Bullying and Education

Introduction Bullying has become a significant problem among children in schools and even in the home environment due to the accessibility of the Internet. Bullying has been defined by Craig and Pepler as a “form of social interaction in which a more dominant individual (the bully) exhibits aggressive behaviour that is intended to cause distress or harm to a less dominant individual (the victim)” (Perry, Winne, Woolfolk, 2012). Bullying can take many forms varying from physical, verbal, social and cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is defined as a “form of international aggression where individuals, uses information technologies, such as email, websites, instant messaging, and text messages on cell phones to inflict harm on others by embarrassing them or gossiping about them” (Perry, Winne, Woolfolk, 2012). It has been estimated that 30% of students have been involved in bullying (Cooners-Burrow, Gargus, Johnson, McKelvey & Whiteside-Mansell, 2009) which has caused an “increased interest in the role parents can play in preventing or intervening in bullying situations”(Waasdorp & Bradshaw, 2009). Since most children do not have the skills necessary to advocate for themselves regarding bullying they rely on adults to do so or give guidance. Even though sometimes adult intervention can have positive effects on dealing with bullying, sometime they can also have negative effects. The pros and cons of adults intervening when children are being bullied can result in the bullying cessation or escalation.
Pros of adults intervening when children are being bullied Even though there is a general reluctance from children to tell adults about being bullied there are many positive effects that result from informing adults about being bullied. One of the positive effects that can occur from informing adults about bullied results in the bullying ceasing. Once the child has informed their parent(s) of being bullied then there are “seven possible responses to their child’s

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