Exploring High School Learners' Perceptions of Bullying

RESUMO

Objective:Learners' perceptions of aspects of school life that are sufficiently serious to interfere with their schoolwork were investigated. Bullying was a form of behaviour that was singled out for inclusion and further exploration in the study. Method: Learners from three coeducational Western Cape Education Department schools were surveyed 414 Grade 8 and 474 Grade 9 learners completed an anonymous; voluntary self-report questionnaire. Results: Factors identified as most frequently interfering with their schoolwork included classmates not listening in class; feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork; teacher absenteeism; and verbal fighting. When asked specifically about bullying; 40of learners indicated that they frequently experienced bullying at school - although they ranked it as much lower when compared to other potentially problematic school experiences. Furthermore; although the majority of learners indicated they thought teachers considered bullying a problem; few felt there was anything that school staff could do to counteract bullying effectively. Conclusions: These findings suggest that learners perceive bullying as an unavoidable part of school experience and have normalised this aggressive behaviour