Bullying prevention programmes in Gozo secondary schools

Abstract

Bullying is not a contemporary problem, but has always been a part of life. Until recently it was often considered as ‘part of growing up’. Olweus, who was one of the first pioneers on bullying, in his studies on Norway, found that one in seven students are involved in bully/victim problems. Direct bullying seems to increase through the elementary years, peak in the secondary school and decline during high school years (Olweus, 1993). Our country, Malta is not immune to these prevalences. Over the past four years, there were almost 800 reported cases of bullying in state schools alone. According to the teachers union this reinforces the need for proper legislation to address the issue (Times of Malta, July 2013). A research carried out by the British council found that 62 percent of pupils in Malta consider bullying as a problem in their school (Times of Malta, May 2010). This evidence suggests that school bullying cannot be ignored and if it is ignored a sizeable number of pupils together with their families will continue to suffer ongoing torment. The National policy of bullying (December, 1999) which is called “Good Behaviour and Discipline Policy for Schools” was developed in order to serve as a guideline for schools in dealing with discipline issues. Fourteen years have passed on from the development of this policy and one questions its relevance and uses and whether it needs to be updated according to new research and evidence. The aim of this study is to explore this policy’s use and most important to discover how Gozitan secondary schools are currently dealing with bullying and its prevention.