“Is Sarah a Bully or a Friend?”: Examining Students’ Text-based Written Expressions of Bullying

Bullying has been recognized as a complex phenomenon with potential for serious negative outcomes. Activities that address complex social situations of bullying, such as reading and writing to a pen pal about fictional literature, provide space for students to think and share about personal issues that they encounter and how characters deal with similar issues in productive ways. For this research, we used a critical literacy lens to explore bullying within the context of language, power and context. This research shares qualitative analysis of letters students wrote to adult pen pals after reading a fictional book with a plot addressing bullying. Letters from 32 students were analyzed and four themes emerged: 1) text-based interpretations about bullying; 2) personal experiences and perspectives about bullying; 3) bullying in relation to friendship and social positioning; and 4) lessons learned for addressing bullying via action and advocacy

An Examination of Adult Bullying in the K-12 Workplace: Implications for School Leaders

The issue of bullying in K-12 schools usually brings images of students to mind, but a recent quantitative study of a sample from K-12 school personnel in Michigan showed that 27.8% of adults in the K-12 workplace consider themselves the target of an adult bully. This study calls for school leadership to recognize and proactively address the issue of workplace bullying in K-12 schools through policy, procedures, training, prevention, enforcement, and positive resolution to provide a safe, non-threatening environment in which to work and learn

Childhood obesity and educational attainment : A systematic review

Background This report describes the findings and methods of a systematic review of research which explores the relationship between obesity and educational attainment. It has been conducted at a time of great concern about levels of obesity in the UK, and the negative physical, psychological and social impacts of obesity. Current research suggests that there may be a relationship between obesity and poor educational attainment. It is likely that obesity and poor school performance are elements of a broader picture of inequalities in health and education, whereby disadvantaged socio-economic groups tend to have poorer health and lower levels of education. However, it is possible that other factors influence obesity and attainment, such as gender, discrimination and poor mental and emotional well-being. This systematic review was therefore commissioned to address the question: What do we know about the relationship between childhood obesity and educational attainment, from the research literature? In order that our review might be informed by those closest to observing any interaction between obesity and attainment, we sought the perspectives of teachers and young people to identify the causal pathways that seemed most pertinent to them. Findings Is there a statistical association between obesity and educational attainment? While often conflicting, an overall pattern emerges from the research evidence suggesting that there is a weak negative association between obesity and educational attainment in children and young people; i.e. that higher weight is associated with lower educational attainment. Obesity is also associated with other variables, such as socio-economic status, and when these other variables are taken into consideration, the association between obesity and attainment becomes still weaker, and often loses statistical significance. To what extent does the research evidence explore the influence of the broader determinants of health, and in particular socio-economic position, in explaining any link between obesity and attainment? Place of residence, ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, education, socio-economic status (SES) and social capital were all explored as potential moderating variables in the included research. Twenty-three of 29 studies used a measure of socio-economic status as a moderating variable. Various factors appear to contribute to low educational attainment to some extent, although given the variation in definitions, analyses and quality of data, it is impossible to point to any causative or definite risk factors. Authors of the included studies have posited theories suggesting that the link between obesity and educational attainment is moderated by individual and societal factors. Does the research evidence support or refute these? Most studies explored the influence of obesity upon attainment. Only two studies examined the influence of attainment upon obesity. Many authors suggested multiple causal pathways, many of which remained untested in their studies. The moderating variables used in statistical analyses of the relationship between obesity and attainment were not consistent with the causal pathways proposed, which is probably a reflection of the constraints imposed upon authors conducting secondary analyses of pre-existing datasets (i.e. they made use of existing variables, rather than collecting their own, tailored data). The most frequently cited factors resulting from obesity and impacting upon educational attainment were poor mental health, stigmatisation and discrimination, disordered sleep, decreased time spent in physical activity and socialising, and absenteeism. Different perspectives on obesity and attainment Few young people initially thought that obesity and educational attainment were associated. However, they considered obesity and educational attainment to be of importance to young people. Young people considered parental influence and circumstances, including family income and poverty, and bullying and emotional health to be the most important factors which might explain an association between obesity and educational attainment. Most teachers said that there was an association between obesity and educational attainment. Bullying, low self-esteem and emotional well-being, poverty and poor diet, and physical activity were commonly cited by teachers as being the most important and credible mediating variables in this association. Teachers also considered gender, ethnicity and parental influence to be important factors. While researchers, teachers and young people identified causal pathways whereby low academic attainment resulted from poor mental and emotional health among obese children and young people, only four studies adjusted for mental and emotional health variables. This may represent a significant divergence in the perspectives of researchers and stakeholders. Alternatively, it may be that in the 23 studies which conducted a secondary analysis of an existing dataset, such data were not available to the authors. Another divergence concerns the impact of reduced participation in sports and social activities. While teachers and young people located this within a broader framework of isolation and lower socialisation suffered by obese children – and thus felt reduced sports participation would result in lower attainment – three studies in the included research proposed a causal pathway in which reduced participation in sports and social activities might lead to increased time spent studying and hence higher attainment

Bullying in a networked era: a literature review

This research update presents an aggregation and summary of recent academic literature on youth bullying. The purpose of this document is to “translate” scholarly research for a concerned public audience, which may include but is not limited to parents, caregivers, educators, and practitioners. This translation highlights recent findings and developments in the literature and makes them accessible to the informed but non-expert reader. The document’s two guiding questions are “What is bullying?” (Section I) and “What can be done about bullying?” (Section II). Section I begins with a brief overview of key definitions and related research conversations and then addresses bullying’s prevalence, the types of individuals involved in bullying, the characteristics of individuals involved and the consequences of their involvement, and community-level dynamics related to bullying. Section II covers four areas where action has been taken to address problems associated with bullying – school policy, curricula, school climate, and parents – and ends on a note about approaches that mix or cut across these areas. The purpose is to render lessons learned from research and assessment accessible to those interested in deepening or expanding their knowledge of bullying-related issues

Research and Practice in Transition: Improving Support and Advocacy of Transgender Middle School Students

In this essay, our purposes are to inspire particular avenues of future research addressing Transgender students, in middle school in particular, and to inform the professional development of teachers in support of these Transgender youth. In relation to the ways in which research can more authentically represent Transgender identity, we argue for the use of Transgender theory as a guiding framework for research addressing Transgender students, issues, and needs. We also describe the particular affordances of qualitative, ethnographic, and phenomenological studies in capturing the unique and highly personal experiences and realities of Transgender individuals, and specifically, in middle school. We then discuss how schools are structured socially and politically along heteronormative and cisnormative lines, presenting a stumbling block for Transgender rights advocacy in educational contexts. Finally, we review the potential of teachers to be the necessary educational change agents to spur greater understanding of and advocacy for students’ gender inclusivity

Changing perceptions of preservice teachers : innovations in middle schooling teacher education

For the past twenty years, the disengagement of early adolescents has been the focus of much of the literature related to middle schooling. In response, some universities in Australia have introduced teacher education programs that focus upon graduating specialised middle schooling teachers. Constructing such programs is at the centre of much debate and discussion, however, it is advocated that positive futures for early adolescents can be enhanced through quality middle schooling teacher education programs (Education Queensland, 2004). At a Queensland university campus, middle schooling elective units were introduced as part of the Bachelor of Education (primary) degree. The design of the units was to support preservice teachers to gain the theoretical and pedagogical knowledge to engage and promote early adolescent learning. An innovative approach to the delivery of the units was promoted by a partnership agreement between local schools and the campus. The partnership allowed preservice teachers to combine university classes with opportunities to visit exemplary classrooms to observe, participate and reflect upon middle school teaching practices. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the 38 first-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their first middle schooling elective unit and to ascertain whether the combination of university classes and school-based experiences assisted their development of middle schooling concepts and approaches. Data were gathered using pre-test and post-test questionnaires combined with guided written reflections to record their views before, after and during the unit delivery. Results indicated that initially 34 preservice teachers had little understanding of middle schooling concepts and pedagogical practices, however, 11 participants recognised that bullying and peer pressure were issues experienced by early adolescents. The collation of the written reflections supported the combined delivery of the middle years unit further supporting the inclusion of school experiences with university delivered units

Moving from Inaction to Action: Challenging Homo- and Transphobia in Middle School English Language Arts

What happens when teachers have opportunities to engage in LGBTQ-affirming practices but choose not to? In the following paper, the authors present a vignette from a middle school context and consider ways to challenge silences to support LGBTQ students in middle school English classrooms. The authors provide discussion and resources to help teachers engage in LGBTQ affirming practices with middle school students