullying, the bully may move on to another target. Janet, Sara, Stewart, Nelly, and

Rebecca all agree that a noted reaction is key to initiate bullying. The key word “power” came up

15 times across the data, “dominance” came up 18 times, “control” came up 21 times, and the words “choice”, “choose”, “chose”, or “choosing” came up a total of 34 times. These key words may help illustrate how the interaction between the bully and the victim can be so multifaceted.

This interaction must be understood from a power and control dynamic where choice is the catalyst. How a bully chooses a target demonstrates power and control over another individual, but the choice to react to that bullying may partly determine how much control either individual has in each situation. I will discuss later how educating and openly communicating about bullying may help when learning about the necessary tools to “deflect” such actions.

Parental Involvement

The third theme discusses parental involvement in the act of bullying. A major concern stems from the idea that parents may have more influence on their children’s lives than they might realize. Nelly stated, “They will deal with bullying behavior all of their lives. I have to stop stepping in and give my children or students the tools to fix the situation, which can be difficult as a parent and a teacher.” Assisting children to learn how to deflate a bullying situation demonstrates perhaps the necessity for parents to communicate effectively with their children. 40

Stewart added, “I think parents have to spend enough time with their kids and talk about the issue. Being aware of bullying by talking to educators, coaches, and friends to keep an extra eye open.” Janet said, “It’s all about educating the parents and trusting that they will give their kids those lessons that everyone has feelings and can’t be judged by their exterior.” Rebecca said, “If parents refuse to deal with an issue such as bullying, they can encourage it to continue.” Rebecca further noted, “Often, children have a bullying parent at home and through aggression and threats these family cultures thrive.” Adding to this discussion, Janet said, “Sometimes, bullying starts at home. Some parents can be bullies, so it’s a learned behavior.” Sara added,

We rarely look at family origins or environmental issues where the bully originates.

Rarely does the child find the support with educators or administrators. Therefore, parents

are pivotal, no matter what side of the coin they may be on.

Nelly stated, “As a parent, I want to know that my children are in a safe environment where learning and sharing can occur. If I know something is wrong, it had better be dealt with, and quickly.” This reaction seems reasonable, as parents should want the best for their children.

Sara also added, “While parents want the best for their children, they can often make the situation more difficult. They want quick action and they want it done that very day, which is often impossible.” Sara, as an administrator, often dealt with overeager parents who wanted to, as Sara said, “take out the big guns.” Janet said, “I can think of one case where the bullying got so bad, even after punishment was given, that the victim would have to go home before the end of the day. Did the parents find out about this?” Her question may be well taken, as educators cannot know how or when principals discuss events or consequences. 41

My Personal Experience with Parental Involvement

As a teacher, I have dealt with parents when it involves bullying. Most want to get involved, with only a small percentage saying that “this is a school problem.” In this subsection, I will deal with both instances while referring to the participant data. As a parent, dealing with bullying can be very stressful. I can recall my mother listening to all my woes. For my personal safety, I was taken out of school for the last 2 weeks of my eighth-grade year. Most of that discussion is a blur, as I felt so broken and emotionally beaten. My mother even mentioned taking legal action. In my study, Sara and Rebecca both mentioned parents who got “fed up” with the system and would threaten legal action to ensure that their voices would be heard. But, I thought and still think, “what would this accomplish?” Would the bully change his or her attitude simply because of the result of some legal mandate?” When I returned home after this final meeting, I can recall how furious my mother was, but I had never felt safer, probably because my mother had advocated for me. The security of home meant that I no longer had to deal with these bullying individuals. I regret never attending my graduation, but I also understand why I didn’t attend. Being a victim for such an extended period instilled within me an instinct for self- preservation and not wanting to be a subject of teasing and bullying anymore. This is the reason why I didn’t attend my own graduation. It appears that most of my participants believe that bullying can never be completely resolved but must be addressed per incident. My experiences with bullying as an educator were often very linear: The incident would be recorded by me, reported to the principal, a meeting would occur, and a punishment would be assigned according to the severity. Parents who were unsatisfied would often come back to me and ask if they could

“twist” the principal’s arm to augment the punishment. My answer was very uninspired: “My hands are tied” or “I am not the principal, I don’t have the authority.” I also felt powerless as I

42 knew that once the bully came back to class, s/he might have even more “venom” directed towards the victim. My goal was then to reduce a volatile situation with both the bully and the victim before it worsened. I can also recall one instance where a parent refused to admit that his or her child was a bully.

Summation

According to the participants, parents can play a valuable role in either helping or hindering the bullying situation. Their supportive input can help educators encourage a healthy, fruitful discussion about bullying. The data show that, in this study at least, parental involvement is somewhat positive, but it could be improved. Within all the interviews, the key words of concern as expressed by parents were: “safety” which was present 39 times, “track or tracking” which was present 31 times, and “repetition or repeating” which was included 23 times. The participants suggested that within their experiences, parents appear not to understand the full impact they can have in their children’s lives, and they believe parents should reinsert themselves within that framework. If parents do not have the same views about bullying that the school does, then, in the participants’ view, the problem becomes one of increasing isolation rather than cooperation in finding a solution.

Antibullying Protocols

Another theme discussed by participants was the antibullying protocols. Sara stated, “We were at the forefront of when bullying became such an issue and in lots of ways became a problem because of legality. Parents, who had just about enough and began to threaten legal action, started to concern us.” Rebecca added, “Of course, initiatives are great, but if there is no budget to back them up, they become futile.” This lack of funding seems to indicate why these

43 teachers are frustrated with the inability of policies to address bullying. Could this lack of funding be based on a true fiduciary issue or a lack of vision within the Ministry and the various school boards? Nelly commented,

While policies and policy makers look good on the outside, they are often well

intentioned, but have a true lack of vision. This lack of vision makes policies look good

on the outset, but are almost never followed through with money and appropriate staffing.

Janet stated firmly, “These policies are nothing but words on a paper. They do little to address the root problem. We also have students bullying other teachers, so I do not think that they [the policies] are very successful.” Stewart added, “These policies are not as successful as they could be.” Nelly said, “While these policies are not as effective as they should be, they do provide us as educators the means through which to administer consequences based on a graded scale of incident severity. Again, something is better than nothing.” Having gone through this set of data, I can say that it seems that all these participants have very strong opinions about these policies, in that they appear to simply satisfy school boards with the requirement of a legal framework to ensure that the interests of the children and the parents are kept at the forefront.

The protocols, according to my participants, do not appear useless but are often bogged down by complex language. People can only enforce policies that they see and understand. Sara, who was a teacher for years and worked as an administrator, said, “They are asking us to put out a fire with a squirt gun. You might get a few embers, but that is all that you can do.” Sara goes on to say,

“While our board policy was very impressive, it stopped way short of solving the problem of bullying. First, it protected the victim, then it punished the bully. And that is where this

‘impressive’ policy stopped.” 44

My Personal Experiences with Antibullying Policies and Protocols

I think back to how the incidents of bullying were dealt with in my experience. It took some time before an effective solution could be implemented. In the meantime, I suffered psychological and emotional trauma that I still think about to this day. Also, as a teacher, I can cite many incidents where board policies were unable to effectively deal with the circumstance or incident in question. Sara discusses the phrase “the grapeshot effect” which I will explain here with the help of another direct quotation from her interview,

Solutions or policies are often spread out so thin that very little is done to deal with the

long-term effects of bullying. Principals look to short-term fixes to alleviate any time

constraints on them. This “grapeshot effect” then does little to stem the flow and cost of

bullying.

Sara explains the term “grapeshot effect” this way: “What I mean by grapeshot is that your attempts to defuse the situation get so bogged down by policy that these attempts fail to hit the intended targets, which are your traditional bullies.”

These policies also may provide a way to navigate parental complaints as they (the administration) have done “all that they can do” (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

While I harbor no ill will to the principal or my homeroom teacher, as they did come up with a longer-term solution that dealt with the issue, I still had to come into a situation that was emotionally, and eventually became physically unhealthy for me as a person. There is no perfect policy and no perfect system. As an adult and a teacher, I also agree with this previous statement of having no perfect system or policy. Having a policy is better than having none. Memos, 45 workshops, and admin “pep talks” are good, but enforcement should come from the top, not from the bottom.

Summation

Throughout all their interviews, my participants stated that the policies or protocols put in place at their schools do not work as effectively as they could. Most either cannot name these policies or say that there are too many of them and that they do nothing to address the root causes of bullying. These policies then become just governing rules, but to be effective they need to be enforced by all principals and teachers within schools. The participants also have stated that the reinforcement of these protocols and applicable consequences should be supported consistently by the administration. If this reinforcement does not occur, these policies become nothing more than “words on a piece of paper.” Rebecca stated this reinforcement issue very astutely:

Whether you agree or do not, bullying policies are often beautifully constructed, but

poorly applied and managed. In my experience, most principals wanted to keep the peace.

Lawsuits were a big no-no. Parents were to be kept satisfied at the detriment of teachers

and even occasionally other students. Justice, in this case, is indeed blind.

Rebecca’s statement is rather strong but clearly demonstrates how these participants feel about the way policies can become this maze of complicated terms that most principals “cannot name any section or subsection by heart”, as Sara said. They seem well intentioned, and we cannot question the heart-felt reasoning behind their existence, but, we must be able, as educators, to use these policies as effectively as possible. We, as teachers, are not policy makers; we seem to be policy enforcers. I will end this section with a quotation from Janet: “While I think

46 that policies are a good start, more needs to be done. I imagine if we get all educators at the table, we could conceive of better policies than what we have now, right?”

Communicating and Educating

The participants discussed communication and education regarding bullying at length.

When communicating within any topic, openness is key. Also, education around bullying and its effects is essential in getting your message across. Bullying, as it can be quite a thorny issue, must be addressed in a way that deals with the problem and doesn’t isolate either the victim or the bully. In a previous section, we dealt with parental involvement, but within this section we will deal with communication and the education of the students, as they often are witnesses to bullying. As Sara stated before, “Bullying is a spectator sport. It is usually done plainly and visibly.” This statement by Sara about bullying being done in plain sight does seem to point to the fact that bullies may have a deep-seated need for attention, whether this attention is positive or negative. Bullying is a visual act, and the class must be scanned with one’s “head on a swivel”, as both Stewart and Nelly said in their interviews. Janet adds, “Since bullying is visual, it all comes back to educating everyone involved. Even the strategy of talking one-on-one with students can allow them to be more receptive and less defensive.” While no one would want to point him/herself out as a bully or a victim, this strategy of one-on-one conversations may help in alleviating any tension that often results from bullying. As teachers, our goal is to educate.

Finding times in our lessons to discuss such issues as bullying often makes our teaching richer and offers deeper meaning for students. Stewart had also said, “Think of times in your lessons when you could insert real-life examples of bullying situations into your classroom. Show them that bullying is real, and demonstrate to the students how it hurts others.” As teachers, we are the role models of the school and must be actively aware of any bullying behaviour. Nelly stated,

47

There are only a few victims and bullies but there is a boatload of bystanders. Their role is

to stand up and say we are not going to take it anymore. But, at first, they should report to

us as educators so that we can take that up with the administration.

Nelly then added, “We are role models. We do have a major impact in students’ lives.”

Sara agreed with this statement by saying, “If bystanders all stood up and said we are fed up, as a strong group, bullying would be less frequent. But where are they finding their role models?”

This question is very pertinent in this discussion. Role models should “model” behaviour that they want repeated by the children or people in their care. If these role models do not report bullying to the administration or do not deal with incidents immediately, why would we want to follow these individuals? If you saw a teacher allow bullying to take place in the classroom, what would be your first reaction? I, like the other participants, can admit to failing in this area, as not all bullying can be pinned down. But, as Sara stated, “If your red flag goes up, investigate and tell the administration what you may suspect is happening. If you choose to do nothing, it then might fall back on your head. It’s all about covering all your bases.” Communicating what might be happening then seems better, according to these participants, than not reporting at all.

My Personal Experiences with Communicating and Educating Bullying

I will be talking about how, as a teacher, I communicated and educated my students and parents about the effects of bullying. Bullying seems to negatively impact not only the bully victim but also affect bystanders, teachers, and even the bullies themselves. Getting students to talk about bullying doesn’t have to be direct at all. A teacher can insert into her/his lesson plans a bullying theme and thus could encourage discussions. In class, I have used techniques that get children to talk about their feelings without fear of mocking. One example is in my Philosophy 48 class. The section on Ethics provides many opportunities for open and honest discussion. I preface this discussion by indicating that there are no wrong or right answers. The students may also choose to use pseudonyms to protect other students’ identities. In her interview, Janet said something similar, “I use techniques that are very unconventional. While they do not always work, they can provide an environment where students can share safely without fear of reprisal.”

We are the role models in the educational situation and must be prepared to demonstrate through any means how bullying affects everyone.

Summation

Open communication with students, parents, administration, and staff about bullying and associated impacts is paramount (at least in the views of my participants). While bullying may continue, educators’ efforts might help alleviate the emotional stresses victims and bystanders suffer. The discussion mostly centered on how this was communicated through workshops or guest speakers and how effective these initiatives were in getting the message across. Most of the participants seem to think that while these programs had positive messages, they weren’t sure that the students involved in bullying (both bully and victim) really understood that the message applied to them. Within this open communication, participants had discussed the issue of bystanders and how they could affect bullying and its outcomes. Communicating with the victims, the bullies, the bystanders and all school staff may only have a positive impact and address the problem further. Teachers, as role models, can create lesson plans to show how bullying can affect all those involved without singling out any person or group. If a uniformly accepted definition of bullying is made clear for all, then solutions can be brought forward that may help to make the school a safer environment for all stakeholders. The key words in this section were: “bystander/witness” which was mentioned 39 times, and the words “track and 49 tracking” which were mentioned 28 times. Bystanders or witnesses are significant because, as

Nelly mentioned, “There is a boatload of them” in bullying situations. The relevance of the key words “track” or “tracking” refer to how bullying can be both identified and dealt with. In the next section, I will explore these possible solutions and how they could impact the incidence of bullying.

Bullying and Solutions

My participants spoke about solutions to bullying. Are these solutions just for short-term expediency or for long-term resolution? Nelly stated,

Helping children by equipping them with the proper tools can help them deal with the

situation of bullying now and for the rest of their lives. It’s not about fixing the problem

but giving kids the abilities with which to help themselves.

Janet said, “I have often used this as a solution to bullying in my classroom—laugh at yourself. If you can laugh at yourself, you show your own humanity.” Showing your “humanity” seems to help in demonstrating to others that you are just as fallible as any other human being.

Sara said, “We tend to see bullying as just a ‘school problem’ when it isn’t. It is systemic within society.” Sara added,

There is always an underlying issue and bullying is the same as any other problematic

issue. We never get to that issue. We treat the symptoms hopefully but it is not

sustainable. It’s just what we do. Why don’t we get to the bottom of that issue? One word:

time. 50

My Personal Experiences with Bullying Solutions

One of my issues I have with bullying is how bullying is addressed outside of the classroom. It always seemed that bullying was more of a hindrance than an actual pedagogical issue. What I mean by this is that principals always seemed to have little time to discuss the issue as they had “other” administrative duties that required their more immediate attention. This lack of attention to bullying didn’t mean that they didn’t care about the situation, but that they couldn’t make time to solve the issue properly. It was a “get you in, get you out mentality” and it seems to be the same today. What I mean by a “get you in, get you out mentality” is that the principal has little time to address such an issue, as it may not be a high priority on their list of administrative duties. I am not being ignorant of the volume of administrative work, but I can speak only from the view of a frontline worker. I always think back to my own experiences with my bullying dilemma. I still think to myself that it only took about nine months to solve that issue between me and several people. These individuals, from what I can recall, were reprimanded, but

I cannot recall the severity of punishment. Sara mentioned in her interview that “time was always an issue that we never ever had enough of.” She also said,

While we may not have as much time as one would want, you must make the time to

solve the problem. Ignoring it or putting it on the back burner does nothing but a

disservice to your school and yourself as an administrator.

I always try to put myself into the administrator’s shoes and imagine that I have a mound of paperwork to do, then suddenly, problems are thrust in the principal’s direction. But I also ask myself this question: Why am I here? As a teacher, I answer very directly, it is for the students.

But, do all teachers or administrators think this way? I have had experience where administrators 51 have said very swiftly: “This is your problem, deal with it!” Rebecca recalls one incident when she said,

I can always remember one principal, who very rudely used to say to me: If you cannot

solve bullying it is because you have poor class management skills. If I must come to your

classroom to solve your issues, then why are you here? One time, she even said: Tough

luck. Come back tomorrow when I have time. Then, she would slam the door in my face.

I felt crushed and undervalued as an educator.

Now, while these kinds of incidents might be in the minority, they do perhaps indicate the need to find the time to implement constructive solutions within the complex framework of bullying.

Summation

These previous statements may seem gloomy in tone, but they show that even those with a vast array of educational experience have seen bullying, wrestled with it, and offered possible solutions within each situation to the best of their abilities. Rebecca stated,

While bullying can be solved in most situations, it is often in the extreme cases that those

policies are tested. Bullying is and continues to be a chronic and ongoing struggle. As

people first and teachers second, we must try to solve those issues within our ranks before

imposing such rules on children. Aren’t we role models for these kids?

Again, there is the “glimmer” of hope that most often situations can be resolved by those willing to find solutions that may not be evident at first. This hard work takes time and patience, as most often solutions are found on a trial-and-error basis. Solutions are tried based on an example, rule,

52 or protocol that can then be modified to best suit the situation. In a previous section, parental roles were discussed at length and Stewart talked about asking parents for solutions by stating,

You can keep on top of the bullying situation by communicating with parents. These

meetings don’t have to be negative. That open relationship can help us better understand

bullying and intervene in a positive way. Without this relationship, solutions cannot be

achieved or even hoped for.

Concluding Remarks for the Chapter

Here, I will wrap up the discussion of my themes and explain what is to come in the next chapter. According to my participants, these six themes of bullying and insecurity, bullying and targeting, parental involvement, antibullying protocols, communicating and educating, and bullying and solutions seem to be pivotal when dealing with bullying at school. Bullies seem to be expressing insecurities by trying to dominate others to make themselves feel more significant.

These expressed insecurities can be physical, emotional, or even intellectual. Bullies seem to choose their targets by either physical appearance, such as hair color or by “testing” victims and gauging their reactions. The victim’s response (or lack thereof) often determines whether the bully will continue with the selected target or simply move on to another. Students who react strongly to bullying can be further selected by the bully as “easy” targets. The reason behind this

“choosing” seems to be that the bully gets some measure of power satisfaction from the act itself, or bullying the victim may be a means to cover up some deep-seated insecurities. Any noticeable fearful reaction on the part of the victim seems to be why bullying persists. Parents, according to my participant data, need to be involved more in not just the punishment aspect of bullying but the long-term impacts of bullying behaviours on victims and others around them. According to 53 my participant data, these impacts include a lack of academic motivation. Rebecca says,

“Motivation is a big deal in the classroom. If I feel that a student is lacking in this area, I react immediately by calling home.” Nelly adds, “Kids can reveal themselves by their actions. A student who is not motivated will not perform. This is the bottom line.” A second impact is lack of social involvement. Stewart said in his interview, “You almost know by instinct if a student doesn’t get involved in extracurricular activities that something is wrong.” The last two impacts that can be obtained from the participant data are body language and mood swings. Sara said, “I have seen students who, before bullying, were perfectly happy. Then, when the bullying occurred, they were more sensitive than normal.” Nelly adds to this by saying, “It bugs the hell out of me how students who were okay before bullying, act after it happens. I wish I could just have a time machine and fix things, you know?” Janet, when talking about body language, said,

“As a gym teacher and coach, I know when students are either having a bad day or something is going on within the team.” Their body language shows signs of these four impacts, according to the participants, and seems to demonstrate well when the act of bullying occurs. By having the parents take part in the discussion on bullying, principals, parents, and teachers anticipate that bullying will decrease and that both the victim and bully can coexist in a safe environment.

Parents can often be bullies themselves and simply “create” another bully, and this effect must be addressed effectively with the parent, while not offending them or causing them to go on the defensive. Also, parents of victims need to be reassured that their children can be protected within the classroom and that the appropriate consequences are applied to the incident in question. If their children are not protected within the school, this may make these parents feel uneasy and question the policies around bullying. While this solution may not be perfect, teachers, parents, and administrators deal with bullying with the tools they have in place and must ensure that “the punishment fits the crime.” Who makes this final disciplinary call? It seems

54 to fall ultimately on the shoulders of administrators as they have the given authority to do so.

Nelly comments on this: “While I may not agree with everything that is done by the principal, they do have final say and I have to live with that.” Antibullying protocols should protect the victim while punishing the bully appropriately (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Ttofi & Farrington,

2011). Communicating the effects of bullying and educating those within the school could only help in alleviating its incidence. Janet said, “Talking to parents is very important to me. It’s about keeping an open dialogue.” Sara, from the perspective of an administrator, said. “I always try to keep parents aware of any problems in the classroom. My reason is that if something was going on with my kids, I would also want to know.” Rebecca adds, “I enjoy talking with parents as much as possible. If they know what is going on, they are more willing to talk openly about other issues of concern.” Educating parents can also add an element of accountability for not just the bully but the parent as well without insulting or judging the family and home situation. Long- term solutions and not just short-term “fixes” may help stem the flow of bullying by exposing it and showing that it will not be tolerated within a safe classroom setting. CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND FINAL THOUGHTS

In this chapter, I discuss the results of the study. Also, I explain the relevance of the themes within the study, referring to my literature review of the topic. The roles of teachers, students, principals, and even parents in relation to bullying are discussed as well. I also discuss the limitations of the study and possible future recommendations which might help in leading other researchers to investigate bullying and all its aspects more fully. Concluding with my final thoughts, I “bookend” this study, exploring how it has influenced me as I move forward with my teaching career.

Themes Discussion

When going over my six themes and three subthemes, I wonder how these might be considered from a holistic standpoint. While they may seem very different, they are all centered around how bullying seems to affect students generally. One way to link all six themes was through three key subthemes: origins of bullying, sharing a common framework, and sustainability. These three subthemes came from interpretation and analysis across all participant data.

Sustainability

For the subtheme of sustainability, Sara, Rebecca, Janet, and Nelly said the word

“sustainable” in their interviews more than once. Sara offered, “The system we have now is not sustainable. It needs a major overhaul.” Rebecca then said, “If you expect a system to be sustained currently, there needs to be major changes. If not, how can it continue on blindly?”

Janet added to the discussion, “Currently, the way things are going now is just not sustainable.

55 56

It’s kind of sad really.” Nelly also added, “I don’t understand how the way it is right now can be sustainable. I hope it doesn’t collapse on itself.” While Stewart did not say the word

“sustainable”, he did mention, “The system is now failing our kids. Period. How can it go on?”

From the participant data, it seems to me that the current educational practices related to bullying cannot be sustained in their current state. The participants seem to indicate that while the system is not “perfect”, educators could always improve and re-examine those policies. In discovering links between all six themes and sustainability, the following questions might be considered:

How can the current educational system be maintained if student safety is not a priority? What I mean by this question is that if students feel uncomfortable in schools and are being targeted by bullies, how can we as educators ignore the situation? Also, what if parents are not involved more frequently in the addressing of bullying in schools? Parents may want to be more involved, and this involvement could help both in understanding why and how bullying takes place in schools.

How is this to be accomplished—perhaps by opening the lines of communication and educating parents as much as possible about what bullying is and how it is being addressed by administrators? Parents can also help their children by equipping them with coping strategies to minimize the detrimental effects of bullying. If sustainability of current antibullying protocols and policies is one of the goals of the Ministry of Education and all those involved in the educational process, all must come to the table with solutions to the problem of bullying.

The Origins of Bullying

Janet said, “Bullying has to come from somewhere. But the question is always, from where?” Stewart added, “When I meet parents, I try to see where students’ mannerisms come from. Then, the lightbulb comes on and says, that’s where they got it from.’” 57

Rebecca posited,

Attitudes, beliefs, and issues all come from somewhere. They couldn’t come from

nowhere. Therefore, it must come from somewhere. In my 20 plus years of experience, I

have asked myself this question over and over. Also, this question was implanted by an

old mentor of mine who said: It must come from somewhere.

This idea of bullying origins was discussed by Olweus many times in his studies on bullying

(Olweus, 1991; Olweus, 1993; Olweus, 2003). He concluded that while parents may not have much to say on the psychology of bullying, they can offer solutions from their perspective.

Salmivalli (2010) thought that most educators meant well, but often ignored parents in the process and therefore must include them in the discussion because they may have knowledge of the situation. The links between this idea of the origin of bullying and the major themes brings with it important questions. Where does bullies’ and victims’ insecurity come from? These insecurities may stem from, as Sara pointed out, “deep-seated psychological needs” that aren’t met at home. These needs then seem to be fulfilled through the bullying act itself by aiding bullies in satisfying these deep-seated psychological needs, as Sara noted. Why do bullies target victims? Victims, either directly or indirectly, seem to expose certain emotional or psychological vulnerabilities that bullies can then use to their advantage (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli,

2010). What do parents have to say about bullying? What are parental attitudes towards bullying?

It seems reasonable that all parents would want their children to be protected as much as possible anywhere they might be. Sharing common ideas about what bullying is could aid in connecting our thoughts about bullying. Does the “tide” of bullying ebb and flow with policy changes? I can say that policy does seem to affect how bullying is addressed, but I do not think that it affects the incidence or prevalence of bullying. Does the level of open communication and education affect

58 the appearance of bullying? I have seen some students take bullying very seriously and, alternatively, even some denying its existence. Last, can solutions to bullying be achieved from a place of cooperation by both parents and administrators? While I do believe that this cooperation can be achieved, both parents and administrators must bring their ideas to the forefront and be prepared to negotiate and defend their ideals, at least according to my study participants.

Sharing a Common Framework

From the perspective of my study participants, current educational systems and protocols seem unable to effectively curtail bullying and its effects on others. This is certainly not a slight against those who work to ensure safe classrooms and the enforcing of antibullying protocols, but rather is a commentary perhaps on antibullying strategies in general. I think back to how Sara, having been both teacher and administrator, explained well how the system seems ill equipped to cope with how bullying has evolved over the years because it is constantly a strategy of catching up. Sara said: “While I encourage all administrators to know their board policies, I also advise them to look them over and make suggestions to more effectively deal with the problem.” All participants noted that bullying is pervasive and hard to track. Both the Ministry of Education and the school boards must come together and address concerns of all those who work to make classrooms friendly and safe environments for learners. These participants have suggested that parents must be more involved in strategy processes. Parents have such an influence on their children, whether they are conscious of it or not. Their influence can help make their children feel safer by teaching those strategies to help cope with bullying. Parents can also help stop bullying by reporting it, not just to the school but to the school board offices. Additionally, parents must be self-aware of how their attitudes towards bullying can influence their children. These attitudes can influence their children to either accept bullying or report it. 59

Another interesting result of the study was when participants revealed how antibullying protocols are good but must be enforced equally in all situations. Enforcement can occur only if an administrator and all educators are ready, willing, and able to do so. Fear of reprisal must not be a motivating factor for a principal, teacher, or higher level administrator. Policies are effective only in the hands of a skilled user. What I mean is that policies that are used well by individuals in administration to address bullying in most, if not all, situations could be a strong deterrent to bullying. I do believe that this idea of policy enforcement comes down to priority. What then do principals value? Do principals value “keeping the peace” or do they value making the school a safe place for all? If they value making the school a safe place, then their goal could be the safety of all within its walls. From what I can gather, both questions are hard to answer, and not much was said about it by my participants. Sara did mention that “being an administrator is a hard and thankless job. My goal was simply to make sure all rules are followed. I was not meant to be popular. I just wanted respect.” If a principal’s goal is to aim to protect all within school walls, then why do some principals choose to protect all while others choose to make the school “look” good from the outside? What I mean by “look good” is a school that seems to meet certain school board criteria for safety while the subject of bullying is hidden or brushed aside. Again, this question is difficult to answer without knowledge or experience.

Educating Young People

The education of young people has been a goal of educators for quite a while. All participants have stated that there is no shortage of communicating the problem of bullying. The problem lies with how students perceive the issue of bullying. To clarify this point, I believe most students do not seem to understand how bullying is defined by the school board or even by experts such as Olweus or Salmivalli. If students think that bullying is just an acceptable and

60 ongoing social event, then they might ignore its prevalence and refuse to report it. Students might also believe that if they report bullying, they might become future “targets” for bullies and as such refuse to report these incidents. Nelly said: “Most kids have been oversaturated with workshops and special presentations on bullying. But, I wonder to myself, are we reaching all the kids?” Some children, perhaps tired of hearing the same message repeatedly, have tuned out those workshops. Unfortunately, these kids might be the ones to whom we should personalize this message. Most participants have also said that if this message of zero tolerance for bullying is shown through workshops or presentations, then the enforcement of such ideals must be at the forefront of our practice. If not, then we seem “hypocritical”, as Rebecca said in her interview.

Therefore, we must find new strategies to reach today’s youth. The data also revealed that smaller group discussions seem to influence how bullying is perceived and dealt with in a social context.

These smaller groups might be less intimidating and might encourage shy youth to disclose their views on bullying. The goal is then to bring bullying out into the open, not punish or victimize anyone.

Time

The data also seem to show that time may be a problem when dealing with bullying. The participants have all agreed that while administrators mostly deal as best they can with bullying, they often fall short dealing with the issue long term. Sara, who was a principal, did mention that

“time is always an issue in administration. You never have enough of it. You deal with every situation the best way you know how and then you go home.” This overload of administrative work seems to be the major issue when it comes to dealing effectively with bullying. If a principal is bogged down by initiatives or a mountain of paperwork, how can he/she deal with bullying? Again, administrative work is part of any job, and principals must learn to balance both 61 students and school priorities. Time is and will continue to be an issue in our lives and must be used well in all situations. Bullying is such an important issue that administration needs to place it higher on their list of priorities.

Crafting Bullying Policy

Another interesting discovery in the data concerns how solutions to bullying are crafted and by whom. Most participants have said that protocols are good but they are ill suited to deal with bullying, as administration, often because of time constraints, apply suspensions. While suspension seems to be a good short-term deterrent, it falls short of changing views on bullying.

It does send a strong message to the children, but if their attitudes do not change, bullying will continue. Nelly said this very well when she stated,

I have seen kids who need help the most simply ignore workshops. This includes bullies. I

can recall one girl saying that she didn’t care and would just keeping doing it because it

made her feel good. I was so discouraged by this statement.

Addressing Bullying Behaviour

One last result of the study is the idea that the participants stated categorically that fixing bullying is just not possible. Bullying has existed and will continue to exist for a long time.

Stewart said, “I don’t know if we will ever get rid of bullying. It’s just human nature for some to do this.” This attitude is commonplace for all of us as educators. We can fix individual situations where bullying takes place but we cannot be everywhere at once. This “human nature” that

Stewart spoke of is who we are. We can become very selfish and self-serving, and this can manifest itself through the act of bullying. Janet said that “we can only control what we see. If bullying occurs outside the classroom, we are powerless to stop it.” This ‘powerlessness’ is 62 evident when dealing with cyberbullying, as individuals can be anonymous and attack anyone without immediate reprisal or reprimand. Perhaps because they are isolated physically in a separate location, they feel more emboldened. Participants also noted that bullying occurs within adult circles. These are the same people who tell these children not to do this, but in an about- face perpetrate the same hateful action. Sara mentioned, “I have seen senior staff bully younger staff by telling them that it’s now their turn to work. They are done.” Nelly also mentioned, “In my own life, I have seen adults bully other adults. I am embarrassed for us because aren’t we supposed to be past this immature action? I mean, why do we do it?” If adults bully each other, what hope do we have to instill antibullying values within the youth of today? To answer this question, we must understand that experience is what separates adults from children and adolescents. This difference of experience should enable us to discuss bullying in an open forum and tackle its presence strongly but with empathy and dignity.

Summation

To conclude this section, the participant data do offer up some interesting insight into how, in their view, the educational system has much work to do to lessen the incidence of bullying in schools. My participants feel that the Ministry and local boards must enact regulations that are better tailored to deal with bullying incidents and reinforce the point about not tolerating bullying. If all parties come to the table ready to create newer initiatives that are better suited to bullying today, our educational system might be better equipped to do our primary job— educating the next generation of eager minds.

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Relevance of Themes

In this section, I discuss the relevance of the themes within the study and tie them together within the framework of the study and my literature review of the topic.

Links between the Themes and the Literature

All six interview themes that I uncovered in the research show links with the literature in some ways.

Linking Bullying and Insecurity with the Literature Review

I found links with the literature review sections on “bullying and academic achievement,”

“bullying and social development,” and “emotional wellness.” When comparing this first theme with the literature review, I found that when victims are bullied, their feelings of insecurity rise and then this in turn affects their academic results (Ladd, 1999; Olweus, 1991; Strom et al.,

2013). Nelly mentioned in her interview, “I have seen kids drop academically very quickly in a classroom where bullying is either ignored or not dealt with accordingly.” Stewart also discussed,

“Kids are affected by others, especially when it comes to class work. I recall a student who had almost 90% in my math class and then, after several bullying incidents, their mark was barely above passing.” This link between insecurity and academic achievement seems to be a major cause for slipping grades in class (Olweus, 1991; Strom et al., 2013). As far as the link between social development, bullying, and insecurity, the participant data showed that in most cases a reacting victim tends to trigger the bullying event. This reaction trigger was evident when Janet talked about the student who “made himself a target by reacting overwhelmingly in the class.” By reacting so strongly, he potentially exposed himself to more bullying. My review of the extant literature does support this idea of exposure to bullying suggesting that how children react will in 64 turn affect how they interact with their peer groupings (Caravita et al., 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

Emotional wellness, bullying, and insecurity also have some links between them. Emotional wellness relates to how a person “feels” about a given situation or within one. I refer to the Sharp study (1995), which states that one third of high school level students cite bullying as stressful to them, while only one tenth found it “very stressful.” If an individual is feeling uneasy in a social situation, how can s/he exhibit “emotional wellness?”

Bullying and Targeting Linkage with the Literature Review

As it pertains to the theme of “bullying and targeting,” I could find some links between this second theme and the literature review on “emotional wellness” and “group dynamics in bullying.” The individual who is bullied becomes an easier target if his or her self-esteem is shown to be lacking or not especially strong (Cook et al., 2010; Salmivalli, 2010). Janet stated,

“A student can make themselves a target by reacting overwhelmingly in the class.” The literature review also suggests that if lower self-esteem continues into young adulthood, the risk of depression and anxiety disorders increases (Farrington & Ttofi, 2011; Olweus, 1993). Nelly noted in her interview that “I always worry about how students who were bullied turned out after high school. Are they working to better themselves? Are they still depressed about their lives? I cannot shake this feeling of guilt on their behalf.” My participants have indicated that continually being a target can make life very difficult for those targeted. Stewart said in his interview,

I think back to my life when I was bullied. I could barely concentrate. My only thoughts

were on what was coming next? What was their next move? How could I avoid them? I

became obsessed and it affected every part of my life then.

It seems that being a target of bullying can affect our lives tremendously.

65

Parental Involvement and Linkages with the Literature Review

My participant data seem to show that parental involvement is an essential piece to any discussion on bullying resolution. Janet said in her interview, “Parents have to become involved more frequently in discussions.” Sara adds, “If parents only knew how powerful their influence was on the bullying discussion. Their role is critical in not only dealing with the consequences but with helping their child in the situation.” My review of the literature seems to suggest that how parents view bullying does affect how they will respond to the situation (Carney, 2008).

Additionally, the relationship between the understanding of bullying and its dynamics by adults tends to affect how and even if they will intervene in the situation (Smith & Monks, 2011; Smorti et al., 2003). Nelly said, “I wonder at times if I should even intervene at all when my girls get affected by bullying. I ask myself, ‘did they do something or are they innocent in the situation?’”

This self-questioning may be normal for some parents as they know when and if their child is misbehaving in class or at home with their siblings. But, if parents do not get involved, then educators may be limited in the struggle to eradicate bullying tendencies.

Rebecca said,

I shudder to think if parents never talked to me about anything related to their child. This

link that exists between both of us is, to me, the very foundation of our educational

system. If my child were bullied, I would be the first one attempting to get them the

justice they needed. Showing that you care should be almost instinctive, shouldn’t it? 66

Antibullying Protocols and Linkages with the Literature Review

My study participants stated that while there is no shortage of policies related to bullying, they seem to do little if anything to moderate its presence. In my review of the literature, some antibullying programs were listed and their effectiveness or the perception of their effectiveness was expressed. Ttofi and Farrington (2011), for example, revealed that most anti-bullying programs do help reduce the prevalence of bullying in school. They further noted that while these same programs are effective in reducing bullying, they do little to curb the behavior of bystanders who are not directly involved in a bullying situation (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). In her interview,

Nelly says, “What about bystanders? How are they involved in bullying? What’s their role here?”

Andreou et al., (2008) mentioned that these “peer-group interventions” were meant to create empathy among these bystanders to help the victim in a bullying situation. Nelly continues,

“These bystanders have to get involved. They have to stand up for what they believe is wrong.”

Janet added this: “If the policies do not help the students, they become just words on a paper.”

Last, Sara said, “These policies are a good start, but more needs to be done.” The question, perhaps, then becomes, ‘How does everyone in the school get involved?’ In an antibullying program called “Steps to Respect,” the focus was on the addressing of school policy through staff training, promoting pro-social behavior, and enhancing social-emotional learning through the lens of a school-based curriculum. The results were that the program seemed not only to curtail bullying behavior but also encouraged peer and adult intervention more often (Frey et al., 2005;

Richard, Schneider & Mallet, 2012). Perhaps instituting a program such as this one can help alleviate the concerns that Nelly addressed earlier.

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Communication, Education, and Linkages with the Literature Review

When examining the links between the data, the theme of communication and education, and the literature review, I cast back to the section addressing perceptions of bullying. In a 2008 study, Carney stated that adult perceptions about bullying affect not only our understanding but also how and when we intervene in bullying situations. Nelly commented, “I ask myself this question often, when and why do I intervene in bullying?” Stewart commented, “While I let the principal do their job in most situations, I find that if I intervene when necessary it makes the situation less threatening.” Stewart pushes this thought: “What I mean by less threatening is that both the bully and the victim do not feel intimidated by me and most times the bullying stops.”

What Stewart and Nelly seem to mean is that personal experience about “choosing” one’s battles can often help deflate an already tense situation. What I mean by choosing one’s battles is knowing how, why, and when a teacher should intervene in each situation. It seems reasonable to say that an educator should be prepared to intervene when bullying is involved (Olweus &

Limber, 2010; Salmivalli, 2010).

Bullying Solutions and Linkages with my Literature Review

Looking back at the literature review and comparing it to my participant data, it seems that there are some links between them. Sara mentions, “Coming up with solutions varies according to the situation. We can only help when we have facts and then act accordingly.” Nelly adds, “I can only imagine how principals think. I would love to get into their heads for a day and see why and how they come up with appropriate punishments.” In a 2003 study, Olweus explored the links between discipline and how bullying solutions such as programs and policies are implemented. He concluded that while creating policies is easy, finding consequences that are situationally appropriate is more difficult. Other researchers agreed with this statement but also 68 added that even creating policies and solutions to bullying that are effective is a daunting challenge (Richard et al., 2012; Salmivalli, 2010; Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). To conclude, while there are bullying programs and policies to help deal with a variety of bullying issues, the goal should be to control the presence of bullying and attempting to eliminate it completely. Unless human nature changes radically, there will be problems that lead to situations where bullying can occur, and therefore bullying itself might never be completely eradicated.

The Role of Teachers, Students, Principals, and Parents

In this section, I discuss the individual roles of teachers, students, principals, and parents within the context of bullying. I also discuss their responsibilities (legal, social, moral) related to bullying in detail.

Teachers

I begin with teachers who are the frontline workers in dealing with bullying. Educators should be ever vigilant and have solutions to deal with bullying when it arises. Educators must also understand the anatomy of bullying as systemic in our population and should be educated about how to analyze and respond, much like a doctor diagnoses and treats a disease or syndrome. Knowing the systemic problem may help us to “treat” the symptoms. As a career educator, I can recall attending only one bullying workshop in 11 years. The workshop was mostly theoretical, having little or no practical applications in response to bullying behaviours. I thought how I could have helped people understand bullying better simply by explaining my personal experiences. Bullying affects all those involved both long and short term. Theory can help shed light on the problem, but practical solutions to cope with bullying are also a necessity, but perhaps much more challenging to put in place. This complaint about too much theory and

69 not enough practical responses has been my experience and has pervaded most discussions I have had with colleagues over the years. We say loudly “Give us something practical to work with!” but we are still left with very little in the way of practical assistance. Theory may look “shiny” and “well-polished” from the outside, but success in the practical day-to-day aspect dealing with bullying is still, in my view and those of my participants, not nearly sufficient.

Students

Being at the frontline of bullying, students have “eye-witness” testimony that may help administration in their work to decrease the incidence of bullying behaviours. Students often see behaviours that we do not and have an “inside track” on how a bullying situation may have started. Some students, for whatever reason, ignore bullying. This “laissez-faire” attitude may be out of fear of becoming the next target or may be out of apathy. Personally, I wish I could say that this noninterventionist behaviour isn’t a common occurrence, but I have noted it too often in my teaching career. When asking students typical questions such as: “Why didn’t you report it?” or “Why haven’t you said anything to us?” their answers mostly centre on fear of reprisal.

My Personal Experiences

I can recall one comment that has remained with me to this day. A male student was being bullied and I simply asked him to report it directly to the principal as I had done. The student immediately responded, “Don’t get involved. He’s going to know I said something. Please let this thing go.” My heart sank that day, but I understood him very well. My experience has shown me that if a person tells tales or “squeals,” s/he will eventually get found out and repercussions from the bully may ensue. As much as we may not want to admit it, students, especially teenagers, have a code of conduct among them. Squealing is comparable to high treason in a teenager’s life

70 and it can be punishable through social exclusion. This result may sound a bit extreme, but I have seen just such an occurrence happen to more than one student.

Some Practicalities Moving Forward

Then, what responsibilities should students have? First and foremost, in my view and those of my participants, they should report bullying to an adult who is willing to listen: a parent, a teacher, a principal, or any other trusted adult in their lives. If they do not report bullying, these inappropriate behaviours will only continue and perhaps even worsen. Another possible responsibility is to intervene, whenever they feel safe doing so. If they cannot intervene alone, then gathering others to help may alleviate their safety concerns. Telling the bully to stop what he or she is doing might be possible, but it seems important to proceed with care and in the presence of others. If the bully sees that many people observe his/her behavior, he/she may continue bullying or might possibly stop the bullying behaviour for fear of becoming labeled. This labeling may become a sort of “social isolation” that might keep the bullying behavior in check.

Last, students might attend workshops to gain more knowledge of bullying and how to interrupt the cycle of bullying behaviour or even create a social media page that highlights how bullying affects all within a school. These strategies may foster a social climate where bullying behaviour is not only unacceptable but even strongly discouraged. Students who are well educated about the causes and effects of bullying could become effective agents of change within the school, leading to less tolerance of bullying behaviour patterns. 71

Principals

A principal has one of, if not the most difficult job in education today. Principals have many stakeholders to answer to: teachers, students, parents, and the board. Principals are considered the “examples” of the school. Principals, I would argue, must model the same behaviour that they wish from their staff and students. They often have duties that require them to work long hours without overtime pay. Principals must reinforce codes of conduct. These codes have clear guidelines with examples and must contain progressive disciplinary structures to be applied when misbehaviors are met with punishment. But every situation may not fall neatly within a specific code of behaviour, often making it difficult to apply the code of conduct uniformly. In these types of situations, he/she may be accused of favouritism. Are principals also afraid of reprisal by students or parents? Answering such questions is perhaps a query for the principals themselves and may be a possibility for future research. From my limited perspective as a teacher, I have seen how certain students appear to receive punishment for an action while others seemingly do not. This perceived lack of consistency can be very frustrating for stakeholders. The principal, though, may be privy to certain information that a teacher may not.

But stakeholders must understand that each situation is unique and must be treated as such. The code of conduct is a guide only. A student who has perpetrated bullying is usually punished using the code as a guide and only after the principal has gathered all available information and carefully pondered the severity of the situation. This final administrative decision is ultimately an interpretation of the code applied in consideration of gathered information, often in consultation with others.

The issue of time came up more than once in my participant interviews. My participants were adamant that principals must make time to consider their response to bullying. Our students

72 are the whole reason we are here as educators. They are our “client base” if you will. Taking the time to make effective, just, and appropriate decisions is essential to fostering a trusting relationship with all stakeholders.

What then are possible responsibilities for principals? Principals should show that their mandates on policy reinforcement are important in maintaining a safe environment for all students while taking each case individually. Principals are the “face” of the school and should show that rules must be properly “rolled out” and adhered to by all involved in the school. They should not be afraid to properly address students using the code when dealing with bullying.

Principals should try to stay in communication with parents and other stakeholders in managing bullying situations. I have heard acquaintances say “It’s bullying. It’s just a rite of passage. They will grow out of it.” This kind of attitude towards bullying may be one of the reasons why it isn’t always properly dealt with. I would argue that if a principal doesn’t feel the need to enforce antibullying protocols, either by choice or by design, he/she should understand how this choice will affect all stakeholders within the educative environment.

Parents

With the prospect of becoming a parent myself very soon, I believe, as do my study participants, that parents have potentially the most important role to play in bullying. Parents must communicate frequently with their children about bullying and its effects. The reason behind this thought is that not only might they discover more information around bullying from their children, they may also have personal experiences that they can offer to the discussion. I know that my own personal experiences with bullying will keep me alert to any bullying 73 situations that include my own child. Parents have a deeper understanding of their children perhaps than educators.

What responsibilities and roles then do parents have in bullying? The first role may be to talk with your children every day. Even a simple after-school “Hello, how was your day?” can help alleviate any stresses the child may have had in the school day. That is exactly how my mother found out about the bullying perpetrated on me just before the principal called us in for a meeting. Parents should also talk to teachers as often as possible. Being the “frontline” workers in the classroom, teachers often see things that others do not. Teachers can also offer parents attendance at seminars or strategies to help their child with a bullying situation. Parents must communicate to principals that dealing with bullying should be a priority. Parental involvement in schools is very important, as parents can communicate with teachers and administration about any issue and can, in some respects, influence the outcome of any administrative decision.

Summation

In this section I explored the roles and responsibilities of teachers, students, principals, and parents. All stakeholders should be engaged to ensure the safety of the children, both in and out of the school environment. Everyone must take an active role in reporting, documenting, and, if possible, intervening in the mitigation of bullying.

Limitations of the Study and Recommendations for Future Research

To obtain a broader database of information, more participants might be useful (Creswell,

2015; Glesne, 2016). There may also be other themes that this limited study did not uncover. In discovering more themes, a greater understanding of teachers’ perceptions perhaps could be gleaned from a larger data pool. 74

Similarly, in another study it might be interesting to explore the links between bystander involvement and the incidence of bullying in schools further. Additionally, I would like to explore the psychological effects of bullying on other stakeholders such as bystanders.

Bully-Victims

As I go back to my literature review, I see this subset of bully-victims as an interesting research opportunity as they are between being both a victim and a harasser (Cook et al., 2010;

Salmivalli, 2010). Their representation in the bullying framework is not as well researched as both the victim and bully (Salmivalli, 2010; Veenstra et al., 2005). It might be intriguing to research how this victim/harasser dynamic in bullying affects individuals psychologically and socioemotionally. One question I might ask teachers is, “How do you think children/adolescents who both bully and are victimized by bullies could appear to act in a social setting?” Another possibility could be: “What signs do you think indicate a potential bully-victim in your classroom or school?”

Teacher Participation in Bullying Policy Creation

A last recommendation I would make as far as avenues for future research into bullying would be the link between teacher participation in the creation of bullying policy and their related effectiveness because of teacher participation. How adults see both bullying and the effectiveness of bullying policies can affect their implementation or even whether teachers intervene at all in bullying situations (Carney, 2008; Maunder et al., 2010; Olweus, 2003). Janet, Nelly, and

Rebecca were especially vocal when it came to participating in policy creation. Nelly said, “I wish I could just be there to help make policies as I am in the classroom every day. I know what works and what doesn’t.” Janet adds to this, “Making policy would be very interesting for me. In 75 other words, I would be invested more if I had some role in making them.” Rebecca adds a final statement: “Since I think that policies have no financial backing, teachers would have a good role in creating policy as they see bullying firsthand.” As noted by my participants, at least in this study, teachers want to be very involved in the policy creation process if given a chance to do so.

Final Thoughts and Personal Review of my Study

Going back over my entire study, I see how it has evolved from a proposal to a completed research study that has added to my own knowledge of bullying and its many aspects. I could not have foreseen how complex bullying was had I not read extensively through peer-reviewed journals and scholarly articles on bullying. Indeed, I anticipate these results might foster continued conversation about bullying.

Final Thoughts/Closing Remarks

So, how has my teaching career been affected by this study? I now understand why one cannot make “blanket statements” without having sufficient references, as one’s views, though important, carry more weight if validated by scholarly references. To conclude this study, I would like to note that bullying is far more complex than I at first thought. I hope that school boards continue to strive to mitigate the incidence of bullying with effective proactive antibullying policies. Teacher opinions and experiences could help structure policies that might help uncover bullying in schools and foster trust between both educators and the Ministry and even communities at large. We can create a better school environment for our children. I wonder what world my future daughter will grow up in. Will she be bullied? Might she become a bully or even a bully-victim? 76

I can only hope that newfound wisdom around this important issue might help her to navigate the complex maze that we know as “life.” References

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Appendix A

Research Ethics Board Letter of Approval

January 24, 2017

Mr. Yves Loyer Schulich School of Education Nipissing University

File No: 101252 Expiry Date: January 24, 2018

Dear Yves,

It is our pleasure to advise you that the Research Ethics Board (REB) has reviewed your protocol titled 'Bullying: A teacher's perspective' and has granted ethical approval. Your protocol has been approved for a period of one year.

Modifications: Any changes to the approved protocol or corresponding materials must be reviewed and approved through the amendment process prior to its implementation.

Adverse/Unanticipated Event: Any adverse or unanticipated events must be reported immediately via the Research Portal.

Renewal/Final Report: Please ensure you submit an Annual Renewal or Final Report 30 days prior to the expiry date of your ethics approval. You will receive an email prompt 30 days prior to the expiry date. Wishing you great success on the completion of your research.

Sincerely,

Dana R. Murphy, PhD Chair, Research Ethics Board

95 Appendix B

General Schedule of Interview Questions

1. Could you tell me, in your own words, what is bullying? 2. How do you think bullying begins? 3. Could you tell me about one or more bullying ‘events’ you may have experienced or seen firsthand? 4. Can bullying affect academic results? If so, how? 5. What do you believe is the role of teachers in bullying? 6. What role do administrators play in bullying? 7. What role do parents play in bullying? 8. What role do students play in bullying? 9. Describe, in your own words, how successful you think contemporary bullying protocols are in reducing bullying. 10. What do you do as a teacher to help reduce bullying? 11. What else can we as educators do to help reduce bullying? 12. Describe a time when your school/school board implemented a policy to address bullying. 13. Is there anything else around the topic of bullying that you would like to add that I haven't given you the opportunity to say?

96 Appendix C

Informed Consent Form

This consent letter is to invite you to participate in my research study entitled: ‘Bullying: A teacher’s perspective’ to discuss bullying: what you consider as bullying, your experiences with bullying and how effective you feel anti-bullying strategies are. This study is being undertaken by me (Yves Loyer), a student, as a final component in my Master’s degree.

You (as a study participant) have the right to decline to answer any question, withdraw from the study at any time without penalty or consequence, and have no obligation to participate in the study. As we do know each other personally, you have no obligation to me if you choose to participate in the study. The study is independent of school boards.

I am asking that you consent to be interviewed about bullying during one recorded interview of about 45 minutes. Recording the interview will ensure that I have an accurate account of what you tell me. After the interviews are complete, you will also receive a copy of your own transcript to make any changes you feel are necessary to better convey your intended meaning. You will also receive a copy of the MRP once it is completed. I will conduct your interview off and away from school board property and outside of school hours at a time that is convenient for you and in a quiet place of your choosing.

You will not receive any type of payment for your participation in this study. Your participation is strictly voluntary.

Your information will be kept strictly confidential and will only be shared between myself, my Research Supervisor (Dr. Heather Rintoul) of Nipissing University. Your name and the names of others mentioned during the interview will be changed to respect privacy issues. I have no intention of publishing this study, presenting the findings of this study at conferences nor giving someone other than myself and my Research Supervisor (Dr. Heather Rintoul) of Nipissing University access to the data. Your qualitative data will be coded alphanumerically but anonymity cannot be guaranteed as someone may recognize you or your experiences through direct quotations in my study. As researcher, I am sensitive to emotions that may emerge around this topic. To help minimize these risks, here are the names and contact information of local mental health and crisis intervention organizations that may assist you if necessary:

Nipissing Crisis Intervention Services-Individuals can call the 24-hour crisis line or access Crisis Intervention services through the Emergency Department. College Drive, North Bay, Ontario P1B 0A4

Helpline - 24 Hour Personal Emergency Response Service - Nipissing District

Phone Numbers: North Bay office:

Toll-Free: Outside Sudbury District

97 98

The benefit of this study is to learn about your perspectives on bullying as a teacher, to gather information about your perspective on the effectiveness of anti-bullying strategies and to further the knowledge base about bullying. The Nipissing University Research Ethics Board (NUREB) has reviewed and approved this research study.

If you agree to participate, I will clearly discuss all aspects of the study before the interview, then, both you and I will sign 2 copies of the consent form. You will receive one for your own records and I will keep the other.

I, (print your name) ______wish to participate in this research study about bullying and confirm that I am fully aware of my rights within the study as I have explained them to you.

Participant Signature: ______

Researcher Signature: ______

If you have any questions, you can contact me (Yves Loyer) at the following two numbers: . You can also contact my Research Supervisor (Dr. Heather Rintoul) at