School bullying is a significant issue for children, parents, and teachers around the world (Patton, Hong, Williams, & Allen-Meares, 2013). Research into the genesis, development, and maintenance of bullying behaviours in schools has typically considered the relationship between bullying behaviour and individual characteristics such as, age, gender, and psychosocial problems (Hong & Espelage, 2012). However, more recent research has determined that understanding the influence of family, peers, teachers, community, and cultural factors that precipitate or protect against bullying is critical in addressing bullying behaviour in schools (Barboza et al., 2009). Given that bullying is a complex social phenomenon that involves all of these contexts, it may prove beneficial to explore the underlying factors of bullying behaviour in schools using the Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory. The ecological systems theory provides a broad exploration of social phenomena by analysing the interplay between social contexts that an individual exists within (Huang, Hong & Espelage, 2012). Accordingly, the following report employs an ecological systems-based approach to explore the genesis, development, and maintenance of bullying behaviours and uses the same approach to design an appropriate group intervention to target the bullying behaviour in school.
Understanding factors that precipitate and protect against bullying behavior in school requires an analysis of the interaction between the individual and the environment. According to the ecological systems theory, an individual exists within four interactive environments: the microsystem, the mesosystem, the macrosystem, and the exosystem (Huang, Hong & Espelage, 2012). The Microsystem refers to an individual’s immediate environment, which may include parent and family relationships, school climate, peer relationships, and even the home in which an individual resides (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The Mesosystem refers to the interaction between various microsystems, such as the interactions between one’s parents and school, or one’s family and one’s peers (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The Macrosystem refers to an individual’s cultural context, societal values, and social class (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Finally, the Exosystem refers to the surrounding societal environment, which indirectly impacts an individual, such as one’s local community or mass media (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Accordingly, an ecological systems approach to bullying behavior considers that bullying victims and perpetrators are part of a complex, interactive system of different contexts that may precipitate and maintain the bullying behavior. In support of this idea, studies have repeatedly demonstrated that children who engage in bullying behavior experience problems in family and school life, peer relationships, and sometimes within their community (Swearer & Espelage, 2004). The following sections explore bullying behaviour and peer victimization within the microsystem, macrosystem, and exosystem of Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) ecological model.
The Microsystem
As children spend a large proportion of their day at home and with their family, many of the influences that precipitate and reinforce bullying behavior can be found in the home (Patten et al., 2013). Thus, when examining the genesis of bullying behavior in an individual’s microsystem, it is important to consider not only the environment in which the bullying behavior occurs—i.e. the school or classroom—but also the individual’s home life and relationships with his or her family. This might include considering parent–child relationships, inter-parental violence, peer relationships, school connectedness, and school environment (Hong & Espelage, 2012), all of which have been shown to be related to the development and reinforcement of bullying behavior. For example, negative factors involving one’s parents, such as lack of parental involvement (Barboza et al., 2009), lack of parental support (Holt & Espelage, 2007), or parents that exercise excessive control (Nelson et al., 2006) or model negative behavior (Espelage et al., 2001) have all been found to be associated with bullying behavior.
Therefore, the development of bullying behavior can be said to begin when children observe or experience violent behavior in the home or in the family, as they learn to accept violence as a legitimate manner of interaction with others, which is then commonly translated into violent or bullying behavior at school (Espelage & Horne, 2008). Moreover, children who do not develop secure attachments with their primary caregivers (i.e. parents), are more likely to develop interpersonal problems outside of the home (Muuss, 1996), which can precipitate conflict with peers and peer rejection (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2004). A lack of secure attachments can also result in antisocial behaviors during childhood, such as aggressive behavior towards other children at school (Hong & Espelage, 2012). These factors also contribute to the maintenance of bullying behavior as they reinforce the supposed legitimacy of using aggressive or violent behavior when interacting with others.
With regards to school connectedness, studies have found that students who reported lower level of school connectedness were much more likely to be involved in bullying and peer victimization (Glew et al., 2005). Correspondingly, the school climate has also been identified as a potential precipitating or protective factor against bullying behavior (Patten et al., 2013). Studies have found that students who perceive their school environment as warm and their teachers as supportive are less likely to engage in bullying behavior (Frey et al., 2009). Supportive teacher-student relationships have also been found to mitigate the impact of experiencing bullying behavior (Murray-Harvey & Slee, 2010). Thus school connectedness and school environment are also significant factors in the development and maintenance of bullying behavior.
Given the increased importance of peer relationships during adolescence, peer acceptance has also been identified as either a precipitating or protective factor against peer victimisation (Huang, Hong & Espelage, 2012). Demaray and Malecki (2003) found that children who had lower levels of peer acceptance and social support were more at risk of experiencing bullying behaviour or peer victimisation, whereas, positive friendships have been found to protect against bullying behaviour (Rigby, 2005).
Therefore, an appropriate approach to intervention must consider and address the impact of home and family relationships to bullying behavior. Given that negative parenting styles can precipitate bullying behaviors in children, it is important that parents of children who exhibit bullying behaviors at school are targeted to engage in parent education programs (Huang, Hong, & Espelage, 2012), which have been found to enhance more positive parenting styles (Mahoney et al., 1999). The approach to intervention must also promote school connectedness and ensure that the school climate and teacher-student relationships serve as protective factors against bullying behavior and peer victimization. Thus, teachers and general school staff should be trained about the importance of displaying supportive attitudes towards student and should also be educated and trained in skills to deal with situations of bullying and peer conflict (Chang et al., 2007).
The Exosystem
The Exosystem involves elements of an individual’s environment that are outside of his or her control and events that occur without his or her presence (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). When examining the precipitating factors of bullying behavior in the Exosystem, two salient factors to be considered are mass media (Huang, Hong, & Espelage, 2012) and one’s local neighborhood environment (Hong & Espelage, 2012). For example, exposure to media violence negatively influences the manner in which individuals socialize with their peers in school (Huang, Hong, & Espelage, 2012). Research has consistently found that frequent exposure to violence on TV (Huesmann et al., 2003), video games (Anderson & Bushman, 2001), and the internet (Williams & Guerra, 2007) increases the likelihood of aggressive thoughts and violent behaviors. Similarly, residing in a violent or unsafe neighborhood may directly or indirectly influence the development of violent behavior (Hong & Espelage, 2012). Research has consistently demonstrated a link between neighborhood violence and children exhibiting bullying behavior in school, as well as a link between residing in unsafe neighborhoods and experiencing peer victimization (Hong & Espelage, 2012).
Therefore, within the Exosystem, the development of bullying behaviors can be said to begin with exposure to violence in mass media or in the local neighborhood that an individual resides in. These factors also maintain and reinforce the bullying behavior and thus, an appropriate approach to intervention must address the way in which children cope with and relate to violent messages in mass media (Huang, Hong, & Espelage, 2012). This should include educating parents about the negative influence of exposure to violence in mass media and the need to monitor the content and duration of media usage among children (Anderson et al., 2003).
The Macrosystem
Within the context of bullying, the Macrosystem represents one’s culture, socioeconomic background, race, religion, or political factors that may influence the way in which people behave and may also contribute to bullying behavior or peer victimization (Bond, 2004). For example, a low socioeconomic family that experiences financial stress and parental fighting may result in the exhibiting aggressive behaviour at school. Moreover, a child may be a target of bullying behaviour at school simply because of their low socioeconomic status, or because of their race or culture (Hong & Eamon, 2012). Other studies have also found that children of diverse ethnic background are more frequently bullied (Hanish & Guerra, 2000), as are students who identify as homosexual or transgender (Berlan & Austin, 2007).
Interestingly, research into the association between religious values and bullying behaviour have produced inconsistent results. Studies have found that maintaining religious values can either be a risk factor or a protective factor for bullying behavior. For example, one study (Ellison et al., 1996) found that parents with conservative religious beliefs were more likely to discipline using corporeal punishment than parents without religious beliefs, and corporeal punishment was related to children's aggressive behavior. Additionally, Abbotts et al. (2003) found that children who attend church on a frequent basis are more likely to experience frequent bullying. In contrast, however, Petts (2009), found that the children of mothers who maintained higher levels of participation in religious activities were less likely to experience bullying.
Within the Macrosystem, therefore, the development of bullying behaviors can stem from one’s cultural background, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, race, political affiliation or sexuality. These factors also maintain and reinforce the bullying behavior and thus, an appropriate approach to intervention must confront stereotypes and promote values of tolerance and acceptance of individual differences among students (Hong & Garbarino, 2012).
Part B. Intervention.
Considering the evidence that bullying behavior is precipitated and maintained by various influences across multiple contexts and systems, it is critical that the design of an intervention against bullying behavior in schools be guided by the ecological systems approach. Therefore, the following intervention will aim to address influential factors from each of the Micro-, Macro-, and Exosystems. An ecological systems approach requires that an intervention against bullying focus more on addressing the patterns of behavior of bullies and their victims, and the underlying influence from home, peers, and society, as opposed to relying on traditional methods of punishment (Hong & Espelage, 2012). Primarily, the intervention against bullying will employ a whole-school approach, which has consistently been found to reduce bullying, as well as to promote positive social interaction (Huang, Hong, & Espelage, 2012).
The intervention will also involve a combination of other strategies, such as restorative practice strategies.
Requirements and Nature of the Group
The aim of this intervention will be to professionally develop teachers’ skills in addressing peer conflict and bullying behavior, as well as promoting a supportive culture within the school environment. The intervention will involve a two-day series of interactive workshops that will cover the range of modifications introduced by the whole-school approach to address factors of influence from each of the Micro-, Macro-, and Exosystems. To ensure an interactive process and to maximize the capacity for learning, teachers will be assigned to groups of ten, and will rotate across the series of workshops as a group.
The Microsystem
To address potential negative influences that may be present in a child’s microsystem (such as negative parenting styles, low school connectedness and poor peer relationships), teachers will be trained in activities and lesson plans to enhance school connectedness, to promote a positive school environment, and to foster the teacher-student relationship. This workshop will train teachers to respond appropriately to disclosures of bullying behavior and peer conflict. It will also train teachers to embrace a more supportive approach towards students. A second workshop will focus on promoting positive peer relationships. This workshop will train teachers in the restorative practice approach to dealing with bullying behavior and mediating peer conflict. A final workshop will train teachers to provide parent education during parent-teacher interviews and other such meetings.
The Exosystem
To address potential negative influences that may be present in a child’s exosystem (such as exposure to violence via mass media), teachers will be trained in activities and lesson plans to foster students’ critical thinking and coping skills to deal with violent messages in media.
The Macrosystem
To address potential negative influences that may be present in a child’s macrosystem (such as stereotypes about socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds, religious or political affiliation, and sexuality), teachers will be trained in activities and lesson plans to promote respect for and acceptance of individual and cultural differences. This workshop will focus on anti-bullying classroom activities and activities to promote pro-active relationship building among peers. Teachers will also be provided with activities to help students respect and celebrate their cultural diversity.