Understanding the role of bystanders and peer support in school bullying

Research into school bullying has traditionally focussed on the actual protagonists – the perpetrators and the targets. Consequently, we know a great deal about the psychological characteristics of bullies and victims and the consequences of bullying in undermining the emotional well-being of both targets and perpetrators. While an understanding of the personal aspects of the bully-victim relationship is important, it only addresses part of the issue. Bullying is experienced within a group of peers who adopt different participant roles and who experience a range of emotions. In this article, I argue that bullies do not act alone but rely on reinforcement from their immediate group of friends as well as the tacit approval of the onlookers. This article explores the conflicting emotions often experienced by the bystanders. It also makes some suggestions about interventions to empower bystanders to take action against bullying through, for example, such interventions as peer support.peer-reviewe

Coping with the emotional impact of bullying and cyberbullying : how research can inform practice

Despite more than two decades of anti-bullying initiatives in schools, children and young people regularly mention relationships within the peer group as the major factor that causes them to feel unsafe at school. The situation is complicated by the fact that these interpersonal safety issues are actually generated by the peer group and often in contexts that are difficult for adults to control. The recent upsurge of cyberbullying is a case in point. Teachers and parents often feel powerless to intervene in the private world that children and young people create for themselves. This article explores the strategies that are commonly recommended for dealing with cyberbullying and examines what research tells us about their effectiveness. The conclusion is that, whatever the value of technological tools for tackling cyberbullying, we cannot avoid the fact that this is also an interpersonal problem. The implication for practice is that we already know many approaches for preventing and reducing cyberbullying and should build on this knowledge rather than treating the issue as something completely new.peer-reviewe

Tackling cyberbullying: A cross-cultural comparison

This article examines cyberbullying in the UK and Japan and compares the steps that each country is taking to address the issue by exploring the general principles through which central government, parents, charities, teachers, students and ICT providers in each country are working together. It also suggests that peer support schemes have a unique contribution to make and that an emphasis on peer group relationships and processes of collaboration with young people offer useful ways forward. It is essential to acknowledge that the problem is multi-dimensional and without a full understanding of the complex ways in which young people relate to one another it is unlikely that cyberbullying will be reduced

Coping with the emotional impact of bullying and cyberbullying : how research can inform practice

Despite more than two decades of anti-bullying initiatives in schools, children and young people regularly mention relationships within the peer group as the major factor that causes them to feel unsafe at school. The situation is complicated by the fact that these interpersonal safety issues are actually generated by the peer group and often in contexts that are difficult for adults to control. The recent upsurge of cyberbullying is a case in point. Teachers and parents often feel powerless to intervene in the private world that children and young people create for themselves. This article explores the strategies that are commonly recommended for dealing with cyberbullying and examines what research tells us about their effectiveness. The conclusion is that, whatever the value of technological tools for tackling cyberbullying, we cannot avoid the fact that this is also an interpersonal problem. The implication for practice is that we already know many approaches for preventing and reducing cyberbullying and should build on this knowledge rather than treating the issue as something completely new.peer-reviewe

Colonizing science: nature and nations in the Spanish world, c.1750-1850

This thesis examines the development ofnatural history in the Spanish Empire (1750-1850). I explore why the Spanish Crown promoted scientific institutions and expeditions in the second halfofthe eighteenth century, and I situate Spanish engagement with natural history within an imperial context. One Spanish commentator, scrutinising the contents ofthe Real Gabinete de Historia Natural in 1788, gloried that 'we have seen form this immense collection of singularities ofnature, brought at considerable expense, not only from all regions ofEurope, but also from Asia, Africa and America; so that all parts ofthe world may contribute to forming the most complete treasure ofNatural History that exists in the Universe'. I suggest that Spain's capacity to procure and exhibit exotic natural treasures reflected the potency ofher imperial structures. I also address the social, religious and economic benefits associated with the classification, collection and cultivation of natural objects. I am especially interested in the part that Spanish Americans played in this process, and the ways in which the development ofthe natural sciences on the imperial periphery intersected with the evolution of creole patriotism in the late colonial period. I consider how the creation, legitimisation and dissemination of scientific knowledge reflected broader questions of imperial power and national identity. I examine the ambiguous position ofcreole naturalists, who were simultaneously anxious to secure European recognition for their work, to celebrate the natural wealth oftheir homelands and, in some cases, to vindicate local forms of knowledge against purportedly universal European systems such as Linnaean botany, and I extend this analysis beyond independence, asking whether political freedom fomented or compromised the pursuit of natural history in the former colonies

Peer support in school

This monograph grew out of the keynote address that I gave to the ENSEC Conference in Budapest in 2019. From this experience and the discussions that took place in the course of the conference and afterwards, I discovered that the peer support literature continues to encourage many productive debates on such issues as the tensions between pro-social behavior and moral disengagement, competing pressures on young people to be either passive bystanders or proactive upstanders, conditions that inhibit or promote resilience in individuals and groups, and social factors that facilitate inclusion or exclusion, xenophilia or xenophobia. With such a wide sweep, it is not surprising to note that peer support is expressed in different ways depending on the cultural context in which it evolves. In the present monograph, the focus is on peer supporters in their capacity i) to offer emotional help to children and young people who are the targets of bullying or cyberbullying and ii) to facilitate change in the social and emotional climate of the school, college or university, in other words, throughout the lifespan of education. ‘Peer support’ is an umbrella term that covers a whole range of interventions. Many studies highlight the benefits of a peer support system but, since they vary widely in their definitions of peer support and in the ways in which it is implemented, it can be difficult to make comparisons between one scheme and another. I am proud to have this opportunity to offer this overview of a method that has evolved over time and has adapted itself to new challenges in our changing world.peer-reviewe

Book reviews

Book review

Hostigamiento Escolar: su naturaleza y cómo prevenirlo

Estamos viviendo en una época en la que el hostigamiento escolar es percibido como un problema internacional. Desde la mitad del siglo XX, el hostigamiento ha sido visto como una violación de los derechos humanos fundamentales de los niños, especialmente sus derechos a la seguridad física, integridad psicológica y bienestar. Ha habido también una preocupación creciente por comprender la naturaleza del hostigamiento y encontrar maneras constructivas de reducirlo y, en la medida de lo posible, prevenirlo

Upotreba participativnih metoda u istraživanju iskustava djece i mladih

Participatory research methods offer a very promising approach for gaining in-depth understanding of young people’s lives. However, when adopting such approaches, researchers need to be aware of methodological and theoretical issues. The aim of this article is to present a discussion of ways in which participatory methods may be used as a research strategy when investigating young people’s experiences and emotions. We explore the potential of these methods as well as some of their limitations.Participativne istraživačke metode nude vrlo obećavajući pristup dubinskom razumijevanju života mladih. Prilikom upotrebe takvih metoda istraživači trebaju biti svjesni metodoloških i teorijskih nedoumica. Cilj ovog članka je raspraviti o načinima na koji participativne metode mogu biti korištene kao strategija za istraživanje iskustava i emocija mladih. U radu će biti istražen potencijal tih metoda, kao i njihova ograničenja

A Tale of Two Anteaters: Madrid 1776 and London 1853

In 1776, the first living giant anteater to reach Europe arrived in Madrid from Buenos Aires. It survived 6 months in the Real Sitio del Buen Retiro before being transferred to the newly founded Real Gabinete de Historia Natural. In 1853,77 years later, a second anteater was brought to London by two German showmen and exhibited at a shop in Bloomsbury, where it was visited by the novelist Charles Dickens. The animal was subsequently purchased by the Zoological Society of London,which classed it as one of the most important additions to the menagerie since its formation in 1828. Drawing on recent work in animal biography, this article assesses the reception of the two anteaters and considers their cultural and scientific significance. I examine the logistics of the exotic animal trade and trace the transatlantic networks that permitted anteaters—and knowledge about them—to move between continents. I also study the modes of representation, from painting to taxidermy, that enabled the anteaters to reach new audiences. By focusing in detail on the lives of two exceptional anteaters, the article illuminates understandings of the species more broadly and shows how different spaces and places shaped the creation and dissemination of zoological knowledge. I emphasise, in particular, the tensions that emerged between imperial and colonial science and the competing knowledge regimes of the natural history museum, the menagerie,and the field