The Prevalence and Effects of Bullying in Public Schools - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Topic: the Prevalence and Effects of Bullying in Public Schools of the of the Supervisor of the Date of Submission Abstract Bullying has been in existent in our school system for a long time. This is a problem that the society cannot really deny its existence. There is need for measures to be put in place to deal with this problem. Bullying is present in all school systems in America, but it is disproportionately higher in public schools. This is both middle school and high school. It is not prevalent in colleges though it does exist in some institutions of higher learning, especially those that require the student to board. Though it does exist, little study has been done to gauge its level of prevalence and the effects that it has on the victims and the school system in general. It has been neglected by both the educationists and other stakeholders. Without a conclusive database on its prevalence and effects, it’s hard for the policy makers to draft measures on how to deal with it. This writer recognized the existence of this gap and will set out to try and fill it. The proposed research will look on the prevalence and effects of this vice in our school system. The researcher will be particularly interested on the causes, effects and prevention of bullying. He will involve key stakeholders like the teachers, school administration and the students themselves on this study. Introduction Booker (2005) defines bullying as the act of harming others deliberately. This can be achieved via verbal abuse or assaulting the victim physically. It can also take more subtle and not easy to see forms. These are like manipulation and coercion (Wellington, 2005). There are several types of bullying that take place in different setting and targets different people. School bullying is such one form. It takes place in an educational institution. It can occur either in or outside the institution. Bullying is not a one time affair. It is often carried out systematically over a long period of time (Wellington, 2004). The few studies that have been conducted on school bullying have brought out several factors. They have shown that it is prevalent and causes long term or short term effects to the victims. It is also true that the perpetrators have been found to be suffering from some emotional and psychological imbalance. It is important therefore to look at the prevalence and effects of this phenomenon deeply. This can only be done by conducting researches on its causes and how it can be prevented or mitigated. Problem Statement Kendall (2006) is of the opinion that problem statement section of a research proposal must have certain elements. It should clearly state the problem that the researcher is interested in. it should also put forward the variables that the researcher wants to study and how they are related to one another. This study will address the issue of school bullying in middle and high schools. The variables will be as follows: School bullying has far reaching effects to the victim and other people in the society Bullies do share some common traits School bullying does target some students than it does others School bullying can be stopped or mitigated Background to the Problem The writer here has to show the importance of the problem that he is embarking on. He has to show other people who have worked on the problem before (Kendall, 2006). The findings and methods used by these people have to be clearly elaborated. In 2001, the United States Center for Disease Control conducted one of the few studies that have been published on school bullying (booker, 2005). It found that at least fifteen percent of middle and high school students in America have been victims. The victims were found to have problems coping with the school environment and in learning. They suffered from psychological and emotional problems as a result of this. Boys are targeted more than girls (Wellington, 2004). This may be because of the reason that majority of the bullies are boys. They bully to show that they are manly enough than their victims. Targeting girls is considered to be a sign of cowardice, a label that a bully cannot live with. Contrary to what many people believe, white students suffer more on the hand of bullies than students from other races. This may be partly because many bullies in America are blacks and as a result, vent their frustration on their white companions. Research Design Kendall (2006) says that the researcher has to put down the way that he is going to conduct his study under this section. He should clearly state the limitations of the study and the type of information he needs to collect for the study. He should also make it clear on how he is going to collect this data. Limitations of this Study The researcher recognizes the fact that this study will have some limitations. This is because school bullying is such an expansive topic such that all of its facets cannot be studied under one research. The following are the limitations of the study: It will be conducted only on public schools, leaving out private institutions It will be conducted on boys only, leaving out girls schools or girls in a mixed school The study will focus on day schools only, leaving out boarding schools Only boys from middle and high schools will be studied. This will leave out boys from lower schools or higher learning institutions Target Population These are the respondents to be used by the researcher in data collection (Kendall, 2006). This research will make use of the following population: Boys in middle and high school in public, day schools Teachers in boys’ middle and high school, public day schools Parents and guardians of boys in middle and high school, public day school Unit of Observation According to Kendall (2006) this is the particular unit that the researcher wants to study, the specimen, so to say. The unit of observation in this study will be boys in middle and high school. They have to be in a public, day school. Unit of Analysis This refers to the particular phenomenon that the researcher wants to study (Kendall, 2006). The unit of analysis in this study will be school bullying as it occurs in public schools for boys. These are day schools. Sampling Technique This is how the researcher plans to recruit respondents for the study (Kendall, 2006). This is because it is impossible to include every person that meets the criteria in the study. The researcher in this study will make use of stratified random sampling to pick both the schools and the respondents. The schools will be stratified by their location. There will be those situated in the city, those in the periphery of the city and those outside the city, or rural schools. The respondents will be stratified into students, teachers and parents. Each individual in these strata will have an equal opportunity to be picked. Sample Size These are the number of respondents that the researcher wishes to include in the study. The total number of schools to be studied will be fifteen (N=15), three from each of the strata. The total number of respondents will be 150 (N=150). This will be composed of fifty teachers, fifty students and fifty parents. Data Collection Methods These are the tools and techniques that a researcher uses to collect data in the field (Kendall, 2006). The study will utilize both quantitative and qualitative type of data. This study will utilize both primary and secondary sources of data: Primary Source This will be acquired from two sources. The researcher will give questionnaires to the subjects. The questionnaires will be in three formats each for every class of respondent. The questionnaires will be filled without the assistance of the researcher and will be handed in after three days. The other source of primary data will be interviews using structured questions. Secondary Source The researcher will also make use of secondary source of data. This will be from books and journals acquired from the library. The researcher will also make use of materials from the internet that is relevant to this topic. Data Analysis This section of the research occurs after the researcher comes from the field (Kendall, 2006). Here, he shows how he will utilize the data that he has collected to support or refute the research hypothesis. He ha to organize the raw data that he got from the field so that it can be meaningful. The researcher will organize the data into tabular forms. Percentages will also be used to gauge the response of the subjects. The end result will be simple tables showing the prevalence of some of the aspects being measured. He will also make use of pie charts to visually organize the data. Problems Likely to be Encountered Every time a researcher embarks on a study, he faces a lot of challenges both in the field and during data analysis. The major problems that this researcher will encounter are as follows. A third of the respondents, the students, are minors. The researcher has to acquire the permission of the parents. Some of the respondents are bound to refuse to participate as they do not consider this study to be important in anyway. Some children will refuse to participate for fear of victimization from the bullies. This is because it will be an open secret that they were participating in a bully study. The schools to be studied are scattered. So the researcher will have to do a lot of traveling. Applicability of the Study This study will have a lot of uses. It will help in policy formulation to counter this vise in our public school system. The results of this study will help the school administration to identify possible victims of bullying in their institutions. It will also help in identifying culprits of bullying. When we look at the causes of this phenomenon, the society will be better armed to deal with it from the source, a result of which will be reduced rates of school bullying. Conclusion A lot of study needs to be done on this topic. Some areas that farther research can be carried on include the prevalence of this vice in private schools and in girls’ schools. It will also be important to carry out a systematic and deep study on the causes of school bullying. Why are some schools affected than others? School bullying is detrimental both to the school and the students. The victims find it hard to concentrate in school, leading to poor academic performance. They are also affected psychologically. The performance and reputation of the school also goes down. References Booker, D. (2005). Forms of school violence. Reebe and Schneider. Michigan Kendall, E. (2006). Sociological research methods. Irwin and Company Publishers. Dallas. Wellington, S. (2004). Bullying in public day schools. Mitchell Foucault. Texas. Read More