School Bullying Vodcast Three: Interventions in cases of bullying Dr Ken Rigby Consultant Developed for

Proactive and Reactive Approaches The proactive or universal approach targets everyone in the school community in an attempt to stop bullying ever happening The reactive or interventive approach targets those individuals or groups who are actually involved in bully/victim problems Developed for

Why the proactive approach is never entirely successful Developed for Some individuals are highly predisposed to act aggressively Negative or inadequate parenting and family influence leads some children to become involved in bully/victim problems at school Some neighbourhoods instil prejudiced attitudes and promote aggressive behaviour Exposure to violence through the media can induce some children to act aggressively

Two stages of intervening by school staff 1.When a teacher observes a student or group of students bullying someone and decides to intervene on the spot 2.When it is decided that further action at a later stage needs to be taken to deal with the issue – which has come to the school’s attention Developed for

What is a case of bullying? A student is being seriously harmed physically and/or psychologically by a more powerful person or group What is happening is unfair and is expected to continue unless it is stopped The target evidently does not appear to have the skills or resources to handle the situation It is decided that time and resources must be allocated to addressing what is happening. Developed for

How successful are interventions with actual cases of bullying? Developed for To answer this question approx 38,000 Australian students aged 8 to 16 years were asked: I. Whether they had ever been bullied at school II. Whether they had told anyone III. Whether they had told a teacher IV. After telling a teacher whether things improved, stayed the same or got worse (Rigby, 2008)

What happens when teachers are told? According to students, in about 50% of cases reported by students to a teacher the situation does not improve In 10% of cases the situation gets worse Interventions are less successful with older students There is a great need for intervention in cases to be improved. Developed for

Six major methods of intervening 1. The Traditional Disciplinary Method 2. Strengthening the Victim to Resist 3. Mediation 4. Restorative Practice 5. The Support Group Method 6. The Method of Shared Concern Developed for

Traditional Disciplinary Method The Traditional Disciplinary Method is commonly seen as justified when: A perpetrator is found to be responsible for the bullying He or she is deemed to deserve to be punished Developed for

The rationale The imposition of the penalty – and commonly the threat of further punishment – will deter the perpetrator from continuing to bully The punishment will send a message to other students and deter them from bullying In general, students will not dare bully It should be recognised that there are some clearly undesirable ways of carrying out this method – for instance when the penalties are arbitrary and seemingly vindictive Developed for

How the Traditional Disciplinary Method can be used more acceptably The sanctions are consistent with school rules governing behaviour - especially if the rules have been publicised and endorsed by the school community The sanctions are administered in such a way as to respect the person of the bully - and focus on the unacceptable behaviour Pains are subsequently taken to reinforce behaviour that is positive - and incompatible with a bullying style of behaving Developed for

Limitations of the Traditional Disciplinary Method At best it produces compliance and not a self-sustaining ‘change of heart’ The bullying commonly does not stop - those punished often engage in less conspicuous but equally hurtful forms of bullying It is difficult - if not impossible - to provide the necessary surveillance to ensure the victim’s safety The positive reinforcement of the bully’s supporters may be more powerful than any negative reinforcement the school can provide Developed for

The bullying is extreme or actually criminal and a disciplinary response is required There appears to be no alternative way of proceeding – as for example when non-punitive methods have been ineffective. When the disciplinary approach appears more justified Developed for

At your school do you think students who are being bullied usually approach staff members for help? When staff are told, how much help do you think they are to students? How would you handle a case of low to medium severity bullying, for example the one described in the Handling Bullying Questionnaire? Exercise – Complete the Handling Bullying Questionnaire – Compare your results with those obtained by most Australian respondents – Where you differ from most of the Australian respondents, ask yourself why Questions to discuss – and an exercise Developed for