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What
is bullying?
Some definitions are
very general, for example, Olweus (1986 and 1991) states
that a person is 'being bullied or victimised when he or
she is exposed repeatedly and over time, to negative actions
on the part of one or more students'. It also involves an
imbalance of power, where the victim has difficulty defending
him/herself. See the book by Olweus (1993).
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Comment
Definitions like this
cover a wide spectrum of behaviour. At one end of this spectrum
are minor incidents which may be difficult to distinguish
from normal playground
'rough and tumble'. At the other end of the spectrum is
behaviour which can cause serious and lasting damage.
(Andrew Mellor)
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Article details
D Olweus (1993) 'Bullying
at School: what we know and what we can do', Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers Limited. Click the book image to buy it online
and read some excerpts.
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Author details
Professor Dan Olweus
was the first person to carry out a thorough research project
on  bullying.
This large, long term study which began in Sweden in 1970,
was to provide the inspiration for many who felt that bullying
in schools should be challenged rather than accepted. Since
the 1970s, his work in this area had continued with force.
Indeed, in 1997-99, he led a group in a large project which
introduced the widely respected Olweus (anti-bullying) programme
to schools in Norway. Professor Olweus is based at the Research
Centre for Health Promotion, University of Bergen in Norway
and can be contacted by email.
Some definitions emphasise
group violence such as Heinemann when he explains that 'mobbing
is group violence against a deviant individual.' See Heinemann
(1973).
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Comment
The word 'deviant'
is used to mean someone who is different in some way from
the norm. This definition could cover things like racist
or homophobic bullying, as well as the bullying of someone
who differs only in being more sensitive than his or her
peers.
(Andrew Mellor)
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Article details
P P Heinemann (1973),
'Mobbing. Gruppevold blant barn og voksne', Oslo: Gylendal.
Some definitions are
written for research purposes, and are quite tight, such
as Roland's definition: 'Bullying is longstanding violence,
physical or psychological, conducted by an individual or
a group against an individual who is not able to defend
himself in the actual situation.' See the book edited by
Roland and Munthe.
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Comment
If you want to try
to find out how much bullying is going on in a school, it
is important that all the people who are asking and answering
questions use the word 'bullying' in the same way. For example,
some people might answer 'no' to the question, 'have you
ever been bullied?' because they see bullying as being physical
violence only. Other people might answer yes to the same
question because they were once subjected to some minor
name-calling, which did not upset them very much at all!
(Andrew Mellor)
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Article details
E Roland (1989) 'A
System Oriented Strategy Against Bullying', in the book:
'Bullying: an international perspective', edited by E Roland
and E Munthe. This is now out of print.
The first SCRE (The
Scottish Council for Research in Education) anti-bullying
pack describes bullying as 'the wilful, conscious desire
to hurt or threaten or frighten someone else.' See the pack
by Johnstone, Munn and Edwards (1992).
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Comment
This type of definition
helps children and adults to discuss the moral issues that
underlie bullying. Is hurting someone intentionally worse
than hurting someone accidentally? Is it 'bullying' if you
make fun of someone without meaning to hurt that person?
What if that person is very distressed but hides this from
you?
However, a definition
like this would not be used in research aimed at measuring
the incidence of bullying. It is very difficult to prove
that any bullying action was intended to cause the harm
that it did.
(Andrew Mellor)
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Article details
M Johnstone, P Munn
and L Edwards (1992), 'Action Against Bullying: a support
pack for schools', Edinburgh: Scottish Council for Research
in Education.
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Author details
 Professor
Pamela Munn is Dean of Moray House School of Education at
The University of Edinburgh. She is also Director of the
Anti-Bullying Network and the Scottish Schools Ethos Network,
which are both based at The University of Edinburgh. She
has been involved in research projects on bullying, discipline
and truancy for a number years. Among her many publications
on these topics are two major anti-bullying support packs
which were sent to all schools in Scotland and which have
received enthusiastic international attention. You may visit
the website of Moray
House School of Education and also the website of the
Scottish
Schools Ethos Network.
Some definitions are
written with a particular audience in mind and are written
in appropriate language. An example of this is Mellor's
definition for young people: 'Bullying happens when one
person or a group tries to upset another person by saying
nasty or hurtful things again and again. Sometimes bullies
hit or kick people or force them to hand over money; sometimes
they tease them again and again. The person who is being
bullied finds it difficult to stop this happening and is
worried that it will happen again. It may not be bullying
when two people of roughly the same strength have a fight
or disagreement.' See the Spotlight paper by A Mellor (1997).
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Comment
This type of definition
can be used in research, or it can be used as a starting
point in discussion with young people about the nature of
bullying. With very young children an illustrated 'story
board' could help understanding of the types of behaviour
which adults call 'bullying'.
(Andrew Mellor)
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Article details
A Mellor (1997), 'Finding
Out About Bullying', SCRE Spotlight Number 43, Edinburgh:
Scottish Council for Research in Education. This paper can
be downloaded
here or requested from the Anti-Bullying Network at
The University of Edinburgh.
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Author details
 At
the time of the study, Andrew Mellor was a practising teacher
who had received funding from the Scottish Education Department
to carry out this project. He has been actively involved
in anti-bullying work in Scotland for almost 15 years, speaking
at conferences, writing for academic and non-academic audiences
and running in-service courses for teachers. He is now manager
of the Anti-Bullying Network, which is funded by the Scottish
Executive and based at The University of Edinburgh.
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