Antibullying programs: Do we have it right yet?

By Carol Battaglio

Bullying has been around since schools were first invented, and for just as long teachers have exerted valiant attempts to curb it. Yet, despite these, sometimes gargantuan efforts at prevention, incidents of school bullying just won’t seem to go away. Yes, we have had some success: on the average, our antibullying efforts have decreased rates of bullying by about 50%. But, it is troubling to note that some schools that have applied comprehensive antibullying programs have experienced increases in bullying of up to 15%. Is something missing from our antibullying strategies?

A retired drama teacher recounted to me how he and his friends in Grade 5 harassed an unfortunate classmate whose only fault was being 5’ 10,” big, soft, and awkward. They used to tease, trip, and shove this unfortunate “giant” until he broke down in tears. The teacher advised him he was big enough to stand up for himself—say Stop, I don’t like that—a tactic that only intensified the teasing. The drama teacher still regrets his participation in this hurtful behaviour, and would like to be able to apologize, even these many years later.

Fortunately, this harassed, embarrassed, and humiliated victim did not find a weapon and return to school to retaliate—perhaps to stab a student, to shoot his classmates, or maybe to burn the school down. If he had, he would have been labeled as a terrible bully and would have been punished accordingly, perhaps suspended permanently from the school—unless he killed himself, too. More likely, this unfortunate boy became a chronic absentee from school, his academics deteriorating due to his anxiety and stress, until he quit school. (Almost 30% of students who start Grade 1 do not graduate.) Subsequently, throughout his adult life he may have suffered underemployment, chronic depression, and have anger management problems.

In an ideal world, the teacher could have intervened on at least three dimensions: First, individual (self-identity and self acceptance); second, belonging and connection (group dynamics and cliques); and third, respect for differences (conformity vs. respect for uniqueness as a part of school culture). Currently, most antibullying programs are limited to positive encouragement (such as lessons on the virtues), and negative consequences (such as zero tolerance and suspensions), with some PR attention to slogans of social responsibility. Furthermore, the schools antibullying attempts tend to be focused on individual responsibilities and social interaction. We teach the virtues, courtesy in the hallway, and fair play on the playground—worthy enough topics. But bullying is a process involving needs for power and self-defense, not a personality characteristic or a learned behaviour.

If only there were evil people out there insidiously committing evil deeds and it was only necessary to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being…. – Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1982

Ask any group of adults if they have ever been bullied at home, school, or work, and about 66% will admit it has happened to them. Ask how many will admit to being the bully, and the number will likely be about 50%. Since a majority of adults have experienced both being bullied and being the bully, can we simply consider bullying as part of the human condition? Hopefully, not! Bullying seems to be a role people play in a given context—bullied at school, a bully at home, or vice versa. My research indicates that bullying is not so much a “learned behaviour” as it is a response to a stressful, overwhelming situation. Yes, anger management strategies and enforcing appropriate consequences help, but perhaps we also need to shift our emphasis from fixing individuals who misbehave toward looking at what needs to change in the social culture of the classroom and the school. The school may be guilty of committing the “fundamental attribution error,” a classic axiom in social psychology:

A failure to recognize the importance of situational factors in affecting behaviour, supported by the inflated belief in the importance of personality traits and dispositions in affecting behaviour. – Ross & Nisbett, 1991

Another error in our current antibullying strategies may be the emphasis on behaviour and consequences—the external evidence of conforming to rules—and a lack of attention to issues of respect—the internal engine that produces bullying and aggression. I am referring not simply to respectful behaviours, but to a foundation of respect that includes self-respect and respect for others within a classroom and school context that demonstrates respect for uniqueness.

In the words of a tomboy, a victim of bullying:

I want to encourage [teachers] to just recognize that people have their own experience, and…foster the individuality, yet include similarities of all of us, the basic fundamental needs…such as to belong.

Individuals involved in victimization are almost universally lacking in self-respect. Students, aged 10–15, are struggling with existential issues of self-identity. When they are unsure of themselves, others who are different can represent a potential threat they may feel a need to defend against. Without self-acceptance and self-respect, it is difficult to respect others! Those who bully may also lack self-respect, but many actually have exaggerated self-esteem, especially those involved in defending the boundaries of tight (elite) cliques. Bullying is often a game of status, a process of settling the hierarchy in the classroom. Self-acceptance and self-respect are winning strategies in this game.

Sometimes the academic context of the classroom, dominated by the need to enforce standards, can become a force implying a demand for conformity. If the teacher exhibits a lack of respect for differences, it can become a model for students to follow, and any student who exhibits differences—whether different learning styles (LD or giftedness), early or late physical maturation, gender differences (tomboy or gentle male), disabilities (speech, blindness), differences in ethnicity or socio-economic status—loses the respect of the cool group (respected by the teacher), and in the status game of bullying becomes vulnerable to abuses.

Likewise, in a school context where authoritarian structures are dominant, the status quo can become the “right” way, and any deviation is likely to be interpreted as pathological and problematical. If conflict resolution and mediation are not applied seriously and in a timely manner so that conflict is mitigated in the early stages, then often the victim will be the one who retaliates with passion—and the one who bears the blame and the punishment. As a result, the students (who know the inside story) may lose respect for school authority processes, and proceed to take the law into their own hands. Despite all our efforts, bullying wins again!

The antibullying programs that emphasize authority-based strategies (to teach good behaviour and to search and destroy the offenders) are worthwhile efforts, to be sure, but are only providing a partial cure. We need more than an official code of conduct to make bullying behaviours unacceptable in our schools. We need a culture of respect and acceptance for ourselves, and for our relationships with others, and one that is demonstrated in the day-to-day operation of the classroom and the school culture—a challenge to consider as we plan the coming school year.

Dr. Carol Battaglio is an elementary school counsellor, Surrey School District.

For workshop information, contact battaglio_c@sd36.bc.ca, 604-777-2800.