The act of Bullying is defined by The Commonwealth of Australia (2005) as the continual “intimidation or oppression of a person by a more powerful individual or group”. Bullying differs from general conflict as it is repetitive in its nature, reflects an imbalance of power (either strength, skill or reflecting perceived social status) intended to cause harm and distress for the victim, either physically or emotionally (Rigby, 2002; Bullying No Way, 2013).
Ken Rigby (1998 as cited in Fields, 2012) describes all types of bullying as "the initial desire to hurt is expressed in action, it is without justification, it is typically repeated and it is done so with evident enjoyment". The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Building Respectful and Safe Schools (2010) identifies four types of bullying;
Physical Bullying- hitting, punching, kicking, tripping other over, pinching, pushing, chocking or damaging ones property etc.
Verbal bullying- teasing, intimidation, insults, name-calling, put-downs, swearing, threatening, verbal abuse, ridiculing and derogatory comments (reflecting race and sexuality etc.)
3. Covert Bullying (Emotional and social) - This type of bullying is harder to detect and at times is carried out without the victim even knowing. Covert bullying includes: lying and spreading rumors, encouraging social exclusion, blackmail, stalking, negative facial or physical gestures, mimicking and rude jokes designed to humiliate and embarrass a person.
4. Cyber bullying- is overt or covert bullying behaviors via the use of technology to frequently and deliberately bully another. The types of bullying which reflect this form include: sending abusive or threatening texts or emails as well as sending hurtful images, videos and messages through chat rooms and other online forums such as Facebook (Commonwealth of Australia, 2005; Cyber Smart, 2013). Cyber bullying can be done in public or in private and at times only the two subjects involved, the target and the bully, will have knowledge of the behavior occurring.
(The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, 2010; Bullyingfacts.info, 2014).
Bullying has become extremely public and relevant all around the world today, being identified as an International and National issue, growing at epidemic proportions. The statistics of school bullying has become a grave concern, especially when school is meant to be a safe haven for children to develop and grow; instead it has become a hunting ground for bullies (Bullyingfacts.info, 2014). School bullying cause’s catastrophic harm to the overall well-being and development of those targeted as well as the bullies. In the US the statistics reflect the growing bullying epidemic, with them revealing:
77% of students are being bullied whether physically, mentally, or verbally.
Of the 77%, 14% experienced extremely bad effect of school bullying
70% of high school and middle school students have already experienced and witnessed bullying in
23% of students who are in Grade 9 already carry a gun.
(Bullyingfacts.info, 2014)
However, the act of bullying is not limited to the school yard anymore with social media being used as a forum for bullying to continue within one’s home. Today, it has become harder for children to escape harassment at school with the negative behavior continuing via text messages, Instagram, Facebook, Kik, Myspace and Twitter etc. within the borders of their own homes, bedrooms and even their work environment (Cybersmart, 2013)t. This form of harassment does not just affect the children involved; it also becomes a burden on the entire family. Parents’ endure watching their family member change emotionally by deciding to become withdrawn and detaching from their loved ones (Field, 2012).It is extremely hard for families to grasp the fact that their child is being subjected to bullying or is in fact the bully. This is why it is crucial for parents, guardians and careers to be well versed in being able to identify, analyse and apply effective measures to combat bullying.
To effectively combat bullying it is important to understand that there is a community of support, including parents, educators, neighbors, support groups, police and laws in place to assist in creating a bully free environment, safe for children to grow safety, without harm (Bullying No Way, 2013). This is an important fact for teachers to remember as a large percent of bullying takes place within an educational setting, in which we as educators have a duty of care to protect all children (Field, 2012). Therefore, as a pre-service educator, it is crucial that we have a deep amount of knowledge and understanding of the schools anti-bullying policies, codes of conduct, teaching and learning strategies, curriculum guidelines and any other legislation which informs us of how to deal with bullying and guidelines to prevent and educate students on this type of behavior (Northern Territory Government of Australia 2014; The Commonwealth of Australia, 2005). Through the schools implementation of a School Wide Positive Behaviour Support system, all educators can utilise strategies to assist in benefiting and supporting students involved in bullying, resulting in educating and including families and the community as a whole to identify, address and help resolve any negative influences directly harming children's lives (Northern Territory Government of Australia 2014; Mishna, Pepler, & Wiener, 2008).
The aim of this assignment is to address the issue of bullying within an educational context, reflecting how such negative, anti- social behaviours may influence the child and their families. From an individual perspective, I will critically reflect on my own personal beliefs, knowledge and experiences and link them to appropriate curriculum, policy and legislative documents in place today. This will ensure I have a repertoire of resources, strategies and a deep understanding when dealing with students, parents, social media and other educators when bullying and reflective situations occur. Professional learning will also be analysed and evaluated as ongoing education and training within this area is vital to make sure no students or their families are ignored.