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Bullying of, and Retaliation by, Aboriginal Students in an Australian Urban High School

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

Christine Emery ,
Rita T. Hayes  and
Madalyn Kelly Parlet
Christine Emery
Affiliation:
Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia
Rita T. Hayes
Affiliation:
Northern Territory University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia
Madalyn Kelly Parlet
Affiliation:
Northern Territory University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia
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Abstract

Qualitative research methods were used to explore the dynamics of racist bullying of, and retaliation by. Aboriginal students in a large, predominantly White, urban high school. Transcripts of recorded interviews and discussion groups with 11 Aboriginal students aged between 13 and 17 were analysed. Bullying by White students mainly took the form of verbal abuse, whereas retaliation by Aboriginal students was predominantly in the form of physical attacks. Aboriginal students tended to deal with bullying at the peer group level rather than by seeking adult intervention. This appears to have been because of poor teacher response and institutional racism. Recommendations are made for dealing with bullying issues in the school setting, and for future research.

Type
Qualitative Research
Information
South Pacific Journal of Psychology , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , 1998 , pp. 43 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © University of Papua New Guinea and the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Territory University, Australia 1998

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