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).