BULLYING Prevention:

Getting on the Right Track

Iredell-Statesville
Schools
Consensogram

 How much do you know about bullying and

what to do about it?
Bullying Prevention Agenda

 Review/Identify requirements of Senate Bill 526

 Define what bullying and cite age appropriate examples for
each type
 Discuss strategies to prevent bullying behavior within your
school
 Discuss Intervention Strategies when bullying occurs
 Review contents of the ISS Bullying Policy
 Define how, when, why staff will communicate bullying issues
to parents
 Define School-Wide plan for educating all students on Bullying
Policy
 Provide activities/instructional ideas for teaching students
Senate Bill 526

States schools “shall develop and implement

methods and strategies for promoting school
environments that are free of bullying or
harassing behavior.”
 Defines bullying and harassment
 Mandates schools to have a policy against bullying or
harassing behavior
 Mandates information regarding this policy shall be
incorporated into a school’s employee training program.
Activity #1: Bullying Quiz

Answer the following bullying quiz

questions with your
Team

Exploring the Nature and Prevention of Bullying

Bullying Quiz
(http://www.k12coordinator.org/onlinece/onlineevents/bullying/
bullying_quiz.htm)
 Bullying Quiz
1. Bullying is just a part of growing up. The effects of bullying on
victims are short-term and minor.
a) True
b) False

2. Bullying is not a serious problem for the bullies; they eventually grow
out of this behavior.
a) True
b) False

3. Most bullying occurs in high school because older students are more
confident and willing to pick on others.
a) True
b) False

4. Bullying is usually verbal, not physical, in nature.

a) True
b) False
 Bullying Quiz

5. Bullies are usually insecure loners with low self-esteem.

a) True
b) False

6. Bullying is almost exclusively male behavior.

a) True
b) False

7. Bullies don’t usually pick on passive students; instead, they bully

in response to some sort of provocation from their victims.
a) True
b) False

8. A bully usually attacks when no one else is watching.

a) True
b) False
Bullying Quiz
9. Most bullying happens at school.
a) True
b) False

10. Targets of bullies tend to be children with physical differences.

a) True
b) False

11. If students would just fight back, then bullies would leave them
alone.
a) True
b) False

12. Hanging out with other students increases the risks of being
bullied since there are more people for bullies to target.
a) True
b) False
Why Educators Should be Concerned

 State of North Carolina is concerned:

– Center for the Prevention of School Violence
defines school violence as “any behavior that
violates a school’s educational mission or climate
of respect or jeopardizes the intent of the school
to be free of aggression against persons or
property, drugs, weapons, disruptions, and
disorder.”
– NC Safe Schools Initiative recognizes that
bullying prevention is crime prevention.
www.djjdp.org
Healthy, Safe, Orderly and Caring

 State Goals:
– Learning environments inviting and
supportive of high student performance
– Schools free of controlled and illegal
substances and all harmful behavior
– Adequate, safe education facilities that
support high student performance
Bullying: Some Disturbing Data

 Of 41 school shooters studies by the Secret

Service and the U.S. Department of
Education, two-thirds felt persecuted, bullied,
threatened, attacked, or injured before the
school shooting, with many having been the
victims of “longstanding and severe bullying
and harassment.”
(www.gothamgazette.com/pring/1416)
Bullying: Some Disturbing Data

 A 2001 study of students in 8th through 11th

grades by the American Association of
University Women Educational Foundation
found that “four of five students – boys and
girls – report that they have experienced
some type of sexual harassment at school”
(www.gothamgazette.com/pring/1416)
Bullying: Some Disturbing Data

 A Los Angeles study of 192 sixth-graders

concluded that almost half had been bullied
at least once during a five-day period.
(www.gothamgazette.com/pring/1416)
Bullying and the Workplace

 Workplace bullying - in any form - is bad for

business. It destroys teamwork, commitment
and morale." Tony Morgan, Chief Executive,
The Industrial Society

 Consider the effect of bullying in group-

centered work at school.
Bullying Defined

 Double I-R Criteria:

– Intentional

– Imbalanced

– Repeated
Bullying Defined

 Bullying is INTENTIONAL:

deliberate
hurtful
purposeful
instrumental
goal-directed
Bullying Defined

 Bullying is IMBALANCED:

physical vs. psychological

actual vs. perceived

Power Imbalance

 “A power imbalance is found at the heart of

the bullying dynamic. A student who is
stronger, more aggressive, bolder, and more
confident than average typically bullies other
students who are weaker, more timid, and
who tend not to retaliate or act in an
assertive manner.”

(Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System)

Bullying Defined

 Bullying is REPEATED:

one-time aggression vs. bullying

Bullying Defined

 Bullying involves a desire to hurt + hurtful

action + a power imbalance + (typically)
repetition + an unjust use of power + evident
enjoyment by the aggressor and a sense of
being oppressed on the part of the victim.

http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/define.html
Bullying Defined

 “A student is being bullied or victimized when

he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over
time, to negative actions on the part of one or
more other students… It is a negative action
when someone intentionally inflicts, or
attempts to inflict injury or discomfort on
another.”
Olweus, 1994, p. 1173
Bullying Behavior: 4 Categories

 Physical

 Verbal

 Social/Relational

 Sexual Harassment
Bullying Behavior: 4 Categories

 1. PHYSICAL BULLYING
Can leave marks on the body
Bullying Behavior: 4 Categories

 2. VERBAL BULLYING
Can be heard by the target
Bullying Behavior: 4 Categories

 3. SOCIAL/RELATIONAL BULLYING
Indirect, covert attempts to affect the target’s
reputation or social standing
Bullying Behavior: 4 Categories

 3. SOCIAL/RELATIONAL BULLYING
Indirect, covert attempts to affect the target’s
reputation or social standing
Cyberbullying: An ethical Impact

 Why is this so dangerous?

“The anonymity of online communications means kids
feel freer to do things online they would never do in
the real world. Even if they can be identified online,
young people can accuse someone else of using
their screen name. They don’t have to own their
actions, and if a person can’t be identified with and
action, fear of punishment is diminished.”
(www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/wa_resources/wa_shar)
Bullying Behavior: 4 Categories

 4. SEXUAL HARASSMENT

(SH) - Any repeated, unwanted behavior of a sexual nature

perpetrated upon one individual by another. Sexual harassment
may be verbal, visual, written, or physical. It can occur between
people of different genders or those of the same sex. Harassing
behaviors may occur in a variety of relationships including those
among peers, and those where there is an imbalance of power
between two individuals. The law is primarily concerned with the
impact of the behavior, not the intent. In other words, the law is
concerned with how the person on the receiving end is affected by
the behavior, not with what the other person means by the
behavior.

http://www.turnaroundinc.org/pages/facts/glossary.html
Bias Incidents/Hate Crimes

 Bias incidents are any acts directed against

people or property that are motivated by
prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, gender, social affiliation,
ability or appearance.

Responding to Hate at School

Tolerance Magazine, 1999
Gender Differences and Bullying

GIRLS:
Bully within social group
Covert
Emphasis on verbal and social/relational bullying
Gender Differences and Bullying

BOYS:
 Bully outside social
group
 Direct
 More likely to use
physical aggression
Activity #2: Scenario Review

 With your Teacher-training Team, read the

scenario at your table and determine:
– Is this an example of bullying? If so, answer the
following:
 Determine how you know the act was intentional.
 What is/are the imbalance(s)?
 What clues indicate this is repetitive behavior?
Bullying is…

 Peer Abuse

 An Act of Violence

 Precursor to Escalated Acts of Violence and

Crime

 Serial Abuse
Statistics

 285,000 students are physically attacked

each month
 160,000 children miss school each day
because of fear
 70% of students have been bullied during
their academic career
 14% of students believe that bullying has a
severe impact on their lives
Prevalence

 15% of students in schools involved

 9% are targets
 7% bully others repeatedly
 More victims in younger grades are
victimized
 Boys are more likely to bully than girls

(Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System)

List of Facts

 80% of adolescents reported being bullied

during their school years
 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being
targets of bullying
 15% of students bully regularly or are targets
of bullying
 Up to 7% of 8th grade students stay home at
least once a month because of bullies
http://lincoln.midcoast.com/~wps/against/bullying.html
List of Facts

 Bullies identified by age eight are six times

more likely to be convicted of a crime by age
twenty-four and five times more likely than
non-bullies to end up with serious criminal
records by the age of thirty.
 Students reported that 71% of the teachers
or other adults in the classroom ignored
bullying incidents.

http://lincoln.midcoast.com/~wps/against/bullying.html
List of Facts

 When asked students uniformly expressed the

desire that teachers intervene rather than ignore
teasing and bullying.
 Aggressive behavior is learned early and becomes
resistant to change if it persists beyond age eight.
 Bullying most often occurs at school where there is
minimal or no supervision.

http://lincoln.midcoast.com/~wps/against/bullying.html
List of Facts

 Most bullying is verbal.

 Bullying begins in elementary school, peaks in
middle school, diminishes but does not disappear in
high school.
 Both boys and girls bully, usually same sex
classmates, with female bullying taking indirect,
manipulative forms.
 Bullying can have devastating long term effects on
the targets.

http://lincoln.midcoast.com/~wps/against/bullying.html
Did You Know?

 By 6 weeks into the school year, the bully-target

patterns have been established.
 Physical bullying increases through the elementary
years and peaks in middle school. Thereafter,
incidents decrease with age.
 Verbal bullying occurs throughout school years.
 Children do not tell on bullies because they are
afraid it will get worse. They feel no one can help
them if they do.
(From Bullying Behaviors: A Systemic Perspective Powerpoint Presentation Dr.
Andy Horne, University of Georgia, April 2005)
What Can Schools Do to Help?

 “While approaches that simply crack down

on individual bullies are seldom effective,
when there is school-wide commitment to
end bullying, it can be reduced up to 50%.”

(www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens/bullying.asp)
Prevention Basics

 Solution-focused approach
– Define the problem and develop strategies to
solve the problem – strength, ownership,
competency, empowerment, coaching
 Develop Positive School Climate:
– Increase rapport with students
– Establish positive, respectful climate
Family/School Risk Factors

 Family  School
– Lack of supervision – Lack of supervision
– Lack of attachment – Lack of attachment
– Negative relationship – Negative relationship
– Lack of – Lack of
discipline/consequence discipline/consequence
– Support for violence – Support for violence
– Lack of alternatives to
violence
(From Bullying Behaviors: A Systemic Perspective Powerpoint
Presentation Dr. Andy Horne, University of Georgia, April 2005)
 Teacher Beliefs that Reduce Bullying

 “Students are situational learners and adapt to

learning at home and school differently.”
 “If I provide the opportunity to learn positive
behaviors, they can learn and maybe transfer those
to home.”
 “Bullying really is more likely to happen at school.”
 “Not all bullies use physical force.”
 “Being mean, teasing, and shunning behaviors are
alternate forms of bullying.”
(From Bullying Behaviors: A Systemic Perspective Powerpoint Presentation Dr.
Andy Horne, University of Georgia, April 2005)
 Teacher Activities that Maintain
or Reduce Victimization

 Maintain  Reduce
– Many ignore victimization – Demonstrate awareness
– Don’t intervene unless – Take action at all levels
problem is significant – Teach how not to be
– Blame the victim good targets
– Focus only on – Provide follow-up
extinguishing support
– Support victim only the
immediate aftermath
(From Bullying Behaviors: A Systemic Perspective Powerpoint Presentation
Dr. Andy Horne, University of Georgia, April 2005)
When we notice it happening…

Senate Bill 526 states a school employee,

student, or volunteer who has witnessed or
has reliable information that a student or
employee has been subject to any act of
bullying or harassing behavior shall report
the incident to the appropriate school official.
(ISS defines school official as an
Administrator)
 Bullying Consequence Matrix

•Review Consequences Matrix

Elementary
Middle
High
Procedures for Reporting-

REVIEW Policy Code: 4021

Develop a District & School-wide
Agenda

 Training
 Assessment – bullying survey/map
 Data Analysis: Healthy, Safe, Orderly & Caring
Committee
 Proactive Prevention basics
– Teach expectations
– Model positive, consistent behavior
– Visual displays (posters, criteria, etc)
– Enforce policy
 Intervention Strategies
Identify Scope of the Problem

 School-wide assessment
– Bullying survey to all students after training
 Anonymous but color-coded for grade level
identification
 3 components (true/false, map/bus, open-ended)
 You may choose to stagger the training by grade level
so that analysis is more manageable
 Empty map for students to identify places where
bullying takes place in your school
Assessment

 3 days of training (30 minutes each day)

– Scripted lessons for teachers
 Day 1: Definitions and Clarification
 Day 2: Scenario Review: Double I-R in practice
 Day 3: Tattling/Reporting, Long-term effects of
bullying, Role of the bystander, Reporting information
 Day 4: Give Assessment/Map
Day 1: Bullying Agenda

Highlights:
 Students’ definitions of bullying
 Textbook definitions of bullying
 Differentiation between bullying and
horseplay/teasing
 Double I-R Criteria
 4 Categories of bullying behavior
Day 2: Bullying Agenda

 Review of Double I-R Criteria

 Review of 4 Categories of Bullying Behavior
 Double I-R Criteria in practice (scenarios)
Day 3: Bullying Agenda

 Difference between Tattling & Reporting Information

 Discussion of long-term effects of bullying behavior
on:
• Bully
• Target
• Witnesses

 Role of the bystander (85% caring majority)

 How to report information
Day 4: Bullying Survey: Component 1

Bullying Survey: Component 1

Answer the following True/False statements. Select either T or F.
 I can easily tell the difference between bullying and horseplay-teasing.
 I feel safe at our school.
 I believe that there are clear and consistent consequences for physical bullying at our
school.
 I believe that there are clear and consistent consequences for verbal bullying at our
school.
 I believe that there are clear and consistent consequences for social/relational bullying at
our school.
 I believe that there are clear and consistent consequences for sexual harassment at our
school.
 I understand the difference between telling/tattling and reporting information to an adult.
 I believe bystanders have a lot of power to reduce bullying behavior at our school by
reporting incidents to an appropriate adult.
 I believe I can help reduce bullying behavior at our school.
 I believe teachers, counselors, SAP, and administration react appropriately to information
that I report about bullying.
Day 4: Bullying Survey: Component 2

Bullying Survey: Component 2

See the attached map of our school. Please identify where bullying
behavior most frequently occurs by marking an “x” in the
locations on the map.

If bullying occurs frequently on your

school bus, please write the bus number
on the picture of the bus.
Day 4: Bullying Survey: Component 3

Bullying Survey: Component 3

1. Who consistently displays bullying behavior at our school? Identify these people by first
and last name.

2. Do you know of any students who are specifically being targeted/victimized by bullying
behavior? Name them:

3. What is the most common form of bullying behavior at our school? Rate them from
highest/most common (1) to lowest/least common (4):
Physical: _____
Verbal: _____
Social/Relational: _____
Sexual Harassment: _____

4. What ideas/strategies/activities should be used to combat bullying at our school? Be

specific.

5. What can the adults at our school do better to reduce bullying behavior? Provide
solutions.
Analysis of Assessment Data:
Safe, Healthy, Caring Committee

 What did the data reveal?

 What relevant data might be missing?
 Are there unanswered questions?
For Additional Information

 Safeguarding our Children: An Action Guide

– www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/ActionGuide

 2000 Annual Report on School Safety & Indicators of

School Crime and Safety 2000
– www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS

 Newman-Carlson, D., Horne, A.M, Bartolomucci,

C.L. (2000). Bully Busters: A Teacher’s manual for
helping bullies, victims, and bystanders.
Champaign, IL: Research Press.