Bullying as a social process

The role of group membership in students’ perception of

inter-group aggression at school

Introduction:

Bullying is a type of peer aggression commonly occurring in school settings; it appears to represent a universal phenomenon and can be observed in nearly all school classrooms.

    It is defined as a negative intentional action aimed at causing physical and/or psychological harm to one or more students who are weaker and unable to defend themselves. Researchers usually distinguish between direct and indirect forms of bullying—i.e., between physical or verbal bullying and social isolation, denial of friendship, etc. Moreover, some authors maintain that the pervasiveness of bullying might be partly explained by group mechanisms, such as social contagion, weakening of control or inhibition of aggressive tendencies, diffusion of responsibility, etc.  For example, a preadolescent’s behavior in bullying situations seems to be more influenced by what his/her current peers in the immediate network tend to do in similar situations than by his/her own previous behavior.

        Several observational studies conducted while children freely interact in unstructured contexts, such as during recess and in outdoor play. These studies have consistently observed peer involvement in 85% of bullying episodes . Moreover, have identified six different participant roles taken on by individual children in the bullying process(victim, bully, bully reinforcer, bully assistant, defender of the victim, and outsider).

        Another study, also revealed a strong influence of group behavior on an individual child’s behavior in bullying situations.Furthermore, several studies examining peer attitudes towards bullying have underscored how most children generally disapprove of bullies and sympathize with its victims. At the same time, however, the “macho stereotype” is certainly observable in a significant minority of children (approx. 15–20%), who tend to despise victims for being weak or who admire bullies and tend to justify their behaviors .

        Moreover, as children grow older, their attitudes seem to tilt in a pro-bullying direction—a phenomenon that is particularly evident in preadolescents. Despite this knowledge about the importance of individual attitudes and peer influence, however, little empirical consideration has been focused on the attitudes and group dynamics that may underlie acertain type of intergroup conflict—i.e., when bullying is expressed in group-based behaviors directed towards an individual or members of one group by members of another

group .

The role of teachers in students’ perception of bullying

Another important issue in the study of bullying at school is the way teachers perceive bullying and the ways in which they react to bullying episodes and school fights .We agree with researchers who contend that teachers are “moral agents”, in the sense that teachers are daily called upon to make decisions with the potential of impacting their students’ moral development .As the only classroom authority figures, teachers exert a direct influence on the degree to which different behaviors are enforced or inhibited. This concept can also apply to a teacher’s actions concerning bullying episodes at school.Moreover, certain teacher personal characteristics, such as being warm, supportive, and personal, can represent a sort of social influence on both students’ perception of bullying behavior and on general school climate. For example, a strict teacher provides children with information that is consistently different from the information a more lenient teacher provides, and this factor can shape students’ behavioral strategies in class. 

       To date, however, very little attention has been focused on the relative influence of teachers’ characteristics on children’s perception of and attitudes towards aggressive

behavior and bullying—and, consequently, on student behavior in the event of aggressive conflicts. According to One study conducted it is found that teachers’ beliefs about aggression and social withdrawal, overall caring, support of students, and personal warmth all play a significant role in students’ positive and negative social behaviors. Moreover, variations in teacher attitudes and behavior lead to different classroom norms and references used by students to assess each other’s social attributes and likeability. Moreover, it is found that the high control–low warmth characteristic of teacher interaction with aggressive students conveys disapproval of these students’ behavior to the class. Conversely, teachers who are tolerant of aggression communicate their lenience to students, who may also act more positively towards aggressive peers.