How to Prevent Bullying in School



The purpose of education is learning, and well-being is a critical pre-condition for learning. The ‘Maslow before you Bloom’ approach indicates that students need to be in the right state of emotional readiness for successful cognition to begin to take place. Therefore, establishing an environment that focuses on well-being is a task for all educators.

Bullying, an aggressive behaviour that is intentional and mean, is often prevalent in a school setting and has a detrimental impact on students’ health, well-being, and learning. It eventually affects the whole school community. Bullying can be verbal, social, physical, and can also include cyberbullying. Being bullied can affect everything about a child: how they see themselves, their friends, school, and their future. If the school community doesn’t take steps to denounce bullying and stop bullying behaviour, it will tell its members that bullying is okay.

There are many ways schools can prevent bullying, and strategies and practices have to be comprehensive and embedded, not fragmented or add-ons. A school- wide approach to bullying prevention could include: staff professional development and training on adopting a comprehensive social and emotional learning curriculum that specifically addresses all aspects of bullying to promote a safe and positive school environment; a cohesive approach ensuring all teachers are sending the same message about not accepting bullying in school; and providing bullying prevention material in multiple ways more info (e.g., curriculum, policies, etc.).

At the classroom level, teachers can develop essential agreements and a class contract that specifies mutual respect, inclusion, and anti-bullying here and revisit these regularly throughout the year; conduct classroom activities like role plays around bullying read more and discuss the short- and long-term impacts on well-being and personality; address inappropriate behaviour early and enough and be consistent in the approach; more info treat all students with respect and let them know that they are available to listen and help them; appoint bully busters in a classroom and empower them with problem-solving skills to intervene if needed or bring concerns to the attention of authority. Teachers also need to be aware of micro- aggressions because these, whether intentional or not, can cause and perpetuate a power imbalance based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or other identity status. When they are not addressed or checked, they can create a climate that allows bullying to get more info happen.”

Encouraging the involvement of students, staff, and families can foster an environment that promotes well-being and the community spirit required to
tackle bullying and prevent it from happening in schools.

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