Question:

The Introduction starts here. This section has no title.

Your introduction serves two purposes: 1) it introduces the topic of the research, and 2) it contains a literature review that explains past findings about the research topic and also forms an argument and justifies why we are doing this research study.

The opening paragraph of the Introduction introduces the topic of the research to the reader. Just one paragraph is needed to start your argument for this research topic. It is short and ‘sharp’- concisely and directly explaining to the reader why this research topic is important. Primary sources of literature (e.g., journal articles) must be used to support this section.

The remaining sections of your introduction review the literature and should provide enough review of literature to support each research question. The paragraphs must follow a logical flow of information that builds an argument that supports the research questions for this task (see the full Task 2 Assignment Description in the Assignment Material folder in iLearn).

In one paragraph, include research that provides background to and justifies research question 1. You would obviously cite the Bauman and Del Rio reading here.

In another paragraph you would include research that addresses research question 2. There is literature that suggests teachers do differentiate between types of behaviour in terms of severity, and this is a problem if they choose weaker interventions for behaviours they regard as less severe.

In another paragraph you could consider question 3 and the different types of interventions teachers use. The McGrath and Stanley (2006) book chapter will be a useful reference for this section.

Overall, this section must refer to primary research articles as sources of evidence (a minimum of 5 articles) but can also include additional secondary sources or non-research based articles to help support your argument, such as the Swearer, Espelage & Napolitano (2009) book chapters which are high quality secondary sources.

You can use any of the references supplied and also demonstrate your own search skills to include at least 5 primary research sources. The whole Introduction section should be around 1/3 of your total report word count (e.g. approx. 650 words).

Please use American Psychological Association (APA) style referencing. Do not use footnotes or bibliographic notes. APA style referencing procedures were explicitly taught to you in EDUC262 and you should transfer this knowledge to EDUC363. The University Library provides a guide: http://libguides.mq.edu.au/Referencing

Conclude your Introduction with another paragraph that clearly summarises the main implications of your review and argument about this topic. You finish by stating the three research questions.

This research aims to address the following questions:

1. Are there differences in the way in which preservice teachers perceive the seriousness or severity of a bullying incident, by type of bullying (physical, verbal, online and relational)?
2. Do the responses that preservice teachers suggest they would take toward the perpetrator and the victim vary according to the type of bullying?
3. What types of action toward the perpetrators and victims of bullying do preservice teachers endorse?

Method

The Method is a brief, factual section and is usually written up in brief paragraphs and uses past-tense written expression. It is succinct but carefully describes the measures and procedure so that the study could be repeated in the future if necessary. The following subheadings in black text must be used to organise this section.

Participants

The participants in this study were five preservice teacher education students engaged in primary and secondary education training. The survey was anonymous and did not collect any details of participant age or gender due. No other detail is needed for this report. We did not ask about age or gender for the obvious reason that we should not try to make inferences about age or gender in these small samples. You should never reveal any identifying information about research participants so we never mention the University or School location of research participants.

Measures

Use this section to describe the measures we used in this study. Note that we used a specific measure to assess teacher perceptions and seriousness.

Teacher beliefs about seriousness and intervention strategies: Teacher beliefs about seriousness of bullying behaviours were measured by partially replicating the commonly used survey described in Bauman & Del Rio (2006) (see Appendix A). In this project four vignettes or scenarios were presented reflecting (here you would identify the four types of behaviour we assessed). You should briefly describe the survey items and the rating scale and give an example of a vignette so the reader understands. Each vignette was followed by two questions (here you describe the open-ended qualitative questions asked). These qualitative responses were transcribed verbatim (see Appendix B). Be sure to include your data set that you have coded in Appendix B at the end of your assignment.

Procedure

An online survey was completed as a teaching activity by the participants. The data from the class group of 170 students was analysed in small sets of five participants for the purpose of research training (see Appendix A). The data was downloaded by a course instructor who ensured all identifying details were removed and responses were anonymous.

Results

In the results section you report the findings emerging from your analysis. You should arrange your findings in a sensible way, so as to address each research question. You can use subheadings that reflect the focus of each question. The results section is usually 1-2 pages of the written report. The section should also be written in past tense.

You can paste the analysis tables from your Group Data sheet here in the Results section.  When you use a table you should also explain what that table shows in the text of your assignment. Remember: A table never sits alone in your assignment. It is always carefully explained in the text and integrated into the flow and storyline of your assignment.  A table always has a table number and a title, see the Bauman & Del Rio (2006)  paper for a guide to presenting and labelling tables in a report in the correct APA publication style.

Your qualitative interview findings must also be presented here. You could give examples or quotes from participants’ responses to illustrate their interventions. You should report enough examples to support the discussion and implications you wish to make in the Discussion section. We should not see any new data presented in the Discussion section. Include all evidence here in Results.

Note: In the results section you simply and factually report results. You do not try to interpret them or relate them to previous literature. You do this in the Discussion.

Discussion

Your discussion should take up approximately 1/3 of your report. First, summarise key results in terms of the main findings in one of two sentences.  Next, interpret the meaning of your results by comparing and relating your findings to literature you referred to in the Introduction. Always refer to primary sources in this section e.g., “The results of this study are similar to the findings of Spears et al (2015) who also found that preservice Australian teachers view cyberbullying as a serious behaviour.” You should explicitly note any similarities and differences between your findings and similar findings or concepts reported in the papers you have read.

Your discussion should note the broader implications of your findings for the management of bullying in schools. You can refer to both primary and secondary sources here. For example, you could consider and reflect on the following types of implications: If teachers views some behaviours as less serious, what does this mean for their responses to those behaviours? If teachers only suggest vague or uncertain interventions, what are the implications of this for students? If the teachers only suggest punitive interventions for the aggressor, what are the implications of this for both the aggressor and the victim? If teachers do not provide specific and helpful responses to victims, what would you recommend for teacher education?

References

Your reference list is titled ‘References’ as shown here in black text. It should begin on a new page, with the title ‘References’ centred without bold, italics or underlining. Only include references that you have cited in your report. This reference list is not counted in your word count for this assignment.

In this unit we use APA style referencing procedures which are very easy guidelines for referencing, both within the report and in the reference list. See the following example of an APA style reference in the Reference list:

Bauman, S. & Del Rio, A. (2006). Preservice teachers’ responses to bullying scenarios: Comparing physical, verbal, and relational bullying. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 219-231.doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.219

Note: Do not use footnotes or a bibliography in this assignment. We do not call this section a ‘Bibliography’.

Appendix A: Survey and Interview questions and responses

 Instructions to participant: This survey asks you to respond to a series of fictional stories about peer relationship events that could happen in the classroom or playground. Please answer all three questions following each story.

1. At the writing center you hear a student chant to another child, “Teacher’s pet, brown-nose, suck-up, kiss-ass.” The child tries to ignore the remarks but is visibly upset. You saw this same thing happen the other day. In your opinion, how serious is this situation? (select ONE response below)

• Not at all serious (1)
• Not very serious (2)
• Moderately serious (3)
• Serious (4)
• Very serious (5)

1a) If you would respond to this situation, what would you do with the perpetrator?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

1b) What would you do with the victim?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

2. You have allowed the students in your class to have a little free time because they’ve worked so hard today. You witness a student say to another child, “No, absolutely not. I already told you that you can’t sit with us.” The child sits alone for the remaining time with tears in their eyes. This is not the first time this student has isolated someone from playing.   In your opinion, how serious is this situation? (select ONE response below)

• Not at all serious (1)
• Not very serious (2)
• Moderately serious (3)
• Serious (4)
• Very serious (5)

2a)  If you would respond to this situation, what would you do with the perpetrator?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

2b) What would you do with the victim?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

3. You have assigned the students in your class to work in groups of 4 to do projects. While the students are getting in their groups you see a student push another student with enough force that the student falls to the ground. The student that fell yells, “Stop pushing me around! You always do this, just go away.” In your opinion, how serious is this situation? (select ONE response below)

• Not at all serious (1)
• Not very serious (2)
• Moderately serious (3)
• Serious (4)
• Very serious (5)

3a)  If you would respond to this situation, what would you do with the perpetrator?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

3b) What would you do with the victim?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

4. A student is receiving phone messages. The student is visibly upset and moves away from their classmates. You hear the student’s phone receive other messages.  In your opinion, how serious is this situation? (select ONE response below)

• Not at all serious (1)
• Not very serious (2)
• Moderately serious (3)
• Serious (4)
• Very serious (5)

4a)  If you would respond to this situation, what would you do with the perpetrator?  Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

4b) What would you do with the victim? Please provide clear details about what you would do, for example, the specific nature and tone of your response to the student (type your answer below).

Part 2: Qualitative Responses

• Responses to perpetrator:

In this section, you will code each participants’ response to the perpetrator using the following coding scheme:

For each participant response, write the number (0 – 6) that best describes the response. For example, a response such as, “Sit down with the student and discuss that bullying behavior is not acceptable” would be coded as a “4”.

Use the table below to summarise how many of each type of response were given in each scenario:

• Responses to victim:

In this section, you will repeat the strategy above to code each participants’ response to the victim, using the following coding scheme:

For each participant response, write the number that (0 – 6) that best describes the response. For example, a response such as, “support victim in finding other friends/activities” would be coded as a “5”.

Use the table below to summarise how many of each type of response were given in each scenario:

Answer:

Introduction

             Many scholars have widely discussed responsive, aggressive behaviors possessed by students. Some of these behaviors include bullying which has been characterized by severity to the many students who are victims. The type of bullying is categorized in two ways that are indirect and direct. In Rigby article 2014, different ways in which teachers address responsive behaviors. Some of the approaches used are restorative practice, immediate sanctions, mediation, support group method, the method of shared concern (Rigby, 2012).

          In therapeutic process, the offenders are required to attend the meeting whereby the victims are also present. The primary aim of this approach is to embarrass the offender.an environment is created in that an offender is given a chance to ponder about the bullying (Alcaraz, 2010). The harmfulness or effect of the bullying is brought about. Again the bully is required to provide an efficient form of punishment. He/she can decide to apologize or provide a kind of compensation. On the other hand, the victim may accept the offer or not, but finally, the relationship between the two is restored. This is one of the most used approaches in recent days, especially in secondary schools. In high school level students have the better understanding. Another party may also be present for better decision in preparation. However, this method may be inappropriate if the victim provoked the bully but needs justice to be exercised (Alcaraz, 2010).

               Another approach is direct sanctions whereby undesirable and severe consequences are enacted to those found bullying. In many countries such as the United States, physical punishment for example caning is given. Other forms are the withdrawal of privileges, removal from classrooms, and short-term exclusion in individual rooms or permanent, community services to the school. The offenders serve as the example to the rest as they are aware of what happened to them. However, the method does not foster creative engagement between the victims and offenders hence may end up destroying their relationship. The method has proven 62% success in dealing with responsive behaviors.

           Mediation is another approach used although it requires training to the participants that is the peer mediator. Both parties have an obligation to tell their stories without interruption. Minimal guidance is necessary for the approach and mostly used in conflict solving in many schools especially secondary levels (Rigby, 2012). The method involves creative engagement. However, few cases are solved using this tactic due to inadequate of trained mediators.

            Another methodology used is support group method.it is best applied where some students were involved in bullying. The tactic was developed by Robinson and machines in 2008.The main aim is to establish the negative consequences the child has been going through. Victims are promised no punishment if they say, perpetrators. They are also asked to provide other necessary information. The approach has served as the best alternative of direct sanction. Afterwards the meeting is held with the absence of the victims and some supporters. Each sponsor is given responsibility in supporting the child who has been bullied and to advise each other. Later on, other meetings are held to show the progress. This method has been effective in stopping bullying in many schools especially in primary level. Some of the coerciveness elements may be identified which limit engagement (Smith, 2011). Although no punishment is imposed to the bullies, a good deal right pressure is placed on the victims. Moreover, they are set with undeniable evidence. In most cases they are under pressure.it may be difficult to restore the friendship as the creative engagement present in other method is absent.

           Lastly, the shared concern is another multi-stage method used originally developed by psychologist’s Anatol Pikas.it is almost similar to support group practice. Suspects of bullying are interviewed one by one. The main aim is to get all concern to where a certain child has been bullied and the difficult times has gone through. In this stage, no accusation is made to the bully. After obtaining all information related to the child, a group of students is formed. Through interaction among group members, suggestions are given on how to improve the situation of the child. In addition to that, the group may be motivated to sustain solidarity in rebelliousness perceived by the practitioner. However, the methodology is rarely used (Smith, 2011).

            In the above methods, different psychologists have come up with the various way of addressing bullying which has proved their effectiveness at some point. However, the tactics have some limitations. The research done does not take into account the level of the of the cases being addressed. The level means their nature whether the cases are severe or mild, physical or verbal. The character of the bully helps in determining which method to use. Briefly, more research in this area needs to be done for to come up with more efficient tactics.

          There are several signs that teachers can use to identify the presence of bullying: first, a student may have decreased interest to going to school and absenteeism. Reduced performance is another indicator, normal damage or loss of items for example clothing, some injuries and bruises. Moreover, a student may be moody and irritable many times. Other signs are trying to commit suicide or harm oneself (Smith, 2011). Many times, a child may lack company at the free time and isolates from other students.in case a child reports a bully, the quick measure should be taken to reduce the severity of the bully.

            Teachers use several ways to determine the seriousness of the bully which depends on several factors. One a teacher can identify the duration of the behavior. If bullying has been done for an extended period, it is likely to be severe for instance kneeling on the passageways. The frequency of expression is another criterion used .if a child I bullied often; it is liable to be severe as it may be distress the victim. The bullying the victim undertakes. Some bullies may cause physical assaults.

             There are two types of bullying of bullying which may be direct or indirect.in direct bullying there is hitting, hiding ones belong, pushing, exerting of money. In most cases, it is referred physical harassment. Indirect bullying is mainly verbal.it may involve calling names, mocking and use of gestures. Both bullying are harmful their consequences may be severe.

             Different types of bullying should be dealt with using different tactic rather than generalizing them.  In this way, their effectiveness will be noted. Least severe bullying should be addressed using least analytical method (Smith, 2011). However, they are the most difficult behaviors to deal with.in addressing them, and the offender should be informed of the school rules. This can be done by telling them to state some of the rules to know whether they are aware of them. Secondly, the bully can be ordered to write some of the rules they are aware of in the school. In this way, awareness of the school rules is created. Many teachers used this methodology.

          Empathy approach is applied whereby the bullied comforted during distress period. Teachers show the victim bullying is a minor thing that should not bother her or him. Moreover, a teacher may try to make bullying a universal thing that everyone experiences in school (Sadaf, 2012).

          Moreover, a teacher may teacher the bullied on appropriate ways to behave when bullied. Some of the strategies to apply during difficult times. Having known this, the bullied will have confidence and will not be stranded. However, monitoring to should be done severally for positive change. Also, restorative, shared concern, peer support, motivational interviewing, behavior support approaches may be used (Sadaf, 2012).

              Severe bullying should be dealt with differently compared to least close ones as these type of bullying are cruel and may cause torture. Teachers have suggestions on the actions. On dealing with these behaviors, administration staff, parents should be involved in decision making to come up with safety approaches. Result cases should be treated as per an individual. Some of the actions which should be endorsed to the perpetrator include, short exclusion from school or permanent exclusion (Westling, 2010). In this case, the offender is sent away from school. Also, an offender can be punished by carrying out school community work. Moreover, teachers use some of the rational ways at this level. Mediation is one methodology used whereby three parties is a teacher, mediator and bully. The facilitator asks every student questions, and they answer in turns without interruption. Then each of the students is requested to suggest some of the in which the issue is resolved. Then each suggestion is examined to determine the solution (Craig, 2011).

           Restorative practices also used whereby the teacher asks questions in the presence of both victim and bully. The main aim is to acquire accurate and full information about the situation. Afterwards, the situation is monitored

           The third approach used is the support group. It involves a series of steps .first; there is a conversation between the victim and teacher to ensure bullying has happened. Other students who may be helpful in coming up with the appropriate solution are selected by the practitioner.in the next stage, explanation of the problem is done by use of evidence provided by the victim. In this juncture, no accusation is made (Smith, Pepler, & Rigby, 2004). Then, there is the promotion of shared responsibility in that no one will be punished and each has a responsibility of improving the situation. Later, practitioner asks for suggestions for improvement of the situation. Finally, a meeting is done to ascertain the progress (Craig, 2011).

          The above method has played vital roles in stopping bullying and helping the victim. The victim gains confidence by sharing similar experiences. Parts division ensures that the victim will not feel unsafe and will have no troubles in dealing with others.in addition good relationship is created between the bullies and victim.

          The method of shared is also applied by teachers to reduce bullying in schools.it is similar to support group except in this method the suspected bullies are interviewed first. The primary aim is to determine the cause of bullying whether it was a provocation or not (Westling, 2010). After obtaining the aggregate information, the solution can be made from there.

          Peer mistreatment is another form of bullying whereby the behavior is intentional and aggressive. Its forms include, physical, verbal, emotional that is spreading rumors and intimidation may use the internet to slander, harassment, and stalk. This is one type of bully which has resulted in severe consequences that are suicides and violence in school. To avoid this kind of bully, students are advised to equip themselves with some of the strategies. A student can avoid this by asking help from an adult as those who mistreat are cunning. Secondly one can walk away from the offenders to avoid them.one can also join other friends who are large in number as the peers avoid large numbers (Westling, 2010). One should also show the bullies have no interest on their mistreat or it bothers her or him less. A student should respond positively to the talks. More the victim can report the case to the administration for further punishment or consideration.

          Apart from applying the formal methods of stopping the bully, other informal ways are appropriate .a teacher may have a one-on-one conversation with the offenders to know what drives them into bullying and advise them on the consequences. Other involving activities may be introduced such as sports and talent building events. Those businesses reduce the free time students may be having to engage in bullying activities. A teacher may also advise students on types of friends they should make.

Conclusion

             In a nutshell, bullying is an alarming issue and problem in many schools.it has very many adverse outcomes such as physical injuries, emotional disturbances among other.in my point of view, the same methodology should not be used to stop bullying because their severity differs and their causes. One realizes that some of the bullying action are as a result of provocative acts by victims. Methods such as restorative activities shared concern; support group have been proved useful through the cooperation of all parties. However other tactics such as direct sanctions may be severe and eventually ruin the relationship between the victims and offenders. Also, some other informal ways may be applied to create an intimate relationship between teachers and criminals, and their results may be excellent. Moreover, close monitoring of the victims should be done to raise their self-esteem and confidence.

References

Alcaraz, R. K. (2010). Bullying in Schools.

Craig, K. B. (2011). ). Pre-service teachers’ knowledge and attitudes regarding school-based bullying. Canadian Journal of Education, 34(2), 21-33.

Juvonen, J. &. (2014). Bullying in schools: The power of bullies and the plight of victims. Annual review of psychology, 65, 159-185.

Maybrun, B. (2015). Preventing Bullying in Schools.

O’Neill, S. &. (2012). ). Exploring Australian pre-service teachers sense of efficacy, its sources, and some possible influences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(4), 535-545.

Rigby, K. (2011). What can schools do about cases of bullying?. Pastoral Care in Education, 29(4), 273-285.

Rigby, K. (2012). Bullying in schools: Addressing desires, not only behaviours. Educational Psychology Review, 24(2), 339-348.

Ripski, M. B.-C. (2011). Pre-service teachers: Dispositional traits, emotional states, and quality of teacher-student interactions. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(2), 77-96.

Sadaf, A. N. (2012). ). Exploring pre-service teachers’ beliefs about using Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 classroom. computers & Education, 59(3), 937-945.

Şahin, M. (2010). Teachers’ perceptions of bullying in high schools: a Turkish study. Social Behavior and Personality: . an international journal, 38(1), 127-142.

Smith, P. K. (2004).  Bullying in schools: How successful can interventions be?. . Cambridge University Press.

Smith, P. K. (2011). Bullying in schools: Thirty years of research. Bullying in different contexts, 36-60.

Taylor, R. W. (2012). Impacting pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. Higher Education Studies, 2(3), 16.

Westling, D. L. (2010). Teachers and challenging behavior: Knowledge, views, and practices. Remedial and Special Education, 31(1), 48-63.

Whitted, K. S. (2005). Best practices for preventing or reducing bullying in schools. Children & Schools,, 27(3), 167-175.

Woodham, L. &. (2012). BULLYING IN SCHOOLS.