School Bullying Prevention Program

School Bullying Prevention Program

When developing a school bullying prevention program, a range of stakeholders should be identified. In addition to teachers as the main interaction facilitators, school psychologists, parents’ committee members, and school administrators should be involved. The predominant share of communication with children should be carried out by teachers since it is they who spend most of the time with pupils and see the problems and tasks to solve more clearly than others (Gaffney et al. e1143). Therefore, at the initial stage of work, their activity is key.

First of all, teachers should not ignore or downplay the aforementioned bullying criteria. If the school develops a strategy to deal with the issue and staff agree that the problem needs to be addressed, the potential effectiveness of targeted work is increased. This is explained by the fact that even if an adult or a child is not a direct participant in the conflict, the awareness of the problem increases the ability to respond adequately (Gaffney et al. e1143). If a teacher becomes aware of a case of bullying, he or she should take a clear and unambiguous position and try to change the situation. The minimum required task to implement, in this case, comes down to convincing the witnesses and, possibly, the offender oneself of the inadmissibility of such behavior and explaining the psychological consequences for the victim. Such an intervention will clearly indicate the position of an authoritative adult regarding the problem and create the necessary precedent.

Another step in the preventive program is the organization of patronage. The system of patronage with the engagement of older students creates a communicative space that contributes to faster detection of cases of bullying and involvement of older students in resolving such situations (Prysiazhniuk et al. 186). In addition, protection from older pupils may make younger children feel more secure and confident, which is also a positive result of the targeted work.

The methods of targeted work with children should vary depending on the age of the students. For instance, children of primary school age are more amenable to education, and the problem of bullying among them is easier to solve than among older students. At this age, schoolchildren have not yet formed moral principles, and they rely on the opinion of the teacher (Von Grundherr et al. 289). As a potentially effective intervention, it is enough to conduct conversations with all participants in the conflict, show the inadmissibility of the offender’s behavior, and express an authoritative negative attitude toward what is happening. After the age of 12, the child has already formed moral beliefs, and it is more difficult to change them. The personality and authority of an adult fade into the background, and the reference group of peers comes to the fore (Von Grundherr et al. 278). Therefore, for school staff, it is essential to act subtly, shaping public opinion through more flexible interaction strategies, for instance, through individual conversations. Thus, the age of children is a critical criterion that determines the mechanism of intervention to eliminate bullying at school.

Children in the school environment are largely dependent on adults’ opinions, and the task of the school is to convey to students the unacceptability of bullying by using the most convincing methods. One of the potentially viable solutions is to engage a reputable ally. The teacher or another adult who is able to convince pupils and whose opinion is important to them should speak to the class. Respect builds trust in many ways, and for children, the importance of authority plays an essential role (Curwin et al. 35). Therefore, the more persuasive the adult is, the more likely he or she can influence student behavior effectively.