Help Prevent Bullying in

Elementary Schools
By: Victor Brancati
Dominican University of California
Liberal Studies
Agenda
 Arrival Story
 Purpose and Research Questions
 Review of the Literature
 Methods
 Findings and Conclusion
 Questions
 How did I get here?
How many of you were bullied
in school?
 30% of students in 6th grade
were bullied (Lessne, T-9)
 I see an opportunity to teach
students to respect each
other
 Teachers will not be able to
watch over all interactions
Purpose:

The purpose of my capstone was to (1) research

teaching and classroom management strategies
that prevent bullying and (2) investigate how
teachers resolve student-to-student conflict in
the classroom.
 Research Questions:
1. How can teachers use classroom management
strategies to minimize the bullying in their
classrooms?
2. How do teachers facilitate conflicts between
students?
Review of the Literature
Misdirections in Bullying
Prevention and Intervention
 Mediation and conflict resolution does not
always stop bullying and does not treat either
party the correct way for future prevention
 Suspension and expulsion should not be the
standard for bullying prevention
- (stopbullying.gov)
Help Students Understand
Bullying
 Children are still learning emotions and are
egocentric
 Bullied students can feel different, powerless, and
alone
 The bully may be doing it to copy their friends or
think bullying will help them fit in
 Children should learn what to do and who to go to
if needed
- (stopbullying.gov)
Socio-Emotional Development
in Middle Childhood
 “Rejected” kindergarteners are less socially
competent and more likely to experience peer
rejection when they get older
 The bully’s proactive aggression leads to the
victim’s reactive aggression
- (Kuther 263-266)
Research Methods
 This study follows qualitative design using
classroom observation with no interview
 The researcher observed two classrooms at
different elementary schools in the San Francisco
Bay Area, grades 3 and 4
 Four hours a week for a semester for each class
Findings
 Children need to learn how to resolve the
issues of bullying on their own
 Often times the person being bullied does not
see any other perspective
Conclusion
How can teachers use classroom
management strategies to minimize
the bullying in their classrooms?
 Create a classroom community where all the
students can feel safe and welcome
 Teach students about bullying and how
everyone feels when their feelings get hurt
How do teachers facilitate
conflicts between students?
 Teachers cannot always be there
 Give students the resources to resolve the
conflict on their own and teach them not to be
bystanders
Tommy’s Terrible Week
 Create a positive
and understanding
class environment
where every student
feels they are
welcome and
respected
 This book is a way to
teach young
students about
empathy
 What does all that mean? (Kuther 267)

Bully • More assertive • Help them develop

• Makes friends easily empathy
• Teach coping skills
Victim • Stands out from peers • Teach alternative
• Difficulty regulating responses to bullying
moods • Teach social and
• Loneliness coping skills
School • Policies that • Teach social skills and
discourage reporting conflict management
bullying • Promote a positive
• Teachers ignore the school climate
bullying • School personnel
never ignore bullying
behaviors
What about you?

This does not only happen to children.

It is okay to say stop if you don’t like something.
It is okay to ask for help if you need it.
References
 Lessne, D., Yanez, C., National Center for Education Statistics (ED), & Synergy Enterprises, I. (2016). Student
Reports of Bullying: Results from the 2015 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization
Survey. Web Tables. NCES 2017-015. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED572035&site=eds-live

 Stopbullying.gov, (2017) Misdirections in Bullying Prevention and Intervention. Web. Stopbullying.gov Retrieved
from https://www.stopbullying.gov/sites/default/files/2017-10/misdirections-in-prevention.pdf

 Kuther, Tara L. “Chapter 10 Socio Emotional Development in Middle Childhood.” Lifespan Development: Lives
in Context, SAGE Publications, Inc, 2019.

 “Facts for Kids About Bullying.” StopBullying.gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 8 Sept.
2017, www.stopbullying.gov/kids/facts/index.html
Thank you, any questions?