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
- Puppet Show – Kids Against Bullying
- Another Bully Busters Song
- The Transformation of West Philadelphia High School: a story of hope
- PAX Good Behaviour Game
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- Students Take on Cyberbullying
- Cyberbullying (UNICEF)
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
- Girls Bullying
- Teaching Students How to “Stand Up” to Bullying – Webinar Archive
- Peaceful School Bus Program – Hazelden Foundation
- Help Increase the Peace Students Bullying Research Project
- Cyberbullying Toolkit: Webinar Archive
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 |
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How to talk to educators at your child's school about bullying: tips for parents of bullied children | Pdf document that helps parents of bullied children address issues with educators. | |
Working with young people who bully others: tips for mental health professionals | Pdf document with tips for mental health workers who treat bullies. | |
Stop Bullying Now Activities Guide | A 12-page pdf of activity ideas for preventing bullying in schools and youth serving organizations. | |
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. | |
What can students and youth do to lend a hand | Pdf document with advice to students and youth on bullying prevention. | |
Steps to address bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document with advice to school administrators on addressing bullying at school. | |
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. | |
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 | |
Understanding bullying within the camp setting: tips for parents | Pdf document for parents about bullying in the camp setting. | |
Bullying prevention | On-line learning module which teaches the user to "State definitions and types of bullying, list the short and long-term effects of bullying, describe places where bullying happens, state examples of effective and appropriate bullying interventions, describe the roles of parents, siblings and others in preventing bullying, recognize the requirements of a school bullying prevention program and locate resources for bully prevention." | |
Faith-community responses to bullying among children and youth | Pdf document which outlines steps that faith communities can take to stop bullying. | |
Bullying prevention and intervention: TeamMates Mentoring Program Lincoln Public Schools | 9-page PDF case study which, "looks at one program in Nebraska, Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) TeamMates, that has decided to address bullying at several schools through mentoring, using volunteers from the community to reach out to bullies and victims alike." | |
Bullying in cyberspace | Word document examining bullying in cyberspace. | |
Being an ally | Pdf document for students outlining steps and sample phrases to help diffuse bullying incidents. | |
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. | |
Warning signs that a child is being bullied | Pdf document illustrating behaviors that may alert parents of bullied children and steps they can take to correct the problem. | |
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. | |
Involvement of law enforcement officers in bullying prevention | Pdf document examining ways in which law enforcement personnel can be involved in the prevention of bullying. | |
Physical and verbal bullying | Web-based interative scenario which explores bullying. | |
Bullying behavior chart | Pdf document in table form which outlines three types of bullying, (physical, emotional and social), as well as levels of severity, with behaviors in each section, adapted from, "New Jersey cares about bullying." |