Bullying in schools : understanding and interventions

Bullying in schools is a worldwide problem that can have negative consequences for the general school climate and for the right of the students to learn in a safe environment without fear (Banks, 1997). Bullying can also have negative lifelong consequences, both for students who bully and for their victims. Although much of the formal research on bullying has taken place in the Scandinavian countries, Great Britain, and Japan, the problems associated with bullying have been noted and discussed wherever formal schooling environments exist (Banks, 1997). Olweus (1993) reported that one child out of every seven is either a bully or a victim of bullying. Mulrine (1999, as cited in Beale & Scott, 2001) noted that 43% of the children surveyed in a nationwide study indicated they were afraid to go to the bathroom during school because they feared being harassed. The National School Safety Center considered bullying to be the most enduring and underrated problem i~ U. S. schools (Mulrine, 1999, as cited in Beale & Scott, 2001).