Publications

Bullying in schools: a case study

Ribeiro, Ana Teresa Martins

Universidade Portucalense

Porto, 2007

Research

Portuguese

English

School bullying

This master thesis deals with the problem of peer violence and bullying in schools. It comprises a theoretical part which offers a conceptual and theoretical framework for violence in schools, and a practical part which comprises a case study on the phenomenon of bullying among third cycle (years 5 to 9) students in a Portuguese school in a socially disadvantaged environment. The author places particular emphasis on the analysis of the family environment of the students with aggressive behavior, and on the interpersonal relationships that develop between the various family members. Data for this case study were collected using surveys and semi-structured interviews with the students. The survey was administered to 279 of the 12 to 18 year-old 304 students of the third cycle, and the semi-structured interviews were conducted with two fourteen-year-old students who displayed aggressive behavior and with their mothers. The surveys were statistically analyzed and the content of the interviews was analyzed by categorizing subjects into two binders: family background and school context. It was found that in this particular case, bullying was particularly strongly felt at this level of education, with 58.4 % and 34.8 % of victimization of aggression. This disrupts the school ethos and creates feelings of insecurity among 48 % of the students. The predominant form of bullying is verbal, through insult, and recess is the place par excellence for the occurrence of this phenomenon. The family context in which socialization occurs initially plays a role in the attitude the child develops in his/her interpersonal relationships with peers. It appears that the family environment of students with aggressive behaviors is characterized by low quality interactions and often dominated by the authority figure of the father, while educational practices seem too authoritarian or too permissive, instigating violence. The author suggests, therefore, that it is essential that the school, in partnership with the family, implement remedial and preventive strategies related to the phenomenon of bullying in order to make school an enjoyable context of socialization and training.

It is a well-structured piece of initial research on school violence and bullying, with an in-depth theoretical and conceptual framework that supports a case study in a Portuguese school among students from years 5 to 9 (third cycle). The dissertation distinguishing bullying from other forms of aggression and indiscipline. It offers a very useful summary on the typology of the forms of bullying, the factors that usually are associated with it, as well as the consequences that arise from bullying. There is also a very well-organized sub-section on preventive strategies and remedial strategies for bullying, which may be of particularly use for leaders of educational institutions, teachers and students themselves.
As a document, this research is particularly interesting, because it calls attention to the need to analyze external aspects to school when we student violent behavior is observed, such as in bullying. The author claims that school reflects the social phenomena of the community in which it operates. Thus, the socio-economic and cultural development of pupils attending a school also contributes to building the quality of the school ethos. Social factors such as unemployment, poverty and belonging to lower social class strata, interpersonal relations within the household, among others, undoubtedly affect some communities and families; they are causes of mental and emotional instability, with obvious repercussions in the behaviour of students.

Domingos Santos

Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco

Researcher