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What
can be done to raise awareness?
According to an English
anti-bullying pack ('Bullying - Don't Suffer in Silence')
there are a number of ways in which a school can raise awareness
about bullying. One of the main ways is to involve teaching
and non-teaching staff and families in a whole school anti-bullying
policy. This requires discussion about bullying, with all
groups coming together to agree on a definition and ways
of tackling it in the school. After this agreement, the
policy could be promoted in a variety of ways, for example
in assemblies and in the curriculum. Indeed the curriculum
can be used to raise awareness of bullying and the school's
policy, but also to look at related issues such as positive
relationships.
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Article details
Department for Education
and Employment (Revised 2002) 'Bullying - Don't Suffer in
Silence. An Anti-Bullying Pack for Schools', London: Department
for Education and Employment. This pack can be found on
the DFES
website.
A major anti-bullying
programme, the Bullying Prevention Programme, was originally
developed in Scandinavia and is now used in schools in many
different countries. An important part of the Programme
is raising awareness of bullying, not just within the school
but outside too (involving parents in particular). One of
the first steps in doing this is to administer the Olweus
Bully/Victim Questionnaire to find out about the extent,
frequency and nature of bullying in school. The results
can be used to make pupils, staff and parents aware of the
extent of bullying in the school and so encourage commitment
and action. Through a school conference day, regular class
meetings about bullying and meetings with parents, the school
can help to ensure that the results are widely known and
that action against bullying remains a priority.
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Article details
D Olweus, S Limber
and S F Mihalic, 'History and Description of the Bullying
Prevention Program' in 'Blueprints for Violence Prevention',
The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. This paper can be
downloaded
here.
The information in
this paper was taken from D Olweus, S Limber and S F Mihalic
(1999) 'Blueprints for Violence Prevention. Book Nine: Bullying
Prevention Program', Boulder, CO: Center for the Study and
Prevention of Violence.
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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.
The anti-bullying
pack sent to all schools in Scotland ('Action Against Bullying')
describes ways in which a school can tackle bullying. An
important part of the programme is raising awareness. This
can be approached in a number of ways, including discussion
with all staff and pupils when developing an anti-bullying
policy. Using the policy in the curriculum (for example
in the social education programme) can help focus the mind
of teachers and pupils on the issue. Other approaches include
surveys of pupils and teachers to find out more about the
extent and understanding of the problem within the individual
school and also poster/leaflet campaigns.
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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.
According to a Scottish
anti-bullying pack ('Bullyproofing Our School') there are
a number of ways in which a school can raise awareness of
the bullying issue. These include: setting up a special
task force; raising the issue at assemblies; organising
parent groups; having poster campaigns, carrying out surveys
to find out what's happening in the school; inviting older
children to talk to younger ones and covering the issue
in the school magazine.
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Article details
A McLean (1994) 'Background
Reading for Schools', book 8 in the pack 'Bullyproofing
Our School. Promoting Positive Relationships', Strathclyde
Regional Council, Department of Education. This article
can be viewed here.
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 Author
details
At
the time of this study, Alan McLean was Principal Psychologist
based at the Education Department Psychological Service
in the former Strathclyde Regional Council. His particular
interests in the area of bullying include: links between
bullying and motivation; the thinking processes and self-esteem
of the bully.
He can be contacted
at by email.
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