Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:29:29.446Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Exploring teachers’ competence in immediately intervening in school bullying: developing a valid intervening process

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2020

Yu-Hsien Sung ,
Martin Valcke  and
Li-Ming Chen Open the ORCID record for Li-Ming Chen [Opens in a new window]
Yu-Hsien Sung
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Martin Valcke
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Li-Ming Chen*
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
*
*Corresponding author: Email: chenlm@mail.nsysu.edu.tw
Get access

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the constructs related to teachers’ competence in immediately intervening in school bullying (CIISB) in order to develop a valid intervention process. In this study, 16 secondary school teachers in Taiwan with experience of dealing with school bullying were interviewed. In total, 26 interview transcripts were analysed. The results highlight two key constructs that are central to CIISB. The first is structuring prompt management of school bullying. This involves three phases: identifying the incident, stabilising the incident, and clarifying incidents as well as implementing incidental and intentional learning. The second construct is setting the appropriate atmosphere. This refers to teachers’ capacity to build a positive relationship with students by maintaining a calm, serious and fair attitude, and creating a positive atmosphere to implement an immediate intervention. The results suggest that teachers should master the above constructs of CIISB, thereby providing a suitable immediate intervention when school bullying occurs.

Keywords

competencehandling processimmediate interventionschool bullyingteacher
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , June 2021 , pp. 15 - 35
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Begotti, T., Tirassa, M., & Maran, D.A. (2017). School bullying episodes: Attitudes and intervention in pre-service and in-service Italian teachers. Research Papers in Education, 32, 170–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkowitz, L. (1993). Aggression: Its causes, consequences, and control. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campbell, C., & Walter, F. (2016). Member checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation? Qualitative Health Research, 26, 1802–1811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In Husen, T. & Postlethwaite, T.N. (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., vol. 3, pp. 1643–1647). Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press/Elsevier Science.Google Scholar
Carney, T.F. (1990). Collaborative inquiry methodology. Windsor, Canada: University of Windsor, Division for Instructional Development.Google Scholar
Carter, S. (2012). The bully at school: An interdisciplinary approach. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 35, 153–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cascardi, M., Brown, C., Iannarone, M., & Cardona, N. (2014). The problem with overly broad definitions of bullying: Implications for the schoolhouse, the statehouse, and the ivory tower. Journal of School Violence, 13, 253–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Understanding bullying. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying_factsheet.pdf.Google Scholar
Charles, M.T., & Kim, J.C.K. (1998). Crisis management: A casebook. Springfield, IL: Thomas Publisher.Google Scholar
Chen, L.M. (2018). School-based anti-bullying strategies in Taiwan and their effects. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 59, 218–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, L.M., & Chen, J.K. (2018). Implementation and perceived effectiveness of anti-bullying strategies among teachers in Taiwan. Educational Psychology, 38, 1185–1200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, L.M., Sung, Y.H., & Cheng, W. (2017). How to enhance teachers’ bullying identification: A comparison among providing a training program, a written definition, and a definition with a checklist of bullying characteristics. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 26, 351–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, L.M., Wong, C.C., & Feng, H.W. (2015). Prevalence rates and common behaviors of school bullying among Taiwanese elementary students. Education Review, 45, 127–157.Google Scholar
Chiu, J. (2002). Bullying behavior at elementary and middle School: A comparison study. Journal of Education National Changhua University of Education, 3, 99–129.Google Scholar
Chiu, J., & Chang, L.L. (2012). Identification, evaluation, and intervention of bullying behaviors in secondary and elementary school teachers. Research in Applied Psychology, 54, 203–250.Google Scholar
Chung, M.L. (2017). A study of school anti-bullying policy in Taiwan (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Sheffield, UK.Google Scholar
Cooper, J., Brandon, P., & Lindberg, M. (1997, March). Using peer debriefing in the final Stage of evaluation with implications for qualitative research: Three impressionist tales. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.Google Scholar
Cope, D.G. (2014). Methods and meanings: Credibility and trustworthiness of qualitative research. Oncology Nursing Forum, 41, 89–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crick, N.R., & Dodge, K.A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deakin Crick, R. (2008). Key competencies for education in a European context. European Educational Research Journal, 7, 311–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dedousis-Wallacea, A., Shuteb, S., Varlowa, M., Murrihya, R., & Kidmana, T. (2014). Predictors of teacher intervention in indirect bullying at school and outcome of a professional development presentation for teachers. Educational Psychology, 34, 862–875.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Statistics. (2018). Education Statistics Newsletter. Retrieved from http://stats.moe.gov.tw/files/brief/%E5%9C%8B%E4%B8%AD%E5%B0%8F%E6%95%99%E5%B8%AB%E6%A6%82%E6%B3%81.pdf Google Scholar
Dotger, B. (2013). ‘I had no idea!’: Clinical simulations for teacher development. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.Google Scholar
Duy, B. (2013). Teachers’ attitudes toward different types of bullying and victimization in Turkey. Psychology in Schools, 50, 987–1002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Espelage, D.L., & Colbert, C.L. (2016). School-based bullying: Definition, prevalence, etiology, outcomes, and preventive strategies. In Holt, M.K., Grills, A.E., Holt, M.K., & Grills, A.E. (Eds.), Critical issues in school-based mental health: Evidence-based research, practice, and interventions (pp. 132–144). New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Espelage, D.L., & Swearer, S.M. (2003). Research on school bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we go from here? School Psychology Review, 32, 365–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Espelage, D., Holt, M., & Henkel, R. (2003). Examination of peer-group contextual effects on aggression during early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fang, C.Y. (2016). A case study of elementary school teacher-designed bullying prevention materials and teaching practices. Journal of Textbook Research, 9, 101–134.Google Scholar
Ferng, J.Y., & Yen, H.W. (2013). The intervention curriculum design and its effects of bullying and peer sexual harassment prevention in junior high school. Formosan Journal of Sexology, 19, 21–52.Google Scholar
Forthun, L.F., & McCombie, J.W. (2011). The efficacy of crisis intervention training for educators: a preliminary study from the United States. Professional Development in Education, 37, 39–54,CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fujita, K., & Han, H.A. (2009). Moving beyond deliberative control of impulses: The effect of construal levels on evaluative associations in self-control conflicts. Psychological Science, 20, 799–804.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garandeau, C.F., Vartio, A., Poskiparta, E., & Salmivalli, C. (2016). School bullies’ intention to change behavior following teacher interventions: Effects of empathy arousal, condemning of bullying, and blaming of the perpetrator. Prevention Science, 17, 1034–1043.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glaser, B.G. (1965). The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Social Problems, 12, 436–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, A.P., Palumbo, J., Striepling, S., & Voutsinas, A.M. (1995). Break it up: A teacher’s guide to managing student aggression. Champaign, IL: Research Press.Google Scholar
Greif, J.L., & Furlong, M.J. (2006). The assessment of school bullying: Using theory to inform practice. Journal of School Violence, 5, 33–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajdaraj, Y. (2017). Teachers’ knowledge of bullying and their anti-bullying attitude. European Journal of Social Sciences Studies, 2, 1–11.Google Scholar
Hasekiu, C.F. (2013). Age’s differences at bullying’s acts in school age. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 220–222.Google Scholar
Hazler, R., Miller, D., Carney, J., & Green, S. (2001). Adult recognition of school bullying situations. Educational Research, 43, 133–146 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, J.S., Lee, C.H., Lee, J. Lee, N.Y. & Garbarino, J. (2014). A review of bullying prevention and intervention in South Korean schools: An application of the social–ecological framework. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 45, 433–442.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huang, K.F. (2020). The study on school teachers’ anti-bullying perceptions and their anti-bullying strategies in Taichung coastal district. Journal of Research in Delinquency and Prevention, 11, 99–164.Google Scholar
Huang, S.M. (2018). The study of teachers’ perception of campus bullying and application of anti-bullying strategies in elementary schools in Tainan (Unpublished master dissertation). National University of Tainan, Tainan.Google Scholar
Jiménez-Barbero, J.A., Ruiz-Hernández, J.A., Llor-Esteban, B., & García, M.P. (2012). Effectiveness of antibullying school programmes: A systematic review by evidence levels. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 1646–1658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T.D., Poskiparta, E., Kaljonen, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2011). A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: Grades 4–6. Child Development, 82, 311–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, Y. (2011) The pilot study in qualitative inquiry: Identifying issues and learning lessons for culturally competent research. Qualitative Social Work, 10, 190–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kunter, M., Klusmann, U., Baumert, J., Richter, D., Voss, T., & Hachfeld, A. (2013). Professional competence of teachers: Effects on instructional quality and student development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 805–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Latané, B., & Darley, J.M. (1970). The unresponsive bystander: Why doesn’t he help? New York, NY: Appleton-Century Crofts.Google Scholar
Lin, B. (2014). School anti-bullying policies in the UK and USA: A perspective of education law. Contemporary Educational Research Quarterly, 22, 49–89.Google Scholar
Liu, M.C.C., Lan, C.C., Hsu, J.W., Huang, K.L., & Chen, Y.S. (2014). Bullying victimization and conduct problems among high school students in Taiwan: Focus on fluid intelligence, mood symptoms and associated psychosocial adjustment. Children and Youth Service Review, 47, 213–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, M.L., Varjas, K., Meyers, J., Graybill, E.C., & Skoczylas, R.B. (2009). Teacher responses to bullying: Self-reports from the front line. Journal of School Violence, 8, 136–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazzone, A., Camodeca, M., & Salmivalli, C. (2018). Stability and change of outsider behavior in school bullying: The role of shame and guilt in a longitudinal perspective. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 38, 164–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meese, R. L. (1997). Student fights: Proactive strategies for preventing and managing student conflicts. Intervention in School and Clinic, 33, 26–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merriam, S. A. (2002). Qualitative research in practice. Examples for discussion and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Google Scholar
Messias, E., Kindrick, K., & Castro, J. (2014). School bullying, cyberbullying, or both: Correlates of teen suicidality in the 2011 CDC youth risk behavior survey. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55, 1063–1068.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitsopoulou, E., & Giovazolias, T. (2015). Personality traits, empathy and bullying behavior: A meta-analytic approach. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 21, 61–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mok, M.M.C., Wang, W.C., Cheng, Y.Y., Leung, S.O., & Chen, L.M. (2014). Prevalence and behavioural ranking of bullying and victimisation among secondary students in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 23, 757–767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nickerson, A.B. (2019). Preventing and intervening with bullying in schools: A framework for evidence-based practice. School Mental Health, 11, 15–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nunes, M.B., Martins, J.T., Zhou, L., Alajamy, M., & Al-Mamari, S. (2010). Contextual sensitivity in grounded theory: The role of pilot studies. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 8, 73–84.Google Scholar
Branch Center, Oliver. (2014). One-inch Oliver branch: School bullying and its intervention. Retrieved from http://olive.ntpu.edu.tw/olive/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/olivebranch1-1.pdf Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: what we know and what we can do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (2005). A useful evaluation design, and effects of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Psychology, Crime & Law, 11, 389–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olweus, D., & Limber, S.P. (2010). Bullying in school: Evaluation and dissemination of the Olweus Bullying Prevention program. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 124–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Polanin, J.R., Espelage, D.L., & Pigott, T.D. (2012). A meta-analysis of school-based bullying prevention programs’ effects on bystander intervention behavior. School Psychology Review, 41, 47–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pozzoli, T. & Gini, G. (2010). Active defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying: The role of personal characteristics and perceived peer pressure. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 815–827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pozzoli, T., Gini, G., & Vieno, A. (2012). The role of individual correlates and class norms in defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying: A multilevel analysis. Child Development, 83, 1917–1931.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pytash, K.E. (2013). Using YA literature to help preservice teachers deal with bullying and suicide. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56, 470–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigby, K., Smith, P.K., & Pepler, D. (2004). Working to prevent school bullying: Key issues. In Smith, P.K., Pepler, D., & Rigby, K. (Eds.), Bullying in schools: How successful can interventions be? (pp. 1–12). Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rossouw, J.P., & Stewart, D. (2008). Student/learner discipline and bullying: A comparative analysis of legal risk management in schools in Australia and South Africa. Acta Academica, 40, 244–274.Google Scholar
Saarento, S., & Salmivalli, C. (2015). The role of classroom peer ecology and bystanders’ responses in bullying. Child Development Perspectives, 9, 201–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salmivalli, C., Lagerspetz, K., Björkqvist, K., Österman, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1996). Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behavior, 22, 1–15.3.0.CO;2-T>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salmivalli, C., & Poskiparta, E. (2012). KiVa Antibullying Program: Overview of evaluation studies based on a randomized controlled trial and national rollout in Finland. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 6, 294–302.Google Scholar
Shetgiri, R., Espelage, D.L., & Carroll, L. (2015). Practical strategies for clinical management of bullying. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, P.K., Kwak, K., & Toda, Y. (2016). School bullying in different cultures: Eastern and western perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spaulding, A. (2005). The impact of high school teacher behaviors on student aggression. Current Issues in Education, 8. http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume8/number17/ Google Scholar
Storer, H., Casey, E., & Herrenkohl, T. (2017). Developing ‘whole school’ bystander intervention: The role of school-settings in influencing adolescents responses to dating violence and bullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 74, 87–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornberg, R., Tenebaum, L., Varjas, K., Meyers, J., Jungert, T., & Vanegas, G. (2012). Bystander motivation in bullying incidents: to intervene or not to intervene? Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 13, 247–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Toblin, R.L., Schwartz, D., Gorman, A.H., & Abou-Ezzeddine, T. (2005). Social-cognitive and behavioral attributes of aggressive victims of bullying. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 329–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsao, C. C. (2009). Study on elementary school teacher’s management towards peer conflict between students (Unpublished master dissertation). National Taipei University of Education, Taipei.Google Scholar
Ttofi, M.M., Farrington, D.P., Lösel, F., Crago, R.V., & Theodorakis, N. (2016). School bullying and drug use later in life: A meta-analytic investigation. School Pscyhology Quarterly, 31, 8–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tu, S.F. (2015). The elementary school teachers’ successful guidance strategies for intervening children’s bullying behaviors. Journal of Educational Practice and Research, 28, 99–130.Google Scholar
van Reemst, L., Fischer, T.F.C., & Zwirs, B.W.C. (2016). Social information processing mechanisms and victimization: A literature review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17, 3–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, R., Huitsing, S., Sainio, G., & Salmivalli, C. (2014). Role of teachers in bullying: The relation between antibullying attitudes, efficacy, and efforts to reduce bullying. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, C., Berry, B., & Swearer, S. (2013). The critical role of school climate in effective bullying prevention. Theory into Practice, 52, 296–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, C.Y., & Lee, M. S. (2018). A case study of the anti-bullying courses for elementary school counseling teacher. Chinese Journal of School Health, 72, 15–28.Google Scholar
Wang, C., Swearer, S. M., Lembeck, P., Collins, A., & Berry, B. (2015). Teachers matter: An examination of student–teacher relationships, attitudes toward bullying, and bullying behavior. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 31, 219–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO). (2016). Growing up unequal: gender and socioeconomic differences in young people’s health and well-being (WHO Publication No. 7). http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/303438/HSBC-No.7-Growing-up-unequal-Full-Report.pdf?ua=1 Google Scholar
Wu, W.C., Luh, D.L., & Yen, L.L. (2013). Individual and family correlates of bullying roles among junior high school students in Taiwan. Taiwan Journal of Public Health, 32, 372–381.Google Scholar
Wurf, G. (2012). High school anti-bullying interventions: An evaluation of curriculum approaches and the Method of Shared Concern in four Hong Kong international schools. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 22, 139–149.Google Scholar
Yoon, J., & Bauman, S. (2014). Teachers: A critical but overlooked component of bullying prevention and intervention. Theory into Practice, 53, 308–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar