Effects of bullying

 

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Kids Who Bully Others

Kids who bully others can also engage in violent and other risky behaviors into adulthood. Kid

s who bully are more likely to:

• Abuse alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults
• Get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school
• Engage in early sexual activity
• Have criminal convictions and traffic citations as adults
• Be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses, or children as adults

Kids Who are Bullied

Kids who are bullied can experience negative physical, school, and mental health issues. Kids who are bullied are more likely to experience:

• Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.
• Health complaints
• Decreased academic achievement—GPA and standardized test scores—and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school (Effects of Bullying | StopBullying.gov. (2017). Stopbullying.gov. Retrieved from: https://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/effects/index.html).

 

How the government has attempted to address the situation?

February 10, 2015: The following is a statement made by Minister of Education, the Honourable Dr. Tim Gopeesingh at a February 9 press conference. 

Preventative methods:

• We have employed over 170 health and safety officers  in schools with at least two HSO officers per Government Secondary School and 5 district coordinators.
• We have the full complement of security officers for all schools, from primary to secondary, where there are a minimum of three security officers during the day, with some secondary schools benefitting from up to seven security officers during the day.
• We have ensured that thousands of teachers have been trained and retrained in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation
• We have the full complement of student support services which constitutes guidance counsellors, guidance officers and school social workers, with  educational, behavioural and clinical psychologists looking after our students in need as well. This comprises over 700 personnel in all our schools—all 455 primary schools and 125 secondary schools.
• We have ensured that there is one teacher to every 14 students in primary schools and one to every twelve students in secondary schools, which is way better than the Gold Standard around the world.
• We have established over 280 remedial teachers and close to 300 substitute teachers in in primary and secondary schools in different subject areas.
• All teacher vacancies have been filled
• All schools have the full complement of required deans of discipline. Some are acting in these positions, but no position, as far as has been reported, are vacant at present
• We have strong school based management team in every school in the country. This management team comprises the Principal, Vice Principal, Representatives of the PTA and Student Council, Deans of Discipline, and Heads of Department who help in the school management on a day to day basis.
• We have established 85 Local School Boards in ALL Government Primary and Secondary Schools, with three members of the community on these boards, specifically put there to look after community affairs in relation to education and students
• We have established a Circle of Hope where students have a special session on a weekly basis where they speak with teachers on issues they may have
• We have aggressively worked towards improving the academic performance of students and increasing co-curricular and extracurricular activities including sports in schools, and as you may know, sports have been shown to widely reduce indiscipline among students who participate in them, by building self-esteem, imparting discipline and the general benefits of exercise and competition tends to tremendously impact on their well being
• We have implemented a system where motivational speakers visit schools to have chats with the children
• We are also working with the Ministries of National Security and Gender, Youth and Child Development in implementing other programmes
• We have established over 100 workshops for parents in parenting in education throughout the country in the last six months
• We have now formed a Parenting Academy from the Student Support Services of the Ministry of Education so thousands of parents are now involved in this programme
• We have ensured that Security Officers and HSOs have two hand held scanners in every secondary schools which they ought to be using as a security measure
• Several schools have been installed with CCTV cameras and all schools will shortly have the full complement of these
• We have implemented a system where students are subjected to random walk in body scans, like those in the airports, on mornings at schools (Statement by Education Minister on issues of school bullying. (2017). News.gov.tt. Retrieved 14 July 2017, from http://www.news.gov.tt/content/statement-education-minister-issues-school-bullying#.WWgNIWLyvIU).

Two policies that can make a change in bullying are:

Behavior Policy

Appropriate behavior in public settings is a requirement of life for members of any society. Public schools are instruments of society and, therefore, the community that supports a public school district has the right to expect school officials to maintain a safe and secure environment and ensure that students, school personnel, and visitors to a school campus conduct themselves in an orderly, courteous, dignified, and respectful manner. Behavior Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that involves reducing or eliminating behaviors and habits that are destructive, unhealthy, or undesirable and learning or increasing more appropriate behaviors. It is based on the premise that we are all shaped or “conditioned” by our environment. We learn to continue doing behaviors that are reinforced in some manner, and to stop doing those that aren’t. In traditional behavior therapy, maladaptive or abnormal behaviors are believed to be the result of defective learning (Bullying | Psychology Today. (2017). Psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 12 July 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/bullying).

Child Protection in schools

Schools play an essential role in protecting children from abuse. Staff have close, regular contact with children and young people. They’re in a strong position to:

 

• identify child protection concerns early
• provide help and support
• help children understand how to stay safe from abuse
• refer a child to relevant agencies

Schools have a statutory duty to protect children in their care. They must have:

• a child protection policy
• child protection procedures
• a designated lead for child protection – both on the board of trustees and in the senior management team
• safe recruitment processes

The school environment must be a safe place for children. And schools must ensure that adults who work in the school, including volunteers, don’t pose a risk to children. Staff should receive training in how to identify and respond to child protection concerns (Safeguarding and child protection in schools. (2017). NSPCC. Retrieved from: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/safeguarding/schools-protecting-children-abuse-neglect/).

Other countries where these policies have worked are:

In New Orleans, Clearance High School,

Bullying violates Board of Education policies, the District’s Code of Conduct, and acceptable social behavior. In some instances, bullying may involve a violation of the Civil Rights Act. Anti-bullying initiatives have been implemented in all six Clarence Schools. All initiatives conform to stated policies and procedures and are based on:

• creation of a warm, caring school community
• Respect, Responsibility, and Kindness
• clear, unambiguous articulation of rules and consequences
• in-service training for school personnel
• documentation of all reports of bullying

Effective classroom management and preventive school discipline are essential for supporting teaching and learning. The District utilizes a pro-active approach in defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behavior in order to create a positive school environment. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework to assist school personnel in adopting and organizing evidence-based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all students (Behavior Policy / Behavior Policies. (2017). Clarenceschools.org. Retrieved from: http://www.clarenceschools.org/Page/1910).

 

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in Australia

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is a self-governing territory in the south east of Australia.

The procedures:

Responsibilities of Directorate staff who are mandated or required reporters and of visitors

• Directorate staff and visitors who consider the risk of harm for a child or young person to require immediate police attention should ring emergency service (000).
• Mandated and required reporters must report any belief on reasonable grounds that the child or young person has experienced or is experiencing sexual abuse and/or non-accidental physical injury.

Mandated and required reporters are also required to report any reasonable belief of emotional abuse or neglect. Reports are to be made to Child and Youth Protection Services as soon as possible.

• Mandated and required reporters, volunteers and visitors must report any suspicions or beliefs that a child or young person is experiencing or likely to experience any type of abuse or neglect to the principal of the student’s school.
• If the subject of the report is a Directorate staff member, mandated and required reporters and visitors must make a report to the school principal.
• If the subject of the report is the school principal mandated and required reporters and visitors must also immediately report the matter to the relevant School Network Leader.
• Information about concerns of neglect or abuse and reports made to Child and Youth Protection Services must be stored in a secure and confidential location. This information is sensitive information and must be protected under the Children and Young People Act 2008. Information should not be kept on the Student Record File or files that can be accessed by or passed onto general school staff.

Responsibilities of Principals in protecting children and young people from harm:

• Principals will act to protect children and young people from harm by:

• providing annual training in mandatory reporting processes and procedures and in codes of conduct for all staff
• keeping a record of attendance of staff attending mandatory reporting training
• induct new staff who have missed training into their responsibilities under the policy
• informing visitors of the requirement to report to the principal suspicions or beliefs of abuse or neglect developed in their work at school
• ensuring lessons for children and young people in protective and safe behaviours are delivered
• ensuring lessons for children and young people to enhance social and emotional skills are delivered
• implementing the school safety policies
• ensuring appropriate pastoral care and protective behaviours programs are delivered (Policies – Education Directorate. (2017). Education.act.gov.au. Retrieved from: http://www.education.act.gov.au/publications_and_policies/policies).