3-tier model, 4 solutions to prevent school bullying

School bullying is a problem that has long been a concern for countries around the world. Many prevention models have been applied around the world and have been shown to be effective.

Distinguishing between school bullying and school violence

Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien, Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said it is necessary to distinguish between school violence and school bullying.

Sharing with Thanh Nien Newspaper reporter, Dr. Mai Lien pointed out that Swedish-Norwegian psychologist, Dan Olweus (in 1993) defined school bullying as: “Children are victims of bullying when they are exposed to continuous and prolonged negative, intentional actions that cause harm or discomfort from one or more people. This action takes place in a psychologically dependent relationship, repeated regularly.”

School bullying includes the following forms: physical bullying, mental bullying and cyber bullying. According to Eisenberg E. M and Peer Harassment (2003), the nature of bullying is to eliminate differences in appearance (height, weight, measurements, skin color, hair, teeth); differences in interests, idols; discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation, race, group, social position.

School violence is defined by Hurrelmann (in Vettenburg, 1998) as: "Including all activities and actions that cause physical or psychological suffering or injury to people working in or around school, or intend to harm subjects at school".

It is necessary to distinguish between school violence and school bullying.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

3-storey model

Dr. Mai Lien said that currently, the 3-layer model of school bullying prevention applied in many countries such as the US, Europe and North America has shown to be effective in detecting and preventing school bullying. In which:

The first level is prevention by educating the majority of students, parents and teachers. Because the reality is that when going to school, any child can be bullied, so it is necessary to raise awareness of the signs, consequences, how to handle and seek support when falling into that situation as well as knowing how to notify teachers when discovering that you are being bullied.

For example, there are cases where a student is bullied by a friend but the parents think it is a childish thing. There is a difference between teasing and bullying. A child who is bullied will not be able to react as if he were teased; he will accept and endure psychological inhibition for a long time.

At this prevention level, schools can organize through forms such as flag-salute activities, beginning-of-year activities, including regulations, organizing life skills classes, communicating through video clips, inviting experts to the school to exchange...

The second level is intensive prevention, for students who are vulnerable to bullying. Studies show that students who are vulnerable to bullying are students with low self-esteem, few friends; have environmental changes such as moving house, being away from family; have differences in appearance or academic performance. To detect these cases, there are forms such as observation, conducting questionnaires, creating secret mailboxes... Then, organize activities in small groups of 5-8 students so that they can share, exchange, find coping resources and give them a sense of belonging - a very important need.

The third tier is prevention for students who have been victims of bullying and those who have been bullies. There will be individual psychological support to help them build self-confidence; improve their thinking and self-image; alleviate the emotional distress they have experienced and help them build skills to integrate with their peers.

In these three levels, level 1 must have the attention of society, schools, and parents; level 2 is carried out by school counselors or part-time teachers, and level 3 can only be carried out by well-trained and supervised psychologists.

It is necessary to include knowledge of preventing school bullying in school education programs.

Photo: Screenshot

4 solutions

According to Dr. Mai Lien, in Ho Chi Minh City, the application of the 3-tier prevention model in particular and the issue of school mental health care in general still has many limitations.

As a school counselor, lecturer and instructor for graduate students, Dr. Mai Lien realized that the attention of school leaders on the issue of school bullying is uneven among high schools. The work of preventing school bullying mainly depends on individuals such as school leaders or the enthusiasm of teachers who also work as school psychologists. Thus, the effectiveness will be very precarious because it depends on each individual.

Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien offers four solutions that society, schools and parents can implement to quickly limit the problem of school bullying.

Firstly, the long-term solution is to include knowledge of preventing school bullying in the school curriculum. Similar to sex education, the problem of school bullying, when addressed early, will help not only teachers but also students protect themselves, protect their friends and avoid becoming bullies in the future.

Including bullying prevention education in the curriculum will also create consistency among public schools; avoiding dependence on the subjective perception of each school leader.

Second, there is a need for a team of school counselors in schools because, as analyzed, teachers who hold the position of school counselors, create a dual role that makes students feel apprehensive. In addition, teachers who hold the position of school counselors will not have enough skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm for school counseling work like those who are properly trained. In fact, some tools in psychology such as questionnaires, scales, tests, etc. require only to be performed by people who are properly trained in the field. Meanwhile, these tools are very necessary to early identify cases of children at risk of being bullied at school.

Third, it is necessary to strengthen survey and research activities on school bullying to have systematic data. At the same time, through anonymous sharing, we will be able to promptly detect the risk of students being bullied, thereby having timely responses. Universities and education departments should build school psychological support networks so that in cases of psychological disorders after being bullied such as anxiety and depression, they can be transferred to organizations and individuals with appropriate functions.

Ultimately, pending systemic top-down changes, the functioning of the school bullying prevention model will depend on the enthusiasm and interest of teachers, parents, and schools.

Schools, depending on their resources, can invite outside school counselors to collaborate. Teachers, with their enthusiasm, can organize specialized hours on school bullying to help students recognize early signs of bullying and boldly inform teachers. Parents also need to pay more attention to their children's lives, not only at school but also in groups on social networks.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mo-hinh-3-tang-4-giai-phap-phong-ngua-bat-nat-hoc-duong-185251110220649445.htm