Bullying Prevention
Conflict resolution and bullying prevention are natural partners. A comprehensive violence prevention plan should include both. Schools that have a solid conflict resolution program in place are ideally positioned to engage in bullying prevention as a next step. Conflict resolution teaches students how to solve problems when power is fairly equal and when both parties have some interest in resolving the conflict. Bullying, on the other hand, occurs when one party has more power, that party has no interest in resolving the problem, and he is primarily interested in hurting the other. In these circumstances, conflict resolution techniques are not likely to be effective, so other methods must be in place. (To learning more about bullying prevention, please visit our online learning module.)
A bullying prevention program should teach students how to distinguish normal peer conflict, which responds well to conflict resolution strategies, from bullying violence, which warrants a different set of strategies. Once students understand which type of conflict they are dealing with, they can decide which strategies to use. There are several factors (for example, contextual factors and personality traits) that determine when some strategies are more appropriate than others.
Rethinking the deeper impacts that bullying has on our school culture is important for existing conflict resolution programs. While many such programs have a long history of creating safe and caring youth cultures and providing students and staff with specific skills to confront injustice, the recent attention to bullying has expanded the importance of this work and has provided language and additional strategies for surfacing and handling this more serious form of conflict and violence. Likewise, bullying prevention programs can benefit from the comprehensive experience that conflict resolution programs offer.
Videos of Possible Interest
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
- Another Bully Busters Song
- PAX Good Behaviour Game
- Girls Bullying
- Students Take on Cyberbullying
- Cyberbullying Toolkit: Webinar Archive
- Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History
- Puppet Show – Kids Against Bullying
- Teaching Students How to “Stand Up” to Bullying – Webinar Archive
- The Transformation of West Philadelphia High School: a story of hope
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- Cyberbullying (UNICEF)
- Help Increase the Peace Students Bullying Research Project
- Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
- Peaceful School Bus Program – Hazelden Foundation
See MORE VIDEOS...
Sample Catalog Resources
Below you'll find a randomized listing of up to 20 related items (we may have more...) drawn from our Resource Catalog.
| Resource Title | Description | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Providing support to children who are bullied: tips for school personnel and other adults | Pdf document with advice on bullying prevention geared toward school personnel and other adults. | |
| Community-based bullying prevention: tips for community members | Pdf document, geared toward community members, discussing bullying prevention. | |
| Research-based articles and books on bullying/peer victimization | Pdf document listing articles and books on bullying and peer victimization. | |
| Intervention tips for law enforcement officers | Pdf document examining the role of law enforcement in bullying. | |
| International network on school bullying and violence: March 2007 overview | Powerpoint presentation overview of the work of the International Network on School Bullying and Violence whose aim is to, "stimulate and support more effective measures against school bullying and violence." | |
| How to intervene to stop bullying: tips for on-the-spot intervention at school | Pdf document with instruction on dealing with bullying at school, how to intervene and follow-up procedures. | |
| Roles for health and safety professionals in bullying prevention and intervention | Pdf document discussing bullying with tips on what health and safety professionals can do to stop the behavior. | |
| Advice from our "tween" and teen experts | Pdf document with advice on bullying from the Youth Expert Panel. | |
| Restorative Interventions Implementation Tool Kit | Implementation tools and resources for school staff and other adults trained to facilitate conferences and circles to repair harm in educational settings. The tools and resources are designed to assess readiness, implementation and outcomes, as well provide guidance for implementing any school-based restorative model. | |
| Steps to address bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document with advice to school administrators on addressing bullying at school. | |
| Working with young people who are bullied: tips for mental health professionals | Pdf document with tips for mental health workers who treat bullied youth. | |
| Bullying in our schools: protecting GLBT youth | Powerpoint presentation which discusses bullying in schools particularly involving gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered youth in schools. | |
| Understanding bullying within the camp setting: tips for parents | Pdf document for parents about bullying in the camp setting. | |
| What we know about bullying | Pdf document with information on bullying. | |
| Digital Citizenship Poster for Middle and High School Classrooms | A poster targeting middle school and high school age youth that provides a flow chart to help students decide if sharing something (a photo for instance) online is appropriate or not. A larger poster is available for order - info at www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/middlehigh_poster | |
| Children who bully | Pdf document on children who bully. | |
| Don't Laugh at Me Teachers Guide: Grades 2-5 Creating a Ridicule-Free Classroom | Don't Laugh At Me provides an effective tool for establishing a caring climate in which the emotional and physical abuse children suffer because of peer ridicule, bullying and other asocial behaviors is far less likely to occur. Operation Respect developed the Don't Laugh at Me (DLAM) programs, one for grades 2-5, another for grades 6-8 and a third for summer camps and after-school programs. All of the programs utilize inspiring music and video along with curriculum guides such as this one based on the well-tested, highly regarded conflict resolution curricula developed by the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). Visit http://www.operationrespect.org to sign up for the full free curriculum kit which includes evaluations, CD and Video along with the curriculum guides. | |
| Educational resources: articles, books, films about bullying and teasing | Word document provides list of books, articles and films on bullying and teasing. | |
| Physical and verbal bullying | Web-based interative scenario which explores bullying. | |
| Exploring the nature and prevention of bullying: bullying quiz | One page true/false quiz on bullying. |