Running Head: Bullying DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ELEMENTARY ... Marsha.pdf · Running Head: Bullying DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ELEMENTARY TEACHER AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF BULLYING CLASSROOM

Northwest Missouri State University

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Running Head: Bullying

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ELEMENTARY TEACHER AND STUDENT

PERCEPTIONS OF BULLYING CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

By

Marsha Roth

Submitted to

The Faculty of the Educational Specialist Program


Department of Educational Leadership

College of Education and Human Services

Maryville, MO 64468

Field Study Committee Members

Dr. Phil Messner

Submitted in Fulfillment for the Requirements for

61-724 Field Study

Spring 2012

ABSTRACT


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This study analyzed the influence of “class meeting” experience and the number of student

referrals to the office. The purpose of the study was to see if there is a correlation between “class

meetings” and bullying based on the number of students referred to the office. The study group

was 315 3rd

, 4th

, and 5th

grade students and 12 classroom teachers in a suburban school district,

Liberty Oaks Elementary School. This study will show that students in grades 3rd

through 5th

grade do feel safe in their classroom environment and that they feel that their teacher is aware of

and handling the bullying that is taking place in their classroom. The data will also show that

students and teachers primarily view certain behaviors as bullying.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY


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This study examined Elementary students’ perceptions of how bullying issues are addressed in

their classroom. Relevant data were obtained from 3rd

, 4th

and 5th

grade Elementary school

students and from 12 Elementary school teachers. The goal of the study is to determine the

correlation between teachers and students perceptions of bullying in the classroom. SS

Elementary teachers lack the information in knowing how their students perceive bullying in the

classroom.

This report contains the following elements: 1) Background, issues and concerns, 2) Practice

under investigation, 3) School policy, 4) Conceptual underpinnings, 5) Statement of the problem,

6) Purpose of the study, 7) Research questions, 8) Null hypotheses, 9) Anticipated benefits of the

study, 10) Review of literature, 11) Research methods, 12) Findings, 13) Conclusions, and 14)

References.

Background, Issues and Concerns


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In the current climate of school bullying, teachers, counselors and administrators are struggling

to create emotionally safe and respectful school environments. They are doing so without fully

understanding how students feel in the school environment (Davis, 2011, p. 18). There is no set

way to teach future and current educators to respond to or handle bullying behaviors in the

classroom.

Although bullying is a growing concern, there has been little research done to examine the

potential differences between student and staff perceptions of the frequency of bullying, forms of

bullying, severity of the problem, social norms related to bullying, and responses to witnessing

bullying (Bradshaw, 2007, p. 361).

Practice Under Investigation

Teachers, Counselors and Administrative personnel in the elementary school studied would like

to better understand how to create safe environments and improve overall school climate for

students. Stakeholders would like to know if any of the behavior intervention strategies as well

as basic classroom management is coinciding to make SS Elementary School a safe place for

students.

School Policy


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All statistical data and research will be presented to the school counselor and administration

of SS Elementary School. Final reports will be presented to the 3rd

-5th

grade teachers to

determine if changes need to be made in professional development in the areas of classroom

management and classroom climate.

Conceptual Underpinnings

In a climate where school bullying is becoming more and more prevalent, it is important to

ensure the safety of elementary school students. To establish where the need for safety is, it is

important to know where the issues lie. Establishing effective discipline practices is critical to

ensure academic success and to provide a safe learning environment Students and teachers must

work together to make school a safe learning environment. Students and teachers must see the

reality in the classroom and building before beginning to work together to effectively manage

bullying.

Statement of Problem

There is a clear discrepancy between the perceptions of bullying behaviors from students to

teachers. Each group views bullying and the classroom management put in place to deal with

bullying differently; causing a break down between teachers and students.

Purpose of the Study


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The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not there is a correlation between

students and teachers perception of bullying behaviors in the classroom and teacher awareness at

SS Elementary School.

Research Questions

The following research questions were constructed to investigate the problem.

RQ1-My teacher is aware of the bullying behaviors in the classroom. (student)/ I am aware of

the bullying behaviors in my classroom. (teacher)

RQ2-My teacher takes action when bullying occurs. (student)/ I take action when I see or hear

about bullying behaviors. (teacher)

RQ3-My teacher listens to every bullying complaint. (student)/ I listen to every bullying

complaint. (teacher)

RQ4-I feel safe in my classroom. (students)/ Students feel safe in my classroom. (teachers)

RQ5-Do you perceive the following actions as bullying behaviors: Leaving others out, giving

mean looks, hitting or kicking others, eye rolling, and making fun of other people.

Null Hypothesis alpha level

There will be a discrepancy between teachers and students perception of bullying behaviors

and classroom management.

Anticipated Benefits of Study


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The benefits of this study will apply to administrators, counselors and elementary teachers..

This study provides a look into what students are actually seeing and feeling about their safety in

the school environment. The implications of this study will be to determine if new professional

development should be offered in the areas of bullying and classroom management specific. By

determining the staff and student perceptions on school bullying the counselor and teachers can

better meet the needs of students.

Definition of Terms

Staff Development – "High-quality professional development...refers to rigorous and relevant

content, strategies, and organizational supports that ensure the preparation and career-long

development of teachers and others whose competence, expectations and actions influence the

teaching and learning environment" -United States Department of Education

Classroom Management Strategies-School and classroom management aims at encouraging and

establishing student self-control through a process of promoting positive student achievement

and behavior. Thus academic achievement, teacher efficacy, and teacher and student behavior

are directly linked with the concept of school and classroom management.

Bullying- Bullying is intentional aggressive behavior. It can take the form of physical or verbal

harassment and involves an imbalance of power (a group of children can gang up on a victim or

someone who is physically bigger or more aggressive can intimidate someone else, for

instance).Bullying behavior can include teasing, insulting someone (particularly about their

weight or height, race, sexuality, religion or other personal traits), shoving, hitting, excluding

someone, or gossiping about someone. –United States Department of Education

CHAPTER TWO


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Review of Literature

What is bullying, how do we solve it and is it really happening? The first question is much easier

answered than the last two. According to Catherine P. Bradshaw, “bullying is broadly defined as

a class of intentional and repeated acts that occur through physical, verbal, and relational forms

in situations where a power difference is presents.” All can agree on a bullying definition. Where

the road gets muddy is in how to solve it, and is it really happening. When adults in school

settings depend only on themselves for the answers to these questions they fall short of providing

students with the safest possible environment to learn in. But when the two begin to work

together and truly listen to each other on the topic then things in the educational setting will

begin to change.

Many of the bullying problems that are facing schools today exist because teachers are unaware

of the seriousness of peer victimization at their school. “School staff and teachers tend to

underestimate the number of students being bullied and frequently expect students and peers to

work out the problem on their own. “ (Bradshaw, 2007). School personnel are seemingly

unaware of the problems going on in their own building. Every “report” or “tattle” is treated as

such, and the bottom line is that teachers and staff are treating them all the same, instead of with

the delicacy that each deserves.

By not truly taking a look into bullying in every case and every building, teachers have put on

“blinders” to who is doing the bullying. Bullying has taken on many forms and comes from all

different types of students. In his article, Bullying, Ron Banks shares that bullying is not the “old

school boys on the playground” mentality that many teachers are used to. Bullies can be


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comprised of a group of boys who tend to be more direct, or, girls who are more apt to utilize

more subtle indirect strategies of bullying. Girls tend to fight more passively by spreading

rumors, forcing social isolation, manipulation and cyber bullying. All of these methods, while

new to many veteran teachers are still methods that can inflict the same amount of damage as the

more typical hitting and kicking.

In an age where we are connected 24 hours a day by phones, video chats and social networking

cyber bullying is on the rise. Since it is not necessarily done at school teachers are often times

not aware of it or the impact that it is having in the educational setting. “Cyber bullying is often

anonymous and can occur anytime and without regard to geographical barriers.” (Slovak &

Singer, 2011). Cyber bullying is the “perfect crime” because it can involve hundreds of kids,

thanks to social networking sites, and can be completely anonymous. Teachers are not ready for

this, nor do they know what to do to help prevent things like this.

Oliver, Hoover, and Hazler (1994) surveyed students in the Midwest and found that a clear

majority of students felt that adults were willing to help. Stating that adult intervention is

infrequent and ineffective and that telling an adult will only bring more harassment from bullies.

Schools need to become more aware of what is going on inside and outside their walls. Oneb

theory on how to prevent bullying came from Oliver, Hoover and Hazler (1994):

-Send out an initial questionnaire to students and adults. This will serve as a benchmark

to measure the impact of improvements in school climate.

-Begin a parental awareness campaign. The goal is to increase parental awareness of the

problem. Publish initial questionnaire results for parents to see in a newsletter or


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through PTA.

-Teachers and counselors begin working with all students at the class level to develop

anti-bullying rules and engage in role playing exercises. Teachers not only focus

on bully victim roles, but also showing students how to assist victims and how

everyone can work together to create a school climate where bullying is not

tolerated

-Begin individualized interventions with specific known bullies and victims.

-increase adult supervision at key times ie. recess, lunch, passing times

Once schools begin to view bullying as a problem that is not just going to go away or an easy fix,

they can actually begin to work out the problem and truly help students through a trying and

difficult time.

Bullying not only affects the victim but often times those around who hear or see the

victimization every day. Bullying has many negative effects and can result in long term low self-

esteem or self-worth. Kutob, Senf, Crago, and Shisslak (2010) did a longitudinal study on self-

esteem in girls over a period of 4 years. Although not all of the girls were teased or bullied the

outlying effects of hearing bullying or malicious jokes were great. Positive self-esteem is

associated with academic achievement, positive relationships with others and good coping skills

as well as many others. When someone begins to threaten one of those areas you begin to shut

down. When someone is around a bully even if they are not the intended target, they begin to

hear the negative things and may internalize them themselves and, even if they are not true, they

begin to believe them. Body weight is one of the most important factors contributing to physical

apparenc. It has been demonstrated in a variety of studies that overweight children and


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adolescents geerally have more negative self-esteem than those of normal weight. (Kutob, Senf,

Crago, and Shisslak, 2010).

With the staggering news that even bystanders may be feeling the effects of bullying we need to

be teaching our students to stand together. Part of our bullying curriculum should be focused on

what to do when you see someone being bullied. We need to teach our young people to ally

together against a bully, not as a gang or a mob, but as peaceable students who refuse to be

afraid. One thing that victims of bullying said helped them the most was a peer. (Davis, Nixson,

2011). Victims stated that when a peer: offered support, became an ally, listened to them, gave

them advice and helped them talk to a teacher they immediately began to feel safe again. The

power that a peer has is unbelievable, but many students don’t know how to be that peer helper.

As a teacher it is our job to begin to educate students how to do just that.

Because bullying to the magnitude that we see today is ever changing, there is little curriculum

in place to help provide support to teachers and administrators. The most important things that

teachers can remember was taken from a survey done by Stan Davis and Charisse Nixon, when

asked what adults could do to help the students responded, “Support me, encouragement, and

vigilance.” The students in this study went on to say that when adults listened to them,

maintained supervision, gave them support and triaged with them to make sure they were still

feeling safe things got better. We as the adults and the safety figure should not respond to

students by telling them to work things out on their own, or problem solve with that person.

Their fight should be our fight! Our vigilance is of the utmost importance to the young people in

our schools today.


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CHAPTER THREE


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RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Research Method

The following research methods were used to investigate the research questions stated above.

The methods of 1) research design, 2) study group identification, 3) data collection, and 4)

statistical analysis are described below.

Research Design

This research design was a survey created with corresponding questions for the teachers and the

students. Comparative research was conducted using a pairwise comparison in order to analyze

the difference between the teachers and students, and also between the grade levels.

Study Group Description

The elementary teachers consisted of 12 total teachers. Four 3rd

grade, four 4th

grade, and four 5th

grade teachers. The elementary students consisted of 102 3rd

graders, 108 4th

graders, and 105 5th

graders.

Data Collection Methods and Instruments to be Used


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Data were collected through the use of a survey given in the regular classroom. The classroom

teacher was out of the room and no names were put on any of the surveys, classroom teacher or

student. The same survey was given to all 3rd

, 4th

and 5th

graders. The teachers were asked to fill

out the corresponding survey and return them anonymously. Data was collected and put in to the

ASP software program. It was collected to determine if there was a significant difference in the

perceptions of bullying between the teachers and students.

Statistical analysis methods used

The study reported means, standard deviations, and t-tests. The ASP program was used to

calculate the findings.

CHAPTER FOUR


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PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

An item analysis was run for each grade level and teacher response.

Item 1 Analysis: More than 58% of all responding teachers believe that they are always

aware of the bullying behaviors going on in their classroom. While only 28% of students believe

this to be true. There was a significant difference (CHI 5.31; P=.07) between teacher opinion and

student opinion. As shown in Table 1, more students agreed that teachers were only sometimes

aware of bullying behaviors in the classroom.

Table 1

Summary Analysis of Students v. Teachers: My teacher is aware of the bullying behaviors in the

classroom.

CHI SQUARE (2): 5.31 P-VALUE: 0.07

PERCENT OF COLUMN TOTALS

Students Teachers Total

Aware (1) 8.7 0 8.3

Aware (2) 62.8 41.7 61.9

Aware (3) 28.5 58.3 29.8

Legend: (1) Never (2) Sometimes (3) Always

Green=Students Blue=Teachers


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Item 2 Analysis: More than 83% of all responding teachers believe that they only

sometimes respond and take action to bullying behaviors going on in their classroom. While 63%

of students believe their teacher is always responding to bullying behaviors. There was a

significant difference (CHI 14.9; P=.00057) between teacher opinion and student opinion. As

shown in Table 2, teachers and students did not agree that teachers always respond to bullying

behaviors.

Table 2

Summary of Students v. Teachers: My teacher takes action when bullying occurs




Take Action (1) 4.3 8.3 4.5

Take Action (2) 32.1 83.3 34.3

Take Action (3) 63.5 8.3 61.2




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Item 3 Analysis: The responding teachers were split 50% to 50% when it came to

listening to student complaints about bullying. 50% of responding teacher believes that they

always listen to bullying complaints and 50% responded that they only sometimes listen to

complaints. While 62% of students believe their teacher is always listening to reports on bullying

behaviors. There was a not significant difference (CHI 2.78; P=0.25) between teacher opinion

and student opinion. As shown in Table 3, teachers and students both reported 50% or higher in

favor of teachers always listening to complaints about bullying behaviors.

Table 3

Summary of Students v. Teachers: My Teacher listens to every bullying report




Listen (1) 7.6 0 7.3

Listen (2) 29.6 50 30.4

Listen (3) 62.8 50 62.3




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Item 4 Analysis: The responding teachers stated that 66% of their students always feel

safe in the classroom environment. While 66% of reported that they always feel safe in their

classroom environment. There was a not significant difference (CHI 0.90; P=0.64) between

teacher opinion and student opinion. As shown in Table 4, teachers and students both reported

66% feeling that safety is not an issue in the classroom.

Table 4

Summary of Students v. Teachers: I feel safe in my classroom




Feel Safe (1) 6.1 0 5.9

Feel Safe (2) 27.1 33.3 27.3

Feel Safe (3) 66.8 66.7 66.8




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Item 5 Analysis: 100% of the responding teachers stated that leaving others out is a

bullying behavior. This means that the teachers will treat this as a bullying behavior when they

see it. Only 78% of students feel that leaving someone out is a bullying behavior. There was not

a significant difference (CHI 3.28; P=0.07) between teacher opinion and student opinion.

However, there are 21% of students who believe that this is not a bullying behavior which state

that 21% of the students will carry out this behavior without thinking anything is wrong. This is a

concern for the counselor and will be addressed during monthly counselor visits to the

classroom.

Table 5

Summary of Students v. Teachers on Bullying Behavior: Leaving Students out




Leaving Out (1) 21.7 0 20.8

Leaving Out(2) 78.3 100 79.2

Legend: (1) No, not a bullying behavior (2) Yes, a bullying behavior


Item 6 Analysis: 91% of the responding teachers stated that giving mean looks to others is

a bullying behavior. While only 69% of students feel that giving mean looks is a bullying


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behavior. There was not a significant difference (CHI 2.68; P=0.10) between teacher opinion

and student opinion. However, there are 8% of teachers who believe that this is not a bullying

behavior. This will result in professional development for teachers to help them identify the

differing types of bullying that they could see in the classroom.

Table 6

Summary of Students v. Teachers on Bullying Behavior: Giving Mean Looks




Mean Looks (1) 30.3 8.3 29.4

Mean Looks(2) 69.7 91.7 70.6



Item 7 Analysis: 100% of the responding teachers stated that hitting or kicking is bullying

behavior. While only 89% of students feel that hitting or kicking is bullying behavior. There was


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not a significant difference (CHI 1.34; P=0.25) between teacher opinion and student opinion.

However, there are 10% of students who believe that this is not a bullying behavior. This will

result in further explanation of what a bully is to students through counselor session or individual

student sessions.

Table 7

Summary of Students v. Teachers on Bullying Behavior: Hitting/Kicking




Hitting/Kicking (1) 10.1 0 9.7

Hitting/Kicking (2) 89.9 100 90.3



Item 8 Analysis: 91% of the responding teachers stated that eye rolling is a bullying

behavior. While only 67% of students feel that eye rolling is a bullying behavior. There was a


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significant difference (CHI 3.19; P=0.07) between teacher opinion and student opinion. This

particular behavior, since it is left up for interpretation by each individual it stands that it too is a

topic for the counselor to discuss. 32% of students see nothing wrong with eye rolling and may

use the behavior yielding the wrong results from others.

Table 8

Summary of Students v. Teachers on Bullying Behavior: Eye Rolling




Eye Rolling (1) 32.9 8.3 31.8

Eye Rolling (2) 67.1 91.7 68.2



Item 9 Analysis: 100% of the responding teachers stated that making fun of others is a

bullying behavior. Majority of responding students agree by 93%, that making fun of others is a


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bullying behavior. There was not a significant difference (CHI .88; P=0.34) between teacher

opinion and student opinion. However, 6% of students believed that making fun of others is not

actually bullying behavior. This statistic in particular is overwhelming. This suggests that the

students at SS Elementary School may result to this behavior as a means to communicate, when

in fact they will be perceived by 93% of their peers as a bully. Further student life skills

development will need to be implemented.

Table 9

Summary of Students v. Teachers on Bullying Behavior: Making fun of others

CHI SQUARE (1): .88 P-VALUE: 0.34



Making fun of (1) 6.9 0 6.6

Making fun of (2) 93.1 100 93.4



CHAPTER 5


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OVERVIEW, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Discussion of Findings

The overall test results indicate that the overall null hypothesis was rejected. When comparing

the results of student and teacher perception with the test, it shows that there was not a

significant difference in recognizing bullying behaviors. However, there was a significant

difference in certain areas of classroom management between students and teachers. A

significant difference was found for Item 1 analysis (p = 0.07). A significant differences was also

found for the Item 2 analysis (p = 0.00).

Conclusions

The findings of this study are conclusive enough to determine that at school XYZ the

perception of bullying and bullying behaviors between students and teachers are similar.

Teachers and students at XYZ Elementary see the same types of bullying behaviors going on.

They also agree on teacher intervention. The null hypothesis is rejected when completing the

item analysis. When looking at the data from students and teachers there is not a significant

difference between their perceptions of bullying and teacher management.

A problem of this study is that while the surveys were anonymous students may still

have felt nervous to answer the questions completely open and honestly. The scale used for

teacher management was a 2, 1, 0 scale or (always, sometimes, never) and there for a significant

gain or loss cannot be acquired. The results would be more conclusive if the scale offered more

possibilities, truly defining the sometimes category.

According to Barnett, Davis and many other bullying research experts, there is a need for

the teaching of bullying strategies and classroom management. It is important to make sure that


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teachers and students are on the same page. Students need to know that they have a voice and

that when expressed their teacher will make them safe.

Recommendations

There are many factors that contribute to students' ability to feel safe in their school

environment. I would recommend that teachers and all school staff be provided opportunities for

professional development to stay current on effective classroom management and identifying

bullying in any form. As technology becomes a big part of our culture teachers will need to be

continuously trained on how to spot and identify bullying behaviors.

I would also recommend that as a yearly practice schools begin to survey students to get a

baseline for school culture and environment. It is important to always know how students feel

when they step through the doors. This survey would also be an effective tool to share with

teachers so that they too can seek professional development or mentor new teachers in the area of

classroom management.

References


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Banks, R. (2011, March 1). Bullying. Educational Resources Information Center, 97(4), 171.

Retrieved November 1, 2011, from ERIC database.

Barnett, M.A., Barlett, N.D., Livengood, J.L., & Murphy, D. L. (2010, November). Factors

Associated with Children’s Anticipated Responses to Ambiguous Teases. The Journal of

Genetic Psychology, 171(1), 54-72.

Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., & O'Brennan, L. M. (2007). Bullying and Peer Victimization at

School: Perceptual Differences between Students and School Staff. School Psychology

Review, 36(3), 361-382.

Davis, S., & Nixon, C. (2011, August). What Students Say About Bullying. Educational

Leadership, 42 (2), 18-23.

Jansen, D., Veenstra, R., Ormel, J., Verhulst, F. C., & Reinjneveld, S., (2011). Early Risk factors

for being a bully, victim, or bully/victim in late elementary and early secondary

education. The longitudinal TRAILS study. BMC Public Health. Retrieved December 4,

2011, from www.biomedcentral.com

Juvonen, J., & Gross, E. F. (2008). Extending the School Grounds?—Bullying Experiences in

Cyberspace. Journal Of School Health, 78(9), 496-505.

KleinJ. (2002, March). School violence: Public and professional policies. NASW News, p. 6.

Kochenderfer-Ladd, B., & M.E. Pelletier. (2008). Teachers’ views and beliefs about bullying:

Influences on classroom management strategies and students’ coping with peer

victimization. Journal of School Psychology 46: 431–53.

http://www.biomedcentral.com/


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Kutob, R. M., Senf, J. H., Crago, M, Shisslak, C. M.,. (2010, May). Concurrent and Longitudinal

Predictors of Self-Esteem in Elementary and Middle School Girls. Journal of School

Health, 80(5), 240-248. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from

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Maunder, R. E., Harrop, A., & Tattersall, A. J. (2010). Pupil and Staff Perceptions of Bullying in

Secondary Schools: Comparing Behavioural Definitions and Their Perceived

Seriousness. Educational Research, 52(3), 263-282.

Naylor, P., Cowie, H., Cossin, F., de Bettencourt, R., & Lemme, F. (2006). Teachers' and Pupils'

Definitions of Bullying. British Journal Of Educational Psychology, 76(3), 553-576.

Noaks, J., & Noaks, L. (2009). School-Based Peer Mediation as a Strategy for Social Inclusion.

Pastoral Care In Education, 27(1), 53-61.

Roffey, S. (2008) Emotional literacy and the ecology of school wellbeing, Educational & Child

Psychology, 25(2), 29–39.

Slovak, K. B. (2011). School Social Workers' Perceptions of Cyberbullying. Children & Schools,

33(1), 5.

Yoon, J.S., and K. Kerber. (2003). Elementary teachers’ attitudes and intervention strategies.

Research in Education 69: 27–35.

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Running Head: Bullying DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ELEMENTARY ... Marsha.pdf · Running Head: Bullying DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ELEMENTARY TEACHER AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF BULLYING CLASSROOM