Teachers' perception of bullying in Maltese state schools

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate whether or not teachers are aware about the extent and nature of bullying in school. This quantitative study will indicate when and where bullying takes place, the type of bullying and why, as perceived by teachers. Six hundred teachers, chosen at random, both from primary and secondary state schools were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. Evaluation of the questionnaires showed that nearly all the teachers in Maltese state schools are aware of bullying. However research shows that most of the teachers are aware of the lack of communication that exists between the teachers, the head of school, the parents and those involved in bullying. This lack of communication encourages bullies to act more since they know that victims will rarely tell the teachers or their parents. Teachers on the other hand are willing to help, in fact almost all the teachers declared that they are ready to intervene whenever bullying occurs. The present study showed that support programmes which encourage communication should be implemented in schools in order to make everyone aware of the dangers of bullying and the importance of communication.