Second Draft School Bullying Education Research Paper

School Bullying
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School Bullying
Introduction
School bullying refers to bullying that takes place in an educational setting. For an act to be classified as bullying, it needs to meet a certain criterion. This includes provocation, distress, imbalance of power, repetition, and hostile intent. Bullying has a broad spectrum of detrimental effects on the victim including stress, contemplated suicide, depression, and anger. Further, the bully is more inclined to engage in criminal behavior or develop different social disorders. This paper examines the prevalence, effects, and nature of bullying. Moreover, it discussed the four types of bullying and explores the most effective strategies used to combat school bullying.
Overview
In contemporary society, school bullying has become a prevalent phenomenon present in high, middle, and elementary schools in the U.S. as well as other countries across the world. As a universal problem, school bullying occurs at comparable rates in different countries, cultures, and educational settings (Carney & Merrell, 2001). Previously viewed as a normal rite of passage, school bullying is currently identified as a leading threat to school safety (Juvonen, 2005). Starting in the late 1990s, various fatal school shootings have been perpetrated by individuals who are victims of school bullying. This has drawn the attention of various media platforms to the problem. The outcome has been increased public awareness concerning the detrimental effects associated with bullying and a plethora of nationwide, state, and local programs have been designed to alleviate and curb the issue.
When defining school bullying, four basic elements are taken into account. First, school bullying cannot occur between students who have a similar or equal degree of power since it involves a powerful student harassing a weaker one. Bullying significantly relies on an imbalance of power which is established by factors such as popularity, psychological strength, physical size, and age (Rigby, 2003). Second, the act of bullying is deliberate; a bully purposely aims to inflict suffering or harm in his or her subject. Third, bullying can occur directly or indirectly. Physical violence such as tripping, poking, hitting, or shoving are direct forms of bullying. Verbal bullying is also a direct form of bullying, and it entails acts such as mockery, name-calling, and teasing. Contrarily, indirect bullying involves excluding the victim from a peer group; it is social (Scarpaci, 2006). Fourth, bullying is incessant; it involves a continuing pattern of abuse and intimidation.
School bullying is common with children aged nine to fifteen years who are leaving the late stages of childhood and entering the early stages of adolescence, and often occurs in middle and elementary schools. As children advance in age, the types of bullying they engage in change. Younger school bullies are more inclined to use forms of physical aggression and name-calling whereas older bullies are more likely to bully their victims by using sexual overtones (Carney & Merrell). In some instances, the type of bullying witnessed in older children may involve homophobic or racially charged abuse. Recently, adolescents have become technology-savvy and have resorted to the internet to practice “cyberbullying” on social media platforms, via email, and in chat-rooms.
Currently, school bullying has been recognized by experts as a form of violence. Some experts are of the opinion that school bullying is the most widespread type of low-level violence present in schools. School bullying can compromise school safety if it continues to go unchecked. To prevent children from falling prey to school bullies, parents and professional educators must understand the depth of the issue, be aware of the characteristics of victims and bullies, and be knowledgeable when it comes to prevention techniques.
Prevalence of School Bullying
Virtually all children in schools around the world have experienced bullying in one way or another, and the U.S. is no exception. A study performed by the American Medical Association confirmed that fifty percent of school children in the U.S. had experienced bullying at some point in their school life and ten percent of school students are bullied continuously (Scarpaci, 2006). A separate study also showed that one in every five children in elementary school and one in ten children in middle school in the U.S. are regularly bullied (Brown et al., 2005). A different study found that thirteen percent of all sixth to tenth graders actively bullied their classmates and eleven percent had been continuously bullied (Scarpaci, 2006). Throughout the United States, school bullying has become a widespread phenomenon, occurring at comparable rates in urban, rural, and suburban environments.
Types of School Bullying
The first form of bullying, which is also considered indirect bullying, is known as relational bullying. Relational bullying refers to bullying with exclusionary strategies which involves the intentional prevention of someone from joining or being part of a group (Macklem, 2003). This could be at a game, lunch table, or social activity. An excellent example of this is when a group of students, after a group assignment decides to head to a fast food joint to eat. In the process, one person is ignored, left to the side, and treated as if they were invisible. Excluding a person from a group can stir feelings of depression and worthlessness.
Students undergoing relational bullying might isolate themselves, experience mood changes, or withdraw from peer groups. Even though relational bullying is present in both genders, girls experience this type of bullying more (Wang et al., 2009). With girls, this form of bullying occurs between eight and eleven years of age and is characterized by relational aggression. Relational bullying is not characterized solely by excluding someone from a group; it may also involve breaking confidences, sharing secrets, spreading rumors, and recruiting peers to participate in the dislike of a subject. Bullies that engage in relational bullying might do so to demonstrate power over their intended target.
The next type of bullying is considered direct bullying and is known as verbal bullying. With verbal bullying, there is no trace of harm as is evident with physical bullying. Students that undergo verbal bullying report having disturbing memories due to such events. Usually, verbal bullying occurs in forms such as teasing, intimidating, taunting, humiliating, threatening, and name-calling (Rigby, 2007). Often, verbal bullies target individuals with low self-esteem, are shy and are selected because they are secluded from the rest of the students. Verbal bullying can cause the victim to feel socially withdrawn, depressed, and result in suicide ideation.
Physical bullying is the third type of bullying. Because it is direct bullying, it can easily be noticed compared to other types of bullying. It is widely assumed that the most common type of bullying is physical bullying; however, research suggests that it is the least common. Generally, students undergoing physical bullying are weaker than the perpetrators. They also show a lack of an assertive personality. A good example of physical bullying is when a student scratches or kicks a fellow student one day and pulls his or her pants down the next day. This repeated act of physical violence and aggression characterizes physical bullying. Physical bullying can result in fatal consequences for the victim such as disability, permanent injury, or death.
One example of a case of physical bullying that led to death was that of Bailey O’Neil, a twelve-year-old male honor roll student who met his death after a schoolyard attack. He suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and other bodily injuries when two boys from his school attacked him during recess – with one shoving him and the other punching him repeatedly. Days after the violent attack, Bailey began suffering violent seizures which caused the doctors to put him in a medically induced coma. Bailey tried to fight for his life while in hospital, but sadly, he succumbed to his injuries and passed away (Davies, 2013).
Physical bullying is not easy to combat. Strategies that be taken involve gathering evidence and presenting that evidence to law enforcement. Physical bullying should not have to be endured by anyone and must be dealt with accordingly. Often, perpetrators of physical bullying go through some form of abuse, and they may do so because they can, or they may be pressured into instigating such acts. Despite the reason, physical bullying is a serious type of bullying with many detrimental effects and should be handled by the authorities to prevent further problems from arising.
The last type of bullying is cyberbullying. Even though cyberbullying is considered indirect bullying, it can also be considered direct bullying because of harassing behaviors such as written attacks or insults being posted online. With cyberbullying, an ind...