Contributions from: Nanette Smith - UK, Zhans Wenxin - China and Kevin Jones - UK.
Abstract
The focus of this symposium is cross-cultural. The research is set in the methodological context of evidence-based action research (Ghaye and Ghaye, 1998). Bullying as a subset of aggressive behaviour involves the intention to hurt another person by a variety of means, including physical, verbal and social exclusion. Research undertaken in a variety of Western countries has demonstrated how bullying brings both physical and/or mental injury on the victims which seriously damages their well being. Bullying is a malevolent act and in extreme instances has contributed to children committing suicide; these tragic events, together with action promoted over the past decade by the Department of Education and Science (DES, 1989), Department for Education (DfE, 1994) and Department for Education and Employment (DfEE, 1997) have led to a heightened awareness amongst teachers, support staff, pupils and parents as to the prevalence of bullying and characteristic behaviours associated with bullies, victims and onlookers.
The symposium focuses upon various aspects of pioneer research being undertaken between the Centre for Special Education art University College Worcester and Shandong Teachers University, Peoples Republic of China. The papers are concerned with various stages of the process, and individual contributions give voice to children and teachers' concerns and real life experiences in the UK and PR China regarding incidence, bully/victim characteristics, pupil attitudes and intervention strategies.
The papers present the three phases of this research:
Paper One: An Overview Of The Research Project: Rationale For Action
And Research Design (Phase 1)
Nanette Smith (Researcher in Special
Education: Centre for Special Education at University College Worcester) Peter
Wakefield (Director: Centre for Special Education at University College
Worcester)
The focus of the research is to investigate the prevalence of bullying in primary and secondary schools in both cultures. Particular concerns to be addressed include the prevalence of bullying, types of bullying behaviour, differences in intervention strategies, children's attitudes and feelings. The perceived benefits of the research embrace the achievement of a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomena in both cultures, providing cross-cultural information regarding attitudes and practice in respect of intervention strategies. In Phase One the perceptions of over 4000 children from the P.R. China and 1400 from the UK, aged 9-15 years, from urban and rural junior and middle schools were gathered using a modified version of the Olweus Self-Report Questionnaire of Bully/Victiin Problems (Olweus 1993). The data were analysed and the project team disseminated the individual results to each school so that an action plan could be devised (see Paper Two).
Data were analysed with regard to:
References
Olweus D 1993. Bullying at School: what we know and what
we can do. Oxford, Blackwell
Rigby K 1996. Bullying in Schools - and what
to do about it. London: Jessica Kingsley
Sharp S and Sniith P K (eds) 1994.
Tackling Bullying in your School: a practical handbook for teachers. London,
Routledge
Paper Two: A Digest Of The Findings From Phase One And Two
Zhang Wenxin (Shandong Teachers University P.R. China)
Dr Kein
Jones (Senior Research Fellow: Centre for Spec Education at University College
Worcester)
Phase One involved collecting data from 4000 pupils in schools in the P.R. China and 150 pupils of similar age in schools in the UK. Analysis of data from the two surveys reveal similar and different levels of responses and these may be accounted for by culture variations within the 2 countries and minor differences in the age phases of the school involved. It is apparent, for example, that the location where bullying occurs considerably with most bullying reported in the UK schools during lunchtime (Sharp Blatchford 1994) whereas in China, the journey to and from school is most commonly cited by children (children in China go home for lunch and the recess (break) periods often spent in teacher-directed physical activity). Likewise, how schools deal with bullying reveal marked contrast, as is the degree to which the role of parents is seen as significant in ameliorating the problem. The paper will make more explicit the differences and similarities identified from the data and offer explanations to account for these factors.
Phase Two of the project involved feeding back to individual schools their particular result as a prelude to the development of a school action plan designed to improve an existing area of policy and/or practice (see Paper Three).
Teachers participating in the research from individual schools were invited to an info seminar in order to challenge,. Agree with or elaborate upon findings with a view to up an action plan. Each school was asked to identify, in order of priority, an area improvement or development and via a process of consultation with colleagues, pupil and parental involvement, to arrive at a collective consensus.
The plan identified:
References
Sharp S and Blatchford P (1 994) Breaktime and the
School. London, Routledge
Smith P K, Morita V, Junger-Tas J, Olweus D,
Catalano R and Slee P (eds) 1998. The Nature of School Bullying: a cross
national perspective. London, Routledge.
Tattum D and Herbert G 1997.
Bullying. Home, School and Community. London, Fulton
Whitney I and Smith P
K 1993. A Survey of the Nature and Extent of Bully/Victim Problems in
Junior/Middle and Secondary schools. Education Research, 35 5-25.
Paper Three: Outcomes Of The Action Research Projects Employed By
Case Study Schools (Phase Three) And Reflections On Action
Peter
Wakefield (Director: Centre for Special Education at University College
Worcester) Zhang Wenxin (: Shandong Teachers University, P.R. China)
Six schools (three each from P.R. China and the UK) were the focus for a more in-depth professional inquiry in Phase Three using the principles of action research as a vehicle for planning, implementing and evaluating a specific intervention selected by the school. These schools were invited to identify an issue of concern in respect of bullying arising from their individual data and, using the planning framework identified in Paper Two, select an appropriate intervention strategy applicable to their age phase as the basis for the action research. Each school was guided towards a reconnaissance phase in which they would seek wider perspectives on the identified problem through, for example, unstructured interviews with pupils, a survey involving teachers or focused group discussion with parents.
The development phase of this cycle of action involved the individual schools selecting a particular strategy to launch their intervention. Strategies varied including the use of Circle Time in the UK as a constructive way of encouraging children to talk about their own experiences of bullying and suggest ways of ameliorating a specific aspect (e.g. bullying on the playground (Sharp and Smith 1994)). In China, a junior school identified the major problem relating to bullying as the journey to and going home from school. In this instance children were asked to articulate their personal experiences in this respect and, with the teachers, reach some decisions as to how these episodes might be made safer for the victims of bullying. The behaviour of known bullies might be monitored, perhaps with the collaboration of parents and peer mentors.
In the reflective phase of the cycle, schools were given time to reflect upon the outcomes of their inquiry and a period of one term suggested to enable new procedures to be implemented. The reflective cycle led to re-planning and adjustments in the light of ongoing evaluation by the individual school's project team.
References
Eslen M 1998 The long term effectiveness of
anti-bullying work on primary schools. Education Research 40 (2) 203-218
Ghaye A and Ghaye K 1998. Teaching and Learning Through Critical Reflective
Practice. London, Fulton
Sharp S and Smith P K (eds) 1994. Tackling
Bullying in your School: a practical handbook for teachers. London,
Routledge
Tattum D P and Tattum E 1997. Bullying: the early years. Cardiff,
University of Wales Institute
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