Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors

John McKay McGuire

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

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Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors

John McKay McGuire

Published in International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 10, Issue 2)

Received: 2 April 2021 Accepted: 13 April 2021 Published: 23 April 2021

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Abstract

Bullying and victimization are on-going major challenges in education settings internationally. Bullying is a complex phenomenon, but research on the causes of bullying behaviors has tended to focus on individual characteristics rather than school or other environmental factors. It is increasingly recognized, however, that the prevalence of bullying and victimization is likely to be affected by the school culture, particularly policies and practices related to pupils’ behavior and their interactions with their peers and teachers. Here, I discuss some of the existing evidence and uncertainties about these themes, with detailed reference to a recent, large UK study that has examined the contribution of schools’ practice and policies to bullying and victimization. This study, using multilevel analysis within the ‘dynamic model of educational effectiveness’ theoretical framework, provided some empirical evidence that cultural factors such as the level of parental and pupil engagement, and school policies relating to bullying and behavior, and teachers’ perceptions of how policies were implemented, recorded, evaluated, contribute substantially to the prevalence of bullying. As well as describing the strengths of the study design and conduct, I discuss some of the acknowledged limitations that could inform future research into the association of school cultural factors with important non-cognitive as well as cognitive pupil outcomes.

Published in	International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 10, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11
Page(s)	34-37
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bullying, School Culture, Policy

References

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John McKay McGuire. (2021). Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors. International Journal of Elementary Education, 10(2), 34-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

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John McKay McGuire. Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2021, 10(2), 34-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

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AMA Style

John McKay McGuire. Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors. Int J Elem Educ. 2021;10(2):34-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11,
  author = {John McKay McGuire},
  title = {Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors},
  journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education},
  volume = {10},
  number = {2},
  pages = {34-37},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20211002.11},
  abstract = {Bullying and victimization are on-going major challenges in education settings internationally. Bullying is a complex phenomenon, but research on the causes of bullying behaviors has tended to focus on individual characteristics rather than school or other environmental factors. It is increasingly recognized, however, that the prevalence of bullying and victimization is likely to be affected by the school culture, particularly policies and practices related to pupils’ behavior and their interactions with their peers and teachers. Here, I discuss some of the existing evidence and uncertainties about these themes, with detailed reference to a recent, large UK study that has examined the contribution of schools’ practice and policies to bullying and victimization. This study, using multilevel analysis within the ‘dynamic model of educational effectiveness’ theoretical framework, provided some empirical evidence that cultural factors such as the level of parental and pupil engagement, and school policies relating to bullying and behavior, and teachers’ perceptions of how policies were implemented, recorded, evaluated, contribute substantially to the prevalence of bullying. As well as describing the strengths of the study design and conduct, I discuss some of the acknowledged limitations that could inform future research into the association of school cultural factors with important non-cognitive as well as cognitive pupil outcomes.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors
AU  - John McKay McGuire
Y1  - 2021/04/23
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11
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JF  - International Journal of Elementary Education
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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AB  - Bullying and victimization are on-going major challenges in education settings internationally. Bullying is a complex phenomenon, but research on the causes of bullying behaviors has tended to focus on individual characteristics rather than school or other environmental factors. It is increasingly recognized, however, that the prevalence of bullying and victimization is likely to be affected by the school culture, particularly policies and practices related to pupils’ behavior and their interactions with their peers and teachers. Here, I discuss some of the existing evidence and uncertainties about these themes, with detailed reference to a recent, large UK study that has examined the contribution of schools’ practice and policies to bullying and victimization. This study, using multilevel analysis within the ‘dynamic model of educational effectiveness’ theoretical framework, provided some empirical evidence that cultural factors such as the level of parental and pupil engagement, and school policies relating to bullying and behavior, and teachers’ perceptions of how policies were implemented, recorded, evaluated, contribute substantially to the prevalence of bullying. As well as describing the strengths of the study design and conduct, I discuss some of the acknowledged limitations that could inform future research into the association of school cultural factors with important non-cognitive as well as cognitive pupil outcomes.
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Author Information

John McKay McGuire

School of Education, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom

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APA Style

John McKay McGuire. (2021). Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors. International Journal of Elementary Education, 10(2), 34-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

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ACS Style

John McKay McGuire. Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2021, 10(2), 34-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

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AMA Style

John McKay McGuire. Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors. Int J Elem Educ. 2021;10(2):34-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11,
  author = {John McKay McGuire},
  title = {Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors},
  journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education},
  volume = {10},
  number = {2},
  pages = {34-37},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20211002.11},
  abstract = {Bullying and victimization are on-going major challenges in education settings internationally. Bullying is a complex phenomenon, but research on the causes of bullying behaviors has tended to focus on individual characteristics rather than school or other environmental factors. It is increasingly recognized, however, that the prevalence of bullying and victimization is likely to be affected by the school culture, particularly policies and practices related to pupils’ behavior and their interactions with their peers and teachers. Here, I discuss some of the existing evidence and uncertainties about these themes, with detailed reference to a recent, large UK study that has examined the contribution of schools’ practice and policies to bullying and victimization. This study, using multilevel analysis within the ‘dynamic model of educational effectiveness’ theoretical framework, provided some empirical evidence that cultural factors such as the level of parental and pupil engagement, and school policies relating to bullying and behavior, and teachers’ perceptions of how policies were implemented, recorded, evaluated, contribute substantially to the prevalence of bullying. As well as describing the strengths of the study design and conduct, I discuss some of the acknowledged limitations that could inform future research into the association of school cultural factors with important non-cognitive as well as cognitive pupil outcomes.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Reducing Bullying in Schools- a Critique of Recent Evidence for the Role of Cultural Factors
AU  - John McKay McGuire
Y1  - 2021/04/23
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11
T2  - International Journal of Elementary Education
JF  - International Journal of Elementary Education
JO  - International Journal of Elementary Education
SP  - 34
EP  - 37
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7640
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211002.11
AB  - Bullying and victimization are on-going major challenges in education settings internationally. Bullying is a complex phenomenon, but research on the causes of bullying behaviors has tended to focus on individual characteristics rather than school or other environmental factors. It is increasingly recognized, however, that the prevalence of bullying and victimization is likely to be affected by the school culture, particularly policies and practices related to pupils’ behavior and their interactions with their peers and teachers. Here, I discuss some of the existing evidence and uncertainties about these themes, with detailed reference to a recent, large UK study that has examined the contribution of schools’ practice and policies to bullying and victimization. This study, using multilevel analysis within the ‘dynamic model of educational effectiveness’ theoretical framework, provided some empirical evidence that cultural factors such as the level of parental and pupil engagement, and school policies relating to bullying and behavior, and teachers’ perceptions of how policies were implemented, recorded, evaluated, contribute substantially to the prevalence of bullying. As well as describing the strengths of the study design and conduct, I discuss some of the acknowledged limitations that could inform future research into the association of school cultural factors with important non-cognitive as well as cognitive pupil outcomes.
VL  - 10
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download