Bullying and school climate from the aspects of the students and teachers

Abstract

Problem Statement: School culture and school climate describe the environment that affects the behavior of teachers and students. School climate reflects the physical and psychological aspects of the school that are more susceptible to change and that provide the preconditions necessary for teaching and learning to take place. In addition, school climate is a significant element in discussions about improving academic performance. The most important component of school climate is safety. However, incidents of bullying are frequent occurrences for many children at school and in the community. Children who are bullied fear coming to school, and they believe school to be an unsafe and distressing place.

Purpose of Study: The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate the feelings of both elementary students and their teachers about the school climate in terms of their perceptions of safety in the school. It is also of importance to describe the types and the prevalence of bullying, and possible incidents where bullying occurs, where they feel safe, and whom they tell about bullying.

Methods: 688 students from the 4(th) through 8(th) grade from one elementary school and 58 randomly selected teachers were presented a questionnaire called the Colorado School Climate Survey. The data was analyzed in terms of frequencies and variance.

Findings and Results: 41.3% reported that over the last month they were bullied at least once in a week or more. The results showed an average school climate scored 42.5 points out of a 56 point maximum. 25.4% of the students were found to be neither bullies nor victims. 41.3% of them were victims, 3.3% were bullies, and 29.9 % were bully-victims.

Conclusion and Recommendations: Bullying is a serious problem in many schools and there seems to be no one single solution for every student. It is known, however, that the social context and supervision of the school play a major role in the frequency and severity of bullying problems.