Secondary school teachers’ and pupils’ definitions of bullying in the UK: a systematic review

Abstract

The aim of the systematic review (SR) reported in this article was to compare how UK secondary school pupils and teachers define bullying, using the analytical framework proposed by Naylor et al (2006). Findings were drawn from five major studies – two quantitative, two qualitative and one using mixed methods – and suggest that teachers are much more likely than pupils to employ broader definitions and to include indirect forms of bullying. Possible additions to Naylor et al’s framework are highlighted. The SR encompassed views from 3,283 pupils and 225 teachers, and a number of modest implications for policy and practice are identified.

Association Between Experiencing Relational Bullying and Adolescent Health‐Related Quality of Life

“…With relational bullying, there may be a need for whole school and community educational programs. Teachers, parents, and students have been shown to disregard relational bullying as a form of victimization with the consequence that it is less likely to be reported and addressed within the school system . The findings presented in this paper, and especially the negative association with HRQL, demonstrates that relational bullying is a form of bullying that warrants attention as part of school‐based anti‐bullying interventions.…”

Victimization from Peer Aggression and/or Bullying: Prevalence, Overlap, and Psychosocial Characteristics

“…According to one of the most commonly accepted definitions, bullying may be characterized by a power imbalance between a perpetrator and a victim, hostile intent on behalf of the perpetrator, and a certain amount of repetitiveness (Olweus, 1996). However, while most bullying researchers would be expected to agree to descriptions along those lines, there is a notable lack of consensus about the finer details, and considerable inconsistency in the operationalization of the phenomena (Monks & Smith, 2006;O'Brien, 2009;Rigby, 2004;Turner, Finkelhor, Shattuckk, Hamby, & Mitchell, 2014). For example, in contrast to prevention measures, strict definitions of bullying have been noted to exclude sexual assaults (Turner et al, 2014) as well as serious non-repeated aggressive episodes (Finkelhor et al, 2012).…”

Reflections on a participatory research project exploring bullying and school self-exclusion: power dynamics, practicalities and partnership working

“…Given that a fundamental aspect of participatory research is shared meaning and co-construction of knowledge (Wilkinson & Wilkinson, 2018) we established a shared understanding and definition of bullying from the perspective of the research team. This was particularly important for the initial stages of the study, as research suggests that young people and adults understand bullying differently (O'Brien, 2009;Eriksen, 2018). Acknowledging this criticism in current understandings of bullying and creating the opportunity for both the young people and staff at RBAir to express their own understandings was an important mechanism for trust and relationship building during the participatory research process.…”