The Impact of Bullying Prevention Programs in Highschool - Essay Example

Bullying is a persistent problem in virtually all American schools. It is a behavior that predisposes many students too emotionally and physical dangers and negatively impacts on the victims’ perceptions of school and their day-to-day experiences in schools. In terms of both thee consequences for victims and actions of perpetrators, bullying has received significant attention in the past decade. Educators have significantly tried to find a solution or mitigate the severity of bullying behavior and sites impact on school safety and culture. So, what activities qualify as bullying? What are the measures taken by educators and all education stakeholders to reduce or end bullying? Do they have negative or positive impacts on both the victims and perpetrators? Introduction Bullying is commonly defined as “a subtype of aggression” which can take both verbal and physical forms. A researcher described bullying as “intentional, harmful, aggressive behavior of a more powerful person or group of people directed repeatedly towards a less powerful person, usually without provocation” (Harris). Though perpetrated in common acts such as name calling and mild hitting, bullying can take ominous forms as seen in the Columbine tragedy. Bullying can also come in the modes of cyber-bullying (where the bullying behavior takes place in virtual settings such as emails) and relational aggression. Studies conducted in America decipher that up to 30% of American students report frequent and fervent bullying experiences in both victims and instigators capacity (Nansel 29). Other research shows the bullying frequency standing at 44%. Generally, boys are more probable to engage in physical bullying activities compared to girls. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to engage in relational aggression and other verbal and emotional forms of bullying. As many as 7% of eighth graders have confirmed to staying at home at least once a month due to fears of being bullied when in school. In the past, bullying activities have been seen to increase and persistent during the early adolescent ages (Nansel 34). This only reinforces the importance of prevention and intervention works to create a peaceful transition from elementary to middle schools. Why do students engage in bullying activities? Students have been known to engage in bullying because of a number of reasons. Such reasons include experiencing excitement, gaining attention and popularity, obtaining material possessions, acting out the psychological problems emanating from a troubled home environment, joining the “in” crowd and perhaps copying someone that is perceived as cool (Swearer 63). Perhaps the greatest motivation behind bullying is gaining power of others. Courtesy of bullying activities being hidden and occurring away from the ears and eyes of parents and supervisors, it is hard to combat. The impacts of bullying on the individual students are very varied but profound. The victims tend to feel disconnected from their peers, adults and in severe cases, the school itself. Victims tend to have strained relations with classmates, have less participation in extracurricular activities and more often than not, experience increased feelings of loneliness and isolation. (Nansel 49) bullying victims are also very likely to suffer depression, anxiety and attempt suicide. If there are doubts on the detrimental effects of bullying on an entire community, research conducted by the Secret Service showed that 71 percent of school shooters had a history with being bullying victims. (Swearer 82) On the other hand, bullies are not spared. They also suffer many negative consequences and circumstances that include high levels of anger, low academic achievement, and depression and also face negative perceptions of school climate. Many bullies, it has been identified, have been victims of bullying themselves who adopt the practice as a form of retaliation. One study of male bullies in grades six through nine asserted that 60 percent of those were imprisoned by the time they were 24 years of age (Olweus 317) Several common prevention and intervention programs have been availed and adopted by majority of schools. Such include the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, Let’s Get Real and the Steps to Respect. These programs have had promising results. Apart from the teething problems evident in their initiation, the programs also suffer other problems such as being expensive. They may also not be tailored to cater for specific reasons why bullying occurs in the first place. Most of the bullying prevention programs also focus on group’s intervention. When this is the case, the groups’ interventions usually have the effect of reinforcing antisocial behavior by bringing groups of aggressive youth together. The zero tolerance policies adopted by most schools have also proved to be ineffective (Olweus 349). A prominent trend in bullying prevention examines bullying from a socio-ecological perspective that acknowledges the many factors, cofactors and contexts that precipitate bullying. The socio-ecological model focuses on the “complex interplay between individual children, their peer groups, family, school and community as well as their culture” (Espelage 3 ) devoid of the traditional perspective of bullying as a problem within the young person, this new angle seeks to identify the prevailing causative agents of bullying. It also puts into consideration the environmental and social factors which accelerate or minimize bullying behavior (Espelage 4). So, what are the effects of the prevention programs in place? One of the programs we will discuss is the TeamMates programs which are a partnership between Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) and the TeamMates of Nebraska. Target Bullying is a comprehensive research program which is led by Susan Swearer who is also an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska. In operation from 1991, the TeamMates program has achieved positive outcomes for the youth. As at 2007, a research conducted by Gallup showed that 44 percent of the participating youths had improved their grades, 86 percent had improved in school attendance and 72 percent had reduced their number of disciplinary deferrals. The Team Mates currently serves over 3000 youth across the state (Nansel 30). The TeamMate program has had two overarching goals. Its main goal and impact has been in the creation of positive mentoring relationships that improves academic achievement, pro-social behavior, school attendance and postsecondary planning in participating youth. Once identified, the mentors and the youth engage in a number of activities which reduce bullying behavior as well as increasing personal resiliency. Some of the impacts of the programs are such as strength exploration. In this case, every mentee takes the Clifton Youth Strengths Explorer. This is a tool that is fashioned to help the youth identify and develop abilities and talents that they already possess (Swearer 67). These programs therefore help the people involved to track personal goals and facilitate conversation starters. In a bid to offer academic support, all the matches have access to the tutoring and homework help resources which allow mentors focus on fun bonding activities and personal conversations. Another positive impact of these programs includes involvement with parents. The mentors and parents have a number of interactions throughout the academic year. Given the strong relationship between issues at home and bullying behavior at school involving parents in the activities and goals of the mentoring relationship is a wise way of changing family circumstances which might be instigating bullying behavior on the student’s part. Creating awareness among all participants and stakeholders is also another positive effect of this program. As a matter of fact, being aware of the existence of bullying in schools a person works with is a fundamental step in tackling it. The Target Bullying Website offers many statistics and recommended resources which people can use (Olweus 322). As mentioned above, the zero tolerance policies and expulsion employed by some institutions are however ineffective and are seen to transfer the problem elsewhere. This failure does not mean that the zero tolerance policies will be done away with. Creating anti bullying policies which touch on and clarify behavioral expectations of the participating students as well as the repercussions of failing to meet those specified expectations. The trick and reasoning behind involving many stakeholders and creating accountability making response to bullying incidents fair and consistent (Espilage 4). This appropriate response includes refraining from the harsh punishments of bullies thus creating less resentment and reprisal among the parties involved. As highlighted above, bullies love attention. Giving them the attention therefore will lead to them working on their own issues, build issues and learn something from their behavior. This program also provides victims with the chance to process feelings and develop coping skills. These helps the victims to leave the past behind and prepare for future incidents. Other programs include Stories of Us, Education Quest Foundation, and 21st Century Learning Centers among others. As much as the programs are adopted, they may not always have the intended effects. A new study found that the programs may increase the risk that a child involved in the program will be victimized (Graham 27). One possible reason put forward is that the students victimizing others have learned the language from those anti-bullying campaigns and programs. This might be attributed to the bully-victim dynamics. To put an end to this, there should be important and advanced mechanisms which ensure that the negative impacts are married to the positive to create a good balance between the stakeholders. Works cited Espelage, D. L. An ecological perspective to school-based bullying prevention. Prevention Researcher, 11(3), 3-6. 2004. Journal. Graham, S., & Juvonen, J.an attributional approach to peer harassment. In J. Juvonem & S. Graham(Eds.), Peer harassment in school: the plight of the vulnerable and victimized. New York: Guilford Press. 2001. Print. Olweus, D. Bully/victim problems among school children: Long-term consequences and an effective intervention program. In S. Hodgkin’s (Ed.). Mental disorder and Crime. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage. 1993. Print. Nansel, T. R., Haynie, D. L., bullies, victims and bully/victims: distinct groups of at-risk youth. Journal of early adolescence, 21(1), 29-49. 2001. Journal. Swearer, S. M., Song, S.Y. Psychosocial correlates in bullying and victimization: The relationship between depression, anxiety and bully/victim status. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2(2/3), 2001. Journal. Read More