The Playground Heroes anti-bullying program recognises the importance of a uniform approach to bullying intervention, seeking to empower all teachers, administrators, students and parents in the creation of consistent attitudes, expectations, rules and procedures across the school (Grossman, 2004, p.14). The following plan of action is a useful template for adaption to your individual school needs, calling upon State Department guidelines, in addition to elements of Glassers Choice Theory and its application through Reality Therapy. Before tackling specific problems - It is important that before addressing specific bullying incidents that the school identifies the extent of bullying, its types, frequencies and severity. Student surveys, vigilant yard duty and record-keeping should all be adopted by the school in response to bullying, but also reflection upon management strategies and prior policies (Ashman & Elkins, 2005, p.172). Students should be consulted as much as possible to involve their perspectives in any programs of intervention (McNamee & Mercurio, 2008). Directly after reporting/observation of bullying - Regardless of the level of inappropriate behaviour, teachers should intervene immediately after reporting or observation, in order to quickly end bullying incidents when they occur (Grossman, 2004, p.14). It is important to note that all reported cases of bullying are treated seriously by the school and followed up with appropriate procedures. - Staff members should act to provide a safe environment for the target of bullying, and recipients of other unacceptable/detrimental behaviours (Victorian Department of Education and Early Child Development, 2010, p.28) - In the case of an emergency, staff contact appropriate emergency service personnel on 000 (Victorian Department of Education and Early Development, 2010, p.38) Staff communication - Staff member immediately contacts and consults with a member of the schools leadership team confirming the incident and potential negative impacts on individuals or the school, planning a suitable response (Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2010, p.28) - Here a member of the leadership team should contact the parents/guardians of the target and aggressor (28).
Dealing with the behaviour- Conferencing- Attitude Adjustment Program (Alberta Teachers Association, 1999) After these steps it is paramount that conferencing between the child instigating bullying behaviour and staff (from the leadership team) should begin. Throughout this process it is crucial that teachers assertively refuse student excuses, and it is also important that they avoid arguing with the student (Glasser, 1998 & 2000). The Playground Heroes program recognises that conferences are crucial procedure in enabling students to own their bullying behaviours, taking responsibility for their actions and its effects on others (Glasser, 1998 & 2000).
- DEAL: Teacher must deal with the childs present behaviour, enabling students an opportunity to reflect, recognise and own their actions (Glasser, 1998 & 2000). It is important that teachers avoid attributing behaviours on the child (eg. You are doing), rather they should be facilitating reflection by asking students if their actions align with the school-wide expectations and code (Dyson, 2012). Refer back to the Playground Heroes behavioural expectations in this process. o Wants- Students should explore the wants, needs and perceptions of bullying behaviour, defining and clarifying what their Quality World Picture would look like (Wubbolding, 2001), and essentially, what they want from the world around them (Glasser, 1998 & 2000) - VALUE: Obtain a value judgement from the child, allowing them to assess their own behaviour. Here evaluation occurs by the student, NOT the teacher. Again references can be made back to school-wide code of conduct/expectations (Glasser, 1998 & 2000) Getting a value judgement may involve the following two steps: o Direction- In evaluating their actions, students should examine the direction of their bullying behaviour and also more widely, the direction of their lives (Wubbolding, 2001). o Evaluation- students should be encouraged to evaluate their bullying actions, particularly the effects on the direction of their life, and the wider world around them (Wubbolding, 2001). Students should consider whether their bullying actions are actually helping them meet their needs and wants (Glasser, 1998 & 2000). - PLAN: Plans should be established to change the direction of bullying behaviours (Wubbolding, 2001). These strategies must be controlled by the planner (the student) and committed to by the planner (Glasser, 1998 & 2000), and teachers should ensure that they remain simple, attainable, measurable, immediate, consistent (Wubbolding, 2001). The plan should be revised routinely to evaluate its effectiveness. Consequences for bullying behaviours - Grossman (2004, p.14) asserts that bully intervention must involve application of appropriate consequences, applicable to bullying and school-wide behavioural expectations. - The Playground Heroes program recommends application of logical consequences with regards to all forms of unacceptable behaviour. Logical consequences are non-punitive consequences, maintaining a logical link to the unacceptable behaviour displayed (Malmgrem, Trezek & Paul, 2005, p.37).
Logical consequences should be agreed upon by all students and staff prior to their implementation (37). It further important that care is taken to ensure aggressors are provided the opportunity to learn different, more constructive ways to interact with peers (social skills training) (Alberta Teachers Association, 1999). o The Playground Heroes program recommends school development of appropriate logical consequences in accordance with the following guidelines: 1. Reasonable; the consequence fits the bullying behaviour 2. Related; the consequence teaches a specific skill or attitude to prevent further bullying behaviour 3. Respectful; the consequence respects the dignity of both the aggressor and the target 4. Responsible; the consequence holds the aggressor accountable for their bullying actions
Adapted from Alberta Teachers Association handbook The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (1999, p.16).
Debrief- Circle Time - Whole class debriefing may take place through a democratic Circle Time meeting (Northern Territory Department of Education and Training, 2009). It is particularly useful in supporting targets of bullying, but also to encourage aggressors to change their behaviour (Grossi & Santos, 2012). Avoiding naming, blaming and shaming, Circle Time should be used to collaborate and develop strategies to prevent bullying incidents in future, but also develop a safe and inclusive learning environment (Northern Territory Department of Education and Training, 2009).
References Alberta Teachers Association (1999). Beyond Bullying: What You Can Do To Help: a handbook for parents and teachers of junior high students, The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, Alberta. Ashman, A., & Elkins, J (eds) (2005). Educating children with diverse abilities, 2 nd ed., Pearson Education Australia, pp. 138-182. Department of Education and Training, Northern Territory. (2009). Circle Time Solutions, retrieved from http://www.det.nt.gov.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0005/12686/CircleTimeSolution s.pdf Dyson, M. (2012) EDF4250, Seminar on Wellbeing and Glasser Management plan, Monash University Gippsland, 11/10/2012.
Glasser, W. (1999 & 2000) Glasser-Based Classroom Management Plan, EDF4250 handout. Grossman, H. (2004) Classroom behaviour management for diverse and inclusive schools 3 rd ed. USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., pp.11-75, 263-273. Grossi, P. K. & Santos, A. M. D. (2012). Bullying in Brazilian Schools and Restorative Practices, Canadian Journal of Education, Vol. 35(1), pp. 120-136. Malmgrem, K. W., Trezek, B. J., & Paul, P. V., (2005) Models of classroom management as applied to the secondary classroom, The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, Vol.79(1), pp.36-39. McNamee, A. & Mercurio, M. (2008). School-wide intervention in the childhood bullying triangle, Childhood Education, Vol. 84(6), p. 370. Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2010). Building Respectful and Safe Schools: a resource for school communities, State of Victoria, Communications Division for the Student Wellbeing Division, Melbourne.
Wubbolding, R. E., (2001) Cycle of Managing, Supervising, Counselling and Coaching, EDF4250 handout from A Set of Directions for Putting and Keeping Yourself Together.