The Role and Limitations of Teachers in Bullying Situations
We discussed the different roles that emerge in bullying situations, as not only the bully and the victim are involved, but there is also a group of bystanders who, even if they play a less active role, still have an important impact on the situation.
One key figure that particularly interests me is the role of teachers, as I believe they can have a significant impact and be crucial in addressing the problem, both in terms of stopping an emerging situation and preventing a new one from arising. I have always been quite interested in education, but I often think that acting appropriately in bullying situations can be very challenging. For this reason, I wanted to explore more deeply the exact role and limitations of teachers through an article that examines bullying from the perspective of teachers.
The article explains that teachers are often aware that bullying occurs in their classrooms. But on the one hand, they have great difficulty in identifying it, and on the other, insecurity when it comes to addressing it properly.
Many teachers mistake bullying for jokes between classmates, failing to recognize the intentionality, power imbalance, and repetition of these actions.
In addition, quite a few teachers express that they have not received proper training to identify and intervene in such cases, and that there is a lack of clear protocols within the school. This lack of support makes them feel insecure and powerless.
The study also discusses the differences in how teachers approach the issue with students. Some focus on "punishing" the bully, while others seek to mediate between the two parties. There are also some who try to manage the role of the bystanders and address bullying preventively with the whole class.
Finally, it highlights that teachers feel the situation becomes even more delicate when it affects students with special educational needs, as social dynamics are more deeply rooted and harder to change.
Font: Machado de Oliveira-Menegotto, L., & Machado, I. (2018). Bullying escolar na perspectiva dos professores. Estudos e Pesquisas em Psicologia, 18(1), 321-340.
Júlia Pons Gibert
The other day I was navegaiting in internet, I started researching the status of our country's schools regarding bullying, and I found a couple of news items that I thought were important to share with you:
ReplyDelete"Catalan schools detect 1,333 possible cases of bullying since the
beginning of the school year"
Schools have identified 1,333 possible cases of bullying this year, according to a 3Cat report. The news was published during the International Day Against Bullying (May 2). Last year, the Student Violence Registry was created, a tool for schools to report cases of bullying and thus have more accurate data on the problem in Catalonia.
So, in the case of bullying, what should be done? Schools, families, or students can ask for help from the USAV (Unit for Support to Students in Situations of Violence), a free service of the Department of Education. There are also other resources, such as:
- The Violence-Free Schools Plan.
- Action protocols and training for teachers.
- The COCOBE (Coexistence and Well-being Coordinator in each school).
These measures pretend to detect bullying quickly, support victims, and prevent further cases.
(https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20250502/escuela-catalana-detecta-casos-acoso-escolar-bullying-catalunya-116966999)
“Catalonia has handled more than 2,200 cases of bullying since 2021: a
200% increase in three academic years.”
The number of cases handled by the Department's specific unit—the USAV—has increased by 200% in the last three academic years, reaching 1,042 last year. In total, a total of 2,206 cases have been classified as bullying since 2021.
(https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20241002/bullying-acoso-escolar-campana-catalunya-violencia-escuela-108822727 )
These two shocking news stories expose deep problems in our schools. What’s your reaction?
Laura Sanchez
Thank you for writing this blog! I had the same thoughts as you when discussing this topic, especially as a future teacher. I was allowed to do a three-year internship during my teacher training and can confirm many of the topics you discussed in this blog. You mention that it is often difficult for teachers to see whether jokes are being made between students or whether it is bullying. This is even more difficult to see because these situations often occur at different times, for example, the teacher may see this happening in the classroom, but they are not there when it happens outside during outdoor play or when they have gym with a specialist teacher. This makes it difficult for us to see how often these 'jokes' occur. You also mention in your blog that many schools do not have a clear protocol and that this makes them feel powerless and insecure. In my experience, this is completely true. At all three schools where I did an internship, I did not see a clear protocol for dealing with bullying. This is not only a problem because it makes teachers uncertain and gives them no support, it is also a problem because then there is nothing on paper. Suppose a teacher takes action in a situation where bullying is involved and the parents of the students do not agree, then the teachers have nothing to fall back on and they can get into trouble.
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