ACADEMIA Letters

Bullying in Bulawayo’s Secondary schools who is likely to

bully or to be bullied?
Ndakaitei Makwanise, National University of Science and Technology

Introduction
Thepurposeofthestudywastoexplorethevariousformsofviolenceintwosecondaryschools in
Bulawayo with the aim of finding ways to reduce these forms of violence as part of a
wider research in school violence. Bullying emerged as the most outstanding form of
violence. The two schools conveniently selected for the study are Mpopoma and Msiteli
both government secondary schools. This research was motivated by the increase of
reported cases of school violence in Zimbabwe of which bullying is chief among them and
the need to curb it. The author discusses the prevalence of bullying in secondary schools
as well as drawing attention to who is likely to bully or to be bullied since this has a major
impact on intervention.

The Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura’s Social learning theory (SLT), mainly argues that behaviour is learnt
socially and thereby contradicting the earlier thinking that violent behaviour was as a
result of man’s nature as opposed to nurture. Scientists, behaviourists, and psychologists
have for a long time grappled with the need to explain why people behave the way they
do. The first attempt to explain human behaviour attributed it to inner forces beyond the
control of men which are responsible for different behaviours. Such theories which tried
to explain human behaviour in terms of inner forces have been dismissed on both
conceptual and empirical grounds. Conceptually as noted by Bandura (1971: 1), these
theories were criticised for not agreeing on the inner drives of the specific behaviours as
well as the fact that the theories disregarded the tremendous complexity of human
responsiveness.

Academia Letters, August 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Ndakaitei Makwanise, kwanex@yahoo.com

Citation: Makwanise, N. (2021). Bullying in Bulawayo’s Secondary schools who is likely to bully or to be
bullied? Academia Letters, Article 3321. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3321. 1
Understanding bullying
Bullying is an undesirable behaviour common in schools which can be defined as the
exposure to repeated negative actions over time on the part of one or more students
according to Erikson et.al (2012) cited by Gudyangaet.al (2014). The Journal of the
American Medical Association defines bullying as “a specific type of aggression in which 1)
the behaviour is intended to harm or disturb 2) the behaviour occurs repeatedly over time
and 3) there is an imbalance of power with a more powerful person or group attacking a
less powerful one.” 4) The asymmetry of power could be physical.

Bullying in Zimbabwean schools

Bullying is present in Zimbabwean schools, the recent case of Bullying at Marist Brothers
Secondary School in Dete, Hwange left the whole nation shocked. (Bulawayo 24 News,
2018). A study carried out in Chegutu District by Gudyanga et al (2014) also confirmed the
existence of bullying in schools. In Zimbabwe, the main tool that deals with bullying is
Statutory Instrument number 362 of 1998 which gives school authorities a mandate to
apply corporal punishment in cases of secret bullying. This study goes a bit further to
explain how to predict who is likely to be a bully or to be bullied and suggesting possible
solutions to the bullying problem.

Methodology
The study was largely qualitative as it sought to find out the views, feelings, experiences
and thoughts of people concerning bullying in two secondary schools in Bulawayo with
similar characteristics, Msiteli and Mpopoma which were conveniently sampled. The study
was carried out among form twos who were targeted because the research was going to
take a long time. The initial survey was done almost same time though intervention was
done later at Mpopoma, Msiteli acted as a form of control since the design was also
experimental. Three hundred and fifty-six questionnaires were distributed at Mpopoma
and two hundred and twenty-five at Msiteli with a 100% response rate. These
questionnaires were followed by interviews for teachers, five from each school. In
addition, two separate focus groups of 10 boys and 10 girls were conducted after the
interviews. Most of the information came from the focus group discussions and
interviews.

Academia Letters, August 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Ndakaitei Makwanise, kwanex@yahoo.com

Citation: Makwanise, N. (2021). Bullying in Bulawayo’s Secondary schools who is likely to bully or to be
bullied? Academia Letters, Article 3321. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3321. 2
Results and Discussion
The survey, the focus group discussions and the interviews have revealed that bullying is
rampant in both schools under study. These bullies act singly and sometimes in groups.
From the literature reviewed bullies are usually older, bigger or have authority over the
people they bully as in the case above.
From the information obtained in the initial survey it seems this bullying cut across
gender as some girls were also perpetrators of bullying. With girls it seems the major
reason for them being threatened or beaten was because they were suspected of having
an affair with an older girl’s boyfriend.
Psychological bullying has also been reported. There are also incidences where some
students were not beaten or threatened but simply teased and laughed at.
The measures put in place against bullying according to the findings, are not producing
the desired effect. Any learner who is bullied must report to the teacher or the prefect
and the bully is supposed to be punished. Bullying in both schools is solved through
counselling or punishment depending on the gravity of the matter. The bully is talked to
and if the issue is serious the parents or guardians are called. If the problem is serious, the
parents and or guardians are called to school and the culprit is either given a punishment
and in extreme cases may be expelled from school. Most people who were bullied did not
report for fear that the bullies would beat them up outside the school premises. The idea
of suggestion boxes where students could report anonymously is not working as well, due
to large enrolments there never is a time when the school is quiet enough for one to pass
the information without being observed. Those asked to bring their parents or guardians
also have the habit of paying and bringing people who are not their real parents or
guardians thereby preventing their actual parents or guardians from knowing what would
be happening at school.
The research has revealed that most of the bullying is done in secret places especially
in toilets out of reach of the authorities as evidenced by 56% of the respondents. The
bullies would ask them to do nasty things liking ‘driving the chamber.’ The toilet bullying
cuts across both schools .Another form of bullying mentioned by both Msiteli and
Mpopoma students pertains to a phenomenon where some students force other students
to polish or shine their shoes. Bullies also demanded money from other learners in order
for them to use the toilets. Drugs are also at the centre of bullying. Most of the bullies
who demand money are probably drug addicts who need the money so desperately to
buy drugs. This again forces them to be very aggressive.

Academia Letters, August 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Ndakaitei Makwanise, kwanex@yahoo.com

Citation: Makwanise, N. (2021). Bullying in Bulawayo’s Secondary schools who is likely to bully or to be
bullied? Academia Letters, Article 3321. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3321. 3
 As a result of bullying in schools, learners have indicated that they do not feel safe at
school; this has got a negative effect on their ability to concentrate. Some learners may be
forced to drop out of school due to excessive bullying. One Msiteli teacher recalled a
student who had attempted suicide. There is an extreme case of a learner who
successfully committed suicide at one of the schools due to bullying. Despite the negative
consequences bullying among students themselves is one of the most common forms of
physical violence which is often tolerated and accepted in many schools.

Who is likely to be a bully or to be bullied?

Most bullies at secondary school were also bullies at the primary school they attended
mostly in the Ghettos and they often target those from well up families for the sake of
reducing them. A number of incidences have proved this trend at Mpopoma High thereby
concurring with the SLT which states that behaviour can be learnt from the society. One
learner who is bullied can also turn into a bully thereby perpetuating the cycle of bullying.
A mini, unpublished study revealed that most bullies and most victims of bullying and
other forms of violence come from broken families. This study shows that more than 60%
of the learners in both schools do not stay with both parents. Learners who take drugs are
likely to bully others, for money.
The study has revealed some characteristics of who is likely to be bullied in Bulawayo
secondary schools. The lower one’s class is, the more one is likely to be bullied. Bullying
decreases as one moves from form one to six and also is at its peak during first term when
form ones come into the school for the first time. Most form ones are bullied whilst they
are still new and they would not know where to report. The form ones also will not be
able to recognise the faces of the bullies hence they would not be able to report. Anything
unique about a learner makes them vulnerable for example if they appear new, if they
appear more affluent, if they are disabled, even if they are not in form one or two. The
lifestyle of a learner outside school is also a determining factor. Learners who align
themselves with one gang or the other are likely to be bullied and members who are
aligned to gangs are likely to bully others.

Conclusions
The research has revealed that most of the bullying occurs in secluded places, mostly
toilets. Bullying is rampant and carried out in secret places across gender despite all the

Academia Letters, August 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Ndakaitei Makwanise, kwanex@yahoo.com

Citation: Makwanise, N. (2021). Bullying in Bulawayo’s Secondary schools who is likely to bully or to be
bullied? Academia Letters, Article 3321. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3321. 4
measures put against it in Bulawayo’s secondary schools. The current method of dealing
with bullying is not producing the desired effect. There are characteristics which make one
susceptible to bullying and also being bullied. Perhaps the bystander approach can be
used to deter bullying where an arrangement can be made for certain volunteers to be
trained and frequent the toilet at intervals for the purpose of deterring bullies.

References
Bandura, A. 1971. Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Corporation,
(Online). (Accessed 19/01/17)

Bandura, A. 1973. Aggression: A Social Learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

PrenticeHall.

GMR. 2015. Education for all 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges (online). Available
https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/2015/education-all-2000-2015-
achiev(Accessed16February 2016)

Gudyanga, E., Mudihlwa, C. and Wadesango, N. 2014. The Extent of Bullying in Some
Schools in Zimbabwe: A Psychological Perspective, with the notion of Designing an
Intervention Model. Journal of Social Science,40(1): 65-74.

Nansel, T.R., Overpeck, M., and Rilla, R.S. 2001. Bullying Behaviours Among US youth.
Prevalence and Association With Psychosocial Adjustment(online). Available: https://
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama (Accessed 14 February 2018)

Olweus, D. 1999. Sweden. In: Smith, P.K., Morita, J., Junger-Tas, J., Olweus, D., Catalano, R.,
and Slee, P. eds. The Nature of School bullying: A Cross-National Perspective(online):
Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281349257-cyberbullying-The-
natureand-of-a-new-kind-of-bullying-in-and-out-of-school. (Accessed 22 January 2019)

Staff reporter. 2018. “Marist Brothers’ bullies force victims to drink toilet water.”
Bulawayo 24 News (online), 17 February 2018: Available:
https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-newssc-educatio-byo-128255.html. (Accessed 15
September 2018)

Academia Letters, August 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Ndakaitei Makwanise, kwanex@yahoo.com

Citation: Makwanise, N. (2021). Bullying in Bulawayo’s Secondary schools who is likely to bully or to be
bullied? Academia Letters, Article 3321. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3321. 5