Conceptualizing and counteracting the bullying dynamic: Classroom and school contexts matter

Guided by the social-ecological conceptualization of bullying, this thesis examines the implications of classroom and school contexts—that is, students’ shared microsystems—for peer-to-peer bullying and antibullying practices. Included are four original publications, three of which are empirical studies utilizing data from a large Finnish sample of students in the upper grade levels of elementary school. Both self- and peer reports of bullying and victimization are utilized, and the hierarchical nature of the data collected from students nested within school ecologies is accounted for by multilevel modeling techniques. The first objective of the thesis is to simultaneously examine risk factors for victimization at individual, classroom, and school levels (Study I). The second objective is to uncover the individual- and classroom-level working mechanisms of the KiVa antibullying program which has been shown to be effective in reducing bullying problems in Finnish schools (Study II). Thirdly, an overview of the extant literature on classroom- and school-level contributions to bullying and victimization is provided (Study III). Finally, attention is paid to the assessment of victimization and, more specifically, to how the classroom context influences the concordance between self- and peer reports of victimization (Study IV). Findings demonstrate the multiple ways in which contextual factors, and importantly students’ perceptions thereof, contribute to the bullying dynamic and efforts to counteract it. Whereas certain popular beliefs regarding the implications of classroom and school contexts do not receive support, the role of peer contextual factors and the significance of students’ perceptions of teachers’ attitudes toward bullying are highlighted. Directions for future research and school-based antibullying practices are suggested.Luokka- ja koulukonteksteilla on väliä Kiusaamisen sosioekologisen käsitteellistämisen ohjaamana tämä väitöskirja tarkastelee luokka- ja koulukontekstien – oppilaiden yhteisten mikrosysteemien – merkityksiä vertaisten välillä tapahtuvalle kiusaamiselle ja kiusaamisenvastaisille toimenpiteille. Väitöskirja käsittää neljä alkuperäistä julkaisua. Näistä kolme ovat empiirisiä tutkimuksia, jotka perustuvat alakoulun ylempien luokka-asteiden oppilaista koostuvaan laajaan suomalaiseen aineistoon. Tutkimuksissa käytetään sekä oppilaiden itsearvioita että toveriarvioita kiusaamisesta ja kiusatuksi joutumisesta, ja koulumaailmaan sijoittuvan oppilasaineiston hierarkkinen luonne huomioidaan monitasomallinnuksen keinoin. Väitöskirjan ensimmäinen tavoite on samanaikaisesti tutkia yksilö-, luokka- ja koulutason riskitekijöiden yhteyksiä kiusatuksi joutumiseen (julkaisu I). Toisena tavoitteena on selvittää yksilö- ja luokkatason mekanismit, jotka selittävät kiusaamisenvastaisen KiVa Koulu -ohjelman vaikuttavuutta suomalaisissa kouluissa (julkaisu II). Kolmanneksi luodaan katsaus tähänastiseen tutkimukseen luokka- ja koulukontekstien merkityksistä kiusaamiselle ja kiusatuksi joutumiselle (julkaisu III). Lopuksi huomio kiinnitetään kiusaamisen mittaamiseen ja tarkemmin sanottuna siihen, miten luokkakonteksi vaikuttaa kiusatuksi joutumisen itsearvioiden ja toveriarvioiden yhteneväisyyteen (julkaisu IV). Tutkimustulokset ilmentävät niitä moninaisia merkityksiä, joita konteksteilla – ja erityisesti oppilaiden omilla käsityksillä konteksteistaan – on kiusaamisen dynamiikalle ja siihen puuttumiselle. Siinä missä jotkin yleiset uskomukset luokka- ja koulukontekstien vaikutuksista eivät saa tukea, tuloksissa korostuvat vertaisryhmän sosiaalisten tekijöiden vaikutukset sekä sen tärkeys, miten oppilaat uskovat opettajiensa suhtautuvan kiusaamiseen. Tulevaisuuden suuntaviivoja esitetään kiusaamisen tutkimukselle ja kiusaamisenvastaisille toimenpiteille kouluissa.Siirretty Doriast

Telling adults about one's plight as a victim of bullying: Student- and context-related factors predicting disclosure

We examined student‐ and context‐related factors related to whether bullied students tell adults about their plight at school or at home. The sample included 1,266 students in primary (Grades 4–6) and lower secondary (Grades 8–9) schools, who had answered an online questionnaire at two measurement points about 5 months apart and were identified as victims of bullying on the basis of the latter. Only 55.4% of the bullied students had told their situation to someone, and much fewer had told an adult. Telling an adult at home was more common (34.0%) than telling a teacher (20.6%) or some other adult at school (12.7%). In a longitudinal structural equation model (SEM), factors related to increased likelihood of telling an adult were female gender, lower grade level, the chronicity of victimization, perceived negative teacher attitude towards bullying (teacher not tolerating bullying), and perceived peer support for victims (classmates’ tendency to defend students who are victimized).</p

Estudio de casos: tensiones y desafíos en la elaboración de la normativa escolar en Chile

Resumen La convivencia escolar es un escenario que ha estado en la reflexión y ha sido transversal en las distintas esferas educativas en los últimos años. De hecho, en el año 2011, el Ministerio de Educación estableció la Ley de Violencia Escolar como una forma de diseñar e implementar líneas de acción que propendan a fortalecer la relación entre los miembros de la comunidad educativa contribuyendo con ello a propiciar un ambiente que permita el desarrollo armónico de todos los actores educativos que forman parte del centro escolar. Con referencia a lo anterior, se realizó un estudio de casos de carácter interpretativo el cual consideró una intervención socioeducativa en un centro escolar público con la finalidad de implementar de manera representativa un marco normativo para la convivencia escolar armónica con la participación de todos los agentes educativos, considerando para ello los diversos significados y comportamientos indagados y consensuados, de manera de hacer un aporte al ámbito escolar, contribuyendo por ende al cumplimiento de los objetivos propuestos por el Ministerio de Educación de Chile. Las etapas contempladas en la investigación permitieron ir explorando y sistematizando los aportes de los participantes destacando aquellos acuerdos asociados a los comportamientos evidenciados y que son frecuentes en el centro educativo (disruptivos, psicológico o físico), con el objeto de incorporarlos en la política reguladora de las conductas escolares y conformar con ello un marco conductual que aporte a una convivencia armoniosa en el centro educativo

Classroom- and school-level contributions to bullying and victimization: A review

School bullying is increasingly viewed by researchers as a group phenomenon that extends beyond the perpetrator-victim dyad and is embedded in the wider social context. This paper reviews the literature on classroom and school factors contributing to bullying and victimization among children and adolescents. Considerable variability in the prevalence of these problems exists between classrooms and schools, which are highly relevant contexts for students' social development. Along with individual characteristics, both classroom- and school-related factors explain the bullying dynamic. The contexts may also exacerbate, or buffer against, the effects of individual-level risk for bullying involvement and the consequences of victimization. We discuss findings on the contributions of demographic and structural characteristics (e.g. grade level, classroom and school size), peer contextual factors (e.g. status hierarchy, group norms and bystander behaviours) and the role of teachers. Finally, implications for research and school-based antibullying programs are considered

Classroom- and school-level contributions to bullying and victimization : A review

School bullying is increasingly viewed by researchers as a group phenomenon that extends beyond the perpetrator-victim dyad and is embedded in the wider social context. This paper reviews the literature on classroom and school factors contributing to bullying and victimization among children and adolescents. Considerable variability in the prevalence of these problems exists between classrooms and schools, which are highly relevant contexts for students' social development. Along with individual characteristics, both classroom- and school-related factors explain the bullying dynamic. The contexts may also exacerbate, or buffer against, the effects of individual-level risk for bullying involvement and the consequences of victimization. We discuss findings on the contributions of demographic and structural characteristics (e.g. grade level, classroom and school size), peer contextual factors (e.g. status hierarchy, group norms and bystander behaviours) and the role of teachers. Finally, implications for research and school-based antibullying programs are considered