Here - New College MCR - University of Oxford

19 The New Collection
being harassed and attacked within the school environment. Furthermore, during
1983 three adolescent boys in Norway committed suicide as a consequence of
severe bullying. This prompted the country’s Ministry of Education to initiate a
national campaign against bullying in schools. As a result, the first version of
the ‘Olweus Bullying Prevention Program’ was developed. The initial Olweus
Bullying Prevention Program was evaluated in a large-scale project involving
2500 students from 42 schools followed over a period of two and a half years.
Statistics showed after a two year analysis there had been [20]:
• Reductions of 50% or more in student reports of being bullied and bullying
others. Peer and teacher ratings of bullying problems yielded roughly
similar results.
• Marked reductions in student reports of general antisocial behaviour, such
as vandalism, fighting, theft, and truancy.
• Clear improvements in the classroom social climate, as reflected in students’
reports of improved order and discipline, more positive social
relationships, and more positive attitudes toward schoolwork and school.
Owing to its success, the program was refined and further evaluated in five
more large-scale projects in Norway. As the resultant statistics continued to
show successful prevention of bullying in schools, they spurred an initiative by
the Norwegian government in 2001 which implemented the ‘Olweus Bullying
Prevention Program’ on a much larger scale across schools throughout Norway.
However, although such success has provided good insight into the positive
effects of anti-bullying practices, bullying within schools remains a complex
problem which receives a great deal of attention. Owing to the complex nature of
bullying, it needs to be counteracted from several angles [10]. There should be
no ‘one size fits all’ approach, as each case will present many differing elements,
motives and consequences.
This article will give an overview of the research that has investigated
the issue of bullying. In particular, the definitions of bullies and victims, the
characteristics of bullying and victim behaviour, and reasons as to why students
bully are explored and considered. Finally, the need for a whole-school antibullying
policy is discussed.
Definitions of Bullying and Characteristics of Bullying Behaviour
For more than two decades, studies have revealed that a substantial proportion of
pupils are regularly bullied by their peers in school [2, 19, 20]. Bullying behaviour