The Role Of Bullying In The United States Department Of Education

In such a diverse society that encompasses of wide variety of socioeconomic statuses, ages, genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, and education levels, bullying is unfortunately becoming more and more common. According to the American Psychological Association, on the most basic operational level, “Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or more subtle actions” (Stop Office Bullying, p. 1). The root of bullying can usually be traced back to a power imbalance, often with the superior discriminating based

Bullying is a recurrent issue that can be found in many, if not all, schools across the world. It is a universal action. “Bullying is broadly defined as intentional and repeated acts that occur through direct verbal, direct physical, and indirect forms (cyberbullying), and it typically occurs in situations in which there is a power or status difference” (O’Brennan, Waasdorp, & Bradshaw, 2014). In a study done among 876 students in grades 4, 5 and 6, researchers came to the conclusion that nearly 30% of students commit acts of bullying against their classmates, with reports of bullying being two times higher than the rate of bullying itself. “Aggression and peer victimization are significant problems for many elementary and middle school students” (Jensen, Brisson, Bender &Williford, 2013). According to Lindsey M. O’Brennan, Tracy E. Waasdorp and Catherine P. Bradshaw, in their article “Strengthening Bullying Prevention Through School Staff Connectedness, they state

When minors throughout the United States visualize bullying, they generally envision a substantially larger child physically picking on a much smaller individual. However, when asked about what harassment looks like, the majority of adolescents are unsure of what it is. Many times teenagers get bullying and harassment confused or assume they are the same. Harassment and bullying are related because they each have to do with someone hurting another person, but nonetheless, they are utterly different. Bullies put in great thought to who they will bully because bullying portrays a sense of power and they need someone who will satisfy this need. Harassers do not choose individuals who are smaller than them, but an equal. Harassers victims are peers

Bullying has become a widespread social issue that continues to affect adolescents as an unwanted and aggressive behavior involving a form of repetition and power imbalance (1). This condition has become widely prevalent in schools and affects students both emotionally and physically with the possibility of long term effects. The common forms of bullying in a school environment can either be physical, verbal, social or technological. Correspondingly, it impacts students despite gender, race, class or orientation. The statistics has become disheartening and perplexed as a large number of bullying amongst adolescents occurs within a school environment or related function. One out of three adolescents has admitted to being bullied or participating

Bullying has been an ongoing and an increasing problem in schools over the past two decades. In the United States of America, “The 2010–2011 School Crime Supplement (National Centre for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics) indicates that, nationwide, 28% of students in grades 6–12 experienced bullying. The 2013 Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) indicates that, nationwide, 20% of students in grades 9–12 experienced bullying.

Over the past few decades, bullying has become a highly significant issue in schools across the globe. In the United States alone, it is estimated that approximately one in three children are victims of bullying (Smokowski & Kopasz, 2005). Although bullying affects nearly 70 percent of all students, it is usually “overlooked, ignored, and/or minimized” (Canter, 2005). By examining the definition of bullying, risk factors of being a victim and bully, and the impacts of bullying, schools can become more aware of their students’ overall wellbeing through identifying, preventing, and reducing bullying.

One out of every four students reported being bullied at school. Data supports 74% of students in grades seven to twelve, have been called hurtful names. 62% of students have sometimes witnessed teasing happening at school, more girls than boys were the victims of this bullying. Also 13% of students have often been called insults based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disability (National Bullying Prevention Center, 2016). The act of bullying have increased enormously in past five years in the United States. Worldwide, schools are intended to be safe places for students to learn valuable skills and grow. However, students will likely face negative experiences, such as bullying, which may cause them a lifelong damages. Students who are the victims of bullying tend to experience social and academic trauma. Their response to this trauma can be display as avoidance behaviors such as running away from home, refusing to go to school and in some extreme cases, attempting suicide (Swearer, Song, Cary, Eagle, & Mickelson, 2001).

Bullying is defined as an unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). In 2013, Youth Risk Behavior Study (which covered only high-school students) found that 19.6% had been bullied on school property in the previous 12 months, and 14.8% had been electronically bullied. In both cases, caucasian teens and female teens were more likely to say they’d been bullied (DeSilver, D., 2016).

Bullying behavior is a worldwide phenomenon that has become an urgent public health concern in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) proclaims that in the United States (U.S.), 70.6% of school-aged youths identified at least one occurrence of bullying in their schools. Among these U.S. students, 28% reported experiencing bully victimization, while 30% admitted to bullying other students (Gladden, Vivolo-Kantor, Hamburger & Lumpkin, 2014).

Feuds among individuals have been around forever. However, the term bully has been in existence since 1693. The term bully means “to affect by means of force or coercion” (Background on Bullying n.d.). Out of all the countries, the United States has the worst problem because bullying is legal in most states. Bullying was not viewed as a major issue until the early 1970’s. Although some states have anti-bullying laws, most do not address the major issues regarding the problem or any solutions as to how to stop bullying. “One in four students are bullied every month” (Background on Bullying n.d.), therefore forcing schools to have anti-bullying policies to make the students and parents feel safer overall. There are numerous different

Bullying in schools is as old as any problem that plagues schools, and yet it is one of those cases that receive the least amount of attention. The air of denial is sometimes so pronounced that some schools brand themselves as “Bully Free” institutions. In the end, these downplayed incidents leave victims traumatized and scarred for many years while the culprits gain more confidence to continue with the evil deeds.

Bullying is a universal issue that can be found in schools worldwide and it has become an increasing pressing issue within the current school system. It can be said that bullying begins during the earlier stages of primary school and then continues through to secondary schools. According to the NSPCC (2014), bullying is defined as “a behaviour that hurts someone.” This type of behaviour can involve an individual engaging in name calling, threatening another individual as well as physically abusing them, for example hitting, throwing or punching someone. This suggests that bullying can occur physically or verbally. On the other hand others may argue that bullying is a systematic abuse of power (Rigby, 2002, in Dupper, 2013, p.9).

Bullying happens everywhere, whether it is at work, school, or home, This is Where It Ends, evidence in the schools, and adult psychiatric health problems later on in life, are some supporting evidence to show that this is an ongoing problem. According to stopbullying.gov bullying is described as “An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.” Bullying helps someone have dominance over another, it can boost their confidence, and self-esteem. Although bullying has been around for as long as anyone can remember, it is just recently in the 2000s that is has received serious attention and research (Hymel). There have been many recent events that have focused on this subject.

In light of retaliatory behavior exhibited in schools across the nation, society has a general understanding of what constitutes as bullying. We understand it to be an unwanted or aggressive behavior which usually involves a child in a more powerful position. The power may be physical or social and the behavior is usually repeated over time. However, one egregious act can land the child in the middle of a bully label. Just as any behavior, bullying can be physical, verbal or a combination of the two. The physical acts include kicking, pinching, tripping or

Individuals have been segregated, avoided, harmed, and treated unfairly for centuries. Victims have experienced all forms of abuse such as: violent, verbal, emotional, mental, physical, and sexual. We would be extremely ignorant to think that these types of behaviors are not present in today’s society and schools. The advancement in technology has been beneficial in communicating information to the public; consequently, it has also introduced a new form of harassment and intimidation. The world we live in today has increased in violence and is considered to be more dangerous than that of our ancestors. Bullying is present in all aspects of today’s society, and it has the ability to be more detrimental than ever before.