Bullying and Its Impact (Schools)

This paper summarises what we know about bullying in the education system. Bullying has widespread implications not only for the students exposed to it (those who are bullied, those doing the bullying and the observers), but to their family wellbeing and the culture of schools and communities. We provide a setting for further discussion and research into bullying by examining the trends and forms of bullying that are currently known in New Zealand. Notes: This paper notes all the NZ surveys and studies asking about bullying in the school setting. It pulls together statistics from several studies and is a good review of the NZ situation.

Student, whānau, staff, and school community views on what makes positive, inclusive, safe school environments where bullying is prevented and responded to.

This report showed that bullying people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics is a breach of their right to an education

ResourcBoyd, S. (2019). Set: Research Information for Teachers 1, 54. The article is about the Wellbeing@school kit and discusses the evidence for social and emotional learning, including a focus on wellbeing and fostering a strong sense of belonging in students. Good social and emotional learning is shown to lead to less bullying and other negative behaviours, contributing to better student outcomes. A whole school approach is advocated with a range of actions in 5 areas - leadership, culture, policies and practices, support for students, prioritising professional development.e summary...

(2017, November). New York, US: UNICEF. The report presents current data on four specific forms of violence – violent discipline and exposure to domestic abuse during early childhood, violence at school, violent deaths among adolescents, and sexual violence in childhood and adolescence. They note 35 per cent of New Zealand children aged 13–15 reported being bullied monthly.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policy makers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries.

Avvisati, F., Echazarra, A., Givord, P., & Schwabe, M. (2019). OECD. PISA is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students that assesses the extent to which they have acquired the key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. The assessment focuses on proficiency in reading, mathematics, science and an innovative domain (in 2018, the innovative domain was global competence), and on students’ wellbeing. This report presents the data for New Zealand, and includes several wellbeing indicators. “In New Zealand, 32% of students reported being bullied at least a few times a month, compared to 23% on average across OECD countries. At the same time, 93% of students in New Zealand (and 88% of students on average across OECD countries) agreed or strongly agreed that it is a good thing to help students who cannot defend themselves.” (p. 7).

Hasse, A., Cortesi, S., Lombana, A., & Gasser, U. (2019). (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3477297). Social Science Research Network. This spotlight presents Youth and Media’s overview of recent, primarily academic literature on youth (ages 12-18) and cyberbullying and seeks to translate scholarly work for a public audience — including parents and caregivers, schools and educators, iternet companies, and governmental entities. This paper is meant to help shape these stakeholders’ current and future endeavors that aim to address cyberbullying and provide practical, impactful guidance on preventing and responding to cyberbullying among young people.

Attawell, K. (2019). This international study presents the most up-to-date and comprehensive evidence on school violence and bullying, analysing global and regional prevalence and trends, the nature and impact of the issue, and successful national responses. It brings together quantitative and qualitative data from a range of global and regional surveys, covering 144 countries and territories in all regions. It shows physical bullying is the most frequent type of bullying in many regions, with the exception of North America and Europe, where psychological bullying is most common. Physical bullying is more common among boys, while psychological bullying is more prevalent among girls. Online and mobile phone bullying is also shown to be increasing. Children who are perceived as different in any way are more likely to be bullied, and physical appearance is the most common cause of bullying. The second most frequent reasons reported by students relate to race, nationality or colour. 

Boyd, S., & Barwick, H. (2011). New Zealand Council for Educational Research.  This booklet, aimed at school leaders, is a summary of an extensive review of research and other literature undertaken to guide the development of the Wellbeing@School website self-review process, survey tools and content. This website is being developed by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER). The “Wellbeing@School” website is one component of the Ministry of Education’s “Positive Behaviour for Learning: Action Plan 2010-2014”, developed in response to concerns about student behaviour and school bullying. It could also be of interest to those working with schools such as Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLBs), educational psychologists or Police Education Officers.

Brown, T. (2020). Relational bullying is a significant and widespread issue that is experienced by many young people in New Zealand. To implement effective and consistent prevention and intervention strategies, it is crucial to understand the perspectives of everyone involved. While research in the field of bullying prevention is increasingly focused on the perspectives and responsibility of multiple parties, a significant gap in the literature remains: the perspectives of the parents of children who are involved as perpetrators of bullying, as well as those parents of children who are both bullies as well as victims. The present doctoral research yielded findings describing parents’ responses to their child’s involvement in relational bullying, including those involved in bullying perpetration.   

CensusAtSchool. (2015). The CensusAtSchool survey found that school students think verbal mistreatment is the biggest bullying issue in schools – higher than cyberbullying, social or relational bullying such as social exclusion and spreading gossip, or physical bullying. 

Fenaughty, J. (2019). A framework incorporating co-design, critical pedagogies, and bullying research.  In 2016, UNESCO developed recommendations to address homophobic and transphobic violence and bullying, including guidance for the development of classroom resources. According to UNESCO, the effectiveness of interventions depends on inclusive, if not affirming, representations of sexual and gender diversity in learning materials, as well as age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, evidenced-based resources. UNESCO advocates that such resources be produced in partnerships with key stakeholders, including civil society and youth and student organisations. The high-level scope of the document however limits detail on how these elements may practically be realised. The purpose of this article is to critique and build on this guidance to extend its scope and offer further recommendations to achieve the changes it seeks.

Healy, K. (n.d.). The Conversation. This paper is an overview of recent, primarily academic literature on youth (ages 12-18) and cyberbullying and seeks to translate scholarly work for a public audience. Many anti-bullying programs in schools rely on witnesses to stand up to bullies. This is good in theory but an evaluation of such programs has found in some cases, interference can worsen the problem.

(2019). Greater Good. A blog post describing a new study which identifies effective approaches to bullying prevention.

Lawes, E., & Boyd, S. (2017). NZCER.    Infographic-style research summary. 

Ministry of Education. Education Counts. (n.d.). Retrieved August 20, 2018.  This web page for teachers presents information and resources on how to implement effective cooperative learning strategies and build a climate that counter bullying. 

Psychological distress was highest in young people aged 15–24 years, with one in five (21.2%) experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress. Read the full results of the survey.