“A Resilience Approach to Address Bullying”

Kia kaha, kia toa, kia maia, kia manawanui.

Be strong, be courageous, be humble, be loyal.

Intended Outcomes

• Clarify our own and others attitudes and values in relation to bullying.

• Develop current understanding of research relating to a whole school resilience approach for addressing a bullying culture.

• Consider effective strategies that support student wellbeing and achievement.

• Reflect and build on existing whole school practices.

Chunking Day

• Exploring Attitudes and Beliefs

• Defining Bullying

• Resilience

• It’s only a bit of harmless fun• It’s often the fault of the person bullied• It’s a problem in my school• Children just have to put up with it• It is all part of growing up• Children can usually sort it out themselves• Victims eventually toughen up• It is mainly physical• Adults getting involved make it worse• It is inevitable• Bullies need to be hurt• Bullying is part of human nature• Children need to learn to fight their own battles• There is more bullying that there used to be.

Refining beliefs

..refining beliefs is not ..so easy as it sounds. Each one of us becomes very comfortable with the particular set of beliefs that has got us where we are… it is only a preparedness to ask really difficult questions that allows us to confront the possibility that …. ‘the certain truths’ of yesterday become the ‘unquestioned myths’ of today.

Richard Bawden

• Over 50% of children reported being punched, kicked, beaten or hit in the last nine months

• 71% of children reported having had this experience at some time in the past

• 3% of children reported unwanted sexual touching at school with it being ‘most likely these events involved other children’

• large proportions of children had witnessed violence or abuse against others. For example, 54% had watched someone being punched, kicked, beaten or hit by another child or children.

1997 report by Maxwell and Carroll-Lind (Year 7-8)

Whats Up? counselling service for

children and young people aged 5 to 18

The data shows that bullying was:

• the most common reason for a child aged 10 years or less

• the second most common reason for intermediate school aged children

• the most common reason for a boy to call• a less common reason for a young person aged 16 or

more.

Research Adair 2000 Bullying in NZ Schools (of 2066 students)

before being given a definition -• 50% of respondents reported being bullied at

school, when they had been given a definition -

• 75 % bullied in the last year• 44% to having been bullies at some time during

their schooling • 76%of bullying incidents carried out by a boy

alone or in concert with other boys• 20% of students who have been bullied had

sought some kind of help.

Youth 2000Bullying at schools is a significant problemfor some students. This is particularly truefor younger schools students (Year 9students 38.8%, Year 13 students 13.3%). Adisturbing number of students (males 9.2%,females 5.2%) report being bullied at leastonce a week. For those students beingbullied many (males 31.4%, females 31.5%)say being bullied was a pretty bad, reallybad or terrible experience.

Research

Studies suggest that a class that has a

bullying culture will make significantly less

academic progress than a comparable

bully-free group. (Cleary 2001)

• Researchers have established a clear link between future criminal activity and school bullying for both the victim and the bully. (Marcus 1999)

• Strong links between school bullying behaviour and future domestic abuse have been established (Cullingord and Morrison 1997)

Defining Bullying:

Bullying Scenarios…

• definitely bullying• could be bullying, • definitely not bullying.

Place under one of the three categories. Discuss the decision as a group.

Group activity

discuss what a bully looks like -• In the workplace• With students• With parents

“Bully-body”Brainstorm all the types of bullying

actions your group can think of and record them around the bully shape.

exclusionhitting

staring

A definition

Develop a group definition of bullying.

Share back…

Definition

• repetitive• causes distress

(at the time and by threat of future attacks)• power imbalance• may be verbal, physical, social, psychological• effect on ‘victim’ and broader group is important

“Schools should take time tounderstand what they mean bybullying before rushing in withpossibly inadequate preventativepolicies and programs”

Ken Rigby

Reported bullying

Unreported bullying

Hidden effects of bullying

stress anxiety depression low self-esteem

Keith Sullivan (2000) The Anti-Bullying Handbook University Press, NZ

Groups in bullying incidents

THE INCIDENT

COLLABORATORS

POTENTIAL VICTIMS

BYSTANDERS

SECONDARY VICTIMS

Five stages of bullying

1. Watching and waiting

2. Testing the waters

3. Something more substantial occurs

4. The bullying escalates

5. The bullying becomes fully established

These stages exist for • bully• victim• bystander

Keith Sullivan (2000) The Anti-Bullying Handbook University Press, NZ

Expert jigsaw• Focusing on Relationships Creates

Safety in Schools. Tom Cavanagh• Boys and Bullying – The Boys in

Schools Bulletin Vol 4, Number 2 2001.• Why Bad Things Happen to Good

Schools. Bullying in Secondary Schools – Sullivan, Cleary and Sullivan.

• Safe Schools: Strategies to Prevent Bullying. May 2007. ERO Report.

Key messages…

What key ideas are outlined in the following quotes?

“Positive mental health is a prerequisite if students are to reach their highest academic, physical and social potential.”

Health & Physical Education Curriculum,

pg36 Ministry of Education, NZ.

“Learning occurs in a context of care, support and inclusiveness - we foster learning communities.”

Alton Lee 2002

It’s about creating a climate in the classroom

and the school that systematically cultivates

habits and attitudes that enable young people

to face difficulty and uncertainty calmly,

confidently and creatively.

“Friends make you feel safe. Older students make you feel safe. Contacts with deans and teachers make you feel safe. Relationships are important with teachers.” (Student)

(Supporting Positive Behaviours Toolkit)

“When schools promote belonging and ensure high levels of involvement between staff and students, bullying is reduced.” Fuller

What would happen if we treated the student as someone whose opinion mattered in the introduction and implementation of reform in schools?” Michael Fullen

When students are in touch with their

community and culture and are confident

about their own identity, they can develop

resilience to keep reaching out and making

connections to other people and new ideas,

even when it is challenging.

Definition

Resilience is the capacity to cope with andbounce back after the ongoing demands andchallenges of life, and to learn from them in apositive way.

Joubert and Raeburn.

Resilience is …

Being resilient involves “the inherent andnurtured capacity of individuals to deal withlife stressors in ways that enable them to leadhealthy and fulfilling lives”(Howard andJohnson 1999)Redi ppt

Damage versus the Challenge Mindset

Damage Model / Risk

Traditional research

Disorders of the body & mind that pathologise and label people with “problems” focusing on vulnerability

Challenge Model/ Resiliency

Credits people with strength

Potential to bounce back

Considers protective factors

Honours people’s power to help themselves

Don’t tell me what I can’t do, let me show you what I can do!

What is right with you is more powerful than anything that is wrong with you.

Resilience

Individual Resilience

Supportive Environments

A resilience promoting school

Provide opportunities for meaningful participation

Increase pro-social bonding

Establish high but achievable expectations

Provide a sense of belonging through positive,supportive and caring relationships

Set clear and consistent ground rules and boundaries

Promote skills for learning, health and resilience

Adapted from Henderson and Milstein1996

Student

health

and

wellbeing

Supporting Research

“Resilience can be strengthened through school programmes and environments that promote connectedness and positive learning experiences.”

Lois Meyer

Prevention research…

“the overall message from prevention research is that schools can prevent the onset, severity and duration of problematic substance use, bullying, violence and mental Health problems by undertaking a process of developing a culture of resilience.”

Fuller 2001

Reflection…..

Write down…

• One thing you have learned today

• One thing you want to know more about.

Jo Robertson

Diane Hobby

Student Wellbeing Mental Health Education

Humpty Dumpty

“Using Humpty Dumpty as an analogy , we were no longer going to call for more horses and more king’s men, instead we set ourselves the task to work harder at determining ways to make his shell stronger so that he would be less likely to fall to pieces when he took a tumble”.

Principal - Yarrawonga Primary School

I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am thedecisive element in the classroom. It is my personalapproach that creates the climate. It is my mood thatmakes the weather. As a teacher I possesstremendous power to make a child’s life joyous. Ican be a tool of torture or an instrument ofinspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal.In all situations it is my response that decideswhether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and achild humanised or de-humanised.”Haim G. Ginott