Beyond bullying: creating positive school environments
Bullying comes in many forms and can affect everyone in the school community. A whole school approach is needed to prevent bullying and foster positive school relationships.
There has been considerable media coverage over recent years about the prevalence of bullying in schools, particularly the increasing incidence of cyber bullying. According to the recent Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (May 2009), one in six Australian students are bullied on a weekly basis and one in 10 students are actively bullying others.
What is bullying?
It is important for schools to educate students about the difference between conflict and bullying. Conflict is a disagreement where one or more parties’ needs are not being met. Conflict occurs in all relationships and is healthy if resolved respectfully, whereas bullying is the sustained harassment or discrimination of an individual.
According to the “Bullying, No Way!” website, bullying may be physical (hitting, kicking, pinching), verbal (name-calling, teasing), psychological (standover tactics, gestures), social (social exclusion, rumours, putdowns) or sexual (physical, verbal or nonverbal sexual conduct) and may be done directly (e.g. face-to-face) or indirectly (e.g. via mobiles or the internet)’.
In Catholic schools in the Diocese of Parramatta anti-bullying strategies are a part of a broader approach to developing positive school environments.
Teaching positive social skills
Catholic education is not only about learning the formal curriculum but also about ‘responding to the invitation to faith’, the students ‘learning to know themselves’ and to learn ‘the interpersonal, intrapersonal and other skills necessary to be a contributing member of society’ (Statement on learning, 2009).
Jan Heyworth, head of Religious Education and Learning Services, Catholic Education Office (CEO), says that a holistic approach to learning, including social and emotional learning, is critical to the full human development of the child.
‘Learning how to relate to one another respectfully is one way that our Catholic values are lived out in daily life,’ said Jan. ‘Teaching positive social skills to students, as part of the school’s curriculum, lays a good foundation for school communities to create positive and nurturing learning environments where bullying is less likely to occur.’
John Penny, manager of student services, CEO said bullying is contrary to the values and mission of Catholic schools.
‘Any type of bullying in Catholic schools is contrary to our Gospel values of justice, forgiveness and compassion,’ said John. ‘In implementing anti-bullying approaches, Catholic schools must also focus on creating communities that reflect these values.’
‘Schools need to adopt an approach of inclusion, develop clear expectations about student behaviour, teach expected behaviours and establish consistent consequences for misbehaviour,’ said John.
Beyond Bullying program
The Parramatta CEO has partnered with researchers from University of Western Sydney (UWS) to understand the psychology behind bullying and discover ways schools can effectively deal with an incidences that arise.
Dr Roberto Parada, school psychologist, CEO and researcher at the University of Western Sydney, piloted new anti-bullying intervention methods in an extensive two-year study involving more than 6,000 students from Catholic primary and secondary schools in the Diocese of Parramatta. The study showed that a year after the implementation of intervention methods, participating schools showed significantly reduced rates of bullying and reports of students being bullied.
The study found three keys to success:
- instruct teachers in how to prevent and manage bullying
- show children how they can make a real difference in putting a stop to bullying
- educate parents about the nature of bullying and what role they can take
According to Dr Parada, bullying needs to be approached as a behavioural issue, just like other behavioural issues that may occur at school.
‘Children need to be taught why and how to get along with one another and how to resolve disputes appropriately,’ said Dr Parada.
The Beyond Bullying program, which is available to all schools in the Parramatta diocese, is designed to empower teachers, students and parents to work together to address bullying at school. The first step is the development of a proactive whole-school policy that outlines a clear procedure for managing bullying incidents. It also outlines educational programs for students and ways to inform parents about the nature of the policy and foster their support.
At the heart of the program is a teacher intervention that involves reinforcing positive peer interactions and creating an anti-bullying program across all key learning areas. Students are actively engaged in creating and shaping a positive school environment. A cross-curricular program is aimed at raising awareness of the issues of bullying and teaching students positive self-management skills.
Parental support of the program is crucial and schools work closely with parents to keep them informed through parent workshops and educational resources.
In addition to programs like Beyond Bullying, schools use a variety of strategies to educate students about the effects of bullying and to promote positive behaviours.
Modelling positive behaviours
Cerdon College, Merrylands holds a Good Citizenship Day each year when guest speakers come to talk to Year 9 students about a range of issues including protective behaviours and cyber bullying. The local police run a workshop on cyber bullying which the school is also involved in and this year, they are looking to implement a new strategy in the school to combat cyber bullying. Guidance coordinators regularly examine bullying with their guidance classes and every year, Year 7 and 8 students watch a play about bullying and discuss the issues raised.
St Paul the Apostle Primary, Winston Hills uses a range of initiatives to help students understand their responsibilities to create a safe school environment.
The school has implemented a REST (Respect Everyone, Solving problems Together) program where students learn social skills such as taking turns, negotiating and compromising, as well as self-esteem, confidence and behaviour management.
In addition, the school uses mascots called the “Invaluables” to model positive behaviour. The mascots are Inclusett who reminds students how to be a good friend; Integrador, a super hero who fights against bullying and reminds students how to create a bully-free school; and Internator, a computer wiz who helps students learn about Internet safety.
St Paul the Apostle principal, Christine Gibson said creating a safe and happy environment for students was an important focus for the whole school community.
‘Keeping children safe and making them feel secure is a shared responsibility between parents, teachers and students,’ said Christine.
What can parents do?
Building a safe and positive school environment relies on the involvement of parents in partnership with the school. School psychologist Dr Roberto Parada offers the following advice for parents:
- talk to your child about the different degrees of bullying. Explain the differences between conflict and bullying, harassment or discrimination
- if your child is being called names by other children, ask them if they know the meaning of the names and how it makes them feel. Get them to challenge their own negative self-talk
- if you believe your child is being bullied (emotionally or physically), notify the school as soon as possible, as they may not even be aware of the situation. Students are more likely to tell their close friends first, then their parents and then the school
Useful resources
There are many resources available to assist schools and families with incidence of bullying including:
- Anti-bullying policy and student support articles are also available on the Catholic Education website
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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