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
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- Cyberbullying (UNICEF)
- Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History
- Help Increase the Peace Students Bullying Research Project
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- Cyberbullying Toolkit: Webinar Archive
- Another Bully Busters Song
- Puppet Show – Kids Against Bullying
- Girls Bullying
- Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
- Teaching Students How to “Stand Up” to Bullying – Webinar Archive
- The Transformation of West Philadelphia High School: a story of hope
- PAX Good Behaviour Game
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- Peaceful School Bus Program – Hazelden Foundation
- Students Take on Cyberbullying
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 |
---|---|---|
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. | |
Olweus intervention suggestions | Powerpoint presentation providing guidelines for combating bullying in schools, from the Olweus Bullying Prevention Group. | |
Bullying in cyberspace | Word document examining bullying in cyberspace. | |
Preventing and countering school-based harassment: A resource guide for k-12 educators, rev. ed. | 76-page PDF guide which "is the result of two conferences on racial harassment and numerous training-of-trainer administrator workshops conducted during the past eight years by the Equity Center (formerly the Center for National Origin, Race, and Sex Equity—CNORSE) where the intersection of the issues of racial and sexual harassment have been made clear by educators in the field. Although much national attention has been focused separately on the issues of racial harassment and sexual harassment, the reality is that when one form of harassment occurs, the opportunity exists for all types of harassment. Focusing only on one type of harassment can allow another type of harassment to go unchallenged. This guide addresses the more comprehensive issue of school-based harassment by capturing similarities in cause of, type of, and remedy for all forms of harassment while also addressing the unique and legal aspects of racial and sexual harassment, as appropriate. The hope is that the material will help school staff, families, students, and communities to create a safe and bias-free learning environment." | |
Kids Working It Out Resource Appendix | A listing of books, publications and websites provided in the appendix to Tricia S. Jones and Randy O. Compton (Eds.) 2003 book Kids Working It Out: Stories and Strategies for Making Peace in Our Schools. | |
Working with young people who bully others: tips for mental health professionals | Pdf document with tips for mental health workers who treat bullies. | |
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." | |
Documenting bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document which introduces the idea of assessing and tracking bullying behavior at school for administrators. | |
Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support for Middle Schools | This 45-page handbook focuses on school-wide positive behavior support, explicit instruction, and a redefinition of the bullying construct in a middle school. | |
Advice from our "tween" and teen experts | Pdf document with advice on bullying from the Youth Expert Panel. | |
The Young Peacebuilders Guide To Tackling Harmful Narratives | The Young Peacebuilders’ Guide to Tackling Harmful Narratives entails a concrete step-by-step methodology and tools to support young peacebuilders in their fight against harmful narratives, as well as four concrete alternative narrative campaigns that were developed by UNOY Peacebuilders members. Rather than creating the umpteenth resource that sheds light on the issue of harmful narratives, this by-youth-for-youth guide is a collaborative document that encapsulates the work and input of 11 UNOY members who took part in UNOY Peacebuilders’ capacity development programme—Youth Promoting Peaceful and Cohesive Societies in Europe—held between April and June 2022, as well as the insights of experts in disinformation and media development at large. | |
Tips for selecting materials from the resource list | Pdf document providing tips for choosing materials on bullying. | |
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. | |
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." | |
Why is Everybody Always Picking on Me?: A guide to handling bullies for young people | This 10-chapter 131-page illustrated book, available as a pdf, is for youth ages 8-16. Lively color illustrations, exciting stories, and practical tips and role-playing exercises help give children the tools to avoid being victimized. Topics covered include: Cope with the "Schoolyard Bully"; Stop bullies by using the "School of No Sword"; Gain the confidence to win without fighting. Recipient of the Silver Benjamin Franklin Award. | |
Bullying prevention: CRETE training day 3 | Powerpoint presentation for educators on bullying and ways to prevent bullying behavior. | |
Steps to address bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document with advice to school administrators on addressing bullying at school. | |
Children who bully | Pdf document on children who bully. | |
Research-based articles and books on bullying/peer victimization | Pdf document listing articles and books on bullying and peer victimization. | |
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. |