Analysis Of Self-Reported Memories Of College Freshman

This study will focus on the self-reported memories of college freshman relating to the factors that impeded their decision of whether or not to report instances of bullying that occurred while they were in high school. There were several variables for the researcher to consider in this study. First, although the most common recommendation to help stop bullying is for students to report instances of bullying to an adult (Luxenberg, Limber, & Olweus, 2015; Olweus, 1993), students are still not reporting bullying in school. Second, researchers have found a disconnect between a teacher’s perception of their ability to appropriately respond to a bullying event and the student’s perception of trust in their teachers to effectively respond (Yoon
Since bullying in schools can occur in various forms and is often confused with teasing or harassment, being able to identify bullying amidst the many forms, may be a compounding factor that affects a student’s ability to accurately report it to an adult (Dracic, 2009; PACER, 2010). Another potential compounding factor that can affect a student’s decision whether or not to report bullying is a lack of trust in teachers and other adults in the school to appropriately intervene and respond to a reported bullying incident (Novick & Isaacs, 2010). To date, the vast amount of research conducted on bullying in schools often fails to include student perceptions (deLara, 2008; Garbarino & deLara, 2002; Mishna & Alaggio, 2005; Pepler, Jiang, Craig, & Connolly, 2008). For this reason, it is critical to go right to the source and gather data from the students to understand why they are not reporting bullying to schools per the set policies or anti-bullying program reporting measures. Without information from the students that are at the center of the problem, it is difficult for teachers and other school personnel to provide the proper supportive and corrective measures to appropriately intervene, decrease, and stop
The insights gained from this study may be of use to high school administrators when revising their policies to address the reasons that students are not reporting known bullying incidents. The insights gained from this study may be of use to high schools to encourage reporting of bullying incidents. Consideration of these factors when revising policies, in turn, may have a positive influence on the reporting rates of bullying to teachers and other school officials as well as a marked impact on a school’s ability to appropriately address bullying.These factors are important for schools to consider when creating targeted training measures for teachers, staff, and students regarding bullying and how bullying should be reported to school officials. The insights gained from this study may be of use to high schools to encourage reporting of bullying