Restorative Justice as Another Way of Dealing with Bullying in South African Schools

Bullying has long been a serious problem in schools across the globe, including in South Africa. The traditional methods of dealing with disciplinary problems, such as bullying in schools, have had limited success in terms of stemming the rise of this phenomenon. Out of concern about the growing problem of bullying in schools, some countries have turned to restorative justice as a solution. International research shows promising results of restorative justice approaches in terms of their impact on countering bullying among learners. This paper explores restorative justice as another way of dealing with bullying in South African schools.

A Six-Step Process to Reduce Bullying in Schools; The Content of a Health Promotion Intervention to Reduce Bullying Among Early Adolescents in a Rural School in Sri Lanka

Bullying is a form of aggression which has negative impacts on health. Bullying acts are reported to be common among early adolescents in rural schools in Sri Lanka. It is timely to design and implement interventions aiming to reduce bullying in schools in Sri Lanka. In this article, we aim to describe the process and the content of a health promotion intervention carried out aiming to reduce bullying among early adolescents in a rural school in Sri Lanka. The intervention is comprised of a six-step process. A logical framework developed based on Samarasinghe et al (2011) was used to guide the intervention. The content of the intervention was designed following health promotion principles. Health promotion aims for empowering people- to take collective community actions aiming to achieve desired health outcomes. The intervention for bullying was designed aiming for empowering early adolescents -to generate collective actions to reduce bullying in their school. In the intervention, adolescents not merely participated but also engaged and involved in modifying the planned intervention. Different activities, brainstorming sessions, facilitated discussions, role plays, etc. were carried out in the process. In this intervention, the health promotion approach we employed enabled engagement and involvement of adolescents beyond mere participation in the intervention.

Penyuluhan tentang Bullying dan pencegahannya di SMK Negeri 1 Lelogama Kecamatan Amfoang Selatan, Kabupaten Kupang

Abstrak: Praktik bullying ataupun kekerasan di sekolah masih sering terjadi hingga saat ini. Sudah banyak kasus Bullying yang terungkap dan bahkan menyebabkan kematian bagi korban. Tujuan pengabdian ini adalah memberikan pengetahuan dan pemahaman kepada siswa tentang bullying dan cara pencegahannya. Bentuk kegiatan pengabdian yang dilakukan yaitu Penyuluhan kesehatan tentang bullying dan pencegahannya serta diskusi bersama. Kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini dilaksanakan pada hari Sabtu, tanggal 08 Februari 2020 pukul 09.20-11.00 WITA. Peserta kegiatan penyuluhan ini adalah siswa-siswi SMK Negeri 1 Lelogama, Kecamatan Amfoang Selatan, Kabupaten Kupang kelas XI-XII. Peserta penyuluhan sebanyak 68 peserta. Penyuluhan Kesehatan dapat berjalan dengan baik dan lancar. Pihak sekolah juga memberikan dukungan penuh dalam kegiatan pengabdian ini. Pengetahuan dan pemahaman siswa semakin bertambah terkait bullying dan cara pencegahannya, dibuktikan dari hasil pre-test dan post-test dimana terjadi peningkatan pengetahuan sebesar 30% setelah diberikan penyuluhan. Perlu dilakukan pengabdian lanjutan dengan waktu yang lebih lama untuk advokasi aturan/kebijakan terkait pencegahan dan penanganan bullying di sekolah.Abstract: The practice of bullying or violence in schools was still common today. There have been many cases of bullying that have been revealed and have even caused death to victims. The purpose of this service was to provide knowledge and understanding to students about bullying and how to prevent it. The form of service activities carried out was health counseling about bullying and its prevention and discussion together. This community service activity was held on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 09.20-11.00 WITA. The participants of this counseling activity were students of SMK Negeri 1 Lelogama, Amfoang Selatan District, Kupang Regency in class XI-XII. There were 68 extension participants. Health education can run well and smoothly. The school also provides full support in this service activityStudents' knowledge and understanding is increasing regarding bullying and how to prevent it, as evidenced by the results of the pre-test and post-test where there is an increase in knowledge of 30% after being given counseling. Further service needs to be done with a longer time for advocating for rules / policies related to the prevention and handling of bullying in schools.

The Zero Violence Brave Club: A Successful Intervention to Prevent and Address Bullying in Schools

Bullying among peers in schools is a growing problem affecting children and adolescents from an early age worldwide. The consequences of bullying victimization in the emotional development of children and youth and their academic achievement are adverse for them and the rest of the school community, with its negative impact extending into the mid and long run. The Zero Violence Brave Club is implemented in schools in the framework of the Dialogic Model of Violence Prevention, a successful educational action according to the INCLUD-ED project [Strategies for inclusion and social cohesion in Europe from Education] (6th Framework Program of Research of the European Commission). The Zero Violence Brave Club has decreased peer bullying in schools by establishing and cultivating a culture of zero tolerance to violence in educational centers located in diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts. This evidence-based intervention is grounded in the principle that only the person who denounces violence suffered by a peer and takes a stand always on the victim's side—and those who support her or him—against the aggressor can be considered brave. This article reports a qualitative study of the Zero Violence Brave Club as a successful intervention in seven schools in Spain. The schools are diverse in terms of public or private ownership, religious or lay background, and population served (different proportions of cultural minorities and students with special needs), challenging the misconception that the impact of educational interventions depends on the context. Interviews were conducted with teachers in the schools implementing the Zero Violence Brave Club in their class, using the communicative methodology of research. The results shed light on specific mechanisms through which the Zero Violence Brave Club prevents and responds to bullying in schools, such as emptying of social attractiveness any aggressive behaviors or attitudes. Benefits on mental health and psychological wellbeing are also reported.

Teacher Workplace Bullying: How Pervasive is the Problem?

Bullying in schools is a national problem receiving much needed attention. Teacher workplace bullying is a lesser known but equally debilitating problem. Our purpose in doing this study is to examine the problem of teacher workplace bullying and its effect on teachers, students, and schools. We surveyed 173 general and special education teachers to determine the extent that teachers report workplace bullying by other teachers and administrators. We used the Negative Acts Questionnaire–Revised to examine three constructs of workplace bullying—personal, work-related, and physical intimidation. We also examined differences in self-reported workplace bullying between general and special education teachers. Results suggest special education teachers reported a significantly high level of workplace bullying compared with general education teachers. Unsatisfactory administrative support was the most significant factor contributing to workplace dissatisfaction overall. We offer possible starting points to deal with the problem and discuss implications for teachers, students, and the field.

Bullying in educational environment: causes, forms, prevention

Analyzed is the scale of bullying in educational institutions: schools and universities. The reasons, forms and the existing system of bullying prevention are studied. The most widespread in schools is verbal (ridicule, threats, humiliation, slander) and physical bullying; in universities, social (ignoring, exclusion from the group, theft, damage to the victim’s property) and verbal bullying are more widespread. It was found that students from families who belong to low resourced groups, more often during the school period became victims of verbal, social and physical bullying. It was revealed that girls more often than boys were a subject to verbal bullying during schooling. At the same time, it was found that girls from families that belong to the middle and low resourced groups were more often subjected to verbal bullying than girls from families that belong to the highly–resourced groups. Young men who are physically weak, to a greater extent than young men who are physically developed, are the instigators of verbal bullying at school. Young men from families that belong to highly-resourced groups are less likely than young men from families that belong to middle and low resource groups to be verbally bullied at school. Boys from families that belong to medium and low resourced groups more often than boys from families that belong to highly–resourced groups were the instigators of verbal bullying at school. It was found that boys, more often than girls, faced physical bullying at school. At the same time, it was revealed that young men from families that belong to highly–resourced groups, less often than young men from families that belong to middle and low resourced groups, faced physical bullying during their schooling. Young men, more often than girls, play the role of an aggressor in physical bullying at school. In addition, it was found that girls are more likely than boys to be the instigator of physical bullying at school. In addition, it was found that bullying in schools is more widespread than in universities. At the same time, it was revealed that verbal and social bullying in universities in comparison with schools is not widespread. Obviously, this is due to the fact that many bullying aggressors in school did not have the resources to enter universities, or did not have the desire to enter universities. In addition, bullying in universities is subject to expulsion (in addition to other types of liability). A person comes to school forcibly, in a university most often voluntarily. In other words, it can be assumed that the fear of being expelled is a kind of deterrent to the spread of bullying in universities. Measures are proposed to improve the effectiveness of bullying prevention in educational institutions.