Abstract
This paper proposes a research study seeking to find out the effectiveness of a group-based approach in mitigating and preventing bullying. Bullying is a long-standing problem in schools without proper strategies and policies for controlling motivating factors. It affects learning due to lowered self-esteem and feeling of insecurity. The proposed study seeks to have an evidence-based anti-bullying approach. It will use three groups consisting of eight high school leaners. The leaners will represent victims of bullying includes those who experience and those who bully others. There will also be representatives from active witnesses of bullying. The research will provide the level at which students would participate and develop solutions for bullying in a group. Implementing such group-based approach will create a situation where students control each other’s behaviour to have a bullying free school environment. Students will be able to handle bullying cases through non-punishment approaches, for example, holding counselling sessions for the victims.
Keywords: Bullying, Group-Based Approach, Students, Behaviours
Anti-Bullying
Introduction
The research will focus on anti-bullying, which is a strategy to minimize bullying cases among students. Bullying has become a significant issue in schools despite their level of performances, and they affect learners in different ways (Hall, 2017). One significant impact of bullying is anxiety which later develops other consequences such as suicide, reduced self-esteem and low performers. Despite the high prevalence of bullying cases, there is a challenge in the identification of anti-bullying strategies. Hall (2017) states that policies to prevent bullying fail due to a lack of evidence-based information. There is limited knowledge of causes and approaches which are effective in preventing bullying leading to ineffective policies and ant bullying plans. Following the challenge, the proposed study seeks to investigate the efficiency of the group-based approach in preventing and mitigating bullying. Findings will provide evidence-based information that informs anti-bullying strategies. Research on a group-based approach to preventing bullying will not only confirm the plan but also offer insights into what causes and how bullying develops.
Research Questions
The overall research question of the study is:
How efficient is a group-based approach to preventing and mitigating bullying?
The following questions will guide in answering the overall one and also provide a direction for the whole research, maintaining its focus on the objective:
- How amenable are students in engaging in anti-bullying initiatives?
The question is qualitative since it requires a description of participation and in groups discussing anti-bullying strategies. It ties to the study’s purpose through its focus on assessing the success of student groups while addressing bullying through the level of participation.
- What is the level of student group participation in generating organic solutions to bullying?
The question is qualitative since it seeks to assess the value of solutions students provide about how effective they can solve bullying. It ties to the study purpose through its focus on identifying whether students in a group can provide an effective solution to bullying.
What is the quality of interaction amongstudents during group discussions on ant bullying measures?
It is a qualitative question through its focus on obtaining qualitative data on positive or negative interactions and the use of words. The question ties to the research purpose by informing on whether student groups can have positive interactions hence effective in providing solutions to bullying.
Population, Sample and Sampling Technique
The study population is high school students in their second year. High school students make the best population of study due to the high diversity of bullying, including cyber, emotional and physical (Antiri, 2016). There are, therefore, higher chances of having intense discussions in groups due to divergent ideas compared to primary school students. As a result, the population has more chances of producing detailed and sufficient data for analysis.
The sample will be three groups consisting of eight members, one girl and one boy from each year. The study will employ a stratified random sampling. Random sampling ensures equal representation of the population (Frey, 2018). Stratification, on the other hand, allows the sample to all participants who possess the needed characteristics(Frey, 2018). The researcher will first divide the population into students who have experienced bullying, those who have ever bullied others, and those who have witnessed students bullying their colleagues. Later the researcher will randomly pick leaners from the stratus. The researcher will collaborate with a colleague in the same class who has similar interests in ant bullying to help in the administration of the focus groups.
Data Collection Instruments
The study will employobservation and school records tools to collect data about the effectiveness of a group-based approach in mitigating and preventing bullying. Observation allows the assessment of participants in their natural occurrence to enablea conclusion about the variables on the study (Urquhart, 2015). The researcher will observe and record data to answer the three research questions. Among the observations to record includes the nature of the interaction, whether positive or negative, level of participation and quantity as well as the quality of the solutions the students suggest. School records, on the other hand, will provide data on the number of reported bullying cases and frequency of bystanders witnessing and or preventing future bullying. The additional data to access from school records is reported cases of victims taking positive steps to prevent future bullying or how they manage incidences of bullying.There will be an observation schedule outlining what the researcher needs to observe and record the research question.
Reliability in observation is the assurance that observation will be consistent over time. The validity, on the other hand, is the assurance that the observation schedule measures what researchers intend. The strategy to ensure validity and reliability ion observation will be the management of errors which might lead affect the two measures. There will be another observer apart from the researcher to confirm that what the researcher observes is the same. Where there is a similarity, the tool will be reliable. The researcher will, on the other hand, ensure validity through triangulation using multiple groups and another observer to ensure that the results apply to several participant groups.
Alternative Data Collection Tool
An alternative data collection method would be an interview after the group discussion. The interviews would have questions that contribute towards answering those which the research outlines and the study purpose. Students in an interview would respond to questions attempting to assess their perception about having such groups in preventing and mitigating bullying. Their responses would inform on the effectiveness of the groups. Interviews, unlike observation and questionaries, allows detailed data with follow-up questions to provide sufficient information (DeJonckheere& Vaughn, 2019). The researcher interacts with students directly to get more information, especially about the perception of groups which is not possible in observation.
Integration of Technology in Research
The research will employ technology during observation to ensure the collection of all critical data while also maintaining the validity and reliability of the instrument. There will be a video and audio recorder during the group discussions. The record will help to later code and analyze by ensuring sufficient details and observation. The researcher will also use the audiovisualfiles to assess reliability and validity by giving it to the other collaborating partner for assessment on consistency in interpretation. The use of visual and audio technologies will lead to findings that are reliable due to the inclusion of all elements of the group.
Role of Diversity
Diversity heightens the level of bullying due to differences in ideologies between cultures. Cultures, for example, between girls and boys, social classes and geographical regions, have different ways of respect and social behaviours. The more diversity, the more the differences are creating the potential for bullying as the students fight for the superiority of their cultures (Lim, &Hoot, 2015). However, the use of a group-based approach to solving bullying concerns will improve the learning of a diverse student population due to sharing on cultural values. Groups made up of diverse student populations will allow leaning of each other culture to develop one uniform school culture, thus limiting conflicts. There will be increased sharing not only in solving bullying but also in other class activities leading to improved learning.
Risks and Ethical Considerations
One of the risks in the research is the exposure of student’s private life, especially those who have experienced bullying and those who have bullied others. During stratification, students will require to identify themselves in the mentioned categories. However, the research will maintain anonymity in group categorization to avoid the identification of bullying victims. Also,data collected from school records will not have anyidentifiable student information to avoid exposing privacy. There is also the risk of psychological distress for students who have, for example, go through bullying. The study will allow the withdrawing of participants at any time they feel uncomfortable to reduce the risk.
Situation Overview after Implementing the Change
There will be reduced cases of bullying after implementing group-based approaches to solve the problem. Students will start handling bullying cases amongst themselves as opposed to attracting teacher’s interventions. Some students will emerge as leaders in bullying cases to have alternative strategies to punishing those who bully others. Such an approach will involve sitting as a class and advising the victims on the need to leave as colleagues and supporting each other as opposed to fighting psychologically and physically. There will be less punishment across the school and more counseling to have those who bully others adopt uniting behaviors.
References
Lim, S. J. J., & Hoot, J. L. (2015). Bullying in an increasingly diverse school population: A socio-ecological model analysis. School Psychology International, 36(3), 268-282.
DeJonckheere, M., & Vaughn, L. M. (2019). Semistructured interviewing in primary care research: a balance of relationship and rigour. Family Medicine and Community Health, 7(2), e000057.
Frey, B. B. (Ed.). (2018). The SAGE encyclopedia of educational research, measurement, and evaluation. Sage Publications.
Antiri, K. O. (2016). Types of Bullying in the Senior High Schools in Ghana. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(36), 131-138.
Hall, W. (2017). The effectiveness of policy interventions for school bullying: A systematic review. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 8(1), 45-69.
Urquhart, C. (2015). Observation research techniques. Journal of EAHIL, 11(3), 29-31.
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