PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Josefina Rodriguez
NATIONAL-LUIS UNIVERSITY

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Preventing School Bullying in Elementary Schools

Bullying is a big issue for children and young people these days in elementary
schools around the United States. When children are bullied, their self-esteem gets
affected and lose their self-confidence about themselves. In many cases, children dont
want to go school because they are being bullied constantly in school. In worse cases,
some children take the alternative to injure themselves or even take their lives away. It is
a big problem for parents and teachers since they are the ones who deal with the issue
first hand. I feel that preventing straight where it comes from will prevent any further
issues that will cause children suffering from bullying. Educating teachers and parents on
how to prevent school bullying and how to communicate with them will go along way. In
this paper I would like to know how we could prevent school bullying in schools. Also,
what kind of programs could schools use to help children who are bullied and prevent
bullying?

I feel that knowing how to prevent school bullying and the methods to prevent it
will help teachers and parents deal with the issue better. Also schools need to be better
involved or change the programs they use if it's not working in their school. Will parents
be more involved in their childrens lives and school can make a great way to stop
bullying right when it starts. Also knowing what to do if your child or student is bullied in
school or anywhere. Having knowledge of the issue, which is bullying can stop many
things that could harm children.

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

When talking about bullying and preventing it in a school setting, we think when
is this issue happening. Frequently, the issues start when children get to their teenage
years and when they get into middle school. School climate is an important
consideration in understanding school bullying because adult supervision decreases as
students move from elementary to middle and secondary school. In turn, less structure
and supervision are associated with concomitant increases in student bullying,
particularly in locations such as playgrounds, lunchrooms, and hallways (American
Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2001; Craig & Pepler, 1997;
Vaillancourt et al., in press). Knowing where the issue starts, schools need to be more
involved and get positive programs that target the problem.

Having positive programs will also help students be more open to talk about when
someone is being bullied or if they are being bullied. Some students are afraid to talk
about if they are being bullied. Petrosino, Guckenburg, DeVoe, and Hanson (2010)
found that 36% of bullying victims (ages 11-17) reported their victimization to a teacher
or other adult at school and 64% of victims did not (Petrosino, Guckenburg, DeVoe, and
Hanson 2010). Children do not trust the adults in the school because they are afraid that
the bully will know that they told someone. To help schools improve a better antibullying system, schools need a program that involves a social-ecological model for
bullying. In an article that I found, it shows a program that shows how it has improved in
preventing school bullying by having everyone involved. STR has three levels of

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

curriculum for the upper elementary grades that promote the development of friendship,
recognizing and responding to bullying, and personal responsibility of the bystander
(Committee for Children, 2001).

According to this article it says that it decreased and it had some changes in the
school playground behavior. The children were less aggressive, one year after
implementation, Hirschstein, Edstrom, Frey, Sneel, & MacKenzie (2007) found positive
changes in playground behavior and less aggression, victimization, and bystander
encouragement of bullying.
In another article I found, it states another program that helps schools prevent
bullying in the schools. This program is called VISC; it targets emotions, cognitions and
behavior. The VISC program engages a systemic perspective and targets teachers,
students, and parents. At the school level, in-school trainings for all teachers are offered
to distribute basic knowledge on bully victim behavior. On the class level, teachers
implement a class program consisting of several units rip, S., Bora, C., Sipos-Gug, S.,
Tocai, I., Gradinger, P., Takuya, Y., & Strohmeier, D (2015). With this program it
decreased the aggressive students acting out through bullying. It also shows that
programs that work are the ones that target the social, and emotional aspects of students
to stop the bullying. In a school that has a good program it promotes positive behavior
and environment for students to be around and learn.

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Overall, these articles showed why it is important to have a strong program in

schools to prevent school bullying. In all having a program that targets the students
social and emotional aspects, schools will see the positive in the school bullying issues.
Schools need to have a stronger program that involves parents and teachers to target the
problems of a child bullying. As an example of these programs, schools can see the
results to compare to see if it could work in their school. With this program that involves
these strategies, students will have the chance to have a better self-esteem. Also, it can
help students get better grades and feel less stress in not coming to school.

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Citations
Swearer, S., Espelage, D., Vaillancourt, T., & Hymel, S. (January 01, 2010). What Can Be
Done About School Bullying? Linking Research to Educational
Practice. Educational Researcher, 39, 1, 38-47.
Sherer, Y. C., & Nickerson, A. B. (March 01, 2010). Anti-bullying practices in American
schools: Perspectives of school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 3,
217-229.
McCormac, M. E. (2014). PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO BULLYING: AN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S 4-YEAR JOURNEY. Professional School
Counseling, 18(1), 1-14.
Trip, S., Bora, C., Sipos-Gug, S., Tocai, I., Gradinger, P., Takuya, Y., & Strohmeier, D.
(2015). Bullying Prevention in Schools by Targeting Cognitions, Emotions, and
Behavior: Evaluating the Effectiveness of the REBE-ViSC Program. Journal Of
Counseling Psychology, 62(4), 732-740. doi:10.1037/cou0000084
Internet Sources
http://www.stopbullying.gov/image-gallery/what-you-need-to-know-infographic.html
http://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/at-school/build-safe-environment/index.html#Manage
%20Classrooms%20to%20Prevent%20Bullying
http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/olweus_bullying_prevention_program.page
http://www.tolerance.org/blog/national-bullying-prevention-month

PREVENTING SCHOOL BULLYING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

http://www.pausd.org/student-services/bullying-prevention
http://schools.amesburyma.gov/Academy.cfm?subpage=773426&master=1281957&located=1