As the school year draws to a close it is the perfect opportunity for schools to begin to access bullying and harrassment within the school setting. Identifying when, where and how often bullying is occurring is the first step in extinquishing these behaviors. Mr. Donovan is a Vice-President with School Perceptions LLC, suggests that an anonymous survey that provides honest feedback is a great starting point. Once the bullying data is collected then schools should target problems and identify solutions to come to a common consensus about a plan of action.
So why should we look at school level bullying data? National studies suggest that bullying is widespread. Fourty seven percent of middle and high school students and 42 percent of elementary students reported bullying as a problem. Additionally, bullied students express fear of going to and being in school.
Complete article on Using data to combat bullying.
Need help with creating a survey? Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/bullying
They have an online bullying questionnaire. The survey was designed to find out how much bullying is happening and what kind of bullying it is. Visit the survey site.
Original source: Mr. Donovan is a Vice-President with School Perceptions LLC. This release is also available at www.schoolperceptions.com/news.
Don't forget to check the Peaceful Playgrounds Newsletters for the following bullying resources: Reducing Bullying - March 2003, Designing Out the Bully - June 2003, and School Policy on Bullying - July 2003.
