“I’m Often Alone”: An Ethnographic Study of School Loneliness and Bullying in a Swedish Elementary School

Abstract

Background Despite extensive work to prevent and reduce bullying interactions, bullying is still a prevalent problem in many schools. Children and youth also report that they feel involuntarily left out in school. While research has demonstrated the ways in which school bullying is connected to risk factors across different ecological layers or contexts, relatively little consideration has been given to aspects beyond the individuals directly involved in bullying situations, such as the exo, and macrosystem layers. Objective The aim of this study was to examine three pupils’ experiences of school loneliness and bullying. The following questions guided the study: (1) What are the pupils’ experiences of school loneliness and bullying? (2) How can the pupils’ experiences of school loneliness and bullying be understood beyond the individuals directly involved in the bullying situations? Method The research is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at one Swedish elementary school including 34 pupils and 7 teachers in two sixth-grade classes (i.e., ages 11–12). The findings presented in this article are based on a group interview with three pupils about their experiences of school loneliness and bullying. The interview responses are put into perspective using findings from the ethnographic fieldwork. The findings were analysed using methods from constructivist grounded theory and through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development as well as critical bullying studies. Results The findings of this study demonstrate the ways bullying interactions are tied to the different layers, or “settings”, of the bullying ecology as the pupils draw from a range of differential points of reference so as to socially evaluate themselves, their classmates, and their peers. Conclusions An important conclusion of the study is for principals, teachers, and other school personnel to consider more thoroughly the interdependent interplay of the bullying ecology.