prevalence, predictability, and interventions: a case study of bullying kelli bourne, health &...
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PREVALENCE, PREDICTABILITY, AND INTERVENTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF BULLYING
K E L L I B O U R N E , H E A LT H & S C I E N C E E D U C AT O R
L A K E S I D E M I D D L E S C H O O L , I RV I N E , C A L I F O R N I A
R E S E A R C H C O N D U C T E D AT C A L I F O R N I A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y , F U L L E RT O N ( M A S T E R ’ S O F S C I E N C E I N S E C O N D A RY E D U C AT I O N )
C O N TA C T: K E L L I B O U R N E @ I U S D . O R G
RESEARCHER INTERESTS•Found a gap in research that focused on middle school student perceptions of bullying interventions•Found a gap in research on predictability of bullying (versus just physical violence) •Was curious to see if the school’s trends regarding the prevalence of bullying were similar to those at the state and national level•Wanted to contribute to the creation of a more positive climate for students at school
RESEARCH QUESTIONS1. What is the prevalence of bullying at
Lakeside Middle School?2. Is the time and place of bullying
predictable?3. What do students perceive are the most
effective bullying prevention strategies?
My hypotheses…
SCHOOL PROFILE• Located in Irvine, California (231,117
population)• 7th and 8th grade student body• 693 total students (2012/2013)• 32 certificated positions; 18 classified
positions• Student/family population:• Very ethnically diverse (~ 50 languages)• Middle to upper socioeconomic status majority• Title 1 School: 15% on free or reduced lunch
SURVEY DETAILS• Data from 643 7th & 8th grade
students• Balance between grades and
gender• 45 questions about bullying•From the beginning of 2012/2013 school year•Definitions & privacy given to support accurate responses
• 4 demographic questions
PREVALENCE OF BULLYING: • 38.3% of students report being bullied one or
more times• 65.6% have witnessed/seen bullying• 95.7% of teachers reported a perception that
there is more bullying than they are aware of• 86.2% teachers reported a moderate to
severe concern regarding bullying• Forms: verbal emotional physical (from
most to least common)• Most common places: lunch areas, snack
areas, classrooms • Most common times: lunch, break,
classrooms, after school
I have n
ot
been b
ullie
d.
On t
he w
ay t
o s
chool
On t
he w
ay h
om
e f
rom
sch
ool
Hallw
ays
befo
re/a
fter
school
Hallw
ays
duri
ng p
ass
ing p
eri
od
Bath
room
Cafe
teri
a
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
he t
each
er
was
in t
h...
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
he t
each
er
was
not
in...
Media
Cente
r
Where
I g
o d
uri
ng b
reak
Where
I g
o d
uri
ng lunch
Bik
e r
ack
P.E
. lo
cker
room
(in
side)
P.E
. lo
ckers
(outs
ide)
Oth
er
(ple
ase
speci
fy)
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%Question: If you have been bullied, WHERE has it
taken place?
Campus Locations
Perc
enta
ge o
f Stu
dents
I have n
ot
wit
ness
ed b
ullyin
g.
On m
y w
ay t
o s
chool
On m
y w
ay h
om
e f
rom
sch
ool
Hallw
ays
Bath
room
Cafe
teri
a
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
he t
each
er
was
in t
he r
oom
)
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
he t
each
er
was
not
in t
he r
oom
)
Media
Cente
r
Where
I g
o f
or
snack
Where
I g
o f
or
lunch
Bik
e r
ack
P.E
. lo
cker
room
(in
side)
P.E
. lo
ckers
(outs
ide)
Oth
er
(ple
ase
speci
fy)0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Question: If you have witnessed bullying, WHERE has it taken place?
Campus Locations
Perc
enta
ge o
f Stu
dents
I have n
ot
been b
ull...
On t
he w
ay t
o s
chool
On t
he w
ay h
om
e f
r...
Hallw
ays
befo
re/a
ft...
Hallw
ays
duri
ng p
as.
..
Bath
room
Cafe
teri
a
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
he...
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
he...
Media
Cente
r
Where
I g
o d
uri
ng b
...
Where
I g
o d
uri
ng l...
Bik
e r
ack
P.E
. lo
cker
room
(in
s...
P.E
. lo
ckers
(outs
ide)
Oth
er
(ple
ase
speci
fy)
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
Q: If you have been bullied, WHERE has it
taken place?
I have n
ot
wit
ness
...
On m
y w
ay t
o s
c...
On m
y w
ay h
om
e ...
Hallw
ays
Bath
room
Cafe
teri
a
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
...
Cla
ssro
om
(w
hen t
...
Media
Cente
r
Where
I g
o f
or
snack
Where
I g
o f
or
lunch
Bik
e r
ack
P.E
. lo
cker
room
(i...
P.E
. lo
ckers
(outs
...
Oth
er
(ple
ase
spec.
..
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Q: If you have wit-nessed bullying,
WHERE has it taken place?
Language/a
ccce
nt
Money
Appeara
nce
Cult
ure
Sexual pre
fere
nce
Race
/etn
icit
y/s
kin
colo
r
Frie
nds/
who t
hey h
ang o
ut
wit
h
Dis
abilit
y
Soci
al aw
kw
ard
ness
/act
diff
ere
nt
Religio
n
New
to t
he s
chool
Ath
leti
c abilit
y
Heig
ht
Gender
Bein
g o
verw
eig
ht
Clo
thin
g/h
ow
they e
xpre
ss t
hem
selv
es
Hobbie
s/in
tere
sts
Oth
er
(ple
ase
speci
fy)
36.1%
10.9%
59.9%
23.1%19.3%
31.3%
36.3%
23.5%
51.8%
16.1%13.8%
28.5%
21.9%
7.3%
53.5%
40.4%
22.3%
11.9%
Reasons Students are Bullied
PREDICTABILITY OF BULLYING• Common theme: unstructured,
unsupervised times and places• Students who have been bullied:•Time: 66% report it is random, 34% report some degree of predictability•Place: 55% report it is random, 45% report some degree of predictability•Form: 25% report it is random, 75% report some degree of predictability
PREDICTABILITY OF BULLYING• Common theme: unstructured,
unsupervised times and places• Students who have witnessed bullying
report:•Time: 48.8% report random, 25.2% report some degree of predictability•Place: 46.5% report random, 26% report some degree of predictability•Form: didn’t ask
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS: SOLUTIONS• Vast majority (96%) feel it is their
duty to help someone being bullied• However, when students are being
bullied…• They are walking away (21%) • They are telling someone (15.4%)• They are standing up for themselves (14.5%)• But 20% aren’t doing anything about it…
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS: SOLUTIONS• Students are more likely to tell the
following people, in the following order:• Friend• Parent• Teacher/school counselor
• However, students want independence with preventing and coping with bullying
STUDENT SUGGESTIONS• How bullying can be prevented:
•Anonymous reporting (68.7%)•Train students to help each other (47.9%)•Get help from an adult (44.2%)•Train students to help themselves (42.7%)•Offer activities that encourage student connectedness (37.9%)
More
stu
dents
gett
ing help
fro
m a
n a
dult
at
school
More
stu
dents
gett
ing h
elp
fro
m a
pare
nt
More
adult
superv
isio
n
An a
nonym
ous
way t
o r
eport
bullyin
g
Tra
in s
tudents
to h
elp
each
oth
er
Tra
in s
tudents
to h
elp
them
selv
es
Have a
ctiv
itie
s th
at
enco
ura
ge s
tudent
connect
edness
&
belo
ngin
g
Have s
chool-
wid
e a
ssem
blies
Have m
ore
dis
cuss
ions
in c
lass
Oth
er
(ple
ase
speci
fy)
44.2%
32.7% 35.5%
68.7%
47.9%42.7%
37.9%29.1%
35.8%
7.8%
Student Perceptions of Effective Bullying Intervention Strategies
STUDENT SUGGESTIONS• Lakeside school wide connectedness can
improve by:•Consequences should be more clear (48.1%)•Teachers should create a more positive classroom atmosphere (46.8%)•Offer more student training (46.4%)•More clubs and lunchtime activities (45.5%)•Make school rules more clear (40.8%)•More education on the consequences of bullying (40.8%)
Allow
stu
dents
to b
e m
ore
involv
ed w
ith s
ett
ing b
ehav-
ior
rule
s and s
tandard
s
More
clu
bs
and o
ther
lunch
tim
e a
ctiv
itie
s
Make m
ore
cle
ar
the s
chool's
rule
s on b
ullyin
g
More
educa
tion o
n t
he e
ffect
s and c
onse
quence
s of
bul-
lyin
g
More
stu
dent
train
ing o
n h
ow
to d
eal w
ith b
ullyin
g
if/w
hen it
happens
An o
ngoin
g a
nti
-bullyin
g p
rogra
m a
t sc
hool
Pro
vid
e a
foru
m f
or
students
to t
alk
openly
about
what'
s goin
g o
n a
t th
eir
sch
ool
Allow
stu
dents
to e
xpre
ss t
hem
selv
es
and e
duca
te
oth
ers
about
their
religio
ns,
cult
ure
s, s
exual id
enti
tes,
etc
.
More
sch
ool-
wid
e a
ssem
blies
that
corr
ect
inacc
ura
te
perc
epti
ons
and c
over
topic
s like r
aci
sm, cu
lture
, re
-ligio
n, se
xis
m, etc
.
Pro
vid
e m
ore
opport
unit
ies
for
people
to m
eet
oth
ers
outs
ide o
f th
eir
regula
r gro
up o
f fr
iends
Teach
ers
should
cre
ate
a m
ore
posi
tive e
nvio
rnm
ent
in
their
cla
ssro
om
s
The c
onse
quence
s fo
r bullyin
g s
hould
be m
ore
cle
ar
and
consi
stent
Oth
er
(ple
ase
speci
fy)
40.6%45.5%
40.8% 40.8%46.4%
33.2% 33.7%38.3%
31.9%
40.0%
46.8% 48.1%
8.6%
Student Perspectives on Improving School Wide Culture
STUDY IMPLICATIONS• One study has found that targets of bullying are
more likely to seek help if the bullying is chronic versus it being a short-term or one-time occurrence (Unnever & Cornell, 2004)
• Recent headlines inform us of students ending their lives or the lives of others (as a result of bullying)
• Research documents the known negative health consequences for both targets and bullies
• In response, schools cannot play a passive role and wait for targeted students and bullies to come forward seeking their assistance
STUDY IMPLICATIONS• Schools must be proactive in knowing the needs of
their students and having an awareness of their schools’ trends about bullying so that they can appropriately address them
• Schools must also do a fair job of educating their staff to recognize and intervene with bullying when they see it, and must provide training and encouragement in the establishment of positive and sensitive climates in their classrooms
• Lastly, teachers’ and students’ perspectives, perceptions, and ideas should be included and supported when planning and implementing a bullying prevention program, as they play a primary role in the establishment of acceptable versus unacceptable behavior within the culture and context of their school and within the classroom
STUDY IMPLICATIONS• On a larger level, bullying should not be viewed as an
isolated issue for schools alone to deal with – appropriate community and family involvement should be put in place. According to Pack et. al (2011), bullying is rooted in “social-ecological theory” in that this type of aggressive behavior is influenced by the “interaction of individual, family, peer, and community factors” (p. 128).
• Resources, funding, and professional guidance to help schools establish effective prevention and intervention programs that meet the needs of their varying student populations are significant elements, as well.
• Greater funding should be allocated to schools to reduce class sizes and student body sizes so that a greater relationships can be built between students, teachers, and their schools.
LAKESIDE’S CURRENT EFFORTS…• School-wide bullying awareness campaign
• Student-created slogans “Be Nice to People” and “Bullying. Just. Don’t. Do. It.”
• “Starting a Movement” for Kindness Campaign from Ted Talk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg)
• Assemblies on tolerance and coping strategies• “Lunch Bunch” to promote social inclusion
• Bullying curriculum in 7th grade health class• “Let’s Get Real” Documentary• Building empathy and intervention strategies
• PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System)• Nationally-recognized, research-based framework for student
social/emotional development• Comprehensive in nature: school, classroom, parent
components• School-wide and classroom plans in development phases for
Fall 2014 rollout
“LET’S GET REAL” – HUMAN RELATIONS MEDIA
STUDY LIMITATIONS & A CALL FOR MORE RESEARCHResearch Limitations
• Not possible to confirm accuracy of reported claims regarding the prevalence of bullying as survey was anonymous
• Students may have a skewed or inaccurate perception of the definition of bullying, possibly invalidating some of their responses
• Findings from the study emphasize descriptive statistics, describe trends in attitudes and behaviors, are based upon percentile ranking, and do not demonstrate actual correlations or relationships
• Difficulty in predicting accuracy students’ actual behavior regarding bullying reporting and intervention due to hypothetical situation findings
Research Needs• Predictability of form of bullying (to assist with intervention
strategies development)• Effectiveness of anonymous reporting as a student-centered
intervention and prevention strategy (virtual vs. paper)• Effectiveness of student-recommended interventions (does
student buy-in and ownership increase the likelihood of a school wide cultural shift?)
THANK YO
U FOR YO
UR
TIME!
Kelli Bournekellibourne@ius
d.org